3rd Millenium Discipleship

SESSION 13: THE DEATH OF A DISCIPLE

Review of Session 12: Making Other Disciples·

. In the Great Commission Jesus commands His disciples to do 3 things: 1) make other disciples, 2) teach them His commandments, and 3) baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (i.e., the Trinity)
· Paul points out that the Gospel is not readily received by the wise of this world, but can only be accepted by virtue of the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers
· Understanding this fact allowed Paul to overcome the fear of rejection as he became “all things to all men” in order to obtain the prize of fulfilling the Great Commission in his ministry, looked upon as a spiritual discipline: the discipline of evangelism.

Thought Questions

1. Has someone close to you died—spouse, parents, children, siblings, etc.?
2. Are you able to conceive of your own death?

In order to allow sufficient class time for filling out the end-of-course survey, we will study only a single passage in this session:

II Cor 4:7 – 5:10

1. What is Paul referring to when he uses the phrase “jars of clay”?
2. What does he mean when he says in verse 10 that he is always carrying about in his body the death of Jesus? How does that reveal the life of Jesus?
3. What does the resurrection of the dead have to do with all of this (verse 14)?
4. What do you suppose Paul is speaking of when he says “we are wasting away” (verse 16)? Is he speaking of aging? Of persecutions? Of illness?
5. Other translations of verse 17 use the phrase “eternal weight of glory,” which is also the title of a famous sermon by C. S. Lewis. Recall what we learned in an earlier session was Lewis’s definition of glory.

It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God..to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.

6. How do our troubles in this life bear on our glory in the life to come?
7. Beginning in Chapter 5 Paul refers to a home, or dwelling or tent, 7 times over the course of 9 verses. What is his point in these references?
8. Often, after the death of a saint, we hear the phrase: “absent from the body, present with the Lord?” What do people mean when they say this? Is it justified by this passage?
9. How does being “present with the Lord” in verse 8 relate to the resurrection mentioned in 4:14? Are these the same event, or different ones?
10. What happens when we die in the Lord?

Review of the Course

1. We set out to compare 3rd Millennium discipleship with that of the 1st Millennium. How are they the same? How are they different?
2. What stands out as the central goal of our discipleship?
3. What is the cost of discipleship and what is its reward?

SESSION 12: MAKING OTHER DISCIPLES

Review of Sessions 10/11: The Disciple and the Sanctifying Spirit

· Our study of Romans 7 shows that even a “super-disciple” like Paul wrestled constantly within himself with the law of sin & death, such that the good he wanted he did not do, but the evil he did not want was the very thing he did. If him, how much more us!
· In spite of that, as a result of the work of Christ, we who have the Spirit of God living within us can experience true freedom from this struggle as we set our minds on the things of the Spirit
· That life in the Spirit brings us into close fellowship with all three Persons of the Trinity, to the point where we cry out “Abba” or “Daddy” as the Spirit groans inwardly on our behalf as we pray.
· Christ Himself intercedes for us in the midst of creation’s groaning under its futility awaiting our redemption as sons of God and fellows heirs with Him. Because of this nothing can separate us from His love.

A Thought Question

When you hear the word “evangelism” what emotion do you experience? Is it positive or negative? Why is this?

Matt. 28:16-19

1. Traditionally, this passage has been give a name, or subtitle. What is it and why do you suppose it goes by that name?
2. What three action steps are commanded by the resurrected Jesus at the end of Matthew’s gospel?
3. What two facts are these action steps founded upon? Why are they important?
4. To whom is this “great commission” given? Is it limited to only this group? Why or why not?
5. What has been, and is now, the practical outworking of this “great commission”?
6. What is our personal responsibility regarding this commandment?
7. What does it mean to “make disciples”?
8. Why is baptism as a disciple important?

I Cor. 1:18-21

1. What kind of reception did the preaching of the Gospel receive in Paul’s day?
2. Compare Paul’s day to ours. Is the teaching of “intelligent design” eagerly accepted by the intelligentsia and elites of our culture?
3. What point is Paul making about “boasting” in this passage? Where does intellectual pride ultimately come from? Where does true humility come from?
4. Please compare Jesus Christ to Albert Einstein with respect to “intelligence.”

I Cor. 2:10b-16

1. What is the Spirit’s role in evangelism?
2. How does that fact change our approach to evangelism?
3. Given the fact that people smarter than us are going to reject the Gospel when we share it, will that make us fearful or bold as we present the Gospel? How did Paul “cope” with this?

