Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.
"Hold fast the form of sound words, . . .." 2 Timothy 1:13.
"Fundamentals" strike terror in the heart of educated liberals. Liberalism and humanism preach that there are no moral absolutes. But like it or not, there are. To live are absolutes within absolutes! In one’s blood. In one’s food. There are well over 200 "fundamentals" or absolutes without which men can not live within the conditions of the Earth. The same can be said about all the elements of life and anything that functions.
Discipling also has fundamental principles that must be understood and used. Without these basics, discipling will be aborted, deformed, incomplete, or only something that hasn't worked under a previous name.
Discipling involves fundamental attitudes and functions to accomplish its designed goal of spiritual reproduction. These functions have different applications with varying degrees of effectiveness.
They vary according to the needs and difficulties of those involved. Working with literate or illiterate people differ only as to the means of getting spiritual truths into their understanding. These goals work towards increasing obedience stimulated by cultivating their faith. This applies whether the discipler uses literature distribution, one–on–one methods or group study with lecture and/or directed discussion.
1. Discipling must be a conviction and not a fad.
Many practice and view the discipling as a fad.
To them discipling is something new and novel. When this happens most often they are not following the fundamentals of discipling as found in the Word of God. Their decision to use discipling comes from other motivations such as: stimulated new interest in learning, or for increasing attendance, or as something that they have heard other churches are doing. Because of this their program of discipling will fade away just as other fad projects fade away.
The primary motivation for discipleship must be obedience to the Lord. For the command to make disciples is prefaced by Christ is citing his complete authority in heaven and on Earth. In Matthew 28:18,". .all power (literally authority)" comes from the Greek word authority indicating what He is in His person and office. For the person who is considering the command to make disciples, it must come from his faith in who Jesus is.
He must consider Jesus is Emmanuel, God in the flesh, His High Priest who offered himself as a sacrifice for man's sins, then as Intercessor in heaven, as the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords to him, then as the one to whom all must give an account as to what your stewardship of God's Word has been? These are powerful considerations, shows a person has to made when Jesus said in Matthew 28:16– 20. This must be a conviction.! This stewardship will be a first order of consideration before Jesus' Judgment Seat!
Conviction is necessary from a practical standpoint. Because while salvation comes as an act of faith, i.e., - dependence upon God's promises, commands, and faithfulness. Discipleship is difficult because it involves not only the discipling teacher's obedience of faith, but developing the same in others. This is one reason why Jesus promised to be with those who faithfully practice discipleship (Matt 28:20). As Jesus said in John 15:5 “. . without me you can do nothing.”
This basic motivation of obedience to the Lord and His complete "authority in heaven and on Earth" (Matthew 28:18) is to demonstrate the kind of love Jesus says is accepted before Him and God the Father: For He said:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
(John 14:21 NASU)
This is reinforced by His successive statement in verse 24: "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.” (John 14:24 NASU).
An added observation is that the wording "all authority" is the only place where He used these words.
The first step of obedience in spiritual warfare
This is to know and be yielded to do his will completely[1]. The proof of our salvation is loving obedience motivated by faith[2]. Love for His person is an essential part of a saving relationship: “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!” (1 Cor 16:22 NKJV).
Faith counts God and his testimony to be true which is the foundation of spiritual life: "He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.” (John 3:33)[3].
To possess these realities the Lord declared that believers must prove their faith by continuing in His Word's ministry (John 8:31, 32).
Only on this basis would they experience freedom from the dominion of sin and have enablement to fulfill His will. When this relationship with the Lord and His Word delivers one from a lifestyle of sin and self will Jesus finally accept believers as “truly disciples of Mine." (John 8:31, 32).
2. Personal Involvement.
As their discipler, Paul likens the relationship between him and his disciples to a being parent. He was following the Lord’s example who gave the experience of personal involvement.
First, He humbled Himself, becoming Emmanuel, God with us in a physical body. As a human, He experienced human frailties. He became fatigued, became hungry and thirsty, He experienced bodily pain, He experienced disappointments and restraint, and finally death and desertion. He experienced the excitement of human desires to enjoy, to contemplate.
He experienced the satanic temptations to be more than the limits He set in creating man. He set the great example of caring for human needs. He even gave them an example of personal involvement by washing their feet. He taught them by living with His twelve disciples and close associates. He taught them in the context of their circumstances.
