Part X3.1 - A Disciple Of The Kingdom
A Disciple Of The Kingdom Of Heaven In the preceding chapters, we have established that the Kingdom is about God’s Son, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. We are to listen to Him, for He is preeminent and supreme. He is God’s King. This is our foundation upon which everything else is built, for there is no other foundation but Christ. As we build upon this foundation, we need to be clear about our relationship with our beloved Lord and His coming Kingdom, specifically our calling as a disciple of Christ, a disciple of the Kingdom. The Son of Man is coming; and when He arrives, He will receive to Himself in a very personal encounter those who have been true disciples of His Kingdom. When He walked on this earth, the Lord Jesus Himself was God’s disciple and sought for disciples. As we have seen, today God tells us to listen to His beloved Son. It is His path that His disciples are to follow, and He will lead them on this path to reign in His Kingdom, if they hear Him and obey Him: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it" (Luke 11:28). This is the life of a disciple of the Kingdom.
Often, when He revealed truths about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Lord Jesus went up on a mountain with His disciples and taught them. We discover this when He went up on the mountain and spoke to His disciples on the entrance into the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-48; Matthew 6:1-34; Matthew 7:1-29); when He summoned His twelve disciples to a mountain to send them out with the message of the Kingdom (Mark 3:13); when He took three of the disciples up on a high mountain and He was transfigured in the Glory of His coming Kingdom (Matthew 17:1-8); and when He sat on the Mount of Olives, speaking of the sign of His coming and the rewards of His Kingdom (Matthew 24:3-51; Matthew 25:1-46). In the Scriptures, the word mountain refers to kingdom (Daniel 2:35; Daniel 2:37; Daniel 2:39), with specific reference to the coming Kingdom of Heaven when Christ takes the scepter and rules.
Now, as He was about to ascend to His Father’s throne following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus told His eleven disciples to proceed to a mountain in Galilee and wait for Him. They followed His order and He met them on the mountain, at which time He instructed them: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).
Here we discover the Kingdom in view and the Lord’s desire for disciples. Interestingly, He did not say to go out and get everyone saved, as most people view these verses. He said to make disciples which means "pupils, learners." In other words, they were instructed to teach, making learners or pupils of Christ. The goal is not to get people saved but to make them disciples of the Lord. As the Lord commanded, disciples are to be taught all that He commanded (as contained in His written Word) with the purpose of obeying these commands: "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). The Lord is after disciples of His Kingdom; and this thought is revealed in the parables of the Kingdom, as spoken by the Lord Jesus, which very clearly link the disciple to the Kingdom.
Become A Disciple Of The Kingdom The Lord Jesus spoke seven parables revealing the Mysteries of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:1-50), and He concluded by describing one who is a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven. And He said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old." (Matthew 13:52)
After speaking the mystery parables, the Lord asked His disciples if they understood them. When they acknowledged that they had understood, Jesus gave them one more instruction. He told them to be like scribes instructed concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. A scribe is a writer; so in a narrow sense, these words most likely applied to His first disciples who, after the Lord’s departure through the cross, taught and recorded some of His words which are contained in the Bible. Their eyes of understanding were opened to the Scriptures in their possession, the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44) [the old treasure (Luke 24:27)], and to all that Jesus had taught them (the new treasure). However, a disciple of the Kingdom must be viewed in a much broader sense because all believers are called to be disciples and every disciple is called into the Kingdom. Further, all believers are to be like scribes who dig into the Word, being instructed in the Kingdom and learning in such a fashion that they become true disciples of the Kingdom of Heaven.
What was the instruction given at the beginning of these parables? It was the Word of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:19). Thus, in these few words, the Lord Jesus joined the Word of the Kingdom with the Kingdom of Heaven. A disciple of Christ is to be instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, which is specific instruction in the Word of the Kingdom and all that this entails. Another way of stating this is that a disciple of Christ must be a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven, and this requires an understanding of and an entering into the message of the Kingdom which is the Word of the Kingdom. The Word of the Kingdom which is the message surrounding the Kingdom of Heaven is the central message of the New Testament. No matter where one turns in the New Testament, the Word of the Kingdom is the foundational message. If disciples understand this message, they will have the proper foundation upon which to build as they study the Scriptures. There is no other message than this one that will unlock the Scriptures. On the other hand, if disciples do not understand this message, they will not possess the proper foundation and will remain in a sea of confusion and be open to every wind of doctrine.