1 Cor. 9:19-27

1. What was Paul’s strategy in preaching the Gospel?
2. What motivated this strategy? (Hint: see verse 23)
3. What metaphor does Paul use to describe his preparations for evangelism? How does that fit in with other teachings on “spiritual disciplines”?

1 Cor. 10:23-33

1. What does Paul mean when he says “everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial”?
2. What does Paul’s hypothetical situation of a believer eating a meal with an unbeliever tell us about his approach to sharing the Gospel?
3. What kind of sensitivities must we have in dealing with an unbeliever and his conscience? Please give examples from your own life.
4. How does this passage direct our efforts in dealing with cross-cultural evangelism, such as that with foreign students?
5. How is verse 33 the “bottom line” on our evangelism?

More on Intelligent Design

Please go to the following link to see a follow-up on the class in which we viewed the video Unlocking the Mystery of Life. This link points to an OpEd piece by the biochemist Michael Behe in the N.Y. Times on Feb. 7, 2005, defending Intelligent Design theory from recent attacks by the Darwinian establishment.

SESSION 10: THE DISCIPLE AND THE SANCTIFYING SPIRIT

Thought Question:

When you hear the word “Holy Spirit” what picture forms in your mind?

Romans 7:7-25 (ESV) {Note: since this passage is rendered exceptionally well in the ESV it is printed here for your convenience.}

7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." 8But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

1. What does Paul say is the relationship between the law and sin?
2. How difficult is the war with sin for the believer?
3. What is the only hope for deliverance from the battle with sin?

Romans 8:1-39 (ESV)

1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

4. How many “laws” are mentioned in this passage?
5. What is the “law of the Spirit of life”? How does it set us free?
6. What does it mean to walk according to the Spirit?
7. What does it mean to set the mind on the Spirit?

9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.


8. What is the requirement for “being in the Spirit”?
9. How do we know that we are in the Spirit?
10. What does this passage teach us about the way all three Persons of the Trinity are involved in the life of the disciple?
11. What does it mean to be a fellow heir with Christ? What is the requirement for such an inheritance?

18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.


12. What is life like now for our loved ones who have experienced the sufferings that have led to their deaths?
13. What is meant by the word “creation” in this passage? How has it been impacted by the Fall?
14. What are the firstfruits of the Spirit?
15. What is the great hope for both the believer and creation itself? Is this a spiritual or physical outcome?
16. How should we conduct our lives in light of this hope?

26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.


17. What is the role of the Spirit in the prayer life of the disciple? What are the practical implications of this?
18. Why is verse 28 one of the most cherished verses of Scripture? Do you really believe all things work together for the good of those who are called? How about sickness, suffering and death?
19. What do we learn about the tricky subject of “predestination” in this passage?
20. Why does Paul use the past tense when he speaks of those who are glorified? Isn’t this in the future?

31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

36As it is written,

"For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

21. Who inspired these words that Paul wrote? Does the Inspirer focus on Himself or on Someone else? Why?
22. What do we learn about Christ in this final section?
23. Please give some examples of: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and the sword.
24. Verse 36 is a quotation from Psalm 44 where the Sons of Korah lament that God has forgotten His people, even though they had not forgotten Him. Why do you suppose Paul interjects this thought here?
25. How do verses 37-39 contrast with the lament of Psalm 44?
26. What is the bottom line of sanctification?

SESSIONS 8 & 9: UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY OF LIFE

For the next two sessions we will be viewing the video Unlocking the Mystery of Life. A key difference between the 1st and 3rd Millennia is that in our millennium scientific discoveries have produced unprecedented understanding in the nature of biological systems, including us! The video we are about to view will expose us to some of these discoveries and their implications for the current “culture wars” in our society. At bottom, those wars can be summarized in two opposing statements (as stated by Phillip Johnson, considered to be the father of the Intelligent Design movement):

*In the beginning were the particles (atheistic materialism)

*In the beginning was the Word (Christian theism)

Genesis 1:1

1. What does this passage presume about the origin of the universe?

John 1:1-3

1. Who created the universe?
2. What is the implication of identifying the Son of God with The Word?
3. What does that tell us about the origin of Information?

