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. 
 

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A:  The congregations in the First Century had a similar attitude as the one you mention, which proved to be 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 saying, "I belong to the Society from whom I learned the truth."

Do we really belong to the ones from whom we have learned the good news about Jesus and Jehovah? Are we indebted to them, perhaps compelled to accept everything they teach, even when it is not in harmony with the Scriptures? There is something fundamentally wrong with this attitude, which the apostle Paul found necessary to address in his letter to the brothers in Corinth, to whom 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." (1Cor. 3:1-9)

This scripture has sound reasoning on why we are not indebted to any man or group of men. Firstly, Paul was saddened by the fact the Corinthians had reverted back to a child like state spiritually, he left them with enough knowledge so they could grow and mature into spiritual adults, not having to rely on his every word. In a similar way a parent wants to raise their children to become mature adults, no longer needing their parents to make decisions for them. Imagine a parent needing to make every decision for their adult child. Surely a parent would question whether they had been successful in raising their child if such a situation continued. If the parent insisted on remaining in control of their adult child's every decision, then one would need to question the mental state of the parent!

Secondly, Paul was greatly disturbed by members of the congregation wanting to be followers of men, even himself. He found this reasoning repugnant, "I belong to Paul," "I belong to Apollos," "I belong to the Governing Body." He made this strong 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 GOD MAKES IT GROW.

Thirdly, we receive our reward based on our knowledge of God's word not Paul's nor Apollos', nor any governing body; they are simply fellow workers, loving guides or shepherds to God's people and not our channel to God. (John 17:17) Anyone who considers himself to be God's channel because we learned about God from him, and he thereafter requires obedience and loyalty to himself and everything he teaches, becomes a danger to God's people, for Paul warned that "from among you yourselves men will rise up and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Act 20:30; 2 Peter 2:1-3) It is blasphemous, to say the least, for anyone to present himself as a mediator between us and Jehovah, 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; Acts 4:12) Neither Paul nor Apollos considered themselves to be Gods channel or mediators, but fellow workers "in the holy work of the good news of God." (Rom. 15:16)

We need to be very wary of projecting an elevated opinion of ourselves to fellow believers; for even angels fear to think too highly of themselves in God's service. (Rev 22: 8,9) We all need to be on guard against putting our trust in anyone but Jehovah;  and we need to be careful not to encourage others to put their trust in us. To do otherwise makes us "fleshly," as Paul wrote. (Psalms 146:3-5; Jer. 17:5, 7,8; Ezek. 14:9,10; Hosea 10:13; Rom. 3:4; 1 Cor. 2:10) If we have come to know the truth about Jehovah and Christ Jesus, it is not due to any man or group of men; but we owe it to God and his holy spirit, as Paul says: "For it is to us God has revealed [his wisdom] through his holy spirit, for the spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God." (1 Cor. 2:7, 10) To claim credit for the things God has done by his holy spirit is the height of presumptuousness; one that will not go unpunished. (Psalms 19:13; Mal. 3:15; 4:1)

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