Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and ContextRanking refers to the ordering or positioning of individuals or groups based on authority, status, or importance. In biblical terms, ranking often relates to social, spiritual, or hierarchical structures established by God or human society. The Bible addresses ranking in various contexts, including family, government, religious leadership, and the spiritual realm.
Biblical Examples1.
Family Structure: The Bible outlines a ranking within the family unit, emphasizing the roles and responsibilities of each member.
Ephesians 5:22-24 states, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." This passage highlights the husband's leadership role within the family, reflecting a divinely ordained order.
2.
Government and Authority: Scripture acknowledges the importance of ranking within governmental structures.
Romans 13:1-2 instructs, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." This passage underscores the belief that earthly authorities are established by God and should be respected.
3.
Religious Leadership: The Bible provides guidance on the ranking within the church. In
1 Timothy 3:1-7 , Paul outlines the qualifications for overseers, indicating a structured leadership within the church. "This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach..." This passage delineates the qualities required for those in positions of spiritual authority.
4.
Spiritual Realm: Ranking is also evident in the spiritual realm, particularly among angels.
Colossians 1:16 states, "For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him." This verse suggests a hierarchy among spiritual beings, with various ranks and roles.
Principles of Humility and ServanthoodWhile the Bible acknowledges ranking, it also emphasizes humility and servanthood as essential virtues. Jesus taught that true greatness in His kingdom is marked by service rather than status. In
Matthew 20:25-28 , Jesus said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."
Equality in ChristThe New Testament also emphasizes the equality of all believers in Christ, transcending earthly rankings.
Galatians 3:28 declares, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This verse highlights the spiritual equality of all believers, regardless of social or cultural distinctions.
ConclusionThe concept of ranking in the Bible is multifaceted, encompassing family, government, religious leadership, and the spiritual realm. While acknowledging the necessity of order and authority, Scripture consistently calls believers to humility, servanthood, and recognition of the equality of all in Christ.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
p. pr. & vb. n.) of Rank.
Library
We Shall not be Curious in theRanking of the Duties in which...
... A TREATISE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE. John xiii. 35. Chapter IV. We shall not be curious
in theranking of the duties in which Christian love?...
Resume of his Dogmatic Teaching. Objections to it in Detail.
... and Absolute Being, and another Being existing by reason of the First, but after
It [105] though before all others; and a third Being notranking with either...
Regarding the Things Said Concerning Christ.
... to make Him subject [2583] . Appropriating, then, our person andranking
Himself with us, He used these words. For we are bound...
Early Life the Place of Paul +The Man
... Tarsus, while one of three university centers of the period,ranking with
Athens and Alexandria, was an exceedingly corrupt city....
The Spokesman of the City's Conscience
... His was a position as unique as it was remarkable considering the fact that
he held no title or high-ranking office such as Bishop....
Connecticut at the Close of the Revolution
... The Litchfield of the post-Revolutionary days,ranking, as a trade-centre, fourth
in the state, was as familiar with Indians in her streets as the Milwaukee of...
Sailors' Hymns.
... It is being introduced into modern psalmody, the translation in useranking among
the most successful of Dr. John Mason Neale's renderings from the Greek....
Facts Relating to Meletius the Egyptian, from whom Originated the...
... hands were to submit to a more religious re-ordination; and were to be admitted
to communion on the terms of retaining their ministry, but ofranking in every...
Letter cxcix. Canonica Secunda.
... tenderly [2695] and meekly making allowance for the infirmities of them that fall,
laid down that they might be received after a year,ranking them with the...
Texts Explained; Fifthly, Acts ii. 36 the Regula Fidei must be...
... has been made, so as to end in resembling the Stoics, as they are called, the one
drawing out their God into all things [2272] , the otherranking God's Word...
Thesaurus
Ranking (1 Occurrence)... Noah Webster's Dictionary (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Rank. Multi-Version Concordance
Ranking (1 Occurrence). Acts 25:23 So on the next
...Ranks (34 Occurrences)
Naphtali (51 Occurrences)
... By her artifice she had obtained children, the offspring of her maidranking
as her own; and thus her reproach of childlessness was removed....
Doorkeeper (8 Occurrences)
... 9:25). Their office was honorable,ranking with the singers, after the priests
and Levites (Ezra 2:42 1 Chronicles 15:18). In Psalm...
Mate (9 Occurrences)
... young. 8. (n.) A suitable companion; a match; an equal. 9. (n.) An officer
in a merchant vesselranking next below the captain. If...
Captain (167 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) An officer in the United States navy, next above a commander and
below a commodore, andranking with a colonel in the army....
Commander (111 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) An officer who ranks next below a captain, --ranking with a lieutenant
colonel in the army. 3. (n.) The chief officer of a commandery....
Array (63 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) Aranking or setting forth in order, by the proper officer, of
a jury as impaneled in a cause. 6. (n.) The panel itself....
Rank (42 Occurrences)
Resources
Who was Theophilus at the beginning of Luke and Acts? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the longest verse in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgHow can an unmarried person relieve sexual tension in a non-sinful way? | GotQuestions.orgRanking: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
