“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”— Matthew 23:8-11.
THE Lordship of Christ is what is here insisted on throughout. Because He is Son of God as well as Son of David He is to be acknowledged as Leader, our Teacher and Master, and to Him we are to yield wholehearted honor and obedience. We are to esteem His gifted servants highly for their work’s sake (1 Thess. 5:13), recognizing them as the expression of His love for the Church, because He has given them to us that they might open up His Word for our blessing and edification (Eph. 4:8-16). But we are not to give to them the honor that belongs to God alone. In themselves they are nothing (1 Cor. 1:26-29; 8:7). Christ is our real Master. He, by His Spirit, is our true Teacher. When His servants seek recognition from men and glory in titles and degrees, they exhibit the very opposite spirit to that which should characterize followers of the Lord Jesus.
“Lord of glory, we adore Thee!
Christ of God, ascended high!
Heart and soul we how before Thee,
Glorious now beyond the sky:
Thee we warship,
Thee we praise—
Excellent in an Thy ways.”
―R. Holden.