Psalm 139:13-17

1. What does the psalmist say about the origin of his life?

Watching the Video

Please note the following concepts which we will discuss after the viewing:

*Darwinian evolution
*Intelligent design
*Irreducible Complexity
*Bacterial Flagellum

SESSION 7: DISCIPLINES FOR DISCIPLES

Review of Session 6: The Disciple’s Calling

· In a number of passages in the New Testament, such as 2 Peter 1, we see Paul and Peter giving lists of qualities that should be exhibited in the lives of believers. These can be looked at as ways to measure our individual progress in sanctification: becoming more like Christ Himself.
· All such lists cause us to face the antinomy of our election and our calling: God alone is responsible for our being new creatures in Christ, yet we bear responsibility for “putting on Christ” in our lives as his disciples.
· To aid us in making progress in fulfilling Christ’s call to discipleship, he has given us the church and the family wherein we can come alongside one another—in love—and provoke each other to good works and character development.
· Our vocations in life are part of our calling, but as time consuming as they often are, their role is less emphasized in the New Testament compared to the work of the Spirit in transforming us into the image of our Savior. Yet, our secular and our sacred work is always to be done “unto the Lord.”

A Thought Question

When you hear the word “discipline,” what emotion do you experience? Is it positive or negative? Why is this?

1 Cor. 9:1-27

1. This passage interweaves several themes we have been discussing in this class. What do we learn about the family, about the church, and about “calling” through Paul’s discussion here?
2. What motivated Paul to write this chapter of his letter? Do the issues that caused him to write in the 1st millennium concern us here in the 3rd millennium?
3. We will return to this passage when we discuss evangelism. Briefly, how far was Paul willing to go to heed the call to spread the Gospel?
4. What is Paul’s point in using the metaphor about running a race and winning a prize? What race is he referring to? What is the prize?
5. What does he mean when he says that he beats his body and makes it his slave? Why does he do this?
6. What does this say about the role of spiritual disciplines in our lives as disciples?
7. We studied spiritual disciplines in an earlier class. Please recall as many as you can.

A List of Spiritual Disciplines

Disciplines of Engagement

· Prayer
· Study (including memorization)
· Meditation
· Celebration
· Fellowship
· Service
· Submission
· Worship

Disciplines of Abstinence

· Fasting
· Silence/Solitude
· Frugality/Simplicity
· Sacrifice

8. In what way do these disciplines aid us in winning the prize Paul speaks of here? Please share which disciplines have become most valuable to your own spiritual development since we studied them together.

Revelation 3:14-22

Note on Laodicea: Its water supply had to be provided from a distant source through pipes. The resulting water was lukewarm and barely drinkable. By contrast, the neighboring town of Hierapolis had medicinal hot springs, and the neighboring Colosse was supplied by a cold mountain stream. (New Geneva Study Bible, p. 2013)

1. What was the fundamental problem with the church in Laodicea according to the Lord?
2. Do you really believe a lukewarm church is worse than a “cold” church? Why or why not?
3. What fundamentally wrong assumption did the Laodicean believers make about themselves?
4. What was the nature of this church’s poverty?
5. How would you compare this church to the evangelical church in the US in the 3rd millennium? How would you compare it to us?
6. How is the word “discipline” used in this passage? What do we learn about discipline here?
7. What is the most important thing the Laodiceans need to do to correct their shortfall? How does that apply to us?

SESSION 6: THE DISCIPLE’S CALLING

Review of Session 5: The Disciple and the Family

· Even though Jesus spoke hyperbolically about giving up father, mother, sister, brother and even spouse to follow him, he strongly endorsed the family. He was born in a family, and he was the one who spoke those famous words we hear at every (Christian) wedding: “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”
· Yet there are some, including Jesus himself and the apostle Paul, who are called to be single for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
· Paul endorses marriage, with some qualification, for most believers based in large part on the grounds of sexual intimacy: “it is better to marry than to burn.”
· He goes on to note how marriage symbolizes the union between Christ and his bride: the church. In the marriage union the keys are that the husband love his wife as Christ loves the Church, and that the wife respect her husband as the Church respects Christ.
· In light of that symbolism, divorce is a very serious matter indeed, and should be undertaken only on the basis of adultery or abandonment.

A Thought Question

What do you think of when you hear the word “calling”? Church? Work? Cell Phone? Telemarketers? Avon?

Matt. 4:12-22

1. What exposure do you think Peter, Andrew, James and John had to Jesus before he called them?
2. What was Jesus calling them to do?
3. Was their abrupt leaving unfair to their father and other business associates?

2 Peter 1:1-11

1. What does Peter say is the reason disciples/saints can partake of the divine nature?
2. In verses 5-7 Peter gives us a list of qualities. What do these have to do with our calling?
3. In verse 5 he tells his readers to “make every effort…”. What does he mean by this? Is he advocating salvation by works?
4. What measurement does Peter give us in this passage for us to use in judging the effectiveness of our discipleship?
5. Consider the quality of “brotherly kindness” mentioned in this list. Do you think you can judge your own effectiveness in area totally alone? Or do you need outside help?
6. Peter tells us in verse 10 to make our calling and election sure. What is he telling us to do by giving us this command? How are calling and election related?
7. In our millennium we often think of “calling” as job related. Does anything in this passage speak to our “secular” vocation? Why or why not?

