The
three levels of pastoring
The Scriptures reveal
three levels of pastoring which all of us are called to perform. In this
article, we will study each of these three levels, briefly evaluating which are
currently being performed by
pastors.
Index
Before we can study
the three levels of pastoring, we must first get to know the three Greek words
that can be translated as "love":
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This
word refers to love, mostly on a physical level, and it is the
word from which "erotic" is derived. Even though it never
appears in the New Testament, it is the word from which the name "Erastus"
is derived; this name appears 3 times in the New Testament (Acts 19:22,
Romans 16:23, 2 Timothy 4:20).
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This
word refers to love, mostly on a soulish or emotional level,
and it is the word from which we get "affiliation" in English. The
Greek word for "kiss", philema, is also derived from it.
This word, therefore, refers to affectionate, fraternal love born out of
finding common elements with another person.
This
verb appears 25 times in the New Testament. The reason for this is that 25
was the age when a Levite could "...
go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation
..." (Numbers 8:24). The
Hebrew word translated by the King James Version as "go in" in
this verse is tsaba, which literally means, "to fight, to wage
war". Numbers 8:24, therefore, should have been translated to say, "fight the service of
the tabernacle". This means that you cannot become a spiritual warrior
until you develop a deep phileo love for your brothers and sisters in
the faith, a love that is not born out of social or cultural commonality,
but rather out of the awareness that the same Spirit of God that is inside
of you is also inside your brother and sister in the faith. It is this
spiritual "affiliation" or "affinity" which should drive
your love towards your brothers and which will lead you to wage spiritual
warfare in order to see the manifestation of the potential of God in them.
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This
word refers to love, mostly on a spiritual level. The noun
form of this word, agape, is the word used in Greek in the famous
"love chapter", 1 Corinthians chapter 13. This type of love
implies a willingness to sacrifice oneself for the sake of another person.
The verb agapao appears a whopping 146 times in the New Testament.
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As
we mentioned in a previous article, the Bible shows that our soul is comprised of
three parts:
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This is the center of our
thoughts and logic. Judgments are made through the moral laws and principles
that are stored in our mind. It is through the mind that the soul perceives
its surroundings.
The
mind is the soul's eye or "gate" to the external
world.
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This is the most predominant
part of the soul. The heart many times "hears" through the emotions
to discern what the mind cannot "see". The heart and the emotions,
however, are not exactly the same, contrary to popular belief.
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According to Ephesians 6:6, the
heart is where our will resides. This is the part of the soul that
makes decisions. Since Romans 10:10 declares that man believes with the
heart, we can conclude that faith abides in the heart. Since Romans
10:17 declares that faith comes by hearing, we can conclude
that the heart hears. Since John 6:63 declares that the Lord's
words are Spirit, we can conclude that it is through the heart
that we can hear the words of God and be connected to the Spirit.
The
heart is the soul's ear or "gate" to the spirit
realm.
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1
Thessalonians 5:23 declares that our whole being is comprised of spirit, soul,
and body. Combining all of the above, we could make the following abstract
representation of man:
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The
heart is the "spiritual" part of the soul
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The
emotions are the "soulish" part of the soul
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The
mind is the "physical" part of the soul
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Returning
to the three types of love, we can say that
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Erao
love is mind-based, based on the physical impressions perceived through the
mind.
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Phileo
love is emotion-based, based on the emotional connection we make with
people.
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Agapao
love is heart-based, based on the decision of our will to love a person. Agape
love is based on what we hear about another person in the Spirit, without a
need to see it with our minds or feel it with our emotions. When Jesus saw
us, He saw a race of people in sin, separated from the Father, but His heart
heard what the Spirit said about us. The Spirit declared that we were people
with a God-potential in us that could be restored if only there was someone
willing to sacrifice himself for us, and Jesus answered the call and loved
us.
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In
John 21, the resurrected Lord appears to the disciples by the sea of Tiberias.
After eating with them, He asks Peter three questions:
"15So
when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16He saith to him again the
second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord;
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17He
saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was
grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said
unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus
saith unto him, Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17)
Since
the Lord refers to taking care of sheep and lambs in this passage, we can
conclude that it applies most directly to the shepherd ministry, i.e.-
the pastoral ministry (the word for "pastor" in Greek literally means
"shepherd"). Since pastors are placed in the Church to impart the
"pastoral" anointing on the rest of the Church, this passage not only
applies to "full-time" pastors but to all of us as believers.