It is vital to see this connection between a disciple and the Kingdom, and once we have this under-standing, we need to see what it means to be a disciple. If we understand the road a disciple must trod (or walk), we will come into a further understanding of how every believer is to walk in this life and secure an abundant entrance into the coming Kingdom of our Lord. In fact, the first mention of the word disciple in the New Testament is found in Matthew 5:1, when Jesus sat down on the mountain with His disciples and taught them on the royal entrance into the Kingdom.
However, it is in the Old Testament that we discover the first indication of the walk of a disciple. The word disciple is first mentioned by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 8:16; Isaiah 50:4). His second reference to this word speaks prophetically of the One who came as God’s true disciple, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens {me} morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike {me,} and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord GOD helps me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:4-7) As we review the walk of the disciple, we will draw upon these verses. A Disciple Is A Learner In the Hebrew language, a disciple is "one who learns, who is taught or is used." In the Greek, it means "a learner or a pupil." In other words, a disciple of Christ must be a learner. A learner is one who recognizes that he knows so little and that he must be taught. He is like a child: "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3-4). Anyone who believes he has arrived at some great level of learning and knowing is no longer a disciple. Can anyone say he is above his Master? "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master" (Matthew 10:24). In other words, a disciple cannot be greater than his Master. A believer in Christ must be at His feet, learning as His disciple. This is a life-long process. Who can fathom the ways of God? "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). No one can person can fathom all of God’s ways. We always must remain a disciple, a learner. In Isaiah’s prophetic view of the Disciple, we discover this humility.
I gave My back to those who strike {me,} and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord GOD helps me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:6-7)
What humility and beauty we see in our Lord Jesus. He is God; but He emptied Himself, took the form of a bondservant and was made in the likeness of men (Php 2:7). Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). He is the Son of God; and yet as Man, He learned as a disciple of His Father. In fact, the Son was totally dependent on His heavenly Father (John 5:19-20; John 5:30; John 8:28-29; John 8:42; John 12:49-50). Doing His Father’s will, the Son set His face toward the cross and never uttered a complaint. He gave Himself up willingly, endured the shame of the cross (Hebrews 12:2) and suffered greatly that we might live. He learned obedience.
Today, He calls out to His disciples: "Learn from Me" (Matthew 11:29). We learn from Him as we daily seek Him, walk with Him and read His Word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Learning means walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:25) in obedience to His Word. In this way, a disciple walks in Him (Colossians 2:6) and learns obedience. As a learner, a disciple is to be like the householder who takes things which are old-things that he had already understood-and adds to them things which are new-things that he had not seen before but which have become clear through a proper understanding of the Word. These are treasures to those who dig into the Word and understand it. It is the Word implanted in a disciple’s heart, sown on good ground, from which come good works that bear fruit (Colossians 1:10) for reward in the Kingdom. To a disciple of Christ, the Word of God and, specifically, the Word of the Kingdom cannot be stressed enough. As the lovely, aged apostle, John wrote a letter to a sister in Christ, reminding her (and us) that we must abide (remain) in the teachings (doctrines) of Christ.
Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:8-9)
Notice that John wrote of the full reward that must be a reference to the reward of the inheritance in the Kingdom (Colossians 3:24). It is of the utmost importance that a disciple of Christ abides in the Word of God, which is the teaching of Christ. How else can a disciple learn if he is not abiding in the Word? The importance of the Word of God cannot be overemphasized, but the question must be asked: For what purpose is the Word? Is it to give a disciple more knowledge; after all, isn’t this what learning is all about? Knowledge, especially themature (epignosis) knowledge, is vital (see chapter 16). A disciple must possess it. Without doubt, a disciple must learn things of God; but there is far more to this matter of learning than gaining facts that are stored in the memory. Very simply, a disciple is to come into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, that is, to be in daily fellowship with Him, to know Him. To understand this further, let us turn to the first disciples called by Jesus when He was on this earth.
