"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy" (1 Cor. 4:1-2, ESV).
God has revealed to us believers a quota or portion of divine truth to be used for His glory, and in His name. We are all stewards of it and will give account for what has been revealed to us--we are not judging God's truth, but it is judging us! If we have come up with some strange idea or a truth no one else realizes, it is not of God. Remember what Jesus said: "To whom much is given, much is required." We are never to make light of the revelations and insights God has granted us by grace. Truth with a capital T can be ascertained and we are in the Great Quest to find it and apply it to our lives the best we know; for to know the right thing or duty to do and be remiss or derelict in it is sinful. Jesus said, that we shall know the truth (which is in Jesus per Eph. 4:21) and it shall set us free per John 8:32.
God only reveals mysteries to us so that they may benefit the body as a whole, not to give us inflated egos or that we might become conceited or arrogant, even condescending in our fellowships and relationships. When we pass along the truths God has revealed to us, He grants more and illumines us to a higher degree. Illumination is not salvation, but we grow in illumination and enlightenment as we mature in Christ--sharing in the mind of Christ Himself. The complete mind of Christ is manifest in Scripture for us to study for all eternity since we are incapable in our finite mind to apprehend the infinite mind of God. His mind is called the Ultimate mind, and this means there is more to the cosmos than matter and energy--there are spirit and mind, or what we might term the Logos, as Jesus is called in John 1:1.
No man has a monopoly on knowledge of the truth and is an island or rock in himself, but must learn from the body of Christ, as all share gifts for the benefit of the body. To be a spiritual Lone Ranger (one who doesn't submit to any authority other than himself or is unbowed), or a spiritual lone wolf is in danger of going astray and doing his own thing, which is another name for sin per Isaiah 53:6 (ESV), which says, "All we like sheep have gone astray...." People who are not sheep, or have no shepherd guiding them, are like goats in Jesus' analogy and goats do not act like sheep, who are helpless, but can fend for themselves.
If a Christian thinks he's a shepherd and not a sheep, he must be a sheep first, and he never really stops being a sheep, even though he's a shepherd; He can tell if he's a shepherd by seeing if anyone is following him or if he exhibits leadership ability. If he thinks people should listen to him, he should see if they do first!
In summation, the student is not above his teacher, according to the Word, and God is judging how good and faithful of a student one is, as well as how good and faithful a teacher the shepherd is--whether he teaches the truth and practices what he teaches, that is. Soli Deo Gloria!
God has revealed to us believers a quota or portion of divine truth to be used for His glory, and in His name. We are all stewards of it and will give account for what has been revealed to us--we are not judging God's truth, but it is judging us! If we have come up with some strange idea or a truth no one else realizes, it is not of God. Remember what Jesus said: "To whom much is given, much is required." We are never to make light of the revelations and insights God has granted us by grace. Truth with a capital T can be ascertained and we are in the Great Quest to find it and apply it to our lives the best we know; for to know the right thing or duty to do and be remiss or derelict in it is sinful. Jesus said, that we shall know the truth (which is in Jesus per Eph. 4:21) and it shall set us free per John 8:32.
God only reveals mysteries to us so that they may benefit the body as a whole, not to give us inflated egos or that we might become conceited or arrogant, even condescending in our fellowships and relationships. When we pass along the truths God has revealed to us, He grants more and illumines us to a higher degree. Illumination is not salvation, but we grow in illumination and enlightenment as we mature in Christ--sharing in the mind of Christ Himself. The complete mind of Christ is manifest in Scripture for us to study for all eternity since we are incapable in our finite mind to apprehend the infinite mind of God. His mind is called the Ultimate mind, and this means there is more to the cosmos than matter and energy--there are spirit and mind, or what we might term the Logos, as Jesus is called in John 1:1.
No man has a monopoly on knowledge of the truth and is an island or rock in himself, but must learn from the body of Christ, as all share gifts for the benefit of the body. To be a spiritual Lone Ranger (one who doesn't submit to any authority other than himself or is unbowed), or a spiritual lone wolf is in danger of going astray and doing his own thing, which is another name for sin per Isaiah 53:6 (ESV), which says, "All we like sheep have gone astray...." People who are not sheep, or have no shepherd guiding them, are like goats in Jesus' analogy and goats do not act like sheep, who are helpless, but can fend for themselves.
If a Christian thinks he's a shepherd and not a sheep, he must be a sheep first, and he never really stops being a sheep, even though he's a shepherd; He can tell if he's a shepherd by seeing if anyone is following him or if he exhibits leadership ability. If he thinks people should listen to him, he should see if they do first!
In summation, the student is not above his teacher, according to the Word, and God is judging how good and faithful of a student one is, as well as how good and faithful a teacher the shepherd is--whether he teaches the truth and practices what he teaches, that is. Soli Deo Gloria!