Isaiah 53:7 - The Lamb Slain

He was oppressed, and He was afflicted

yet He opened not His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so He opened not His mouth.

In this verse, the lamb-like qualities of the Savior are emphasized as His sufferings are further explained. The primary lamb-like quality to which our attention is drawn is silence. The explored aspect of His suffering is its essential injustice.   

The Nature of Christ's Suffering: Injustice

Our Lord was oppressed as men--His own creation--placed Him under their authority and exercised their false judgments against Him. He was afflicted and humbled as He willingly subjected Himself to this treatment. At the same time, He received from the Father all of the wrath and condemnation that should have been borne by sinners, and submitted Himself to the will of the Father. Man's judgment against Him--as He stood innocently before human rulers--was unrighteous, untrue, and hateful. God's judgment against Him as He stood in our place was righteous, accurate, and an act of infinite mercy.  

The comparison to a lamb that is led to slaughter brings our attention to the nature of His death: a sacrificial offering lovingly made on behalf of guilty sinners.

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Jesus' death and suffering was "for us" and it was "to God." And this is what Christian love always is: sacrificial (i.e. unselfish) action that is done FOR OTHERS (to benefit them) and TO GOD (to honor Him). The cross of Jesus radiates this love in full power, and our lives of faith--sharing in the sufferings of Christ as well as His resurrection power--can radiate it, too. We are commanded to WALK in this love. Steps of sacrifice, steps of mercy, steps of worship, steps of joy. "Offering and sacrifice" are the language of worship. 

Jesus' worship of the Father was further expressed in His response to the oppression and affliction He experienced. 

Christ's Response to His Sufferings: Silence

Jesus' use of words was perfect. His selection of verbiage was precise. He knew when to keep silent, when to utter a few efficient words, and when to unleash a torrent of speech. We usually hold these matters in reverse proportion, remaining sinfully silent when we should speak, and babbling incessantly when we should hold our tongues. Jesus' silence before his accusers and His quiet acceptance of suffering remind us that He went willingly to the place of sacrifice. 

The silence predicted by Isaiah was demonstrated by the Lord when He was questioned by the High Priest: 

Matthew 26:62-63a And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent.

Mark 14:60-61a And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer.

Silence in the face of false accusations, injustice, and suffering is a dauntingly difficult discipline to master (or to practice from time to time, or even to achieve once). Jesus' mastery of this discipline is evident. 

Nevertheless, He did not remain entirely silent and later answered in wisdom and truth, thereby ensuring a false condemnation. His silence had merely set the stage for the answer that would follow, building the sense of anticipation and drawing attention and emphasis to His final reply. In this way, He assured His own condemnation while securing our release from divine wrath. He accepted man's false judgments against Him and He embraced the Father's true judgments that were rendered for us. He willingly chose to be condemned and graciously chose to die in our place.

Matthew 26:63b-66 And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 

Even from the cross, His statements are few and deliberate. As He dies, Jesus' words are life-giving. How much more as He now lives and sits exalted in the heavens!

Dear friend, do you trust in Jesus' sacrifice on your behalf? Do you hang on His words? Do you confess a confident and sure trust in the One who suffered and remained silent, then spoke deliberately and accepted the sentence of death--only to rise again in victory?

There are many problems in the world today. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only answer to the greatest of them. And it is the only answer to your greatest problem, and mine: sin against a wise, holy, and loving God, and the condemnation it brings. With this problem resolved forever, you and I go free, and we are set free to walk in God's holy love.    

Taking the Mystery Out of the Incarnation? Not Recommended.

This is interesting . . .



With all due respect to Dr. Moreland, there are some problems here.

First, on the positive side, and in agreement with Dr. Moreland, we must affirm that Scripture's propositions are ultimately logically coherent. No problem there. However, Moreland's exaltation of human reason is unhelpful. To affirm that God is logical is not equal to affirming that we can discover the logic by which God knows the Truth to be coherent. This claim would be the height of arrogance.

Next, the Church Fathers were NOT so committed to logic that they worked for 400 years to give us a non-contradictory result. They were so committed to Scripture that they worked for 400 years to give us a paradoxical result! That is, a result which might appear contradictory to us, and surely defies the limitations of human logic, but is nonetheless true.