They Were Uneducated And Untrained When we consider the history of the early church, we are amazed at the power and authority that was manifested through a few men that the Lord Jesus had trained while He walked this earth. He had chosen them and discipled them to Himself. They had lived in daily fellowship with Jesus (1 John 1:1-3). Often they did not understand His teachings or His ways, but they were so attracted to Him that they could not leave Him, for He had the words of eternal life (John 6:68). In fact, He is the Word of Life (1 John 1:1). The disciples were simple people of humble means. Several of them were fishermen, hard-working men who labored long hours to catch fish. They were not an educated group. They had not attended the great religious schools of the day. They worked with their hands to make a living. They had no great titles before their names and no list of degrees after their names. They did not claim to have started any great work or any great ministry. In the sight of the educated elite of their day, the Lord’s disciples were nothing. But through these men, the Lord literally turned the known world upside down. When the Holy Spirit empowered them, they went forth in power and authority and led thousands to the Lord.
Paul, the apostle who at one time had sat in the seat of the elite as a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee, but who came to declare that it was all loss for the sake of Christ (Php 3:4-7), captured the heart of the matter in his letter to the Corinthians. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)
Praise God; it is through the foolish and weak things of the world that He shames the wise and strong things of the world. The greatest strength for every disciple of Christ is not from education or titles that impress the world, but it comes from weakness and things that appear foolish to the wise world. When we are weak, we are strong in Christ. Why? Because we must trust in His life and His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). In Acts 4:1-37, we find a very interesting story involving Peter, who was called of the Lord when he was casting nets, and John, who was called when he was mending nets. Being led by the Spirit, they were proclaiming the Kingdom and in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. They knew the One who had walked with them for a few short years was no longer in the grave but was resurrected and was seated on His Father’s throne in heaven. The manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit was living proof that He had ascended on high and was glorified. The promised Helper, the Holy Spirit, had come. They were living proof of this fact. Christ risen, exalted, glorified!
Many believed their message and the number came to be about five thousand. But this greatly disturbed the Jewish leaders. Peter and John were thrown in jail, and on the next day, they were placed in the center of all these leaders-the rulers, the elders, the scribes, the high priests, all those of high-priestly descent. In other words, those that they stood in the midst of were the highly educated religious leaders of the day. You might say that they all had graduated from seminary (or Bible school). They also all had the proper blood background, having been born into their priestly positions.
These two disciples of Christ stood in the midst of all these educated minds, being questioned about healing a man forty years old who had been lame from his mother’s womb. Can you imagine the thoughts going through the Jewish leaders’ heads? They had all this teaching, yet none of them had any power to heal another man. So they demanded to know by what power or in what name they had done this. Peter, full of Holy Spirit boldness, responded: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by this {name} this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, {but} which became the very corner {stone.} And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:8-12).
What a testimony of the life of Christ! Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He answered their question with great clarity. It was all done in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. There is no other name under heaven given among men. Jesus! What a name! Peter and John stood with confidence in this name. As these two men stood, they were a testimony of a new way, a way that was not dependent on so-called religious education. They did not fit the mold of the Jewish leaders of the day. They stood outside of it and were a living testimony of the power and authority of God. Those that questioned them had an authority that came by their bloodline and their schooling, but these men had something else and it could not be challenged. It was a noteworthy fact that the miracle had taken place. No one could dispute the healing. When they saw the man who was once lame standing in their midst, they had nothing to say.
