Month: January 2017

The Theory of Everything (TOE, for short) is the long-sought after expression (equation) to explain the nature and behavior of all matter and energy in existence.  This simple and illusive equation “would allow us to read the mind of God.” (Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, City College, City University of New York)

Albert Einstein, considered to be the greatest scientist since Isaac Newton, desperately searched for 30 years to discover this grand theory…unsuccessfully.  Others have followed in his steps.  Some have given up while others claim that the “superstring theory” (whatever that is) is now the final answer.  But what if the ultimate explanation of everything is not a formula but a person?  What if the theory of everything is not a short equation but Christ, the eternal, second person of the trinity?

You may not have spent much time struggling over the TOE, but you probably have asked about the overarching theme of the Bible: the golden thread that holds life all together.  How you answer that question forms a lens through which you will look at Scripture and interpret life.  For some the thread is personal redemption.  For others it’s mission, God’s holiness, his kingdom, or his glory.

As we consider the adventure of discipleship, I would suggest the evidence indicates the overall theme of Scripture and life to be the revelation of God in Christ.  The Bible is a story of progressive revelation with the New Testament writers revealing the second person of the Trinity (Christ) as the ultimate focus from creation to the final revelation.

As we move along in the timeline of the Bible, God is revealed with greater clarity as Christ takes center stage (Heb. 1:1-3).  John records Jesus saying to the Jews in his day, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;” (implying …or whatever else you are looking for) “it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).

Paul explains, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.   For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17).

After developing the role of the ascended Christ, the writer of Hebrews addresses the practical, real time application to our journey of faith when he says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2).  Among Paul’s final instructions to Timothy is the statement, “Remember Jesus Christ” (2 Tim 2:8).

Even the last book of Scripture begins with the words, “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ”.  Then serving as a warning to every succeeding generation, the angel commends the church at Ephesus for their work for Christ, but rebukes them for their loss of love for him (Rev. 2:4).

It is not a trite thing to say that discipleship is based on the relational centrality of Christ, the second person of the trinity, the Son of God.  He is the focal point of this great epic drama we find ourselves in.  Mission, redemption, kingdom, etc., all flow out of our understanding of Christ, who he is and what he has done.  Discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross puts Christ as the focus and the explanation of everything.  He is the lens through which we see and understand everything else.

Our challenge in discipleship is to make Christ the center and keep him there not just as a cliché, but as a practical reality.   When Christ is the Explanation of Everything (EOE/TOE), everything else fits.  When other things (even good things) slip into that position, eventually something gets distorted.  Our greatest privilege, opportunity, and calling between the resurrection and his final revelation is to discover and know Christ, the One who is and was and is to come.   It is out of our relational intimacy with Christ that transformation, mission, and everything else flows.

Questions for reflection:

1. What are some ways the Scripture expresses the centrality of Christ? (Heb.1:1-3; Rev, 1:8; John 1:1-3; Phil 2: 9-11; Isa. 9:6-7)
2. What are some of the “good things” that can slip in and usurp Christ’s centrality? (Rev 2:1-7)

We are currently looking at the concept of discipleship in order to better understand what Jesus meant when he called us to be and make disciples.

To understand discipleship today we need to look below the waterline at its historical development. Discovering the meaning of a word as a vehicle for communication requires some understanding of the language and context of the speaker.  The farther we are removed from that original setting, the greater the risk of distortion.  The danger is to either read back into the word the current cultural meaning or conclude that what the original speaker had in mind cannot be known. Therefore, we assume the freedom to create our own mental picture.

The biblical term “disciple” primarily comes from the four gospels in the New Testament.  It has limited use in the book of Acts and completely absent in the Epistles.  So what did Jesus have in mind when he used the word?  I would suggest that in reality the concept of discipleship is found throughout the Scripture and that Jesus built on a rich Hebrew heritage, finding expression in the first century as rabbinical discipleship.

Since most of our Bible translations come from Greek texts, the meaning of disciple in the Greek is a good starting point.  The Greek word for disciple is “mathetes” which means pupil or learner.  The emphasis is placed on either the learner or the content being learned.  The problem is that Jesus was not a Greek but a Hebrew.

The Hebrew word for disciple is “talmid” with the emphasis on apprenticeship.  In the Gospel period a talmid was an apprentice to a Rabbi.  The focus was on who the Rabbi was and subsequently what he taught.  A talmid was one who intentionally, consistently, and passionately followed a person and not just a belief system.  Relationship was the key that resulted in learning.  That is why Jesus recruited his disciples with the invitation “follow me”.  Everything flowed out of this relational connect, including behavior, mission, imitation, convictions, etc.

The word disciple is not used in the Old Testament except in Isa. 50:4, but the concept of discipleship is.  It was normally carried out in the context of the family (Deut. 6:6-9).  There are only a few examples of one adult being mentored or learning from another in a relational way (e.g. Moses/Joshua and Elijah/Elisha).

However, the concept of a personal, relational pursuit of God in the Old Testament is found in phrases like “seek my face”, “a man after my own heart”, or “he set his heart to seek the Lord”.  God’s commentary on King David is an Old Testament example of discipleship.

“He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will’” (Act 13:22 NASB).  David expressed it from his perspective in Psalm 27:8, “When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”

With the incarnation of Jesus the concept of discipleship moved from seeking to following — “follow me” (Matt 4:19) or “be with me” (Mark 3:14).  To be in the space/time presence of the Creator, to walk, eat, and sleep with him, was no small thing.   In the gospel period discipleship was modeled by those who were actually with him.  He invited and welcomed those who wanted to follow him, learning that to follow him was to become like him (Luke 6:40).

But with the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ, discipleship has taken on a whole new relational dynamic.  Seeking him and being with him are now the prototypes (below the water line) on which a new expression of discipleship is built.  Discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross means being in him and he in us.  Paul expressed this new relational dynamic when he said that his pursuit was to “know him” (Phil. 3:8).  The change that took place in discipleship after the resurrection was as dramatic as it was after the incarnation.  We will look at some of these changes in the future.

I would suggest that through biblical history the concept of discipleship expanded from “seek him” to “follow him/with him” to “in him”.  Jesus predicted this new relational dynamic in John 15:4 when he said,

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”

“Abide in me” relates to the intimate connection we now have in Christ.  With the ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit we are now in him and he is in us.  Discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross comes from a radically new relational dynamic that allows us not only to know about him but to actually know him (which is a subject we will look at in more detail later).

Questions for reflection:

1. What are some of the changes you can think of that effect discipleship on this side of the resurrection?
2. What are some implications of discipleship that come from the concept “seek my face” or “he set his face to seek the Lord”?