What does it mean to be a man of God?

Answer

“Man of God” is the title given to a man who wholeheartedly follows God, obeys His commands joyfully, prioritizes eternal over worldly matters, willingly shares his resources, and accepts suffering as part of his faith. Micah 6:8 encapsulates the essence of a man of God: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

The man of God does not deceive his employer by being late or wasting time online at work; he avoids gossip and slander, keeps his mind and heart pure by shielding himself from worldly corruption, and serves as the spiritual guide of his family. He acts contrary to worldly norms, knowing they displease God, and shows compassion to the marginalized, lonely, and despairing. He listens without judgment to others’ problems.

Above all, the man of God comprehends that when the Lord commands him to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” «Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.», (Matthew 5:48), he can only achieve this through God’s empowerment to be “holy and blameless in his sight” «according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: », (Ephesians 1:4) through His power and the indwelling of His Spirit. On our own, we are incapable of holiness and perfection, but through Christ who strengthens us, we can “do all things” «I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. », (Philippians 4:13). The man of God knows that his new nature is that of the righteousness of Christ which was exchanged for our sinful nature at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17;Philippians 3:9). The final result is that he walks humbly with his God, knowing that he must rely solely upon Him to be able to live to the full and persevere to the end.

Perhaps the Christian today is lacking in these qualities, but this is what simple religion is all about—the uncomplicated faith that is yet adequate to please God: helping those in distress and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world «For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: », (James 1:23). We can have an awareness of all biblical doctrines, we can know all the theological terms, we may be able to translate the Bible from the original Greek and so on, but the principle of Micah 6:8 is the principle that the man of God must follow: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.