You may wake up on Sunday morning and say to your wife, 'Let's go to church today'. This is a common concept in our world today, but it is a foreign concept in the word of God. If you have been following this school of discipleship then you know that the Bible teaches us that by accepting Christ as our Lord we become a part of the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit corning into our hearts.
If you listen to Lesson 13: Baptism into the Body this topic is fully covered. In this section of this school, we have been covering our main mission as disciples of Christ which is building His ekklesia.
An apostolic movement is about every believer being commissioned to make disciples because the task of making disciples is not a solo experience, but it's a team experience. The whole process of evangelism and discipleship is all about teamwork. It takes each one of us to fulfill the work of the ministry.
We are not called to live this new life alone, but we are yoked to Christ and co-laborers with one another.
In I Corinthians chapter 3 Paul uses the example of farming to show that it takes a community to actually get the work of the ministry done. He says, one may 'sow the seed', others 'water it’, but it’s God who causes it to grow.
In the work of discipleship someone might have the ability to reach someone, while another may eventually lead them to Christ. Yet another may teach them, while another nurtures the new disciple like a good shepherd. Each of us have different gifts and God will show each of us how He wants to use us.
Disciples are not made in a day since the process of discipleship takes time. Jesus spent three years teaching, demonstrating and explaining through the practical training of his disciples. It’s the responsibility of each member of the body of Christ to use their gifts wherever the Lord places them. We are called to impact this world and we are part of Christ's body no matter where we have been called to serve.
As I’ve said in previous lessons, Jesus did not leave us a manual on exactly what his ekklesia should look like and I’m not going to make one up for you to follow.
We have been given a lot of freedom in regards to outward styles and ecclesiastical formats. The Spirit of Christ works through any format that truly identifies with the water, blood and Spirit. He’s given us great flexibility to be ourselves and I’m not going to get hung up on outward appearances nor box anyone into doing things my way. However, I do see four main practices that are necessary if we want to call ourselves Jesus ekklesia. The apostolic has to do with being sent to expand into new territory and forming new communities. However, the ekklesia is more than a social club; it’s the body of Christ which is fulfilling the mission of Christ by implementing and maintaining these four main practices.
Number one is teaching the pure doctrine of the word which includes discipleship and equipping believers to do the work of the ministry. Number two is the practice of water baptism which is a public demonstration and a sign or witness that you are a member of the body of Christ. Number three is the partaking of the body and blood of Christ on a regular basis among the community of the faithful which is essentially fellowship and prayer. Number four is having some type of leadership structure which is about accountability and formation of Christlike qualities.
Leadership is for the unity, safety, protection and guidance of the community so that the mission of the gospel is fulfilled. It’s pretty simple and it’s what the apostle’s did in establishing the community of the faithful wherever they went. Acts 2:42 says the disciples devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
In the book of Acts we see 3 things happening which are prayer, proclamation and then formation.
It takes implementing all three to fulfill the command of Christ to make disciples. Paul laid out this pattern for building the community of the faithful through his apostolic ministry and it’s in the book of Ephesians that he lays out a framework for accomplishing this mission. It’s the mystery of the church living between the two mountain tops of the day of the Lord. There are many different pictures which the Bible uses to explain the functionality of the community of the faithful.
You know the Bible uses pictures to help us understand spiritual things: for example I already talked about the picture of a farm in I Corinthians chapter 3. You have different workers fulfilling different duties to explain that everyone has their part in making disciples. Paul uses several pictures to explain the relationship between Christ and his body. In this lesson,
I want to focus on 4 pictures which are the temple, the army, the body and the family.
Paul laid out this pattern for building through his apostolic ministry. I want to show you how this framework in the book of Ephesians correlates with the three things that are the fuel to any apostolic movement which are prayer, proclamation and then formation. You can look at this in another way by looking at the three offices that Jesus fulfilled.
Under the Old covenant there were three main offices that ruled Israel which were the priest, the prophet and the king. Jesus was the fulfillment of all that the prophetic scriptures proclaimed and he was a priest, he was a prophet and he was king. Priestly functions have to do with prayer and fellowship with God. The prophetic functions have to do with proclamation and teaching of the word. The kingly functions have to do with ministering in the power of the Spirit, overcoming the works of darkness and forming new communities.
