Christ’s Call to Discipleship
By Terry Cheek Th.D.
McDowell County
John Walvoord had this to say about the gospel of Matthew.
1 “Matthew includes five major discourses in his gospel. Each of the five ends
with a similar phrase, “’ And when Jesus had finished…’ (Matt. 7:28; 11:1;
13:53; 19:1; 26:1). The five discourses are as follows: • The Sermon on the
Mount—the main principles of Christ’s teaching (Matt. 5–7) • The
“missionary instructions” to the Twelve (Matt. 10) • The discourse on the
mysteries of the kingdom—a response to rejection (Matt. 13) • The
“community instructions” to the disciples (Matt. 18) • The Olivet
Discourse—the end time preceding the second coming (Matt. 24–25).”
Back in 2018, I completed a series of articles that appeared in the Blue
Ridge Christian News from the Sermon on the Mount. The time has come to
revisit the discourses of Christ. With that said let’s look at the “missionary
Instructions” given by Christ to His twelve and learn how they apply to every
saint of God.
We begin by seeing Christ call His disciples by name. This may look like a
simple naming of people by Christ. I see more, Christ knows His own, He
has called them, saved them, trained them, and equipped them for His
service. Now He calls them by name. Notice from God’s word Matthew 10:1-
4,
“1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power
over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and
all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and
Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose
surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who
also betrayed Him.”
Why missionary instructions? First, we like the disciples have been called to
fulfill the great commission. To do this we must understand how we are
prepared theologically, doctrinally, and spiritually to go about the Lord’s
work daily. I fear we have become distracted by social, political, and
financial issues taking place in our nation and the world. I’m not saying we
should not be aware of, understand, and be involved with them. However, if
they become such a distraction that we set aside our commission from Christ
for worldly distraction, we have become sidelined concerning the Lord’s
Work. Second, Through the exposition of Matthew chapter 10, I hope to
awaken or reawaken our zeal to serve the Lord as His disciples to spread the
gospel around the corner and the world.
Notice from Matthew chapter 10 verse one how Christ prepared them, He
gave them power!
“1And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power
over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and
all kinds of disease.”
Power translates the Greek word exousia which is defined through the Blue
Letter Bible as; “the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege).”
This power was specific, unclean spirits, sickness, and disease. A word of
warning, Jesus’ words here are for these disciples and their task. This use of
power is indicative of God equipping his disciples for his work in their given
time. Throughout history, God has provided power as necessary for
His people to accomplish His mission of spreading the gospel. Discipleship
isn’t a class we attend weekly. It is much more, continue with me, please.
A disciple of Christ, are those who are genuinely born again, that is the elect
who are saved by Grace through faith in Christ. We are called to represent
Him and carry the gospel. To do this the Lord will provide the power that is
necessary for the task ahead. Take a moment and let that sink in. The
Saints of God are saved to glorify God and that includes being a disciple of
Christ and sharing the gospel. But, how do we accomplish this? Being a
disciple and presenting the gospel isn’t within our natural ability. Discipleship
is the Grace of God imputed to us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Just as
Adam’s sin was imputed to us at birth, and Jesus’ righteousness was imputed to
us the moment we accepted His invitation to be born again, it is a
supernatural ability. It is through that grace we obtain righteousness and
through that Grace, we find Faith in Christ. From Christ, we have everything
we need to accurately proclaim the gospel, as a personal witness of its life-
changing eternal impact. Saints, we should be prayed up and prepared for
the Lord’s service. Whether it is in the pulpit, in the community, or in the
workplace. May we grasp discipleship the way our Lord intended it to be.
Until we meet again, in person or print may God Bless you is my prayer.
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Terry is the Executive Director and broadcaster of The Inspiring Word media ministry
You can contact Terry by email at theinspiringword@gmail.com
Or by visiting www.theinspiringword.org
Read more from Terry Cheek here.
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