I Thess. 4:1-12

1. In what way does this passage echo the one we read from Peter?
2. What do verses 11-12 tell us about our calling as workers? Do you wish Paul had said more about vocation since we spend so much time occupied with it?
3. Let’s compare this these verses with similar ones in Colossians 3:22-25. Who will judge the quality of our vocational work? What will be the basis of the judgment?

In Summary

Please react to the following comment from Michael Green (Tyndale Commentary on II Peter, Eerdmans:1976; p.73-74):

“Make your calling and election sure” is an appeal that goes to the heart of the paradox of election and free will. The New Testament characteristically makes room for both without attempting to resolve the apparent antinomy. So here; election comes from God alone—but man’s behavior is the proof or disproof of it. Though ‘good works’ ..are possible only through the appropriation of God’s gracious aid, they are absolutely necessary, and fairly and squarely our responsibility.

SESSION 5: THE DISCIPLE AND THE FAMILY

Review of Session 4: The Disciple and the Kingdom

· A “kingdom” is a realm in which the “king’s choice” determines what happens, be it a little realm like those we control, or the Kingdom of God which God controls. For John Calvin the Kingdom of God is synonymous with the spiritual life and the progress of faith in our sanctification.
· While on the one hand, the Kingdom of God belongs to little children, on the other it seems almost impossible for a rich person to enter it. Yet, with God, “all things are possible.”
· Even though disciples “give up everything” to follow Jesus, yet paradoxically, they are “rewarded” even in this life a hundredfold in their relationships, and in some cases even materially. Yet, the material and personal reward is not what’s in view, but rather our total commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord of all—including our own lives.

A Thought Question

Earlier we saw that becoming a disciple meant “hating” father, mother, sister, brother in comparison with following Christ. Do you think that this means the disciple will abandon his family in order to follow Christ? Why or why not?

Thought Question Number 2

What does the Christmas story tell us about God’s view of the family as it relates to our discipleship?

Matt. 19:1-12

1. What do you suppose were the motives of the Pharisees in asking the question about divorce in the way they did? Why would this have been a “test” for Jesus? What does it say about his previous teachings that are unrecorded in the Gospels?
2. What authority does Jesus use to give his answer?
3. What was Jesus’ view of marriage?
4. How do we reconcile his teaching here regarding the permanence of marriage with his other teaching on giving up father, mother and even wife to become a disciple?
5. On what grounds can a marriage be dissolved according to Jesus?
6. Why did the disciples react so negatively to Jesus’ teaching on divorce? Why would it be “better not to marry?” What does their reaction tell us about their own views of marriage?
7. Are the teachings of Jesus on marriage “feminist” or “anti-feminist”?
8. How does Jesus categorize those who choose not to marry? Give an example of someone who renounced marriage for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matt. 19:13-15

1. We read the parallel passage in Mark in our last session. What does the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to children tell us about Jesus’ view of the family.
2. Would Jesus support our Presbyterian practice of baptizing infants and young children as part of our membership in the New Covenant in his blood?

I Cor. 7:1-14

1. What is the Apostle Paul’s marital state? Is he an example of one that has “renounced marriage because of the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2. Is Paul for or against marriage?
3. What is Paul talking about with regard to his use of the phrase “marital duty”? How does this relate to the teaching of Jesus in the previous passage?
4. Does this talk of “marital duty” and “becoming one flesh” by Paul and Jesus seem unspiritual? Why or why not?
5. What do you think Paul had in mind in verse 5 when he talks about “devoting yourself to prayer”? How does this relate to the spiritual disciplines we talked about in the earlier class?
6. Should a person who becomes a disciple (i.e., becomes a Christian) leave his/her unbelieving spouse for the sake of “giving up everything” to follow Christ?
7. Is Paul’s teaching on divorce consistent with that of Jesus?

Note: after extensive study of this and a number of other passages, the PCA adopted the recommendations of its study committee on marriage and divorce in finding that there are two biblical grounds for divorce: adultery and abandonment.