His discipling ministry was most clearly seen with the Twelve, and also with those who follow Him[4]. He counted them as friends and, as such, confided in them (John 15:15). Their inner acting relationship was one of love. As such, He held up His example of love as the standard for His command to His disciples to love each other (John 13:34, 35).
Secondly, as a family, they shared their lives together under His parental watch care. He came as a Son working with His Father in the family enterprise.
In John 20:21, the Lord Jesus told the Apostles to go as the Father sent Him. While He had a wide public ministry of preaching and evangelizing, and making disciples, which characterized His ministry (John 4:1, 2). This sets the example for believing disciples to minister (1 John 1:3).
As in a family, personally involved applications to disciples’ progress must be monitored to discern remedial, adjustment, and special opportunity needs. In order to fully utilize the fundamentals, the discipler must discern when to use what kind of teaching and exhortation to fulfill Christ’s Commandments[5]. The Lord Jesus and the Apostles dealt with people according to their spiritual condition[6].
Some teachers are mature enough to do this without tests or measuring instruments, but most just think they can. They violate the principle of personal involvement. Most don't take the time to get to know their disciples well enough. So their information fails to be sufficient, making their judgment defective.
Insufficient information leads to hasty generalizations and inadequate guidance. This especially applies to short term counseling. Others, like pilots that don't use a check off list, discover that they have overlooked some details of real importance, to the endangerment of those they serve. For this reason I have constructed The Investment Log and Planning Guide with three analytical charts. The information must be applied to a worksheet to plan ongoing discipling in light of thought out observations. I got this concept from Rus Korth, former Southeastern Representative of the Navigators.
3. Defining according to goals
However, these discipling fundamentals must be defined in the light of their goals. Too many undertake discipling to maintain attendance, to improve the quality of life, to reproduce spiritual life, or to achieve full reconciliation with the Lord.
However, the greatest reason must come from the Lord's commandment in His Great Commission (Matt 28:16–20). The same can be said about fields of service, baptism, teaching, and group interaction.
In all of this, discipling must be characterized as personal involvement, because it must achieve the personal involvement of family. For the reconciled become God’s family. Yet without using the foundational goals the Lord designed into discipling, these good secondary goals will be like a house without a foundation or a bathtub without a stopper[7].
4. Evangelism Is Not Complete without Basic Discipling
The Lord Jesus, while tentatively accepting the faith of Jews, who had just come to believe in Him, told them that they needed a further ministry from His Word: to be ". . truly
disciples of Mine;." He said that they needed to find freedom from the ignorance of sin and to experience release from sin's domination through faith in Him[8].
Most of the Epistles were written to stabilize the faith of those who were evangelized earlier, especially in Galatians, Colossians, Hebrews, and First John. Also, Paul went on his second missionary journey for this reason (Acts 15:36).
Indeed, the Council of the Apostles and the Jerusalem Church was convened because legalism had caused doubt that Gentiles could be saved by faith without Mosaic Law observance[9].
Goals of Discipling
3. To develop obedience of faith:
To faithfully relate to Jesus as one’s Great Shepherd and discipling teacher – "He calls, I follow." John 10:10, 27.
The basic goal of discipling is to stimulate obedience by cultivating faith into the character of disciples[10]. The lack of obedience of faith, as a ruling attitude, is the single greatest reason discipling failures.
Associated with this is the lack of many pastors and teachers of doing basic study of key passages in the original Greek text. Without checking the Greek text, how can the individual be confronted with Christ's commandment to disciple? How can he accept discipling as a stewardship? In effect he can not have the attitude of unconditional commitment to every Word of God, because he is a slave to a translation.
The Lord Jesus sanctified the authority of the original by saying even the smallest Hebrew letters of the Old Testament Law could not pass away, until fulfilled through His redemptive ministry. Must not believers hold the inspired Greek text of the New Testament just as authoritative. Meditate on Revelation 22:19. Translations are translations and can only have the force of how well they reflect original inspired text.