The
first question that Jesus asked Peter (v15) was
Do
you love Me more than these?
This
question could be taken in either of two ways. It could be interpreted as,
"Do you love Me more than these love Me?" or as, "Do
you love Me more than you love these?". Even though my technical
knowledge of Greek is limited, I came to the conclusion that the original Greek
text in John 21:15 should be taken to mean, "Do you love Me more than
you love these?". Since the
word translated as "love" here is from the Greek verb agapao
discussed above, the question can be paraphrased as
Are
you willing to sacrifice yourself more for Me than for these?
Feed
My lambs
The
Greek verb translated as "feed" here is bosko, which refers to
the specific act of providing food, so the Lord's reply could be paraphrased as
Give
food to My lambs
The
second question that Jesus asked Peter (v16) was
Do
you love Me?
Once
again, the word translated as "love" here is from the Greek verb
agapao, so the question can be paraphrased as
Are
you willing to sacrifice yourself for Me?
Feed
My sheep
The
Greek verb translated as "feed" here is poimaino, which
literally means, "to pastor". Even though poimaino does have
the connotation of feeding, it also includes the notion of overseeing, the way a
shepherd oversees the sheep to make sure that none go astray and that all are
going in the right direction. The Greek verb bosko which appears in verse
15 refers more directly to the act of providing food. The Lord's reply could
then be paraphrased as
Guide
and give food to My sheep
The
third question that Jesus asked Peter (v17) was
Do
you love Me?
Even
though, in English, this third question looks just like the second one, it is
different in the original Greek text. The word translated as "love"
here is from the Greek verb phileo discussed above, so the question could
be paraphrased as
Do
you feel fraternal affection for Me?
Feed
My sheep
Even
though, in English, the Lord's reply here looks just like His reply for the
previous question, it is different in the original Greek text. In verse 16, the Lord
uses the verb poimaino described above, while, in verse 17, He uses the
verb bosko. The Lord's reply could then be paraphrased as
Give
food to My sheep
Each
of the
Lord's replies refer to a "pastoral level":
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"Level-3" pastors are those who give food to His lambs
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"Level-2" pastors are those who guide and give food to His sheep but who do not give food to
His lambs
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"Level-1" pastors are those who give food to His sheep and nothing more
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Unfortunately,
most pastors in the Church today are "Level-1" pastors, but God has
prophesied in His Word that He will bring judgment on the pastoral ministry and
release a true pastoral anointing on the Church that will allow for the
manifestation of a mighty prophetic remnant that will shake the foundations of
the world.
To
understand each pastoral level, we will look into the spiritual meaning behind
each question and reply given by the Lord.
The
key to understanding this question that appears in John 21:15 lies in the last word, "these",
which is translated from the Greek word touton. This seemingly
insignificant Greek word appears 69 times in the New Testament, and more than 10% of the time (7 times,
to be exact), it is used by the Lord Jesus to refer to "little"
believers, as can be seen in the following 2 examples:
"And
whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water
only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose
his reward." (Matthew 10:42)
"And
the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me." (Matthew 25:40)
When
reading through these verses and the 5 other verses where touton is used
to refer to "little" believers (Matthew 18:6, Matthew 18:10, Matthew
18:14, Matthew 25:45, and Luke 17:2), we can infer that Jesus uses the word
"these" to test how much Simon Peter valued his fellow disciples. This
is why He asked Simon if his love for Him was above his love for his brothers.