During the 400 years prior to Chalcedon, there were plenty of "logical" approaches offered:

Docetism - taught that Christ only appeared to be man
Ebionism - taught that Christ was a holy man who kept the law
Sabellianism - taught that Christ was the Father incarnate, but only temporarily
Paul of Samosata - taught that Christ was a mere man influenced by God
Arianism - taught that Christ was more than man but less than God
Apollinarianism - taught that Christ was a compromise mixture of divinity and humanity
Nestorianism - taught that Christ was two persons, one divine and the other human
Eutychianism - taught that Christ's humanity was simply absorbed into His deity

(See Martin Bleby, The Incarnation of the Son of God, p. 19) 

None of these "logical" approaches were willing to go the whole way and affirm what is undeniably taught in Scripture. Each of them was correctly labeled heresy as a result!

Then there was the Council of Chalcedon, which concluded that Christ was ONE PERSON with TWO NATURES, the one nature divine and the other human, and that these two natures now coexist perfectly (and we might add "unfathomably") in the ONE PERSON. There is a certain logic to this, to be sure, but endless truckloads of mystery as well!

Moreland ignores the fact that there are ways in which the logical faith we profess might appear, to us, to be illogical. He pays no attention to the next obvious question: How can this One Person with two natures be both Creator and creature, omniscient and ignorant, omnipresent and localized, omnipotent and powerless, at the very same time? Any attempt to gut the paradoxicality from the doctrine of the Incarnation is shortsighted and doomed to be unsuccessful. Read over the Definition of Chalcedon once or twice, and see if Moreland's rationalistic assumptions are supported there:

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us. (Definition of Chalcedon, 451 A.D.)

The Church Fathers who arrived at these conclusions were obviously not rationalists trying to explain their statements in a way that could never be perceived as paradoxical. They boldly exalted the Word of God above human logic. Today's apologists ought to do the same, without hesitation.

Moreland seems to be trying to paint Christian faith in a way that will appeal to rationalists. He attempts to convince them of the truth of Christianity while leaving their unchristian presuppositions intact. Instead, he ought to call them to humble themselves in admitting that there are truths which their best logic will never fully grasp. He should counsel them to repent of their rationalism and hold fast to the words of their Creator. This is their only hope, after all.

Bearing in mind that Moreland is a philosopher by trade, I applaud his willingness to go out and act as an apologist for the faith, address difficult questions, engage with those who are hostile to Christianity, and generally promote an orthodox viewpoint. At the same time, he should not allow the pressures of debate to skew his presentation.

In our estimation, the approach taken by Geoffrey Bingham is much wiser, though far less satisfying to the idolization of logic which is ever present in human hearts:

What has always been difficult to understand is how the deity
and the humanity of the Son subsist in the one person Of Jesus
Christ. Understanding is difficult because we have no precedent
in human history, and no parallel in creation. When it comes to
the work of Christ, we must affirm two things clearly:  

(a) all that the Son did upon earth, he did as man. That is– as is
indicated in Acts 10:38, Matthew 12:28 and similar passages–he
was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, and so did the
works given to him to do;
(b) whilst not effecting these works from the resources of his
own deity, he was nevertheless Emmanuel, i.e. ‘God–with–us’, or
‘God–become–man’. We might wish to refer to the  kenosis  of
Philippians 2:5–8 (i.e. his self–emptying), as a setting aside of the
prerogatives and powers of his deity, but these must certainly
have continued as he still had to uphold the creation (Col. 1:17;
Heb. 1:3).  

Since we do not understand how deity and humanity exist
together, we must remain agnostic on that score. We must
emphasise, however, that he was  truly man, and not merely the
appearance (or charade) of a man.

(Things We Firmly Believe, pp. 57-58)

Let us therefore hold fast to the ever-paradoxical Truth of the Incarnation of the Son of God. Let us not attempt to re-frame it in more palatable terms for the sake of impressing logic-worshipers. Let us adore and worship the eternal LOGOS of God, who is beyond us, above us, and--thanks to the incredible Incarnation--WITH US!

Dear friends, have a very Merry Christmas.