Eph. 5:22-33; 6:1-4

1. Did Paul envision that the Christians in Ephesus would leave their families in order to become disciples?
2. What “profound mystery” is Paul talking about in this passage? What analogy is he making?
3. What is the “bottom line” for husbands in making their marriages a success? What is the bottom line for wives? What makes both these things difficult?
4. For two disciples who are married to one another, how should their marriage strengthen their discipleship? What are the risks that their marriage will hinder their individual discipleship and devotion to Christ?
5. What does it mean to bring up your children “in the training and instruction of the Lord?”
6. Why is this command given to fathers? How should single mothers interpret this command?

SESSION 4: THE DISCIPLE AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Review of Session 3: The Covenants and the Disciple

· Even though Jesus only used the word “covenant” once in his teachings, that use was crucial. At the last supper—with the figure of the Passover lamb slain in commemoration of the exodus in mind—Jesus proclaimed that the wine symbolized “the new covenant in my blood.” Hence, he identified himself with the Passover lamb, slain for sinners.
· Thus, disciples of Jesus need to regularly partake of that sacrament of the Lord’s Supper where, as the Confession says, they feed upon Christ spiritually, and are nourished in their spirits by him.
· The New Covenant, as described by Paul, brings with it a “new glory” for disciples. That glory—based on the work of Christ—has at its heart the idea of approval: God delights in us, the creatures He has made even as we live to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

A Thought Question

According to the author Dallas Willard, every one of us has a “kingdom” or a “queendom” defined as a realm uniquely our own, where our choice determines what happens. Reflect on that a moment and share what your particular kingdom is.

Thought Question Number 2

In light of your response to the first thought question, what is meant by the phrase “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven”? Is it synonymous with heaven itself? React to John Calvin’s comment:

They are mistaken who think the Kingdom of God means Heaven. It is rather the spiritual life, which is begun by faith in this world and daily increases according to the continual progress of faith. (Commentary on the Gospel of John)

Mark 10:13-16

1. What do we learn about the Kingdom of God from this passage?
2. What does it mean to receive the Kingdom of God like a little child?

Mark 10:17-23

1. What did the kneeling man want from Jesus?
2. How did Jesus react to the man’s claim that he had kept all the commandments from his boyhood?
3. What was the cost of discipleship for this man? Was he willing to pay the cost?
4. What do we learn about the Kingdom of God from this encounter?

Mark 10:24-31

1. What metaphor does Jesus use to illustrate the difficulty in entering the Kingdom of God?
2. What is needed to overcome this difficulty?
3. What claim does Peter make about his own “cost of discipleship”? Do you believe him?
4. What does Jesus say will be given to those who give up everything to follow him? When will it be given? Are you surprised by this?
5. Is this passage endorsing a “health and wealth” gospel? Why or why not?
6. When Jesus talks about receiving “a hundred times in this present age” does he mean this in some spiritual sense, or does he mean it literally?
7. Can you think of some examples in the Bible and in contemporary life in which disciples got a hundred times more in this present age as a direct result of becoming disciples of Jesus?

8. Please react to the following commentary on these verses by the late James Montgomery Boice:

…the text is a great promise, and it does have to do with earthly relationships and material possessions. At the least, it means that the true follower of Christ will not lack for any good thing (“My cup overflows,” Psalm 23:6) and that, in normal circumstances, a Christian will be blessed with earthly good abundantly. Personally I am convinced that Jesus gives us every good that He can possibly give us without rendering us unfit for His work or destroying our souls. The reason many of us do not have more is that the Lord knows we would misuse it.

9. Along with all the blessing that Jesus enumerates in this passage he also includes “persecutions”. What does that mean? What are some examples from both the Bible and contemporary life?
10. Why do you think Jesus throws in this “zinger” at the end that “the first shall be last, and the last first”? Is there any connection with Peter’s claim that began this section?
11. Where are we in our understanding of how much we have given up to follow Jesus, and how much we have received of the hundredfold blessing that he has promised?

SESSION 3: THE COVENANTS & THE DISCIPLE

Review of Session 2: The Cost of Discipleship

· Following Jesus is costly. Even the most fundamental human relationships will be disrupted by a choice to follow Him: husband/wife; mother/child; sister/brother.
· Paradoxically, the choice to “hate” one’s spouse (for example) by putting Jesus first can result in loving the spouse more. This happens as the process of knowing Jesus and the power of his resurrection redirects and deepens all our other relationships.
· One way of putting this is to ask the question: “How would Jesus live my life if he were I?” So, a husband asking that question regarding his wife, could find that this “costs” him as he gives up his natural inclination to dominate his wife, and instead loves his wife as his own body. Yet, that cost is more than compensated for by the joy of true love for and from his wife.

A Thought Question

Why are the names given to the two major divisions of the Bible: Old Testament and New Testament? What does the word “testament” connote?