Five verses before the passage of Matthew 10:42 quoted above, the Lord says,
"He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37)
The
Greek verb translated as "loveth" here is phileo,
meaning, therefore, that our emotional affection for God should be greater than
our affection for any soul on Earth, including family members and our closest
friends. God has called us to love Him above all else, and, when we allow our
emotional ties to get in the way of our love for God, we become incapable of
really loving the people around us, because the only way that true and
life-transforming love can flow out of us is when we love others in Him,
not over Him:
"And
we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made
perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so
are we in this world." (1 John 4:16-17)
Therefore,
we must never phileo any other human being more than we phileo
God. This, however, does not apply to agapao love. When the Lord asked
Simon if he "agapao-ed" Jesus more than he "agapao-ed"
his fellow disciples, Simon should have said "No". Why? Because anyone
who really "agapao-s" Jesus will discern the presence of Jesus
in his or her brother or sister in the faith. If you don't see the God-potential
in your brothers and sisters in the faith, you have not loved God enough to know
Him, because, if you knew Him, you would recognize the His presence in your
brethren:
"Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born
of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. By
this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his
commandments." (1 John 4:7-8)
When
the Bible says "brethren" or "children of God", it is not a
mere reference to the fellow members of your congregation. It is deeper than
that. When a fellow born-again believer is behaving in the flesh, he or she is
not acting as a "son of God":
"Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot
sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9)
When
a believer sins, it is not a "son of God" sinning, because the part
inside of you that the Bible calls "son of God" is the just and
perfect spirit that was planted into you when you received Jesus into your
heart:
"And
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)
"And
have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him
that created him" (Colossians 3:10)
When
you are acting in righteousness, it is because you are walking in the "new
man" that God placed in you. That new man is what the Bible calls the
"son of God". All believers who have accepted Jesus into their hearts
have that new man inside of them, and that new man is what the Bible calls your
"brother". When a believer is acting unrighteous, he or she is
hiding the "new man" inside of him or her, and it is his or her
rebellious soul which is being manifested. As a righteous believer, you
are called to hate the manifestation of iniquity in your brother, but, since
love is proactive, you are also called to fight for the manifestation of the
"son of God" inside your sinful brother, breaking through all the
barriers of iniquity that are preventing that fellow son of God to shine forth.
To break through the barriers, you may have to pronounce spiritual judgment over
his life, either through open rebuke or through prayer that will bring judgment
on his life in order for him to be restored:
"Moreover
if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between
thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."
(Matthew 18:15)
[The brother you "gained" is the manifestation of the "son of God" that was inside your brother]
"Brethren,
if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he
which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from
death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20)
"Confess
your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)
Most
preachers interpret this last verse as if it is speaking about literal
healing, and, even though, at times, it does have a literal application,
the deeper meaning of this verse, taken in the context of the other verses, is
speaking about the spiritual healing of a person with the disease of sin
in his or her heart. The "fervent prayer of the righteous man"
mentioned in this verse refers to prayer for judgment and restoration. In
the next verse, verse 17, James speaks about Elijah praying for it not to
rain over Israel for 3 and a half years. This was not a prayer for
"blessing" and "prosperity". It was a prayer of judgment
against a rebellious and stubborn people so that they would be restored from
their worship of Baal.
The
agape love that you and I are to practice for others must be proactive:
"Hereby
perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought
to lay down
our lives for the brethren." (1 John 3:16)
"For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
This
is why we can project agape love even over those who are not yet our
brothers in the faith. God's agape love is willing to sacrifice self in
order to see the manifestation of the God-potential of others. An unbeliever is
under a cloud of eternal condemnation (John 3:18), but, he or she has the
potential of manifesting God if he or she is only willing to believe, and we are
called to act in the Spirit to break through the barriers of sin and iniquity in
that unbeliever's heart in order to see his or her reconciliation with God. This
"acting in the Spirit" may at times imply praying for judgment that
will break the hardness in the person's heart. Remember the prodigal son (Luke
15:11-32). After he left, his father did not speak to him until he repented. His
father allowed his son to go through a judgment process, and it was until that
young man was in a state of total poverty, desiring to eat the swine's food that
he realized what a fool he had been. Judgments make manifest what has been
hidden all along. When the prodigal son desired to eat the swine's food, he
realized that, in a spiritual sense, he had been doing that all of his life.