Let’s first take a look at the body of Christ being a temple because Jesus said that his house would be a house of prayer. As I’ve said over and over in this school of discipleship, the church is not a physical building on a street corner in your city, but it’s those who truly have a personal encounter with the living Christ, who changes them from the inside out. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20 speaks of Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together, into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. We unpacked this powerful imagery in section two of this discipleship course using 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 5 which says we like living stones being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The body of Christ as a house of prayer is all about developing our priestly ministry of abiding in the blood, the water and the Spirit.
Our complete focus as a New Testament priest is our identity in Christ, daily offering up the sacrifices of prayer and praise. It’s the joining together of God’s space and mans’ space - the intersection of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. It’s offering up our bodies as a living sacrifice and being worshippers of the Father in spirit and truth. Ephesians chapter 2 says we are being fitted together. It’s like a puzzle piece that fits in its proper positions. As each member understands their gifts and roles then they compliment each other. As a result they are being built together as a team.
The house of prayer is about living in a community that prays, helps and loves one another.
If you’ve ever been out on a construction site then you can see that the workers must work together if anything is going to get built. There are framers, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians and each with their own task. Jesus is the foreman in charge of constructing His dwelling place and he has delegated His authority to different contractors like elders, apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers. These contractors are there to make sure the building is built right, that the workers are working together and to help with any problems that might arise in the building process. The whole goal is to fulfill the original mandate of building a community of people founded in Christ, the Last Adam, to be a dwelling place of the Spirit of God.
Prayer is to be one of the main functions of our priestly duties, dedicating our lives to being living sacrifices consumed by the power of the Spirit.
Now let’s look at the picture of the army of God. The original mandate of Jesus ekklesia is to be an advancing army into the gates of hades. The Last Adam Jesus the anointed one has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He has commissioned his body with the keys of the kingdom to unlock the prisoners chained in darkness. God created man to rule the earth under His heavenly rule. It’s the reason God became man because if God or Satan wants to carry out their plans in this earthly realm they need a human body.
Paul opens up the book of Ephesians with this apostolic prayer of wisdom and understanding to know our place joined to the throne of grace. Paul ends the book of Ephesians with a detailed message about spiritual warfare. To get more detailed information on spiritual warfare listen to Lesson 41: Part I Spiritual Warfare and Lesson 42: Part II Spiritual Warfare. Ephesians chapter 6 verses 11 Paul instructs us to put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. As a result of Christ's victory over death, hell and the grave he has disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in the cross.
Jesus recovered the keys of the kingdom and handed those keys to whoever comes under the authority of his name.
In Revelation chapter 1 verses 17 and 18 Jesus says, I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and Hades. He has given us his power and authority to unlock those bound by corruption, lying, sexual immorality, drunkenness, strife, greed, addictions of all sorts and basically what Paul called the works of the flesh. Satan is holding people captive in his walled cities of sin and death.
Our responsibility as co-laborers with Christ is to bring the gospel to these gates to set captives free with the keys of the kingdom and to make disciples. As the advancing army of God we accomplish our mission through prayer and proclamation. Paul clearly laid this mission out when he spoke of the mystery of the church in the book of Ephesians. To be able to accomplish our task we have to have the right mindset.
Jesus spoke about the cost of discipleship and likened it to a soldier going off to war. Jesus said he who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. If you want to fulfill the will of God for your life you have to count the cost. Paul, in instructing his spiritual son Timothy about the cost of being a disciple said that he must share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
Fulfilling your part in the great commission is going to take sacrifice and commitment.
The Roman soldiers of Paul’s day were the toughest, most disciplined and most resourceful soldiers in the world. They marched 20 miles a day with 50 pounds of gear and when not in battle they were practicing for battle. Paul uses this metaphor of fighting, warring, soldiering, to call Timothy and every disciple to exercise the qualities of a soldier who is at war.
Paul used each article of the soldier’s armament as a lesson for spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6. The image of soldiering paints a passionate picture for each believer to pursue. What does the captain of our salvation want from us? Instant obedience to His orders, deep loyalty, rigid self-discipline, bold in speaking out and valor in defense of the truth. These qualities should characterize each one of Christ’s servants, reminding you that the path of devotion to Christ is not easy or instant, but it’s long and difficult. As I’ve said before, the Great Commission is first of all about evangelism through prayer and proclamation.
