Credentials of a Man of God

When choosing the people who are to represent Him and best able accomplish His purposes, God chooses and appoints unique people. Obviously, every human being is unique but God, with wisdom born out of His sovereign omniscience, is the greatest human resource director in existence. Unlike man, He is able to see the heart of man on the one hand and to relate that to the unique qualifications needed for the task ahead on the other, thus choosing precisely the right person for the right job.

Paul was the man of choice for a calling that would challenge the heart of the greatest. Above the natural credentials of race and heritage--which Paul rejected (Philippians 3:4-8)--there were characteristics of mind and attitude inherent in him that, when regenerated, were extremely valuable to the Kingdom.

When God selects people for His purposes, He doesn’t discard the natural credentials they have but rather inhabits them, endues them with His life and power, making them to be unique instruments of His grace. God doesn’t create a race of mindless and assembly-line robots to do His will but delights in developing the inner qualities of a man, couples that with His giftings and grace and bringing forth the giants of the Kingdom.

The first tangible qualification for one to be used of God after being born again is submission to the Lordship of Christ. When Jesus spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus, the first words out of his mouth acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus. “And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5 KJV).

To submit to the Lordship of Christ means to place one’s self entirely, unconditionally and finally at the disposal of Jesus. That means that we must give Him all that we are, all that we have and all that we can do--giving Him to do as He chooses with what we have given Him, now or later. Most people fail at this point at some time in their life, being reluctant to go on with God, feeling that He has betrayed them or not been faithful to them. A hard lesson to learn is that when one gives himself to Jesus he also gives up the right to tell Jesus what to do with what he has given Him—not only now but at any point in the future. For that reason, we are told to count the cost before giving ourselves to Him.

Secondly, Paul was inalterably single-minded. In all of the years I have served God, I have kept in mind this little defining statement of Paul: “but this one thing I do” (Philippians 3:13b). Paul was as single-minded in his service to Christ as he previously had been in his defiance. Double-mindedness is a killer of faith and devotion. James explained it thusly: “For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7b-8 KJV). When one serves Jesus he can’t look back to the world, down at circumstances or around to see what God has done for or with someone else. He must be completely and single-mindedly focused on obedience regardless of whether he abounds or is abased in that service. He must be prepared to be, to do, and to have everything or nothing. His role is to be totally available to his Lord on the terms that his Lord gives. John Milton, in On His Blindness, said it this way: “He also serves, who sits and waits.”

Thirdly, Paul maintained the right perspective. He understood the value of “forward looking.” He was not caught in the trap of glorying in past accomplishments nor being chained to the memory of past trials, either of which can immobilize a person rendering him impotent in Kingdom service. Many are snared by the tyranny of memory, consumed with issues, relationships, successes, and failures of the past. Paul understood and avoided that by “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Philippians 3:13b). One can either be dominated by memories or by visions. When dominated by memories, he lives essentially in the past, thus being controlled by it. When one is vision driven, he lives in the present in light of his vision for the future and will be constantly “reaching forth toward it.”

The fourth observable characteristic in Paul was his persistence. He characterized this by saying: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 KJV). The word “press,” in the original has the idea of “pursuing.” It is descriptive of a footrace, meaning “to speed on earnestly.” Paul consistently and constantly “pressed forward,” refusing to be distracted, sidetracked, or intimidated regardless of the circumstance in which he found himself. He pressed forward doing the high calling of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many are distracted from faithful service, feeling a need for the authorization or admiration of men. In its simplest terms, our calling is to share Christ with as many people as possible in whatever settings we find ourselves. We should not be dependent on physical or social setting to do so, rather being “instant in season, out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Fifth, Paul was a “pace-setter.” He admonished the Philippians: “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample” (Philippians 3:17 KJV). The NIV renders it: “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” (Philippians 3:17 NIV). Paul was a “trail-blazer” who discovered and marked the trail for others to follow. His statement was not one of arrogance but of confidence. When we are instantly and constantly obedient, we blaze a trail and set a pace for others to follow. A poem puts it this way: “No man is an island, entire to himself.” Our calling is to follow Jesus and to encourage and help others to do the same.

Paul summed it up thusly: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2 KJV).

When we choose everyday to live obediently and faithfully, there will come a time that we can look back with joy as we hear our Savior say: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21 KJV).

Jeff