If his father had decided to send his "poor" son some money to
alleviate his financial crisis, he would have been hindering God's judgment over
his son's life, thereby hindering his repentance and subsequent salvation:
"For
though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for
I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a
season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to
repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive
damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to
be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." (2 Corinthians
7:8-10)
Since
agape love operates based on God-potential, it is impossible to
give that kind of love when that God-potential is lost:
"If
any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he
shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death:
I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is
a sin not unto death." (1 John 5:16-17)
A
"sin unto death" refers to a state of the heart that leads to the
death of your spiritual calling in God. A clear example of this is Saul, who was
cast off by God after he constantly refused to live in God's purposes:
"And
Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the
word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his
mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of
Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is
better than thou." (1 Samuel 15:26-28)
I
know believers who, like Saul, have already been cast off by God. They
continue in their "Christian ministry", as pastors and church leaders,
and, to the natural eye, they seem to be well respected brothers and sisters in
the "Christian community", but God has already cast off the prophetic
calling for their life. Saul continued as the visible "king of Israel"
for many years after he was rejected by God, but the true king of
Israel since that day was David, even though he did not "officially"
hold the office of king until many years later. When a person reaches a point of
no return and loses his God-potential, any sacrifice made in favor of that
person is pointless. It is better to pour out that sacrifice for those who still
have that God-potential:
"And
the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have
rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will
send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his
sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the
LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the
LORD." (1 Samuel 16:1-2)
God
is a very patient and loving God. He is willing to wait a long, long, long time
to see the restoration of a person, but, if that person persists in his
iniquity, he will eventually cross a certain point
of no return, and once that happens, the fulfilling of the prophetic calling of
that person is lost, and the person can no longer be "agapao-ed".
I am convinced through other passages of Scripture that Saul did not go
to hell, so Saul did not lose his "salvation from hell" when he was cast off, but
he did lose the potential to be all that God wanted him to be. He lost the
opportunity to fulfill that purpose for which he was placed on Earth, and he
lost the opportunity to be One with God for eternity. Saul will not abide in the
New Jerusalem that Revelation 22 speaks about, and neither will any believer
that loves the things of this world more than God. These believers will not be
in hell, but, is escaping hell all that matters? If that is the only thing that
matters to you, I can assure you that you will be right alongside of Saul
outside of the New Jerusalem. I hope and pray, my brother and sister, that you
will realize that there is more to being a Christian than escaping hell and
attending church until you are taken in the "rapture". God has placed
before you the possibility of fulfilling a mighty prophetic calling for your
life on Earth and the possibility of being One with Him for
Eternity. Are you willing to cast that aside, or are you willing to pour out
your life as a living sacrifice to see that prophetic purpose fulfilled in your
life? If you are, the love of God will by its nature propel you to pour out your
soul, not only to see His purpose fulfilled in your own life, but to also see it
fulfilled in
the lives of all those around you. When Jesus asked Simon if he agapao-ed
Jesus more than he agapao-ed his brothers, he should have replied:
"Lord,
I do not agapao them as individuals separate from You. I agapao
them because I see You in them. The only reason I have to agapao them is
that I see in them the potential to be all that You are, Lord, so I cannot agapao
You more than I agapao them, because, if I really agapao
You, I will automatically agapao You in them. If at any moment I see that
God-potential depart from them, I would not be able to agapao them
anymore, because I would no longer see You in them."
This
is the answer the Lord was waiting for, but Simon did not say it, so Simon
Peter underwent a process in his life until he eventually understood the right
answer. This is why he wrote this many years later:
"Grace
and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our
Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:2-4)
"Level-3" pastors, as we called them before, are those who see the believers under
their care as potential "partakers of the divine nature of God".
This may sound as blasphemy to many traditionalist believers, but it is in
Scripture (not only in 2 Peter 1 but in many other passages), and the Scripture cannot
be denied. Pastor, if you see the members of the congregation as mere
"sinners saved by grace" who are so spiritually insignificant that
they can only contribute to the work of God by tithing and doing some minor church
activity, you are not a Level-3 pastor. Do you see each one of them
as a potential Jesus on Earth? Is each one so important that you would be
willing to lay down your life (i.e.- your soul and all its interests) for them in order to see the
God-potential in them manifested on Earth? If the answer is yes, you are
a Level-3 pastor.
