Man of God...

Man (and woman) of God...is not a man who knows God, let alone a man who knows of God.

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder." (James 2:19)

Instead, man of God is a man whom God knows. A man who is of God, thus knows Him intimately, loves Him, loves to worship and serve Him, imitates Him in character and does things that will please Him. That is a man of God.

The expression of Man of God appears numerously in the Old Testament. But it appears only twice in the New Testament. They are:

"But you man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11,12)

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

In 1 Timothy 6:11,12, man of God was addressed clearly to Timothy, Paul dearly loved. But 2 Timothy 3:16,17 clearly refers to all men, including you and me. All saints who believe and follow Jesus.

The following describes what man of God must do as God spoke to us through Paul.

1) Man of God should flee from the things that the worldly people are pursuing, including love of money, external godliness, desires of flesh. He is not just avoiding them, but actively and consciously running from them.

2) But running from them is not enough. It may end up being an aimless running man. He should pursue, actively and consciously, what belongs to God, such as righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

3) Moreover, in every situation, man of God engages in good fight of the faith. It is fight of the faith because he must decide between what he has heard from God and what he has heard from the world. He chooses to believe God and His words, using the shield of faith. It is a good fight because it serves to defend and manifests the goodness of God.

4) Man of God takes hold of and clings to the eternal life to which he was called. It is the hope from which love and faith springs.

Man of God... what a noble name!

I desire and choose to be man of God. A man whom God knows and loves. May it become reality, oh Lord! Help me, oh Lord. - Jeffrey