Titles
Matthew 23:8-12: But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
In these verses of Scripture, Jesus is talking to the people about the practice of leaders taking titles for themselves. He specifically warned the people not to call any man by title, whether it's Rabbi, Father, or Leader/Master. Just like during the days of our Lord’s earthly ministry, leaders have again reverted to this corrupt practice today. Now not only do we have people using terms specifically outlawed by our Lord, but we have a whole host of others as well; apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, deacon, bishop, and reverend. These were all meant to be functions, not names we take to ourselves. In addition, we have those who have went outside of Scripture and created titles for themselves; doctor, minister of music, cardinal, archbishop, pope, etc… We even have the wives of some pastors calling themselves first lady! This shouldn’t be.
Why would our Lord have such a problem with this practice? There are many different reasons for this. First and foremost, because He said not to. This should be the most basic and easiest reason to understand. No matter how we justify ourselves, He said not to do it. So don’t do it. When we knowingly go against the revealed will of God not only are we being disobedient but we are walking in rebellion.
Another thing that must be understood is that God is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t play favorites. The only people that were ever given the right to take a title to their names were the kings, no one else. No where in Scripture do we have one example of any other function of ministry taking titles to their names. There is no ‘Prophet Elijah’, ‘Apostle Peter’, or ‘Pastor Timothy’ written. Did people call Paul, Apostle Paul? Definitely. But what would Paul say in reply? He’d say, “Just call me Paul.” How can we know? That’s easy, because that’s what a humble person would say.
The humble will be exalted and the exalted will be humbled. A humble person has no need or desire to call attention to themselves through title, position, or garb. A true servant of the Lord doesn’t need any of these things to identify themselves. It’s the presence of the Holy Spirit, their character, and their actions which bear witness to a child/servant of God. All a title does for one’s self is puff up one’s ego. When a person is seen in public and addressed by title rather than name, it causes the person to feel more important as if they are special due to recognition by their title. (Matthew 23:7)
What we must also remember is that all of these flattering titles are names that only our Lord deserves. For instance:
Psalm 111:9: He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant forever: holy and reverend is His name.
What gives any person the right to take a name that rightfully belongs to our Lord, for themselves and make a title out of it? Only God is ‘Reverend’. Only God is ‘Father’. Jesus is the ‘Apostle’. To take any designation to one’s self that only Almighty God, Himself, deserves is blasphemy and any servant of the Lord should know better.
Job 32:21-22: Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person; neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my Maker would soon take me away.
What titles do is play to a person’s ego, exalt a person over others, and lead one into spiritual pride, among other things. In addition, this practice makes the suggestion that these people are somehow more qualified to be ministering because they are called ‘Pastor this’ or ‘Doctor that’. A true servant of the Lord doesn’t need to place themselves over people in order to lead. A true servant of the Lord always looks to place themselves next to others as equals, in order to lead them into fulfilling the call that our Lord has placed on their life.
Yet another issue which makes the use of titles to be wicked in our Lord’s sight is His commandment to not be as the world. In the world, people place titles and other designations before their names in order to gain acceptance, approval, and the esteem of their peers. Only those deemed to be of more importance are granted this luxury. We have ‘Doctor this’, ‘The honorable so and so’, ‘Joe Blow PhD’ and the like. But in those roles deemed as less noble or important, like mechanics, secretaries, or factory workers, people aren’t deemed important enough to have a designation added to their name. For any servant of the Lord, such recognition and parallelism to the world should be shameful to accept.
Some people actually try to justify themselves by using this very same argument as a defense, not knowing God nor the Scriptures. In Matthew 23:8 Jesus said, “…and all ye are brethren.” This is the key. When fellowshipping with one’s natural brother or sister, one doesn’t call them by title. They don’t address each other by title, role or profession because they are family. This is supposed to be the type of relationship that all Disciples of Christ are to have with each other, as brothers and sisters in the Lord. There’s no need for titles amongst family.
Those who accept or demand recognition by title are in sin, as well as those who call leaders in the Body by titles. This practice is in direct violation of the written word of God. Often, those who call their leaders by title do so not knowing, nor understanding, their error. They often do it as a token of respect, but this is not respect. It’s corrupting because it builds up a person’s ego, and promotes and condones spiritual pride. Our Lord wants this practice stopped because only a humble servant will be able to walk in all that the Lord has for us.
Turn from this corrupting practice. Our Lord takes exception to this and will no longer tolerate it from His servants. He says that anything that a person possesses which address them by titles or some other special designation having to do with being in His service, must be separated from. Whether it be certificate, degree, credentials, etc… these things carry a curse for you and will only diminish you. He is the only credential that you need. Trust Him. He wants us all to bask in His glory, not attain glory for ourselves. He is more than able to identify you as His, just trust Him.
Does this mean that the functions and roles in our lives of ministry will be done away with? Of course not. It simply means that we will all go back to being equals amongst each other. No more appearances of one being of more importance than another. We’ll all go back to letting our call and function be identified by actions, character, and giftings not by title, garb, or education. After all, anyone can add fleshly things to themselves in order to appear more important. But not just anyone can display those things which can only come from and be developed by our Lord.
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Titles