"I
am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he
that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth
the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them,
and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and
careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am
known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay
down my life for the sheep." (John 10:11-15)
Jesus'
reply after His first question, as we paraphrased it above,
was, "Give food to My lambs". The word "lambs" in John 21:15
is translated from the Greek word arnion, which is a diminutive of the
Greek word aren meaning "lamb". In other words, arnion
could very well be translated as "little lamb". Interestingly enough,
this word appears 30 times in the New Testament, and it only appears in two
books: once in the gospel of John (John 21:15), and 29 times in the book of
Revelation (also written by John), referring to Jesus as "the Lamb of
God". Here are three examples:
"And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down
before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours,
which are the prayers of saints." (Revelation 5:8)
"And
said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of
his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:16-17)
"These
shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord
of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen,
and faithful." (Revelation 17:14)
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Outside
of John 21:15, the Holy Spirit reserved this Greek word to be used
exclusively for the Lord Jesus in His Glory. This means that, when the Lord
told Simon to "feed His lambs", He was telling Simon to see each
of his brothers in the faith as having the same potential to manifest the
Glory of the Father as Jesus Himself.
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This
Greek word does not refer to a "giant lamb" but is rather a diminutive
of the Greek word for lamb, so it has a connotation of something that seems
small or "insignificant" to the natural eye. To Simon Peter, his
brothers seemed insignificant, but God uses what carnal man considers
insignificant to manifest His Glory:
"Unto
you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the
head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were
appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" (1 Peter
2:7-9)
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This
Greek word appears 30 times in the New Testament, and 30 is symbolic
of the age of a fully mature man ministry-wise (Numbers 4:3, 1 Chronicles
23:3, Genesis 41:46). The Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry at that age
(Luke 3:23). This means that Jesus wanted Simon Peter to see his brothers as
priests who have the potential to achieve full maturity. This is why, many
years later, it is Peter who writes in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are "a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood".
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In
Scripture, only lambs (arnions) are described as having horns
(Revelation 5:6, Revelation 13:11); sheep are never associated with horns.
In Scripture, a "horn" is a figure of spiritual authority and
exaltation (1 Samuel 2:10, Psalm 89:24, Psalm 92:10):
"He
also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of
the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD."
(Psalm 148:14)
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This
means that Simon Peter was to see his brothers as spirits with authority,
not as weak and needy souls who will forever remain dependent on the love
and maternal care of "their pastors". We discussed this briefly in a previous
article.
From
all of this, we can conclude that a believer who gives food to the Lord's lambs
is a person who recognizes the arnion inside every brother and is willing
to sacrifice him or herself in agape love to see that arnion grow
until the brother manifests the measure of the stature of the fullness of the
Anointed One (Ephesians 4:13). Level-3 pastors are "lamb feeders". All
of us are called to be lamb feeders.
As
we can see, this second question also asks about agapao love, but is less
specific than the first question. This means that those whose hearts can answer
the first question properly have entered into perfect agape love. And
perfect love gives of itself to perfect those around them with the potential of
perfection:
"But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted
by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself
in love." (Ephesians 4:15-16)
"But
ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and
church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of
all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect" (Hebrews 12:22-23)
Perfect
agape love, therefore, believes that fellow brothers and sisters can be
just like Christ. Level-2 pastoring also believes in sacrificial agape
love, but it does not have enough faith to believe that fellow brothers
can be like Christ.
Jesus'
reply after His second question, as we paraphrased above,
is "Give food and guide My sheep". As we also mentioned above, the
Greek word used by the Lord in John 21:16 is poimaino. To understand what
the Lord meant when He used this word, let us look at other passages where this
same verb is used:
"2Feed
the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3Neither
as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4And
when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:2-4)
The
word translated as "feed" in verse 2 is poimaino again. From this
passage we can infer the following:
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The
verb poimaino is related with the task of "overseeing",
which means that it involves making sure that the sheep are moving in the
right direction towards God's calling for their lives.
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The
word translated as "ready mind" in verse 2 is prothumos,
which comes from the word "pros" and the word "thumos",
which means "passion". In the New Testament, the word "pros",
which literally means "towards", is generally related with the
concept of prophetic projection (the word prophet has
"pros" as a prefix). As we briefly mentioned in a previous article,
the prophetic ministry is probably the most "emotional" of all the
ministries. This means that a pastor who "poimaino-s" is a pastor who
portrays a prophetic anointing in his or her life and who gives him or
herself emotionally for the sake of the Lord's sheep.
