(1) What's In A Title?

(Note: this post is the first in a series on Jesus as The Ancient of Days)

We often take it for granted, but a person’s title can tell us a lot about them. In fact, in some circumstances, it can be very important. For example, if you have a tooth that is bothering you, you don’t go to someone with the title of Podiatrist, you go to someone with the title of Dentist. I don’t think you want a Podiatrist messing with your teeth!

I remember when Allan Lee first asked me to help him establish Teleios Theological Training Institute as a fully developed Bible Institute. We did a lot of work to lay out four academic tracks consisting of twenty-seven different courses we would offer. We met with the leaders from a number of churches to share the ministry. We chose curriculum. We found and renovated facilities.

I remember that one of the decisions that stumped us a bit was my title. Allan Lee had founded Teleios Ministries many years before this and had done conferences, retreats, and individual courses under this umbrella. He was President of Teleios Ministries. Now, what would my title be? It wasn’t too hard to come to the conclusion that I would be Vice-President on the board of Teleios Ministries. But what would be my title at Teleios Theological Training Institute? I would have a variety of roles and responsibilities related to administration, finances, academics, student life, counseling, and public relations. Oh, and let’s not forget janitor and maintenance man.

“President” was discarded quickly as being too stuffy and stand-offish. (And presidents don’t clean toilets do they?) “Instructor” and “Professor” did not capture all of my responsibilities. Finally, we settled on the title “Dean.” We felt it was a good academic title, broad enough to capture all my administrative, teaching and student-life responsibilities, and not as intimidating and impersonal as “President.”

So, I became “Dean.” It went on my business cards. It went on official documents. It was the title that defined and communicated who I was and what I was there to do.

Now, when it came to establishing titles for Jesus, I don’t think there was any contemplating and debating that went into it. God knew exactly what He wanted to communicate. He knew exactly how He wanted to describe and define His various roles. Jesus actually had several titles. “Son of God,” “Son of Man,” “Messiah” or “Christ,” “Lord,” and “Teacher” We will study a few of them as we continue.

Do you know which title is used the most? Do you know which title Jesus preferred to use the most? Certainly, one of the best known titles for Jesus is “Son of God.” But, it’s not even in the top three in usage. We’ll get to that list in a moment, but first, even though it is not in the top three, “Son of God” is a very important title for Jesus. So let’s look at it briefly.