By Precious Okolobo
I read with keen interest an article by Tochukwu Ezukanma in The Nation of July 29, titled “We are all men of God” in which he tried to situate the work of secular professionals like musicians and teachers within the context of God’s plan for humanity. I found this aspect of his argument very interesting: “Just like musicians and teachers, everyone is called, inspired and anointed by God to play a given role towards the divine mission to be fruitful, and dominate the earth. We are individually special to God; He thought about each of us in a special way. Not surprisingly, he created us with individualised identities, talents and destinies; and assigned us unique roles, as writers, medical doctors, architects, pastors/prophets, etc. Therefore, we are all men of God… the calling of the pastor/prophet is not superior to that of the other professionals.”
This is not a rejoinder in that sense of the word but an attempt to put meaning and comments in better context. If you are not a Darwinist as Tochukwu and I are obviously not, we can readily ascribe the works around us (universe, animals, water bodies, plants and humans) to a supremely wise and loving God, who remains in charge of His creation, even when sometimes, circumstances suggest otherwise. My brother’s thesis is that, because God created all humans, we are all men (as used in Bible to mean man and woman) of God.
In a way, this is right because it acknowledges the sovereignty of God. And indeed, God can use all of His creation, humans and nature, to fulfill His purpose. We are all His work and we exist for His pleasure. But we must be circumspect in using the term “man (or men) of God” because it has deeper applications. Apart from creation, a man of God is one who knows and obeys God. I will cite just one scripture to support this from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible in Micah 6: 8; “The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must treat people fairly. You must love others faithfully. And you must be very careful to live the way your God wants you to.” Anyone who passes that litmus test is a man of God, and this is not possible without the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Read my lips: salvation!
The other meaning of man of God is a prophet, pastor, evangelist or anyone engaged in religious ministry. The title of man of God appears about 78 times in the Bible and is used for 13 servants of God, beginning with Moses in Deuteronomy 33: 1. When you consider these applications, it becomes clear that not everyone who is fulfilling God’s purpose is actually a man of God! In fact, it will shock you to learn that not all servants of God are men of God. I’ll encapsulate my thoughts on this in what I call the three Rs – Relationship, Revelation and Role.
Part of the reason Tochukwu refers to all as men of God is that secular workers “fulfill their professional responsibilities to the public, advancing the public good, which is the will of God.” Actually, the overarching will of God is that people know Him. Since He is the creator, “public good” can only be defined by His standards and criteria, and yes, He has allowed us to know this. But it is only by knowing Him that we can effectively fulfill the public good. This is what the first R means – relationship with God.
As good as knowing God is, you must also hear unendingly from Him to find your way and fulfill His role on earth. Revelation opens up His perfect will to mortal man and He can only confide in those who know Him. The extent of His revelation depends on the role He has assigned to you.
I shiver with excitement each time I meditate on the interaction between God and Moses. He (Moses) met with God and lived to tell the story; he heard him as friends speak “mouth to mouth,” and, as if these are not unique enough, he saw the handwriting of God, the only mortal in recorded history who enjoyed that privilege! Moses needed this one-in-a-kind communion with the Almighty so he could be used to lay the foundation for the nation of Israel, and in the process author the first five books of the Bible for all ages. Paul was not one of the 12 apostles but he wrote the two thirds of the New Testament, sharing eternal truths on marriage, communion, the end times, liturgy, giving, etc. Paul enjoyed earth-shaking revelations, some of which he found “unlawful” to speak about, because he was being equipped for the ministry of reaching out to the Gentiles.
Coming back to Tochukwu’s thesis, is it then possible to work for God without knowing Him? Very much so! I nearly fainted when I first read Isaiah 45: 1 where God called Cyrus “anointed,” and Jeremiah 27: 6 – 8, where He called Nebuchadnezzar “my servant.” The source of my confusion was that these were heathen kings who did not have any business with God but Jesus came to my rescue (yet again) in Matthew 7: 22 – 23; “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” It is therefore possible to work for God without knowing Him, and walking with God is far better than working for Him.
Even while we think that we are working with God we must be careful to keep the evergreen connection with Him. Tochukwu, referencing Oliver de Coque and Michael Jackson, concludes “their musical inspirations coming from divine, spiritual realm, from God.” Let’s be careful – not everything from the spiritual realm is from God! That realm is dominated by spiritual beings, among them Satan and demons, who also inspire songs and actions. The only way you can find out if a song or action is inspired by God is to compare it with His word. For a Christian you must keep checking what you hear and see with the word of God, and not sheepishly follow the crowd in their adulation of the perverse and sensual which have no eternal value.
I’ll end this with my brother’s sweeping condemnation of “new age Pentecostalism.” He says: “The advent of new age Pentecostalism significantly altered the roles of pastors and the tenor of church doctrine in Nigeria. With their perversion of the word of God, they acquired an exploitative, manipulative and intrusive influence on the lives of Christians. Many of the new age Pentecostal pastors lack education and training, and the calling of God to be pastors. Many of them rose from the ranks of the uneducated, unemployed, and unemployable, and some, from among the hungry and homeless that sought shelter in the church.”
We cannot argue with the author on his right to hold and peddle these views, but we can seek to engage the rationale. My experience of the so-called new age Pentecostalism is contrary to these sentiments. They are educated, bright, insightful and rich, in some cases, very rich. I know First-class degree holders at home and abroad who went far afield as missionaries, and in some cases, died there unsung and unknown on this aide of eternity. I know professionals who abandoned lucrative careers to pursue the work of God. I know others who devote their life earnings to further the work of God. These people were helpless in the sense that, like Jeremiah, the fire in their bones forced them to preach. But they were not helpless in the sense of being on the ground-zero of life and turning to the ministry as the last bus stop. If there are such people, and of cruse there are, they exist in all denominations not just Pentecostals.
We have the same issues in orthodox churches – fraud, sexual immorality, child molestation etc. Rather than engage in fruitless sanctimonious posturing, we should cry out to God, whether as orthodox adherents or Pentecostals.
- Okolobo worships at Assemblies of God, Mende – Maryland, Lagos.
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