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Verse
3 shows the danger that poimaino-ing can produce in a pastor if he or
she is not careful. If a person receives authority to oversee others, he is
prone in the flesh to become domineering and to think that the people he is
overseeing belong to him. This is why verse 3 warns pastors against lording
themselves over God's heritage. When God places any human being in a position
of leadership, verse 3 shows that the purpose of that leadership is not to
own the people being led but to be an example so that those following him or
her may imitate his or her good qualities. This is also emphasized in other
passages:
"Not
because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to
follow us." (2 Thessalonians 3:9)
"Be
ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)
[The
word "followers" comes from the Greek word mimetes, which
literally means "imitator"; this is the word from which we get the
English verb "to mimic"]
"That
ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:12)
[Again,
the word "followers" here comes from the Greek word mimetes,
so it should be translated as "imitator"]
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Poimaino-ing involves
overseeing the sheep, teaching them to be prophetically led by the Holy Spirit.
This is similar to parents who begin to give certain freedoms to their teenage
son. While they continue to "oversee" or "supervise" him,
they slowly increase his independence, giving him advice so that he can learn to
lead his life independently of his parents. The teenage son continues to be
"fed" by his parents, as has been the case since he was a baby, but,
now, he is being taught to be guided by someone over him. Level-2 pastors
can see fellow believers as young teenagers with increasing freedoms. Level-3
pastors can see them as potential adults who can be completely independent of them.
From
the passages we saw above, we
can also say that those who poimaino must set themselves as examples
for God's sheep, which implies that a "poimaino-ing" pastor
must at least have enough faith to believe that the sheep can imitate him
or her, even if he or she is not willing to believe that the sheep can imitate
Christ. This, in essence, is the difference between a Level-3 pastor and a
Level-2 pastor.
In
the last question (John 21:17), the Lord changes the verb from agapao to phileo,
meaning that Level-1 pastors do not practice sacrificial agape
love. Their love is more of an emotional affection towards Jesus. If a pastor's love for
Jesus stays at the philos level and never moves up to the agape
level, he or she will eventually betray Jesus in a spiritual way:
"48Now
he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that
same is he: hold him fast. 49And forthwith he came to Jesus, and
said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50And Jesus said unto him,
Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and
took him." (Matthew 26:48-50)
The
word translated as "kiss" in verse 48 is from the Greek word phileo
that we have discussed in this article, so, if the King James translators had
been consistent in their translation of phileo, the text would say,
"Whomsoever I shall love, that same is he". The word translated as "kissed" in verse 49 is philema, which, as we mentioned above,
is also derived from the word phileo. Judas loved Jesus at the phileo
level. He followed the Master for three and a half years, so it was not like he
disliked Jesus. Along with the other disciples, he cast out demons and healed
the sick, but his love for Jesus never went past the emotional friendship level
(notice that Jesus calls Judas a "friend" in verse 50). Judas was never
willing to take that friendship to the next level, i.e.- to sacrifice himself in
anyway for the sake of Jesus:
"Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
(John 15:13)
[The
word translated as "love" here is agape, and the word
translated as "friends" is the Greek word "philos",
which is related to the word phileo]
In
all three replies that Simon gave to Jesus' three questions, he never used the
word agapao. Every time he told Jesus that he loved Him in John
21:15-17, he used the word phileo. In other words, Simon was not yet
willing to give himself in sacrifice for God. He was willing to follow Jesus, to
enjoy His presence, to enjoy the fellowship of his co-disciples, to enjoy the
spiritual gifts Jesus gave him, but he was not yet willing to lay down his life
for Him. This is why he denied Jesus three times. But God was already working in
his life, and this is why Simon Peter eventually became a bold preacher of the
Gospel who died as a martyr for the sake of Christ.
This
is Jesus' reply to Simon after the last question. As we mentioned above,
the word used in the Greek here is bosko, which refers to the literal act
of "giving food". As we saw before, Jesus refers to "lambs"
in His first reply and to "sheep" in His last two replies, and the
word for "lamb" (arnion in Greek) has a
connotation of spiritual authority because lambs have horns and sheep don't.
This all implies that giving food to lambs refers to feeding the spiritual
authority of believers, whereas giving food to sheep is to act as a provider of
their temporary needs, at the soul level. This is the lowest level of
pastoring.
As
we said in the section above, Level-1 pastors end up betraying Jesus because
they trade in the Gospel of justice and judgment and the Gospel of sacrificial
love for a self-centered gospel where God is seen as the servant of the
believer's temporary needs and desires. This is why the Scriptures record the
following:
"Then
saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray
him, 5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and
given to the poor? 6This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but
because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein."
