What about status in the church? It goes without saying that no shepherd of the flock would ever insist on being called by a high title: bishop,
apostle,
prophet
—never! No church leader would ever require unquestioning obedience from his flock, or feed his ego with the trappings of status and privilege. Or would he?
Paul’s behaviour among the Thessalonians is a challenge to us whenever we are tempted to clamour for honour and status in this way. Though he was an apostle of Christ, a delegate of the Son of God, appointed not by man nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father (Galatians 1:1), he chose not to throw his weight around while he preached the gospel in Thessalonica. He did not feed his ego on the acclaim of his audiences, nor did he demand honour and respect.
And in this regard, Paul was a true representative of his Lord and Saviour, who exchanged the sapphire-paved courts of heaven for the dirt and dust of Palestine.
6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.