Who Is A Man Of God? Part 1.

The Man Of God Or The Man Of Himself. 

A very thin line exists between a man of God and a man of himself.

Many today are called men of God but they are men of themselves or men of the people. They speak of themselves, represent their own interests and concerns, even in the things of God.

It's high time we defined who a man of God is. The general tendency we have is to refer to people as men of God, simply because they carry the bible and preach or because they set up a religious organisation, and have a building where they use a microphone to speak to a congregation.
There's also the tendency to think that those called into the word ministry like apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and pastors, are automatically constituted men of God. The appellation or designation 'man of God' was not carelessly used in scriptures, and should not be carelessly used by any bible believer. Scriptures scarcely referred to men as 'men of God', thus we should be careful how we attribute that to men.
The carelessness in using the appellation today, stems from the lack of the knowledge of it's meaning and import.

Who Is A Man Of God?

What Is The Making Of A Man Of God?

A man of God is one who, in the service of God and in the name of the Lord as representing God, does nothing of himself. There are many today who in the name of ministry/service of God, do whatever they like, in the name of the Lord, bringing dishonour and reproach to his name; such are not men of God.

The man of God does not speak of himself neither does he work of himself, but speaks and does exactly what God has said and shown him; his hearing is his voice, he speaks as he hears and not as he feels or wills, thus he fully represents and stands for what is of God; the interests of God, the will of God, the order of God, the zeal of God and the authority of God's word. Please see John 5:19, 30-31; 7:16; 8:28; 9:4; 12:49; 14:24.

Examples of Men Of God In Scriptures.

*We'll be considering Men of God in relation to God's house, in dealing with God's people who are his house.

(1.) The perfect example of a man of God is that which we see exemplified in Jesus, when he walked as a man on these shores, being sent of God to the lost sheep/house of Israel. In dealing with the stubborn house of Israel, he did and said absolutely nothing of himself, but what he heard and saw the Father do.

Hebrews 3:2 says he was faithful to him that appointed him, just like Moses was faithful in all his house.

(2.) Moses, the man of God. Faithful in all his(God's) house (Hebrews 3:2-5.)

The first place, the phrase 'man of God' was used in the bible, was in reference to Moses. "Moses the man of God" (Deuteronomy 33:1; Joshua 14:6).

Adam was the first man, made of God yet he was not the man of God, he failed to represent God and the authority of his word in the garden. Right from the very first test of allegiance, he was revealed as standing for his own interest; his affection for his wife, thus he hearkened to the voice of his wife. 

Moses the man of God, was faithful in all of God's house, as fully representing God and the authority of his word. He built wholly according to the pattern/order of God, shown to him on the mount(Hebrews 8:5). He always sought to know the mind of the Lord in every matter, and did not judge or work according to his own mind or ideas(Leviticus 24:11-16; Numbers 16:28).

He did/said nothing of himself, except in his reaction at the waters of Meribah, where he spoke unadvisedly, as prompted by his anger, calling the people of God 'rebels'.  

This is the only case in which he failed to sanctify the Lord/represent him well, before his people, thus he rebelled against the word of the Lord, by acting out of his own feeling and not according to what he was commanded to do. 

This one case of misrepresentation from the man of God - who should fully represent God in everything - cost Moses entrance into the promised land. To God, his ministry and that of Aaron ended that day, though physically they were still leading Israel, and even the miracle of healing was recorded in the ministry afterwards.  (Please see Numbers 20:24; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:48-52; Numbers 21:8-9).

Very sad and solemn words we see in the scripture texts above, concerning the end of the ministry of Moses.

How many ministries today have ended spiritually, while still flourishing physically and booming with activities and even miracles, whilst the ministers remain in office as leading God's people?  

(3.) David, the man of God "the zeal of thine house has eaten me up" (Psalm 69:9).

After Moses, we see the appellation "man of God" used in reference to an angel of the Lord in Judges 13:3-21, to the prophet who came to warn Eli the highpriest in 1 samuel 2:27, to Samuel the prophet/judge of Israel in 1 Samuel 9:6-19, to Shemaiah the prophet in 1 Kings 12:22, and the man of God who came from Judah to Bethel in 1 Kings 13:1-31.

However, our next consideration is David the man of God (Nehemiah 12:24). 

In psalm 69:9, David the psalmist said "the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me."

Note: It is not David's zeal for the house of the Lord that consumed David, but the Lord's zeal for his house. Not the zeal of David in the things of God but the zeal of God in expression in David, in the things of God. Uzzah, who was David's contemporary, is an example of a man driven by his own zeal in the things of God; a zeal expressed not in the knowledge of the word of God and the order of God but the sheer zeal of a man in expression, in the things of God, thus impinging upon the divine order and violating God's word.

He was spontaneous, a man of his own zeal, driven by his own initiative, impulse and energy in the things of God; that's surely not a man of God. His end was such a very sad one, as he was slain instantly for putting forth his hand to hold the ark of God, to keep it from falling(2 Samuel 6:1-8).

What was the reaction of David the man of God to his death?

Though displeased with Uzzah's death, David threaded with utmost caution in the fear of the Lord. He was King over Israel, yet he was not a man of himself, never acted out of his own impulse and feeling except in the matter of Uriah's wife, which brought a sword of division into his house.

1 Kings 15:5 says that David did not turn aside from anything the Lord commanded him, all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah. In the matter of Uriah, he violated God's law against adultery and murder, and that cost him so much as the word of the Lord to him by prophet Nathan, was that the sword shall never depart from his house(2 Samuel 12:9-12).