An Outline of Biblical Christology

The Lord has graciously allowed me the opportunity to teach a class on the Incarnation. What a grand topic!  The outline below was developed to help view the Incarnation in its wider theological context. You may find it useful for your own edification and Gospel meditation, and perhaps also for study and teaching. 

This type of systematic Biblical study highlights the fact that the doctrine of the Incarnation is dependent upon the doctrine of the Trinity; the doctrine of the Cross is dependent upon both the Trinity and the Incarnation; the doctrine of Christ's Final Victory is dependent upon the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Cross. And the doctrines of Salvation, Sanctification, and Glorification are inextricably tied to all of the foregoing. In other words, if Christ was not God and Man, and Suffering and Victorious, we would have no hope. Thank God He IS, and therefore we DO!

AN OUTLINE OF BIBLICAL CHRISTOLOGY

      I.        I. Pre-Incarnate Glory

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (Jn 17:5)

a.     Divinity

… the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn. 1:1); He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Heb. 1:3)

b.    Sonship

… He gave His only Son … (Jn. 3:16)

c.     Work as Creator

For by Him all things were created … all things were created through Him and for Him (Col.1:16)

d.    Revelation as Messiah

Immanuel (Isa. 7:14); A Prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15-19); The seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15)

See also Isa. 9:6; Mic. 5:2; Ps. 45:6-7

    II.        II. Earthly Life (Humiliation)

            He was manifested in the flesh … (I Tim. 3:16); But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman … (Gal. 4:4)

a.     Virgin Birth

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son … (Isa. 7:14, Mt. 1:23); … for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:20); … the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God (Lk 1:35)

b.    Humanity

Since … the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things (Heb. 2:14); And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us … (Jn. 1:14); … the man Christ Jesus (I Tim. 2:5)

                                                    i.    Suffering

Despised and rejected … a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:3); … He learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb. 5:8)

                                                  ii.    Temptation

… One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15)

c.     Holiness & Sinlessness

 We… have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. (Heb. 7:26)

                                                    i.    Innocence from Evil

… who knew no sin (II Cor. 5:21); He had done no violence … there was no deceit in His mouth (Isa. 53:9); … in Him there is no sin (I Jn. 3:5)

                                                  ii.    Practice of Good Works

… how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)

                                                 iii.    Faith & Devotion to the Will of God

In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. (Heb.5:7); … continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly (I Pet. 2:23)

d.    Sacrificial Death

He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:26); Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2)

                                                    i.    Shedding of Blood

… the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood (Acts 20:28)

                                                  ii.    Bearing of Sin, Guilt & Wrath

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree (I Pet. 2:24); … the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa.53:6)

                                                 iii.    Vicarious, Substitutionary Atonement Accomplished by His death

… who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness (Titus 2:14); It is finished (Jn. 19:30)

   III.        III. Ultimate Glorification (Exaltation)

Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name (Php. 2:9); … that in everything He might be preeminent (Col. 1:18)

a.     Resurrection from the Dead

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it (Acts 2:24)

b.    Ascension into Heaven

He … was carried up into heaven (Lk. 24:51); … He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight (Acts 1:9)

c.     Enthronement at the Right Hand of the Father

We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven (Heb. 8:1)

When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 10:12)

d.    Intercession & Mediation for Believers

… He is the mediator of a new covenant (Heb. 9:15); … there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (I Tim. 2:5); He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb. 7:25)

e.     Second Coming & Final Victory

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.  (Php. 3:20-21)

Stupid Reactions of an Idolatrous Heart - #5,683

I hear a great sermon by a great preacher who is used of God to show me the glories of Christ (and my need for Christ). I am confronted and deeply affected. Then I say to myself, "I need to get a lot more of this preacher . . ." and I prepare to start downloading all of his sermons I can find.

Do you see the problem here?

I don't need more of this preacher! I need more of Christ! But I am too easily distracted from Him, and too quick to depend on the arm of flesh . . .

HE is the point! HE is the ONE! HE is God incarnate and the one who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God IN HIM. HE is the one who accomplished all that must be done for us to be saved. HE is the one who shed His blood, HE is the one who was raised from the dead for us, HE is the one who intercedes effectually, HE is the one who stands at the right hand of God, HE is the one who will return in a magnificence and splendor that will overthrow every evil in this world . . . not some preacher!

