1 Corinthians 1:1b and Sosthenes our brother

2 Corinthians 1:1b and Timothy our brother

Galatians 2:2b with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

Ephesians 6:21b Tychicus, a beloved brother

Philippians 4:18b having received of Epaphroditus

Colossians 1:1b and Timotheus our brother

1 and 2 Thessalonians 1:1a Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus

Paul never failed to mention men who were with him in service to God. Some are better known to us, having some historical content to indicate their involvement in spreading the gospel in those early years. Others are less known to us but not unknown to the people of the times. Paul’s use of these names gave credence to their reputation for a time and a place. Beyond that we know little.

Not long ago I asked an open ended question. Have you let yourself be known to others? This issue of this being an open ended question lays in how you feel about yourself. Some of us have a past filled with shame. Others might swell with pride. Perhaps you are humble and care not to talk about yourselves.

Here is Paul’s point in calling out these men. You cannot be of use to God without being known. Jonah hid in the bottom of a boat. Elijah hid from Ahab. Both were called out to do the will of God. Sometimes I feel like a Jonah. Sometimes I wish I could be an Elijah. My story is my own but it is not unlike that of many others who seek God for a changed life.

2 Thessalonians 1:10-11 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

“He whose teaching originates with himself seeks his own glory.”

This is the AMPC translation, in part, of John 7:18. The classic amplified bible version often expands the normal translations to include thought patterns not included in general translations. That doesn’t mean they are wrong, more perfect, nor relevant or irrelevant. They are just that, thoughts about how the scriptures can touch the mind of another individual.

The reason I am even bringing up this issue is because I thought about myself and who I am. When I came to Christ there was a general agreement among everyone that knew me at that time. “He isn’t being himself.”

Praise God, I was in fact a new creation and I had lost my “self”. At the time I never considered the possibility of losing my “self”. I was on a journey of discovery to know who God was and everything that He was saying and doing in my life. It did not occur to me to identify the Trinity, the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He was I AM.

It wasn’t until I joined a gathering of other believers that I discovered tenets, disciplines, definitions and administrations of faith. Up until then I was happy to be lost in my relationship with my God. It never occurred to me that I might not be doing it right. So many people had their insistent counsels about how important is was to believe the same way they believed.

How much of what I encountered during those years was exactly that opening translation? “He whose teaching originates with himself seeks his own glory.” Having lost my “self” how much did those teachings influence me into discovering my “self” in Christ? It became a contest of wills to discover my “talents”, “gifts” and “callings”. If I was going to serve God then I had to do it according to those teachings.

It has only been these past few years that I discovered I had it right to begin with all those decades ago. I was discovering who Christ was in me in the absence of self.