Peter and John were uneducated and untrained and yet they performed a miracle that no one could dispute. If they were not trained in the religious schools, they must have had some training some place. Where was it? What was the source of their power? The answer is found in the testimony of those who had no such power. There was one irrefutable fact that no one, not even the educated elite, could deny. One thing made these men stand out among all other men of their day. It is recorded that the Jewish elite began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and {began} to recognize them as having been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13{ea}) Having Been With Jesus
Oh, do not doubt for a minute. They were schooled, but theirs was not like any school that existed. They were schooled in the school of Christ. What is the school of Christ? Being with Jesus! Isn’t this marvelous? They had been with Jesus. He was their Teacher, their Master, their Helper. He taught them. He spoke to them the words that give life, some of the very same words that have been recorded for us in the New Testament. He trained them. They did not sit in a classroom with a blackboard. They were trained as they walked with Jesus through the days of His life. He walked with them, spoke to them, exhorted them, rebuked them, loved them, gave them examples, and many times left them confused and wondering. But through it all, they persevered and were taught. They were taught the Kingdom, and they proclaimed the Kingdom in power and with authority under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is the most glorious walk of a disciple-in daily fellowship with the Lord. They were in continual communion with their Lord.
We need to ask ourselves these questions: Where are we to be trained today? Are we to go to a seminary so that we can know the Word or how to minister the Word to edify and build up the Lord’s people? Do we need to go to a school and receive a certificate, a degree, ordination papers, even a title to serve the Lord and His people? Do these things make a person spiritual? Is this what we are shown in the Bible? Quite the contrary! Those who sat in judgment of Peter and John had all the education they needed to discern the time. After all, they had in their possession all the prophetic Scriptures that spoke of Messiah. In fact, week after week, they read the Scriptures. Paul, who once sat with the Pharisees, stood in the synagogue as one sent by God, an apostle, and spoke to the men of Israel, declaring: "For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him" (Acts 13:27NKJ). The educated ones did not know the One of whom the Scriptures spoke. The voice of the prophets spoke of the One who stood in their midst, and yet they condemned Him. Their education did not lead them to life, to know Him but led them to yell "Crucify" to the One who is life.
Oh, we need to wake up to the truth. Education by itself does not make one spiritual nor does it make one a disciple. Having been with Jesus is what makes a disciple and leads a disciple on to spiritual growth and maturity. A piece of paper with a name on it will not do it. A title preceding one’s name and a degree following it will not do it. This point cannot be emphasized enough to those who believe that the only way they can serve God is if they go to seminary or Bible school, or to those who believe that the only people that the brethren should listen to or be taught by are those who hold a degree.
There was a young man who was filled with the Spirit who had a burning in his heart for the Lord and who desired to preach. He went to a very well-known local preacher who had a doctorate degree from a seminary. The young man shared his heart with this well-known brother. Rather than encouraging him in the Lord in love, the preacher said to him, "You need to go to school and receive a degree." The implication is that one needs knowledge and a degree to be of use to the Lord. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1).
It is rather interesting that the apostles were never called "the apostle Paul" or "the apostle Peter." Today, because of the world’s infiltration into the thinking of the church, we want to place a title before the name of a man. So we capitalize the word and say, "Apostle So-and-So" or "Pastor So-and-So" or "Evangelist So-and-So." We see none of this in the heart of the early church. In fact, the emphasis was more on the fact that they belonged to Jesus.
Why does the church today place so much emphasis on something the New Testament does not emphasize? Why do we make these terms into great titles that men parade before the Lord’s people? Today, men are not satisfied with these Biblical terms, so they have added extra titles like "Reverend" or "the Most Reverend." This may not be enough of a title, so they add on their educational degree, as well-"Reverend Doctor So-and-So." Others take on the title of "Pastor and Founder of Such-and-Such Church." Why is there such an emphasis on these various titles? Because it is a desire to exalt the man! It is man’s way to be recognized. It is Phariseeism! Somehow, men within the church think that if they have a lofty title, people will look at them as a spiritual leader and give them respect. This is no different than the religious Pharisees that the Lord condemned (Matthew 6:1-18; Matthew 23:1-30; Luke 11:39-44). They were hypocrites! We can take on the loftiest titles in the world and be highly recognized in religious circles, but this is not being spiritual. We can stand in pulpits with puffed-up chests and give great orations, but this is not being spiritual. Being spiritual comes from knowing Jesus, because in knowing Him, we become like Him.
