Charity…
Martin… I want to focus for a minute on the reason for this thread. You believe based on your interpretation that the verse in question says not to call any man father, teacher, rabbi, etc. While I do not want to take it to the level of saying what do you call your dad, or what is your church elder called… I do want to take a differant approach.
You believe that Christ will guide the believe to the correct understanding of scripture, and while I respectfully disagree with that understanding, we still have a huge problem of interpretation. Let’s not look at the Catholic perspective for a moment. Even in protestantism, there is no agreement on this verse. Some, like yourself, believe it is to be take in an extremely literal way. Others, believe that it is talking about giving yourself title so that you may boast, and thus, putting yourself above God. As I mentioned before, even the NIV Study bible i have does not agree with you.
So, the question comes back, If, as you believe, God will guide a true believer to truth in scripture, then why are there so many people, even in Protestantism, that disagree with you. If your response is simply “they are not indwelled”, are you saying that every single person that does not hold to this view is not indwelled? Are you saying that the entire Episcopal, Lutheran Faith are not valid as well because they also use the term Father? What about the Protestants that write the Commentary for one of the most popular Protestant Bibles? Are they not indwelled?
I do understand your argument, But there still is the problem of how do you know where your understanding came from?
- Past experiences?
- Devil?
- God?
The bible goes into great detail about nothing but truth can come from Christ, as you have astutely pointed out. If that understanding does come from Christ, then yes, you cannot error. But there is also more than one source for an interpretation as I have mention. Your understanding could come from human experiences, and not God. Or it could come from the demons themselves trying to deceive you away from Christ. Without help, You cannot know based on your own emotions either since the bible says emotions can lead to deceit.
Furthermore, the bible is also very clear to point out that Jesus’s teachings, and those that write about his teachings are frequently hard to understand. This is one of the reasons for teachers.
How do you know your interpretation is Valid? How do you know your understanding of Truth is Valid? How do you know your understanding is from God?
May you be blessed in your Journey
IN Christ