Challenge of Effort
If helps available to study the original text are used, anyone of normal intelligence and commitment to what the Apostles actually wrote, can discover the added emphasis Lord Jesus placed on the command to make disciples. For they would have their attention drawn to His citation of complete authority as the context to His command to make disciples (Matt 28:18). He made this emphasis because He knew that since spiritual leaders are so often distracted, having so many things to do. They tend to focus on the easier and short term to the neglect of the more difficult and longer term fundamentals (Luke 11:42). Discipling requires more time than evangelism or enrolling people in Sunday School. Therefore, the Lord commands discipling by making it an issue of their relation to His Person. This can be seen from the entomology of Greek word, "power" in the KJV and "authority" elsewhere.
Opposition of Tradition
Causes abound for unresponsiveness to the Lord's command to disciple. One of the chief barriers of responding to Scripture through the ages, both in Israel and the Church, is tradition.
One benefit of the interdenominational movement has been the setting aside of the divisive traditions. However, in doing so even the consideration of what the Scripture says about these issues are often dismissed. Although not the only reason, zeal for traditional understandings led Israel to crucify their Savior, just as nations with State Churches have murdered reformers.
The Word of God commended the Bereans for searching the Scriptures to verify the correctness of the Apostle Paul's teaching (Acts 17:11). The Apostles command verification of truth as a way of life (1 Thess 5:21;1 John 4:1). He even says that diligence in correctly interpreting Scripture gains God's approval (2 Tim 2:15).
However, even in Jesus day, some believers could not shake the hold of traditionalism to confess Christ (John 19:38). Even more, many are just not willing to seek truth enough to find it (James 1:5–8). Too many are not diligent enough to look up the English words, let alone the words of Hebrew and Greek to be more sure of correctly interpreting God's Word. They just accept the traditional teachings of their particular group.
A lack of diligence in Bible study by not considering the original words of Scripture important enough to dig out their full meaning. This makes leaders slaves to tradition. In countries where helps are available, the dedicated student can do this by using a dictionary, exhaustive concordance, or lexicon. Without this, tradition has been allowed to hide the commandment with all authority in Heaven and on Earth to make disciples
In the case of The Great Commission (Matt 28:16– 20), a part of the problem of giving unreserved obedience to Christ’s command cannot be done without noticing the difference between "teach" of the KJV in verse 19 and the "teaching" in verse 20.
The "teaching" (didascw) of verse 20 has to do with conveying information by words and reasoning for the purpose of teaching to apply truth to one's lifestyle. As Jesus put it ". . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded . . ." While "teach" (maqhteuw) of verse 19 means to make disciples, i.e., to give the believer the internal motivation of the disciple's self concept.
The Motivating Power of Self Concept
“For as he thinks within himself, so he is." (Prov 23:7). Everyone has a self concept. One's self concept is how one conceives of what that one is in relation to his environment. It determines what his basic orientation and direction of change is. Christian marriage furnishes one of the most common and yet dramatic illustrations of how a change in self concept changes conduct and development. Godly people find entirely different roles and lifestyles from what they had before marriage or conversion took place.
All of us have observed in the classroom great differences between students’ accomplishments even though they have the same basic intelligence. Some only endure being in the classroom, others seemed at home and find fulfillment in being a student. The difference? Self concept. The ones that accept the role of being students generally succeed. The ones that think of themselves as students act like students. They find fulfillment developing through their studies.
This is why the Lord Jesus commanded the Apostles to make disciples for him ". . . unto the end of the age." By doing so, they built the Church as a fellowship of disciples (Acts 11:26). Disciples find fulfillment in learning to live as disciples. In doing so, they first find freedom and peace from the power of inbred sin, and “. . with all joy and peace in believing . .” (Rom 15:13 NASU). This is a peace in the acknowledgment of being “. . accepted in the beloved.” (Eph 1:6 KJV) and glorifying Him in reaching others in evangelism and discipling them (Mt 28:18-20). Who will find peace and fulfillment being reconciled to God. in order to fulfill God's purpose in training and redeeming them. In the New Testament, water baptism was the point of demarcation of living as a disciple.
What a Disciple's Self Concept Is.
What then is the disciple's self concept? The Greek word for disciple is mathētḗs. Its most frequent Greek use describes disciples as apprentices. We call this type of learning on–the–job training. The disciple becomes a part of his teacher’s activity, whether business, manufacturing, or philosophical school, for the purpose of learning and practicing the teacher's knowledge, skills, and lifestyle. Without a teacher that trains them, there is no disciple[11]. However, the teacher usually has several others in his activity, so new disciples were in group contexts, and from those, the teacher may choose to supervise or tutor him.