The preacher is not Christ. No man will ever be Christ for me but Christ Himself. The best I can do is become like Him by being with Him, and then lead others to Him by living for Him and abiding in Him and being changed by Him so that I am conformed to Him.

Christ is all, and is over all, and in all, and through all. Let a preacher, a disciple-maker or a friend play his limited part. But let Christ alone be magnified as a result.

Christ is the Remedy for Sin

Here are some encouragements for the saints. Be encouraged in your walk with Jesus today. If you are a preacher, you may find a spot for this somewhere in a sermon. Feel free.


Christ is God's gracious and true remedy for sin. He is full of grace and truth. He saves sinners completely.

Hebrews 7:25 ... He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Christ is an undeserved remedy for sin
We do not deserve such a Savior. We do not deserve to be saved. We deserve to be condemned and separated from His presence.


Christ is an unmerited remedy for sin
We cannot earn His favor through our efforts or make ourselves worthy of Him.


Christ is the exclusive remedy for sin
There is no other way to be saved from sin.


Christ is the powerful and effective remedy for sin
He justifies us from its punishment. He sanctifies us from its effects. He will free us from it completely.


Christ is the enduring remedy for sin
He will not be replaced with another. He is all in all, eternally.


Christ is the ideal remedy for sin
He perfectly fills all of our need.


Christ is the available remedy for sin
He stands ready to receive all who come to Him by faith.

Modernism, Postmodernism, and a Biblical Worldview

Note: I haven't posted in a while, I guess I needed a blogging break and took one without even trying to. I've been working and re-working a post called, "Your Doctrine of the Atonement is Too Small - Part 2", and just about baffled myself beyond any recovery with that topic! But that post should be up before long. In the meantime, there's this . . .

Some in the Christian community today are overtly embracing "postmodernism." That term is a bit difficult to define, and it apparently means different things to different people (which is almost in itself a definition of the word, ironically. How do you define the idea that there is no such thing as a meaningful definition? If the idea is valid, there may be no point in defining it). Rather than attacking postmodernism itself, I would like to point out an erroneous assumption which leads some Christians to embrace it. 


Many who embrace and defend postmodernism point a condemning finger toward those who criticize it, accusing them of being stuck in the old paradigm of "modernism" and a "foundationalist" worldview. It's as if those are the only choices available. In this way, some postmodernists prove they are just as prone to thinking in terms of a false dichotomy as the next philosopher is. They seem to think it is impossible to have an objective, Biblical worldview that is free (or at least in the process of being freed) from the inescapable errors which arise from contextualization within a social movement. The whole idea presupposes that God is incapable of communicating objective Truth to us, separating our thinking from cultural trappings, and enabling us to see and know an exclusive, unquestionable reality.


The Apostle Paul warned the Colossians to beware man-made philosophy, and embrace God's Truth instead. Let the philosophers fight over abstractions and absurdities. Biblical Christians will hold to THE WORD OF GOD, which points us to the WORD MADE FLESH. Bible believers aren't into modernism, and we certainly aren't into postmodernism, any more than we are into Post-enlightenment Rationalism or Renaissance Idealism, or Neo-Platonism, or Aristotelianism, or any other "-ism" that describes a temporary period of humanity's ongoing descent into the mind-darkening depths of sin. We believe what the Bible says: that man is totally, pervasively depraved, and so his only hope lies in the reliable light of an objective, clear, life-giving revelation from God.


Jesus Christ repeatedly declared, "I tell you the truth," and then He said to His disciples, "You shall KNOW THE TRUTH, and then He said, "I AM the Truth." The underlying assumption of postmodernism is at least as old as Pilate, who looked at the Truth and asked Him, "What is Truth?" He left the decision in the hands of others, washing his own hands in pretended innocence - but he had stared Truth in the face - rejected Truth - and will not escape responsibility for that. Though fallen man suppresses the Truth in unrighteousness, he is without excuse.