A Brief Discussion of the term Covenant (from L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology)

Common Greek usage before the New Testament:

suntheke: an agreement between two (equal) parties
diatheke: a disposition or a testament; in the latter one party establishes the conditions to be met by the other party, e.g. as in a will

In the Old Testament idea of a covenant, both ideas are found. A covenant is an agreement between two parties (God and man), but clearly one (God) sets the terms for the other (man). Thus, in the New Testament, the writers chose to emphasize the inequality of the parties (diatheke) rather than the agreement between the parties (suntheke), and hence rendered “covenant” as diatheke throughout, rather than the more common term suntheke. Hence, the New Testament writers chose to change the meaning of the word diatheke retaining the idea of asymmetry between the parties, but including the meaning of suntheke: namely, an agreement between parties with terms and conditions.

Although God institutes the covenants and has the priority…..God graciously condescended to come down to the level of man, and to honor him by dealing with him more or less on the footing of equality. He stipulates His demands and vouchsafes His promises, and man assumes the duties thus imposed upon him voluntarily and thus inherits the blessing.

Luke 22:7-23

1. What special day was being celebrated by Jesus and his disciples? What had to be done on that day? What was its significance?
2. How is the word “covenant” used in this passage? What is its significance?
3. In all of the Gospels, this is the only use of the word “covenant” by Jesus (except in the parallel passages in Matthew and Mark). Does this mean that “covenant theology” is overrated?

I Cor. 11:23-26

1. This passage from Paul greatly parallels the one from Luke, but adds the words “remembrance” and “proclaim”. What is the significance of these additions?
2. Let’s try to sum up these two passages. How are the following connected:
new covenant, Passover lamb, blood poured out, discipleship.
3. Please comment on this statement from the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 29):

VII. Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements, in this sacrament, do then also, inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally but spiritually, receive and feed upon, Christ crucified, and all benefits of His death: the body and blood of Christ being then, not corporally or carnally, in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet, as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses.

4. What does it mean to feed upon Christ “spiritually” during the Lord’s Supper? How does feeding upon him impact our discipleship?

II Cor 3:1-18

1. What does Paul mean when he says he is a minister of a new covenant?
2. What does he say is the big difference between the old covenant and the new covenant?
3. What is the meaning of verse 3 where Paul says that believers are letters from Christ written by the Spirit on tablets of human hearts?
4. What is “glory”? Please react to the following statement from C. S. Lewis’s essay The Weight of Glory

It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God..to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.

5. What does it mean to behold the glory of the Lord (verse 18)?
6. What does it mean to be transformed from one degree of glory to another?
7. Where does the power for this transformation come from?
8. What is our role as disciples in this process of transformation?
9. Why is it important for disciples of Jesus Christ to realize that the following statement is true?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

SESSION 2: THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

Review of Session 1: What is a Disciple?

· From our study of Simon Peter’s confession we learned that a disciple is foremost someone who has received and believed the revelation that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

· Yet, we took note of the fact that this same Peter, whose confession received the Lord’s praise, could a few verses later so oppose the Lord’s will that he would be labeled as “Satan”. In other words, he was just like us!

· We found that the words “disciple,” “Christian,” and “saint” are used somewhat interchangeably in the New Testament.

Our leftover question from last week is: are these 3 words really equivalent in meaning? What different nuances is the Holy Spirit giving us in His inspired Word in these three words? Is it possible to be a Christian, yet not a disciple?

A Thought Question

The late James Montgomery Boice, a prominent PCA pastor, makes the following statement at the beginning of his book on discipleship:

There is a fatal defect in the life of Christ’s church in the twentieth century: a lack of true discipleship. Discipleship means forsaking everything to follow Christ. But for many of today’s supposed Christians—perhaps the majority—it is the case that while there is much talk about Christ and even much furious activity, there is actually very little following of Christ Himself. And that means in some circles there is very little genuine Christianity. Many who fervently call Him “Lord Lord” are not Christians.

He then quotes the German Lutheran pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

· How do you react to these statements? Are you shocked by them? How do they make you feel? Do you agree with Pastors Boice and Bonhoeffer?