To Promote the Teacher’s Doctrine and Reputation
The disciple remains under his teacher's authority until the teacher's knowledge and skill is reproduced in him and he is practicing what he has learned. This is how the Greek philosophers, crafts, and citizenship were preserved. Because of this training, the teacher's reputation was attached to his disciple. This principle begins in its Christian application in the waters of baptism: "baptizing them in (the Greek eis: into) the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..."
A study on Moses’ organization of this role reveals a very similar methodology. His plan used the priests, leaders, and the family as discipling relationships (Deut 6:1–12). The training of Samuel illustrates a discipling relationship outside physical family dissent. But during the Exodus, Moses used captains over groups as small as 10 as one means of teaching the people to observe the ways and commandments of God in living situations (Exodus 18:16–22). Indeed, those who profess to be Moses strictest followers, the Pharisees, called them selves disciples of Moses (John 9:28).
Much more could be said, but Christ asserted His complete authority to emphasize His command to make disciples to the end of the Church age. Therefore, obeying The Great Commission becomes a measure of one's faith response to Christ's Person and office. To be practiced as a stewardship, discipling demands a fundamental commitment to the Lord. Being a committed disciple of Christ becomes an expression of obedience of faith (John 10:27; 8:31–36; Rom 1:5).
Acknowledgment Is Not Obedience
Acknowledging that The Great Commission calls for the making of disciples does not constitute obedience. Many speak of discipling as an "ought to" but make little effort to investigate the "why to," and the "how to" or the "get it done."
4. Discipling’s Scope Is Spiritual Reproduction
The Lord Jesus commanded mature disciples to make disciples that make disciples unto the end of the age (Matt 28:16–20). This does not mean that everyone must become a leadership disciple. For in the New Testament Church, members are given spiritual gifts and callings that differ from one another (Rom 12:3–8).
Spiritual reproduction must first experience maturity in character, knowledge, and use of the Scriptures, and secondarily in spiritual gifts (Rom 12:1–21) and callings of functions (Eph 4:11–16; Acts 13: 1–4). For instance, older women are to teach younger women (Titus 2:3–5). The scope starts with reaching the lost, and has plans within its curriculum the ability to reproduce leadership disciples that serve even as missionaries (2 Tim 2:2; Acts 14:14).
5. Disciples Must Carry the Disciple's Cross for an Exchanged Life.
"And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." Luke 9:23–25.
The Disciple's Cross Is the Disciples Appropriating Lifestyle
These words "come after me," and "follow me" describes the lifestyle of a disciple at whatever level of maturity (Luke 14:27). It is exercising obedient faith of following Christ in ways that give progressive fulfilment. The Disciple's Cross are principles of faith that exchange natural life for Christ's life. The believer does this by exercising his soul life with the disciple’s lifestyle. There are seven basic principles of the disciple’s lifestyle: sacrifice (Luke 9:23, 24); faith reckoning (Rom 6:11, 13, 16; Matt 28:19); study (Matt 11:28–30; 28:20; 2 Tim 2:2, 15); reproduction (Matt 28:16–20; 2 Tim 2:2); faith responsiveness (John 10:27; Rom 8:14); love (John 13:34, 35); and prayer (Luke 18:1; James 1:5–8; 5: 10, 15). This lifestyle functions best in a fellowship of disciples and/or a discipled Local Church (Acts 11:26; 14:21–23; 1 Tim 3:15;Heb 13:7, 17).
In Galatians 2:20, the Apostle Paul testified of his matured experience of being a disciple (Acts 9:26–28) as he finished the experience of carrying The Disciple's Cross: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
6. Discipling Involves Accountability.
In John 20:21, the Lord sent His disciples in the same way that the Father had sent Him. In the course of His redemptive work of the Lord made so many disciples that the Jewish leaders became alarmed and planned His death (John 4:1; Matt 27:18). He would test His disciples in order to expand their spiritual life and trust in Him (Matt 16:13–20; John 6:6). He was recognized as a teacher in the style of a Rabbi. In the Rabbinic style of teaching a Scripture passage would be read, the teacher would make his comments, allow questions, and discussion (Luke 2:46, 47; 4:16–22; Acts 14:14–45). When people became disciples, the pastors were held responsible to hold their disciple's accountable to God's truth as a means of guiding their growth in knowledge, faith, and spiritual life[12] .