Evangelism is simply being so filled with the Holy Spirit that wherever you go people are touched.
Our responsibility is to share with people what God has done in our lives and help to encourage them to receive the good news of Jesus Christ into their lives. In Lesson 43: The Great Commission I showed you that one of the greatest hindrances to sharing our faith is going to be fear. Did you know that according to the National Institutes of Mental Health survey, 75% of people rank fear of public speaking as their number one fear.
It’s not just speaking in front of large groups, but can even be speaking to a single person, if that person has the power to evaluate you or reject you. Now I’ll be honest that fear of being rejected, ridiculed, persecuted, laughed at or even being killed are legitimate fears when it comes to sharing Christ with others. You are sitting here listening to me speak, but did you know that I’m not a natural public speaker. What you are partaking of is a gift and the Holy Spirit working through me because I would much rather sit in the back of the room and be unnoticed.
As a soldier in the army of God I’ve learned to submit my whole life to the cruciform lifestyle and let Christ live through me.
Did you know the term ‘fear not’ is used 365 times in the Bible. Fear is common to us all and we all need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to share the mystery of Christ with others. It’s why the disciples prayed to be filled with the Spirit so that they would speak the word of God with boldness. As I said in the last lesson Kingdom Ministry we need the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission.
Now let’s look at the picture of the human body along with the family which both have to do with formation and organization. The ekklesia that Jesus is building is not a rigid organization, but pictured as a flexible body. Our bodies were made to adapt, grow, change and even heal themselves because our bodies inside and outside are interconnected. Our body is a beautiful, complicated web of systems that work together. If a part of my body is not working properly then it hinders its full effective use. For example, if my right thumb is missing then I cannot hold on as well with that hand.
If you examine Ephesians chapter 4, Romans chapter 12 and in I Corinthians chapter 12 you will see that Paul uses the example of the human body as a picture of a flexible organization working together. In each of these texts he uses the analogy of our bodies to show how its through our differing gifts which makes us function uniquely. At the same time it shows our interdependence on one another for growth, expansion and formation.
If you study the type of organization Jesus and the apostles established you will see it was not supposed to have power centralized in one person, but was to be like a body with power distributed throughout the organization. Every part of the body has a role to play in the success and maturity of the whole. Jesus is the head and through His Spirit He directs every member of His flexible, interdependent body, to by faith use their gifts to work together.
In each of these chapters that I mentioned Paul lays out a different gift set, that we will more fully explain and explore in the coming lessons. The first gift set that is mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4 is what we call the ascension gifts of Christ. Paul opens this chapter telling us that there is only one faith, one Lord, one Spirit, one Father and one body. He then talks of Christ's descent into Hades where He took the keys of the kingdom declaring his victory over death and the grave through his resurrection. Paul then tells us that when Christ ascended to the heavenlies. He also dispersed His abilities to His body on earth.
Just as Jesus took 5 loaves and multiplied that to feed 5,000 people, when he ascended He dispersed His abilities into five gifts so that his ministry could be multiplied through his body.
Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through 12 says he gave some to serve as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as shepherds and some as teachers. He distributed himself as gifts so His body would be equipped to carry on his work in the earth building, growing and expanding. The Ephesians chapter 4 text has a sense of system functionality just as our natural body.
Apostles are like our feet providing both stability and expansion. Prophets are like our eyes and mouth which see and speak. Evangelists are like our arms reaching out to the lost. Teachers are like our legs that gives us strength of character formed through the word of God. Shepherds are like our hands that are used both for being tender and protective. Each of these gifts need to be fully active and present in the life of the body. If they are not, then we not only diminish our understanding of the faith, but we introduce significant dysfunction into the body of Christ affecting its proper functioning.
The second gift set that Paul lays out is mentioned in Romans chapter 12. I call these motivational gifts or as the text says, gifts of grace that descend by the Spirit. In Romans chapter 12 verse 3 thru 8 Paul says by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Did you hear that word grace?
Paul says we have been given gifts that differ according to the grace given to us and he then list seven gifts of grace or seven motivational gifts.
