Developing A Discipleship Ministry: Part IV

In this letter we continue looking at how Jesus made disciples.

God’s Word was at the core of Jesus’ discipleship ministry.

Jesus’ spiritual nourishment – how he was fed – included studying, meditating, and allowing God’s Word to mold and shape him. It also included prayer, fellowship with those who would later launch His church, and doing his Father’s will.

Jesus’ life illustrated and authenticated what He taught. His life and teaching was based on what God said. Jesus taught publicly, to large groups, small groups, privately, to the lost, to His followers, to His disciples, and to Jewish leaders. God’s Word was at the heart of everything Jesus did and taught. Jesus said: “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) and His authority was derived from the Father’s authority: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).

The Apostle Paul knew that people do not come to saving faith unless they either read God’s Word or someone else tells them what’s in it. It is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to awaken a response to faith within us. God’s Word is the word of eternal life (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). God’s Word must be taught. Paul wrote, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The Word of God is living, life changing, and dynamic as it works in us. God’s Word is the disciple’s standard for testing everything else that claims to be true. It is his or her safeguard against false teaching and their source of guidance for how they should live. With the precision of laser surgery, God’s Word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is within us, both good and evil. The demands of God’s Word requires making decisions. Disciples must not only listen to the Word; they must also let it shape their lives. The writer of Hebrews tells us: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Through the Holy Spirit, God revealed his Word to certain believers, who wrote down his message for his people (2 Peter 1:20,21). These authors wrote what God wanted them to write. God’s Word is completely trustworthy because God was in control of its writing. Its words are entirely authoritative for our faith and lives. God’s Word is God-breathed.

Jesus’ final commission to His disciples was to: “go and make disciples of all nations … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The content of all future teaching by the Apostles was founded upon what Jesus had commanded them. We see this in the book of Acts where the Apostles did not neglect the ministry of the Word because of administrative burdens – they purposely focused on teaching and preaching the Word of God. Throughout the book of Acts, God’s Word was at the heart of the church. When God’s Word was taught people were saved, set free, churches planted, and leaders established. The Word of God was the standard for all of life’s issues, against false doctrine, imbalance, and corruption. God’s Word was the foundation and the anchor for the church.

Jesus and the Apostles spent hours, days, weeks, and years living and teaching God’s Word laboring until Christ was formed in others (Galatians 4:19).

Jesus and the early church were committed to the truth. However, like today, there were peddlers of God’s Word, people who preached without understanding God’s message or caring about what happened to their listeners (2 Corinthians 2:17). There were and always will be people who are not concerned about advancing God’s kingdom, but see the possibility of using God’s Word as a means of making money. Today there are still religious teachers who care only about money, and not about truth.

“and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain – for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:5-10).

We are to preach the Word. Paul told Timothy to: “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). Disciples are to always be ready to correct, rebuke and encourage using God’s Word for they know that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

The church is God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Disciple-makers are called both to defend and confirm the gospel (Philippians 1:7).

As a result of living and teaching the Word of God, only a handful of followers remained at the end of Jesus’ ministry. Still, Jesus said, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

Likewise, the Apostle Paul, after having many leave him said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

We, too, must complete the work God gives us to do – we must fight the good fight.

The Word of God, if it is worth living for, must also be worth dying for. It must be guarded, preserved, and faithfully transmitted from one generation to another. This is the heart of Jesus’ ministry. This is the heart of discipleship.

Grow in grace and truth,

Doug Morrell