7. The Small Group Dynamic.
This dynamic was in operation long before discipling became a common method of training in New Testament times. The family was the first small group that God established. One of its chief purposes was reproduction, and was not confined to the physical aspect. While there was just Adam and Eve Adam did one–on–one teaching to Eve. The use and prohibitions of the Garden of Eden were given to Adam before Eve was created, she also had to be taught the names of the animals Adam had given them.
However, some small group learning as a family began when children were born. One reason that God chose Abraham was that God knew he would teach his children to observe God's ways (Gen 18:17–19). From the prayer of Abraham's chief servant, we can conclude that he taught the ways of God to his household as well, which was a small group.
Moses also used small groups as a means of teaching and enforcing God's Law. Not only was the family responsible to teach[13], but Moses organized Israel into group divisions as small as ten (Ex 18:25).
Even though the word disciple and a large part on the methodology of discipling came through the Greeks, yet, in the Gospel era discipling was practiced by many and was a part of the Jewish system (John 9:28). Discipling in small groups was an essential method of Jewish teaching. While teaching was done by lecture in the Synagogues, discussion among themselves with questioning the teacher was also a part. Relative to the Temple worship, Synagogues were small groups. The Synagogues functioned as the weekly place of worship and spiritual instruction for the people as a whole. However, for further training, still smaller groups were used to train Rabbis and leaders (Acts 22:3).
From Matthew 28:16–20, the Lord Jesus gave the responsibility for making and training disciples to mature and trained men, i.e., the Eleven Disciples, soon to be Apostles. Further, the process was to be continued until the end of the age. Therefore, from 2 Timothy 2:2 and the practice of the Apostolic Church, subordinate teachers were to continue the discipling process[14].
From 1 Corinthians 14:24–33; Hebrews 10:24, 25; 13:7, 17, this interactivity of learning and exhortation can only be done in small groups. The fact that homes were used exclusively for Church meetings indicates that the life of disciples were in relatively small groups. The large meetings spoken of in Acts were almost always for evangelistic purposes (Acts 2).
God's gift of mature and gifted men has the purpose of using every part of the Church to become a self edifying organism[15]. From observing what the Apostle Paul wrote about his associates, 2 Timothy 2:2 could describe the way they worked together in a self edifying relationship. Paul would teach the small group usually, but while he was teaching the group, Timothy would be learning by observation, and later through Paul’s one–on–one critiquing and teaching. The result was that Paul could instruct him through following his example. In a number of instances, where Paul could not go himself, he would send Timothy to do what was necessary. Indeed, the Epistles that bear Timothy's name were written both to coach and to encourage him to authenticate his ministry to the ones he was sent.
Timothy illustrated what it meant to progress from being a beginning, committed disciple to being a faithful. Then, he was instructed enough to be able to teach others as a qualified teacher. Titus also illustrates the same cycle of growth unto being a responsible teacher (Luke 6:40).
While preaching and teaching have their scriptural benefits, would not the structuring of the small discipling group according to2 Timothy 2:2 enable fulfilling the whole discipling process that we have surveyed? While those available for discipling may not be qualified to fill the higher three levels of 2 Timothy 2:2, would it not be best to work towards such a self edifying teaching structure using whatever maturity they possess?
Seven Types of Small Groups for a Self Edifying Church
Further, in the Acts, there are seven small groups functioning within the Apostolic Local Church. They are identifiable by those who participate in them as well as the function they are described to be doing. They are: growth groups (Acts 2:41, 46); Elders/Pastors groups (Acts 6:1, 4; 20:17–31). practical work groups (Acts 6:2– 5), deacons, (1Tim 3:8–13); evangelistic teams (Acts 10:21–23); teacher teams (Acts 11:2–26); prayer and missions functions (Acts 13:1–5; 15:27– 16:3).
In Acts 1, the activity could be called an administrative function. In first and second Corinthians, the collection of money for helping the poor believers in Judea could be considered under this category. If each of these groups adopted the four levels of organizing from 2 Timothy 2:2, the mature Local Church would truly be self edifying and fully reproductive in every function[16].