Paul then says let us use these gifts: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith, if service, in our serving, the one who teaches, in his teaching, the one who exhorts, in his exhortation, the one who contributes, in generosity, the one who leads, with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. You will notice that some of these gifts are similar to what is mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4 when he lists the gifts of Christ. In Ephesians chapter 4 we have prophets, but here Romans 12 it talks of the gift of prophecy. In Ephesians chapter 4 we have teachers, but here in Romans 12 it talks of the gift of teaching.
As we get into these three gift sets you will find that there is some overlap which I will clarify in later lessons.
The third gift set Paul details is in I Corinthians chapter 12 and I prefer calling these manifestations of the Spirit because as we shall see some of these manifestations of the Spirit may be called gifts, but unlike a gift they are not something we possess. A gift is something that we possess, it’s a part of us. These nine manifestations of the Spirit are us just us being a vessel of the Spirit as He manifests himself through us.
First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 7 thru 11 Paul lists nine manifestations of the Spirit given for the common good. He then says to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit and to another the effecting of miracles and to another prophecy and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues and to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually, as he wills. Paul then goes into a thorough explanation of how the body is one with each part being unique yet dependent on the other.
Now let’s look at the picture of the family because God has called us to be a part of a spiritual family. In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14 and 15 Paul says: I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. A healthy family that loves, supports and works together doesn’t just happen. If you want to see true healthy formation happen then you must produce the right environment for new believers to grow. Formation is about building and the body working together for expansion.
All apostolic movements embrace these 3 main ingredients of prayer, proclamation and formation.
The apostolic leader John Wesley who founded the Methodist church first founded an apostolic movement. It was a movement built on equipping every believer to do the work of the ministry. It was releasing the power of the gospel through prayer and proclamation, but it was followed up by formation.
John Wesley established a system to develop and empower every member by organizing them in small groups for accountability and support for living out the cruciform life of Christ. The intent was to help people become disciples who lived out their love for God and love for neighbors. It’s why I put this book together because its a tool and a system that you can use to make disciples. All you have to do is get each person in your small group a book on Amazon. If you don’t have the money to buy books you can print out the first section by going to my website www.foundationpub.org. I don’t care if you make copies because I’m not here to make money, but I want you to make disciples.
Each lesson in this workbook has a place for notes, study questions and group discussion ideas and a video to go along with each lesson. I didn’t come up with this idea, I’m just following the apostolic pattern laid out in the book of Acts, followed by the Wesley brothers and every other apostolic movement. However, the internet makes it much easier to get the message out today.
Each week you need to meet in small groups made up of 12 to15 members so that you can give an account of how you're living out your faith. Now in saying this I don’t want you to get hung up on a set number of people, but it’s important that you meet regularly with a small group to share, learn, pray, support and strengthen one another. Wesley appointed men and women leaders over these small groups who could be trusted with the spiritual formation and care of others. They served as role models, mentors and discipleship coaches for their pursuit of holiness of heart and life.
The family of God needs spiritual fathers and mothers.
Paul was a spiritual father to the churches he planted. He also had a close discipleship relationship with such men as Timothy and Titus. Such women as Phoebe and Priscilla were definitely spiritual mothers who ministered, nurtured and helped others. An apostolic movement is about every believer being commissioned to make disciples which is not as a solo experience, but a team experience. The whole process of evangelism and discipleship should not be the job of just one person, but that of a team.
Teamwork is about finding agreement with others which is learning to give and take.
The word fellowship actually means to share with one another. Partnering and sharing together means that we have to learn to find middle ground. Humility, communication, give and take are the keys to effective relationships because it’s learning to walk, live and accomplish mission together. Jesus is our head, but he has also commissioned humble servants to guide and direct the mission.
To build a temple we need those who understand the blueprint, an army needs captains, a family needs both fathers and mothers. Leadership is about supporting and undergirding the members of the body so that they can fulfill the mission. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 21 tells to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Good leaders are also good listeners, good communicators and humble enough to know a good idea even when it doesn’t come from them.
Humility is one of the main keys for godly relationships to flourish so that we are all growing into the likeness of Christ. Peter tells us to clothe ourselves with humility toward one another for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We are all on the same team and again it’s through humility and the cruciform way that we are able to cooperate with each other for the fulfilling of our mission.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 46 - The Lord's Supper
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