(John 12:4-6)
Judas'
suggestion sounded very humanitarian. It sounded like the "Christian"
thing to do, just as it sounds "Christian" when pastors preach a
gospel where congregation members don't have to suffer anymore, where the "fierce" God of judgment of
the Old Testament has been replaced by a gentle, Santa-Claus-like god that wants
nothing but "blessings" and "happiness" for his people, a
god who would never dare to call any of his little children to suffer for him. And just as it happened with Judas,
most pastors have a hidden agenda behind this kindness and mercy, and it is to please
people to win them over. They want to preach a gospel that is "people-friendly"
in order to be more popular, to have larger congregations, and to gain the
unconditional loyalty of the congregation members. They do talk about
"order" and "discipline", but only when it comes to church
activities and to obeying their commands, and they totally discourage any
questioning of their decisions. Any questioning is immediately labeled as
"rebellion" and some pastors even call it the "Jezebel"
spirit. Judas' rebuke of Mary is similar to when pastors condemn brothers and
sisters for following the leading of the Holy Spirit and doing things that go
outside the boundaries of the pre-established religious routine.
Notice
also how Judas Iscariot is called "Simon's son" in John 12:4-6. This
is done on purpose by the Holy Spirit to establish a link between this passage
and John 21:15-17, where the Lord refers to Peter exclusively as "Simon of
Jonah". If you are a Level-1 pastor (i.e.- a Simon), you are in danger of
unknowingly birthing in you a Judas (a son of Simon) that will betray Jesus,
because you will cheapen the Gospel and turn on Him when He starts speaking to
your heart about preaching of (and living out) a life of dying and sacrifice.
Remember, pastor, that it was precisely Jesus' comments about dying and giving
Himself for others that drove Judas to betray Him. Judas could not follow a man
who constantly spoke of pouring out His life for others. He would only serve a
man who could bring him political and religious benefits. When he saw Jesus
washing the feet of His disciples, he realized that the Gospel Jesus was
preaching was not about blessing himself or about being famous and revered, but
rather about pouring out your soul so that God's eternal purposes are
fulfilled in the lives of others. A happiness-oriented gospel, though
popular and appealing to the soul, does not allow God to mold His prophetic and
apostolic purposes in the lives of His saints. God does not want a Church full
of self-satisfying, spiritually stagnated people. He wants a Church made up of
believers who manifest the Anointing and the Glory of God on Earth. He wants a
Church whose spiritual presence will shake the foundations of the Earth and
release the greatest revival mankind has ever seen.
In
conclusion, we can say that
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Level-3
pastors see believers as future adults
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Level-2
pastors see them as teenagers with certain freedoms
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Level-1
pastors see them as children who are completely dependent of them.
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We,
as believers, are called to move in all three of these levels. When we see a
fellow believer who is weak in the faith in a certain spiritual area, we are to
see him as a sheep who needs temporary provision and protection while he begins
to grow in the faith. When we see a fellow believer who is beginning to mature,
we are to see him as a sheep who needs guidance. When we see a fellow believer
who is beginning to show signs of full maturity, we are to see him as a lamb who
needs his spiritual authority to be fed with prophetic and apostolic word so
that he can manifest the Glory of Jesus on Earth.
The
problem with Level-1 pastors is that they always see all the members of
the congregation as needy children who will never amount to much in the Spirit.
Level-2 pastors always see all the members either as children or as
teenagers who can do certain things in the Spirit but who can never be like
Christ. Level-3 pastors always see all members as potential
manifestations of Jesus on Earth, even when they see them in their childhood
stage. Inside every child is the potential to be a grown adult, and level-3
pastors lovingly sacrifice themselves in the Spirit until they see the
manifestation of that adult potential. Level-3 pastors want the members of the
congregation to grow to such an extent that they will no longer be spiritually
dependent on them. Level-3 pastors know that every believer, even a
believer who was born again yesterday, can have a direct relationship with God
by faith, without the need for human intermediaries:
"My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out
of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is
able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one."
(John 10:27-30)
"But
the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that
any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And
now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have
confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." (1 John 2:27-28)
"A
little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD
will hasten it in his time." (Isaiah 60:22)
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