8. Discipling is designed either to build Churches or to a principle of self edifying operation.
In the Acts, the word "disciples" is used 240 times, but the word Church is only used eighteen times. When the Gospels are considered, the word Church is only used three times, and that in Matthew. The word, disciple/disciples, is used over 200 times. Disciples are learners in various levels of faith, commitment, and spiritual maturity. Water baptism[17] marked a point of demarcation of full commitment to the Person and message of the discipler[18]. In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus’ disciples still identify themselves as members of Israel. In the Acts, disciples grew numerically and were identified as a distinct group within Israel. Israel grew in their rejection of the Lord and the New Testament message and dispensation.
The disciples also grew enough in numbers to need further organization (Acts 6:1–7). However, the word "Church" was not used as an identity of a distinctly new and separate group. They were only Israeli disciples that met as fulfilled Israelis.
The Word "Church," meant an assembly or call out ones. It appears only to be know as committed disciples working as an identifiable group. But as Gentiles became disciples in such numbers that their Churches were not at all Jewish, and did not in any way relate themselves as under the Mosaic Law, the Church became a new identity. In the book of Acts and in his Epistles, the Apostle Paul relates that the Church was the fulfillment of little understood sections of Old Testament prophecy (Rom 16:25, 26). The character of the Church began to appear in Acts 11:26 in the three words: disciples, Church, and Christian which are tied together as synonyms:
“And when he had found him (Paul), he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught (the Greek word used in Matthew 28:20 for developing disciples) much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26).
The assembly of disciples (Acts 1:16) was not called a Church (a gathering) until they had made and baptized 3000 disciples (Acts 2:47). The Church added deacons so the discipling teachers could continue their work of multiplying the number of disciples and maturing them (Acts 11:26). In Acts 14:21–23, the pattern is clearly seen in this short passage: "they taught" (maqhteuw) to made them disciples. Paul led them to become disciples by practicing the Lord Jesus instructions to new believers to stay in the Word as disciples until free from the ignorance and enslavement to sin’s domination “. . strengthening the souls of the disciples." Then, he organized them into a Local Church having appointed Elders for leadership (Acts 11:26).
In conclusion:
Fundamentals are defined as essentials. What has been covered in this essay are essential parts of New Testament discipleship. This has been demonstrated in this survey by exposition, observation, and substantiated by the Scriptures cited. The careful and committed reader will be a Berean (Acts 17:11) and search the Scriptures to see if the things cited are true.
Just remember, in the original text of The Great Commission, Lord Jesus commanded, discipling with all authority in Heaven and on Earth. If you do not stewardship discipling what will you say to Him at the
[1] 2 Cor 10:4, 5; Eph 6:10 – 20.
[2] John 10:27, 28; 14:23, 24
[3] Also: 1 John 5:10; Rom 6:10--16; John 10:10
[4]Acts 1:21–23; Matt 27:55
[5] Matt 28:20; John 21:15–17
[6]1 Cor 3:1, 2; Heb 5:12–6:2
[7] John 17:1–3, 18–22; Matt 4:19; Acts 20:28, 29: 1 Thess 2:17–29; 2:7–11.
[8] Rom 7:23–8:9; 2 Peter 1:3, 4; 1 Peter 1:23; John 3:1–7
[9]Acts 15:1–32. Also compare: John 8:31–36; Gal 4:19, 20; Col 1:23, 27–29; Acts 14:21–23; Heb 4:1–11.
[10] Rom 1:5;16:25, 26
[11] Mathētḗs is the usual word for apprentice. Any student is a disciple if he has a teacher. There is thus no mathētḗs without a didaskalos. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 416, vol 4.
[12]Titus 1:5–14;1 Tim 3:1–5; 2 Tim 4:1–5; Heb 13:7, 17; Also examine: Matthew 16:13–20; Acts 20:28, 29; Titus 1:5–14; Hebrews 13:7, 17.
[13] Deut 4:9, 10; 6:1– 9, 20–25
[14]Acts 14:21–23; Eph 4:11–16; 1 Tim 3:1–15
[15]Eph 4:11– 16; Rom 12:3– 8
[16]Also examine Matthew 28:16; 10:1 -- 42; 18:19, 20; Ephesians 4:11–16; Acts: 2:46; 5:42; 20:20; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Hebrews 10:24, 25.
[17] Baptizing in Matthew 28:19 is a modal participle. A. T. Robertson him pages 1127 and 1128 says that this shows that baptism is a means of making disciples.
[18]Luke 7:28, 29; Matt 28:16–20
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