Luke 14:25-35

1. What does Jesus say is the requirement for a person to be his disciple?
2. What does he mean by the word “hate”?
3. What did Jesus say were the two great commandments? Does his teaching here contradict that teaching? Why or why not?
4. Please consider the following example:
A thirty-something man with a thirty-something wife and three kids under the age of four, comes home each night and after a hurried supper goes off to “do the Lord’s work” by attending a board meeting, or leading a Bible study, or discipling a friend one-on-one. He leaves behind his wife—who has herself worked a full day of homemaking and mothering—to tend to the three kids, all still in diapers. The man justifies his actions based on the principle of “hating his wife” so that he can love the Lord. Please react to this man’s actions—first from a male perspective and then a female perspective.
5. Why does Jesus give us two examples of counting the cost? What do we learn from these examples?
6. In verse 33, Jesus says a disciple must “give up everything” to follow him? Does that mean that a true disciple will sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor and then do full time Christian service in the Sudan? If it doesn’t mean that, what does it mean? Are you rationalizing?
7. What does carrying the cross mean?

Another Thought Question

The author Dallas Willard in his book The Divine Conspiracy, makes the following statement:

Nondiscipleship is the elephant in the church. It is not the much discussed moral failures, financial abuses, or the amazing general similarity between Christians and non-Christians. These are only effects of the underlying problem. The fundamental negative reality among Christian believers now is their failure to be constantly learning how to live their lives in the Kingdom Among Us. And it is an accepted reality. The division of professing Christians into those for whom it is a matter of whole-life devotion to God and those who maintain a consumer, or client, relationship to the church has now been an accepted reality for over fifteen hundred years.

· Please react to this statement based on the Luke passage and your observation of evangelical Christianity as we enter the 3rd Millennium. Which side of the division he speaks of are we on?

Philippians 3:1-11

1. How does Paul exemplify the discipleship that Jesus speaks of in Luke 14?
2. What are some of the things that Paul “lost” in order to follow Christ?
3. Why does Paul emphasize here the “righteousness that comes from God by faith”? What does that have to do with discipleship?
4. What does verse 10 tell us about “knowing Christ”? How will knowing Christ in this sense differentiate us from those who have only a “consumer” relationship with him? Are we there yet?
5. Please react to the following definition of a disciple (from Dallas Willard):

A disciple is someone who says: “I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I.”

SESSION 1: WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

{Updated 11/27/04}
Some General Questions & Statements

1. What are some synonyms for the word “disciple”?
2. The Christian author Dallas Willard suggests that “apprentice” is a good synonym for disciple. What’s your reaction?
3. In the popular television show The Apprentice, who is the teacher and who is the disciple? Do you think this is a good model for discipleship? Why or why not?
4. How do you react to the following statement that we used in our initial study of the spiritual disciplines?

In English we have a nice parallelism between the words disciple and discipline. Both words stem from the Latin word discipulus, which means simply “pupil”. A disciple is a pupil of a teacher, and to follow his teaching means to learn the disciplines or practices that make up his body of learning.

Matt. 16:13-20

1. Who is Jesus talking to in this passage? Compare the usage here with the definition we just considered. Are they consistent?
2. Why does Jesus ask them what others are saying about his identity? What is he probing about their discipleship?
3. Why does Jesus say Simon Peter is blessed? What does this tell us about the central issue regarding discipleship?
4. Why does Jesus make such a big deal about where Peter got his information from?
5. Later, before his ascension, Jesus tells his followers to “make disciples of all nations.” Please relate that commandment to what we’ve just learned about how disciples are made. How does this make you feel about evangelism and missions?
6. Was Peter the first Pope? If not, give an example from Peter’s life of his using the “keys of the Kingdom”.
7. Please read verses 21-23. What lessons do these verses teach us about discipleship?

Acts 11:19-30

1. What happened in Antioch? Why was this significant?
2. Note in verse 23 the phrase: “evidence of the grace of God”? What is grace? Please relate the grace shown in this passage to that exhibited in the passage in Matthew that we just read.
3. What is a Christian? Is the usage of this term in this passage comparable or different from its use here in the 3rd millennium?
4. What do we see the disciples/Christians doing in Antioch? Were they practicing any spiritual disciplines?

Exercise

1. Please guess how many times the word “disciple” is used in the New Testament:____
2. Now guess how many times “disciple” is used in the books starting at Romans and ending at Revelation:___
3. Why do you suppose this is?
4. What word—particularly used by Paul in his letters—would you guess seems to be a replacement for “disciple”? _____________

Acts 9:1-16

1. Who, specifically, was Paul “breathing out murderous threats” towards as he set out from Jerusalem to Damascus?
2. Who, specifically, does Ananias say Paul has done harm to in Jerusalem.
3. Who discipled Paul? What impact did this have on Paul’s future life as a believer?