Today, we do not have the Lord personally walking on this earth to teach us as He did His first disciples. Their fellowship with the Lord was very personal and intimate, and John summed up their experience.
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life-and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)
However, notice that John wrote his short epistle, which is an extension of his Gospel, so that those reading it would have fellowship with the Father and with His Son. But how are we to have this fellowship today? It must start in one place only-at the feet of our beloved Lord. Our fellowship with Him starts in His presence and continues in His presence. Fellowship is a daily walk with our Lord. It is drawing near to Him-seeking Him, listening for His voice-and, most of all, allowing Him to love us and in turn loving Him. The Lord Jesus is always ready and willing to come into His people to have fellowship. Even the church of the Laodiceans who are lukewarm toward the Lord are beckoned to open the door and allow Him into their lives for fellowship: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20). "I will come into him" is the most intimate of fellowship with the One who died for our sin and now wants to live in us for a future glory. The school of Christ begins and continues in the presence of the Lord.
What is the purpose of fellowship? It is to know Jesus! By knowing our beloved Lord, we also come to know our heavenly Father. After all, this is the heart of our Lord, to know the Father: "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3). As we sit at His feet in His presence, we are to continue to have fellowship through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The school of Christ is a daily digging into the Word of God, allowing the Spirit of truth to lead us into all truth, and obeying the will of God. It is in this way that a disciple’s daily walk continues to grow into a deeper personal relationship with the Lord. It is like the disciples who walked on the road to Emmaus after the Lord’s crucifixion. As they walked, discussing all the events of that dark day, Jesus appeared to them: And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). They did not recognize Him as he spoke to their hearts. It is recorded that, at the end of the day, they urged Him: "Stay with us, for it is {getting} toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." And He went in to stay with them. And it came about that when He had reclined {at the table} with them, He took the bread and blessed {it,} and breaking {it,} He {began} giving {it} to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:29-32). What a wonderful encouragement to every disciple of Christ. While He was walking with these men and speaking to them about the Scriptures, their hearts were burning. Why? Because they were with Jesus and He was teaching them. They were walking in His presence and the Word was being unveiled. In fact, the One who is the Word walked with them. But also notice when it was that their eyes were opened to see their Master. It was when He broke bread. Breaking bread speaks of fellowship. When we are in fellowship with our Lord, our eyes are opened to see Him more clearly. This is the walk of a disciple.
Now, returning to this matter of education: If all we have is knowledge without relationship, then it is formal, head knowledge. It will be words without the power. This is not to say that people should not go to Bible school. It is good to learn; but if we are not walking with the Lord, then our education is of little value. For those who feel led (know that the Lord has called them in a specific way) to minister in a public way in the assembly, the power to minister to others must come from a personal walk, a personal relationship with their beloved Lord. This was what set the first disciples apart from everyone else in their day. We need the teachings (doctrines) of Christ, for they are indispensable to every disciple of Christ (2 John 1:9), but we also need to walk with our Lord in accordance with these teachings. Walking implies a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, just as Adam, before the fall, walked in the Garden in the cool of the day with the Lord (Genesis 3:8). In Acts 4:20, it is recorded that Peter and John responded to the Jewish leaders: "We cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." What had they seen? Jesus! Whom had they heard? Jesus! They were in the school of Christ. Their lives were changed by the presence of His life. They knew this change came from being with Him. They were men who were in relationship with their Lord.
Every disciple of Christ must be trained in the school of Christ. We must have a personal walk with the Lord, one in which we are open to His teaching, exhortation, rebuke, which all come from His love for us. A seminary cannot do this for us. All a seminary or Bible school can do is give knowledge of Him, but it will never lead us to know Him. Having been with Jesus, we know Him. Paul was a highly educated Jewish leader, having been taught in the great school of his day (Acts 22:3); but when he met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he counted it as all loss for the sake of Christ (Php 3:7). His one passion in life was to know Christ, to gain Him and to be found in Him (Php 3:8-10). At the end of his life, Paul could declare that the Lord stood with him and strengthened him (2 Timothy 4:17). Paul had been with Jesus. This is the heart of a disciple of Christ and one who is in the school of Christ.
