Q: Yesterday I was in field service with an elder who I respect very much, I asked him if he believed Jesus was his mediator. When he replied yes I asked if he was anointed, as this is what the society teaches, poor fella got himself into such a flap trying to explain the unexplainable. As I pushed the subject subtly he basically admitted we need to trust the GB on this matter. Amazing the GB takes priority over God's word! He felt that since the GB has revealed truth from the Bible we should trust THEM completely. 
 

________________________

A:  The congregations in the First Century had a similar problem as you mention, which was a divisive factor among the brothers as each one felt he was indebted to the person from whom he had learned the good news about "our Lord Jesus Christ." This seemed to be especially true of the congregation in Corinth, to whom Paul wrote: "Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought. For the disclosure was made to me about you, my brothers, by those of the house of Chloe, that dissensions exist among you. What I mean is this, that each one of you says: “I belong to Paul,” “But I to Apollos,” “But I to Cephas,” “But I to Christ.” The Christ exists divided." (1 Cor. 1:10-13) Most Witnesses today are similarly saying, "I belong to the Society from whom I learned the truth." Thus they feel a need to continue to trust in whatever they are being  taught; even believing that Jehovah requires this loyalty of them.

Do we owe loyalty to the ones from whom we have learned the good news about Jesus and Jehovah? Are we compelled to follow them, even when some things they teach are out of harmony with the holy Scriptures? There is something fundamentally wrong with this expectation, which the apostle Paul found necessary to address. To the brothers in Corinth he wrote: "So, brothers, I was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough. In fact, neither are you strong enough now, for you are still fleshly. Since there are jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and are you not walking as men do? For when one says, 'I belong to Paul,' but another says, 'I to Apollos,' are you not acting like mere men? What, then, is Apollos? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord granted each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow, so that neither is the one who plants anything nor is the one who waters, but God who makes it grow. Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one, but each person will receive his own reward according to his own work. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field under cultivation, God’s building." (1Corinthians 3:1-9)

This scripture has sound reasoning on why we are not indebted to men or a group of men. (Jer. 23:1-2; Ezek. 34:2-12, 31), Paul was disturbed by the fact that the Corinthians had reverted back to a child-like spiritual state, instead of having grown into spiritual mature adults, and no longer having to rely on his every word. In a similar way, parents want to raise their children to become mature adults, and not having to rely on their parents to make every decision for them. Surely a parent would question whether they had been successful as a parent in raising their child, if such a situation were to continue into his adulthood. If the parent insisted on remaining in control of his adult child's every decision, then one would need to question the mental state of the parent as well!

Yes, Paul was greatly disappointed by members of the congregation who were becoming followers of men, even of himself. He found the reasoning repugnant, "I belong to Paul," "I belong to Apollos"; and like many today say, "I belong to the Governing Body," etc. Paul argued this point: "What, then, is Apollos? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord granted each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow, so that neither is the one who plants anything nor is the one who waters, but God who makes it grow". These faithful men are just ministers, fellow workers like the rest of us, no difference, for it is GOD who makes his temple, his household grow. (Eph. 2:19-22)

We are individually accountable before Jehovah for our own course of action. It is absolutely vital that we devote ourselves to the studying of God's word of "truth", which the holy spirit helps us to understand. (Deut. 18:18-22; Psalms 1:1-6; John 17:17) Elders within the organization, and our local congregations, are simply fellow workers, hopefully mature and loving guides and shepherds of God's inheritance, his sheep; ― but they are not our channel to God, as they may claim. (John 16:12-14; 1 Cor. 2:10, 14; 1 Peter 5:1-4) Anyone who considers himself to be above God's flock, the shepherding of which he has  been entrusted, and for which reason he demands loyalty and trust, becomes guilty of falling into the category of which the apostle Paul warned, namely, that "from among you yourselves men will rise up and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Act 20:30; compare Gal. 1:6-12)

It is blasphemous for anyone to present himself as a mediator between us and God, for "there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:5-6) Neither Paul nor Apollos considered themselves as Gods channel between man and God! We need to be on guard against projecting an elevated opinion of ourselves to fellow believers; for even angels in Gods service fear to do that, whereby we may become guilty of accepting glory and honor that belongs only to our heavenly Father. (Rev 22:8-9; 4:11) We should not be surprised that there are certain men dominating over God's people within his household, even with suppressive tyranny, for the Scriptures clearly foretold this. But that is a subject for another discussion. (See "The 'Man of Lawlessness' Within God's Temple")

**************