Interesting Fact:

· The word "disciple" is not used in the New Testament after the book of Acts.
· Acts 9: 13 is the first use of the word “saint” in the New Testament (used 45 times compared to 290 occurrences of the word “disciple”). The other writers, particularly Paul, use the word saint instead of disciple. Acts 9 is unique in that both words are used in the same chapter, somewhat interchangeably.

4. Why do you suppose the word “saint” replaces the word “disciple” as a designation for a follower of Jesus Christ?
5. Why do we sing “When the Saints Go Marching In” instead of “When the Disciples Go Marching In?”
6. Should we replace the concept of “discipleship” with the concept of “saintship”?
7. Why don’t we tend to use the word “saint” in our description of fellow believers?

Romans 1:1-7

1. What do we learn about the meaning of the word “saint” in this passage?
2. What additional meaning does saint have that is not found in disciple?
3. Comment on the following equation: DISCIPLE = SAINT
4. Now comment on this equation: CHRISTIAN = DISCIPLE
5. Do you think “Christian”, “Disciple” and “Saint” have the same meanings here in the 3rd millennium as they had in the first? Why or why not?

Third Millennium Discipleship

As we confront the challenges and opportunities of the third millennium,our vision is to be a worshipping community of disciples who are bringing God’s Kingdom to bear upon the world and building His Church among all peoples.
(vision statement of Town North Presbyterian Church)

What does it mean to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Third Millennium since his first appearance? At first glance the millennium we live in seems vastly different than the one in which he founded his church. Think of the following list: electricity, indoor plumbing, automobiles, airplanes, radio, television, telephones, cell phones, motion pictures, anesthesia, antibiotics, recorded music on CDs, supermarkets, drugstores, men on the moon…. None of these were present in the first century AD. In fact, most of them came into existence only in the last hundred years of the second millennium. Is it possible in such a technologically advanced culture that the teachings of a carpenter’s son from a small town in an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago could be relevant now?

Now consider two other lists (from the book of Galatians):

sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies.

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Regardless of our technological sophistication, it’s apparent that man’s fallen nature and his redemption from it are just as much a central issue of our third millennium as they were when our Lord addressed them in the first.

Yet, there is no doubt that the trappings of our millennium produce both unique challenges and unique opportunities never seen before in the history of our planet. Against this background, then, we want to ask the question: what does it mean to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ in this new millennium? We will be addressing this question through a series of inductive Bible studies, augmented by other material that gives us insight into the way which discoveries in the realm of general revelation impact our understanding of our Creator and his love for us.

Three books will aid us in our studies:

· The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
· The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard
· Christ’s Call to Discipleship, by James Montgomery Boice

In addition we will be viewing a video entitled Unlocking the Mystery of Life, produced by the Access Research Network, to give us insight into just how “intricately woven” our bodies are as designed by our Sovereign and Loving Creator.

The course outline below is meant to be indicative of topics we will explore together. However, we want to be flexible in these topics depending on the needs of the class. Please feel free to make suggestions for topics that you would like to see emphasized, and areas of concern that you would like to see addressed that may not be on the list below. Our only constraints are that the topics should line up with the general subject of discipleship, and the videos are non-negotiable: you have to see them!

(Tentative) Course Outline

1. What is a disciple?
· The first disciples
· The Apprentice and the apprentice
· What do disciples do, actually?

2. The cost of discipleship
· Taking up the cross
· Leaving father, mother, sister, brother
· Cheap grace

3. The covenants and the disciple
· What is a covenant?
· What is the “new covenant in my blood”?
· The new covenant and eternity

4. The disciple and the Kingdom
· What is the Kingdom of God?
· How near is the Kingdom?
· How powerful is the King?

5. The disciple and the family
· Does bearing the cross mean abandoning the family?
· Sanctification in the family
· Who disciples our children?

6. The calling of the disciple
· Part time Christian service, or full time?
· What’s my line?
· Who’s my boss?

7. Disciplines for disciples
· What did Jesus do?
· What did Paul do?
· A review

8. The disciple in God’s creation: part 1
· Psalm 139
· Viewing of Part 1 of Unlocking the Mystery of Life
· Discussion

9. The disciple in God’s creation: part 2
· Viewing of Part 2 of Unlocking the Mystery of Life
· Discussion

10. The disciple and the sanctifying Spirit
· Romans 7
· Romans 8

11. The making of other disciples
· The Great Commission
· Why is evangelism so hard?
· Our place in the Body

12. The worshipping disciple and his Lord
· Who is Jesus, really?
· “Your God is Too Small”
· Glimpses of Heaven

13. Death of a disciple
· The end of this life
· Our deaths and those of ones we love
· How long is eternity?