Filled With The Holy Spirit
Something already has been mentioned but is worth repeating. The vital need for every disciple is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, which comes through the Word of God. When Peter stood, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. In other accounts in the book of Acts, we find others filled, such as Stephen and Paul. Paul exhorted the Ephesians: "Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). He also exhorted the Colossians: "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you" (Colossians 3:16). The Spirit and the Word are inseparable. A disciple cannot learn without the Holy Sprit, and the Holy Spirit cannot teach without the Word. When Jesus walked with the disciples, He was their Helper, Comforter and Teacher who spoke the Word. Today, the Holy Spirit is our Helper and Comforter and Teacher who reveals the written Word. John tells us: And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him (1 John 2:27). The Holy Spirit abides in us. He is our Teacher. He is our anointing. But what is the key to this anointing and teaching? It is to abide in Christ. We must set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15) and make our home in Him as He makes His home in us. Our walk with Him must be a walk whereby we abide in Him and He in us. As we do, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us will teach us the things of Christ, will be our anointing to serve, and will lead us into greater depths of knowing and loving our beloved Lord. A certificate from a school will not fill us with the Holy Spirit. Only abiding in Christ and in His Word will fill us.
Glorifying God
Finally, when the rulers were finished threatening Peter and John, they let them go because the people were glorifying God for what had happened. They bore fruit to God and this brought Him glory. Dear brethren, this is the calling of a disciple-to glorify our Lord and our God, not ourselves. The Holy Spirit came to glorify the Lord. If we are filled with the Spirit, then we must and will give the glory to God. If we take any glory for ourselves, we will receive our reward in this life and not in the coming Kingdom. As the Psalmist cried out, we too need to cry out: Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Thy name give glory because of Thy lovingkindness, because of Thy truth (Psalms 115:1). To Thy name give the glory, not to our name. We are to be disciples of the Name that is above every other name. But not only this, we are to glorify our Father who is in heaven by bearing much fruit.
"By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and {so} prove to be My disciples." (John 15:8) A disciple is not a disciple in name only but one who proves that he is a disciple of Christ by bearing much fruit. Bearing fruit in this life is vital to receiving reward in the age to come. Fruit comes from having a listening ear to hear and understand the Word of the Kingdom. A Disciple Is A Listener
Returning to Isaiah’s prophetic word, we discover that a disciple must be a listener if he is to be a learner. How can one learn if he does not listen? If one does not learn, how can he be a disciple of the Kingdom?
He awakens {me} morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear. (Isaiah 50:4 b-5a) When He walked this earth, Jesus continually was listening for His Father’s voice. He came to do His will and this required a listening ear. As prophetically revealed through Isaiah, while on earth, Jesus was awakened by His Father each day, morning by morning. He awoke with His ear to listen to His Father as a learner, and the Father was faithful to open His ear each day to hear. His listening ear kept Him on the road to the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).
Likewise, to be a disciple, a believer must be a listener. A disciple must have an ear that listens for the Master’s voice. The Lord Jesus gave very clear instruction in this matter.
"Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like." (Luke 6:47) But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21)
There are many other Scriptures that instruct us to hear. In fact, throughout the book of Revelation, we are exhorted: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says."
Today, there are so many voices speaking persuasive but deceptive words, it is essential that we have the ears of a disciple. In speaking on the Mysteries of the Kingdom, the Lord Jesus warned: "Therefore take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him shall {more} be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him" (Luke 8:18).
How much more vital is it for us today to awaken each morning with the ear of a disciple? Let every man be swift to hear (James 1:19NKJ). We must pray to our Lord God that He would open our ear each day. We need to hear the voice of our Master and our good Shepherd. We need to be swift to hear Him. How will we know what to do? How will we know how to serve one another? We need a hearing ear. We must be listeners. But let us not forget that the hearing is directly linked to His Word which is the written Word of God. It is the Word that we are to read and allow the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to teach us and to guide us into all the truth (John 16:13). It is the Word that saves our soul (James 1:21) and will lead us into the Heavenly Kingdom. However, one who desires to become a disciple of the Kingdom must hear a specific word, and it is the Word of the Kingdom: "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:19). A listening ear hears the Word of the Kingdom and understands it in such a way so as to bear fruit, even much fruit.