Jesus Christ transcends culture. He transcends philosophy. He transcends humanity. But He does not transcend Truth. He IS Truth. Nay, much more, He is THE Truth. "The" is a crucial article of grammar which overthrows any possibility of Christian postmodernism and establishes  the basis for an objectively knowable, definable Biblical worldview. Modernism is not more Biblically accurate than postmodernism. Both fall short of the glory of God. Both represent a departure from divine revelation, though perhaps postmodernism is a step further. It is sad to see fellow believers dredging the deep muck of misguided human speculations when the Word of God rises before us, full of grace and Truth.  Hopefully they will be like Peter, who momentarily denied the Truth but repented quickly. Hopefully they are not like Judas, who wore the name of Christ but sold Truth for something more appealing.

Proverbs 23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

The BEST Senior Pastor EVER!

No, I'm not waxing hyperbolic here. And no, I'm not trying to insult the pastor of your church (I hope you are part of a good church with a Bible teaching man of integrity leading it). And no, I'm not talking about the pastor of my church. Although I love and respect my pastor immensely, and although I think he's one of the best pastors in America, I don't think he's the BEST Senior Pastor EVER. That claim belongs exclusively to the Senior Pastor of Paradox Bible Church in Seattle, Washington.

Paradox Bible Church is a new church that is being planted in the very hard soil of Seattle, Washington. Seattle is one of the least "churched" cities in America. The church is just starting to get organized, and planning to launch public services in September. But they're already becoming active in the community in significant ways to prepare the soil. The planting pastor was previously on staff at a large Baptist church, and felt called to plant a new church in a needy community. Having been involved in a church plant in the almost impenetrable soil of rural New England, I have a ton of respect for anyone who does this sort of thing. It's tough work that demands continual sacrifice.

The church seems to be off to a good start, doctrinally sound and very properly focused on practical outreach to needy people. I stumbled across the church quite by accident, and God seemed to impress my heart to follow and pray for the work.  Of course, any church sporting the name "Paradox" catches my attention. I admit though, given the name and the prevailing misuse of the paradox concept, I was expecting some sort of emergent liberal mush -  but I was pleasantly surprised and found something solid and promising instead. Still, how can I possibly say this church has the BEST Senior Pastor EVER? They aren't even holding Sunday services yet.

Here's what the church website says about its Senior Pastor:

Every church has a Senior Pastor.  A leader who leads the mission and vision of the church.  At Paradox, that leader is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18), the senior leader (Hebrews 5:7-10), and the highest authority (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 1:3-7). The church is the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25; Revelation 19:7-10; Ephesians 5:29-30; Colossians 1:24).

Practically, this means as a church we submit to Jesus’ leadership and authority in all matters.  It is Jesus who ultimately starts new churches and closes other churches’ doors (Revelation 2:5).  We are not building a church, Jesus is, and we are trying to obediently follow His leadership.

We submit to Jesus’ leadership through study and obedience to the Scriptures which God wrote through the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).  Jesus is our leader, we worship, we emulate, we follow Jesus.  (Click here to see this on the Paradox Bible Church website)

Now that is a unique approach! Lest anyone should think this is mere postmodern label switching, let's have a look at the one and only passage in the New Testament that contains the rough equivalent of the term, "Senior Pastor."

I Peter  5:1-4 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Chief Shepherd = ARCHIPOIMEN - formed from two Greek words, ARCHE (beginning, origin, leader, principality, first in a series) and POIMEN (herdsman, shepherd, pastor). 

Even the more updated term "Lead Pastor" would seem to be more appropriately assigned to Christ than a mere man. So I commend Paradox Bible Church for using Christ-centered creativity to move us closer to the Bible's teaching.

I'm not suggesting every church needs to change the traditional titles the way Paradox Bible Church has, but my impression is that they have followed the more Biblical course. The rest of us ought to follow their example, at least in spirit. Jesus Christ can be your Senior Pastor, too! By the way, they call their earthly pastor the "Lead Planter."


Please take a moment to pray that God will bless this new church by granting them favor with the community and enabling them to bring souls to Christ through the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel. 


Update: A reader has informed me that this church may be following the lead of Seattle's most famous pastor, Mark Driscoll. Apparently, Driscoll has long maintained that Christ is the Senior Pastor of his church. If Christ is the Senior Pastor of multiple churches (and I believe He IS the Chief Shepherd of every true church), perhaps we should call him a Bishop as well? Indeed, He is everything good, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.