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty." (Matthew 13:23)
However, it is not merely listening to words. It is taking the words, understanding them and receiving them in the heart. The heart must be the good soil.
"And the {seed} in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." (Luke 8:15)
These few words sum up the path of the disciple of the Kingdom: hearing with the ear, planting in the heart, holding fast to what has been planted, watering it with the Word, persevering through the time of trial (drought, rain, wind) and bearing fruit to the glory of God. Bearing fruit to the glory of God proves that a believer is a son of the Kingdom who will be rewarded with the inheritance of the Kingdom and who will reign with Christ in the coming Kingdom as a son of God. And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and {as for} the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom." (Matthew 13:37-38)
"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:43{ea}) This is the key to becoming a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven-an ear to hear, and an honest and good heart. How much more important is this matter of hearing as we see the Day approaching? A Disciple Is An Encourager A disciple is not only one who hears and learns but one who speaks with all graciousness. The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. (Isaiah 50:4) Was this not our Lord Jesus? After all, He was the One who came for the afflicted, the downtrodden, the sick, the blind, the lame. He called ones to come unto Him and He would give rest to weary souls. Is He not the One today who continues to give His people a word in season to encourage and lift up weary souls? He is the good Shepherd, and the Shepherd knows His sheep and knows what they need to hear. He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1 Peter 2:25NKJ). He sustains His people with His living Word. He is the Word of God, and what comes from His mouth to His weary ones is meant to sustain and keep them.
True disciples of Christ are encouragers as the Lord Jesus is an encourager. We need the tongue of disciples so that we can give a sustaining word to our weary brethren. With so many things happening in the world today and particularly amongst believers, there is a vital necessity for those who can give a sustaining word, an encouraging word to lift up the heart of a weary brother or sister. Encouragement comes through love and grace.
All of the Lord’s people are called to be disciples. This is our calling. As disciples, we must be encouragers to others. Are you daily seeking the Lord, listening for His voice to give you a word for a brother or sister in the Lord or someone lost in the world that the Holy Spirit may bring into your path that day?
Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. (Isaiah 35:3) Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)
We all are exhorted to encourage one another. This is one of the greatest needs of the day and one vital responsibility of every disciple. It is to be done day after day. In this way, the body is built up in love. The writer of the Hebrew letter has left us a word that is more relevant today than when it was first penned.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)
What is the confession of our hope? The Lord is coming again! How do we know? Because He is faithful! What are we to do? Stimulate one another to love and good deeds, encouraging one another as we meet together. But notice that the Holy Spirit added an extra admonition that would take on greater importance to disciples living in the last of the last days. We are exhorted to do these things all the more as we see the Day approaching or drawing near. It is significant that this exhortation is to you, not to the collective we. In other words, every disciple of Christ has a responsibility in this matter of encouraging, more so as you see the Day approaching. This requires every disciple to be looking for the Day. What is the Day? It is the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes for His people and to judge this world. This is the Day in which He will take the scepter of the Kingdom and begin to rule over this earth. A disciple of the Kingdom is looking for the Day and encouraging all the more. A Disciple Is Not Disobedient
Referring once again to Isaiah, we discover that, prophetically speaking, the Lord Jesus was not disobedient to what He heard from the Father. There was a goal set before Him and nothing could cause Him to turn from this goal. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. (Isaiah 50:5)
Throughout the book of John, we find the Lord Jesus stressed over and over again that He did nothing apart from the Father. He heard what the Father was saying and He obeyed. He was perfect in His obedience.
"I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 5:30)
All true disciples of Christ know that they must follow in their Master’s footsteps. How can a disciple do anything apart from the Lord?
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) In other words, a disciple is one who obeys. But it is actually more than this. As our Lord said, "I was not disobedient." We find a very similar word from our brother Paul: "Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19).
Testifying before King Agrippa, Paul could say that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision that was given to him on the road to Damascus. To the end of his life, Paul did not disobey what he saw and what he was called to do in preaching the Kingdom of God and proclaiming the whole purpose of God. As disciples, we too are called not to be disobedient to what we have seen and heard. It is through obedience that a disciple enters the coming Reign of the Heavens. A Disciple Takes Up His Cross
Obedience requires the cross to be worked in a disciple’s life. The Lord’s cross was uniquely His cross to bear. No man could bear the sin of the world except the Son, made perfect forever (Hebrews 7:28). But Jesus commanded all who desire to be His disciples to take up their cross. And He was saying to {them} all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-27) "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:38)
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24)
If a disciple is to be worthy of the Lord, then he must be willing to give up his own life, deny himself, take up his own cross and follow the Lord. For the disciple, the cross is a one-time act that continues every day of a disciple’s life. It is a demand for a complete laying down of one’s life to follow the One who is the one true love of the life of a disciple. Instead of a self-centered life, the disciple lives a Christ-centered life: For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Php 1:21). The cross means that the Lord Jesus is first in a disciple’s love. All other loves take second place. It is a demand for a heart fully given to the Master: "So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions" (Luke 14:33).
Unfortunately, when the Lord Jesus walked on this earth, there were those who found His words too difficult and they no longer walked with Him.
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." (John 6:54-56)
Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" (John 6:60)
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." (John 6:63) As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. (John 6:66)
Why were these words so difficult? Because they demanded all of a disciple’s life! A disciple is one who is consumed with a passion for his Lord and Savior. A disciple is one who can only live as he takes in the Lord’s life. Jesus becomes his drink and food, his sustenance in this life. He cannot live without the Lord Jesus. As Paul said, It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20 b). Nothing of this earth matters, for a disciple is seeking for that heavenly city where the throne of God and of the Lamb will reside forever (Revelation 22:3). When a disciple takes up his cross, he is leaving all the things of the world behind, pressing on toward the heavenly goal in Christ and never looking back (Luke 9:62; Php 3:13-14): "Nor did I turn back" (Isaiah 50:5). This is a true disciple of Christ. A Disciple Is A Lover
Finally, and most importantly, a disciple is to be a lover. Intimately joined to the cross is love, for love is expressed through the cross: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). Without love, there would have been no cross, for here we see the greatest expression of love the world has ever known or will ever know. The Lord expressed His love through the cross, and every disciple who takes up his cross is to express this same kind of love. Our Lord commands such love.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) The first and foremost requirement of a disciple is to love. This love comes from a love for our Lord: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). From this heart for the Lord goes forth love for brothers and sisters in Christ. If we love one another as Christ has commanded and in the way that He loved us (a life laid down), then the world will see the love of God manifested in "one another."
"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and {that} your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:9-13)
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16) A disciple must abide in Christ and abide in His love. In this way, the world will see that we are disciples of Christ, just as the early church pioneers were seen as Christians by unbelievers in Antioch (Acts 11:26). God is love and this is the very foundation of being a disciple. Disciples are to be vessels of His love and grace. Love and grace cannot be separated because our Lord Jesus is full of grace, for of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace (John 1:16). Love leads a disciple to continue in grace and to give grace to the brethren (Acts 13:43; Ephesians 4:29). This is the walk of a disciple of Christ, a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven. If we trod the path of a true disciple, it will lead us into the coming Kingdom of our Lord, the Reign of the Heavens. In many respects, this is not an easy path to follow. There are many obstacles and hindrances. But we have been given the Word of God and the Holy Spirit who can lead us in the way in which we are to go. As we yield to the Person of the Holy Spirit, the life of the Lord Jesus will be formed in us (Galatians 4:19). Our Lord’s life will lead us as a disciple. We will listen; we will learn; we will obey; we will die to self; we will encourage; and we will love as our Lord loves. By this all men will know that you are My disciples-a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven!