Disciple Making Builds God's Church
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Disciple making works by the mandate of Christ and the power of the a Holy Spirit in the church.
Disciple making works by the mandate of Christ and the power of the a Holy Spirit in the church.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The command by Christ to his disciples to reproduce themselves is the foundation call to the church between the first and second coming of Christ. This command was given to a group of disciples who had just witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They had been in hiding for fear that crucifixion might also happen to them. But after the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, they were encouraged more and more about the power of Christ and his work.
When they received this command on the mountain before Jesus ascended to heaven, they were being told to continue in the work just as Jesus had completed in them. He lived life with these disciples, teaching them truths about the kingdom of God. Our Lord spent time dealing with their sin when he witnessed it and comforting them when they needed it. His intention with these Jews was to make them his disciples.
To be a disciple of Jesus is to be a learner, a follower, to be devoted to the One who gives instruction in life. I have been a disciple of my parents as they instructed me about how to live as a man in society. I am also a disciple of the construction industry at my job back home. I am being instructed how houses are built and remodeled. All of this instruction is meant to not just receive the knowledge. It is important to receive and possess such great wisdom but it should never stop there. Wisdom and truth is meant to be passed on to others.
In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus is now telling his disciples that as He leaves this world, their responsibility is to continue to teach, love, and life life with others with the purpose that others may come to know Christ, that the message of salvation may continue forward from disciple to disciple. Look at Matthew 28:19-20 the process is laid out by Christ that disciples that come to saving faith in Jesus Christ are first to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. this instruction is meant to be the process by which the disciple of Jesus outwardly professes to the world what he inwardly believes- that Jesus Christ died for sinners, that he was buried and he was raised to new life. Baptism signifies our understanding of the gospel and it gives a picture that death and resurrection has occured in our lives.
Secondly, they are to teaching
Disciple-making works with gospel intentionality!
Disciple-making works with gospel intentionality!
Acts 18:1–3 (ESV)
1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
It is clear from the text that Luke wants us to see the relationship that existed between Paul and his new companions Aquila and Priscilla. There is some disagreement among scholars as to the spiritual condition of Aquila and Priscilla when Paul meets them. What we know of their history, we learn from Paul in verse 2. “a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.”
Historians record a time in Roman history when the Jews were expelled from Rome by the Roman Emperor Claudius. Claudius tried to mend the relationship between the Jews and the Romans after succeeding the previous emperor Caligula who persecuted the Jews and defamed their temple. But history records that Caludius had to issue and an edict to expel the Jews from Rome because of a disturbance between the Jews regarding the influence of Chrestus. Many believe that Suetonius misspelled the name Chrestus and he was referring to Christus which means Christ. If this is true and Aquila and Priscilla left Rome during this time, then this would give evidence that their exit from Rome was because of their allegiance and practice of Christianity. Not only did Paul seem to share a common faith with this couple but he shared commonality in his trade as well. The translation of the word “tentmakers” in verse 3 literally means “leatherworkers” which could refer to the leather from goat hide that was often worked into tent material. This would also give evidence to why Paul sought them out and why they extended hospitality and lodging for Paul during his 1.5 year stay in Corinth.
Opening their home to Paul is not surprising in this time of history. Historians have indicated that since the cities were not filled with Holiday Inns and Peabody Hotels, that travelers would have to find lodging with local home owners. The church made it a priority to open their homes to guests, probably as a way of sharing the Gospel with them during their stay. Can you imagine this great church leader living in your home?
It is not a hard strain on our imaginations to assume that since disciple-making was the heart beat of at the Apostle Paul, that his time with Aquila and Priscilla was intentional times in the word of God where he strengthened their faith. Verse 11 even summarizes the ministry of Paul in Corinth by stating,
Acts 18:11 (ESV)11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
All of the believers of Corinth had Paul in their midst for a year and a half as they learned from him through the Scriptures. Assuming that Paul continued to live with Aquila and Priscilla, they experienced a treasure trove of biblical teaching from one of the great leaders of the church. Their relationship seemed to be more than Paul meeting with them once a week at 5pm for Corinthian Training Union or the Discipleship Hour of Power. He lived life with them and so they were not just instructed weekly in a classroom but by living life centered and focused around the Gospel and its power to change lives. I imagine that as Paul went to the synagogue in Corinth, Paul was taking Aquila and Priscilla along with him as he “reasoned with the Jews.” Even if he didn’t take them in those times of evangelism, we could reason that it would be uncharacteristic of Paul as a church leader to not invest in the lives of fellow believers in Jesus Christ as he stayed with them.
We can learn a simple truth about disciple-making when thinking along these lines. Disciple-making is about sharing life in community with constant exhortation and application around the word of God instead of a weekly meeting where truths may be explained but not lived out. Listen to how Paul explained his ministry to the Thessalonian church,
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.
This relationally charged explanation of Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians is more than a classroom experience but instead a life on life disciple-making experience where Paul, the spiritual parents expresses his love for his spiritual children. Disciple-making is the spiritual activity of investing in the lives of other believers in the faith which includes:
loving sacrifice,(v. 1-2) humility(vs.3-6) parental instruction exemplified(7-10)
I do not doubt that Paul had a similar relationship with others that he spent intimate time with like Aquila and Priscilla. There is evidence of this strong of a relationship in the other letters that Paul writes where he mentions his friends from Corinth.
Romans 16:3 (ESV)3 Greet Prisca (formal name for Priscilla) and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
1 Corinthians 16:19 (ESV)19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
2 Timothy 4:19 (ESV)19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
3. Disciple-making Works when after faithfully making disciples, you trust God for the harvest.
3. Disciple-making Works when after faithfully making disciples, you trust God for the harvest.
Acts 18:18–23 (ESV)
18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Paul’s relationship with Aquila and Priscilla seems to move to ministry partnership and mission as we see how Paul leaves Corinth after his 1.5 year ministry to these people. Upon his departure, Aquila and Priscilla accompany Paul on his way back to Antioch to report to the church there about this progress with the gospel work. On his way, Paul stops in Ephesus and before leaving there, he leaves Aquila and Priscilla in this foreign city. Since the couple had taken residence in Corinth and were previous citizens of Rome, it is unlikely that they were just traveling companions with Paul. As the text reads,
“19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there”
These companions of Paul are actually being left in Ephesus to make new disciples. Their stay is not convenient but actually seems intentional and strategic. Luke makes this strategy’s effectiveness clear as we follow the next few verses with the story of Apollos. But before we move on, we must take notice that there is an obvious partnership in the gospel ministry that has taken place. These disciples of Paul are now being sent out to replicate what they had seen Paul accomplish by God’s grace in the city of Corinth.
EX: There is obvious exhortation needed at this point in the passage when considering disciple-making. There is such an importance that as we invest in the lives of others, that we intentionally push them towards being involved in mission. There is always the danger that the relationship overrules the mandate to “go and make disciples.” This is a tragic mistake to see the focus of groups of believers who meet change from an outward focus to an inward focus.
In the case with Paul, he saw the importance of extended time in these cities with believers but he also saw the need for his departure so other cities could be reached and the established cities could struggle to form their identity and mission.
In other words, Paul determined the time to push the little ones out of the nest so they can now engage in mission on their own. There is no evidence that Aquila and Priscilla were leaders in the Corinthian church before Paul arrived. But in Acts 18:19, we read that Paul leaves them in Ephesus so they can be obedient to the Great Commission from Christ that we all are called to fulfill.
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.
Apollos is the final link in the chain of disciple-making that Luke reveals through this passage. He is a Jew that was from the Roman city of Alexandria in Egypt. Alexandria was the second most influential Roman city that existed in this time in history just under Rome itself. Alexandria was known as the intellectual hub of the Roman world. Many of the great Jewish philosophers like Philo came from Alexandria and the Jews as a whole made up over one fifth of the population of Alexandria. It would have been natural for Apollos to receive and intense Jewish education which is why Luke can state that Apollos was “competent in the Scriptures” “instructed in the way of the Lord” and eventually “powerfully refuted the Jews in public showing by the Scriptures that Christ was Jesus.”
A question arises regarding the spiritual condition of Apollos at the time that Aquila and Priscilla meet him. There is much debate over whether Apollos is already a believer in Christ or if he is converted there in Ephesus. There are a couple indications that Luke believes that Apollos is already a converted Christian but does not understand the extent of New Testament baptism.
Luke’s description of Apollos seems more extensively Christian than not. Luke tells us that Apollos is COMPETENT IN THE SCRIPTURES. He is referring to how knowledgable and well versed Apollos is in understanding and expounding the OT texts. If Luke stopped here with his description of Apollos, then one could conclude that Apollos was not a believer and only understood and awaited a coming Messiah.
Luke continues his description with INSTRUCTED IN THE WAY OF THE LORD. This seems to indicate that Apollos has more than an accurate understanding of the Old Testament, but he also understands how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of those texts and that he as the Messiah has already come. In Acts 9:2, the new movement of Christianity was actually referred to as “THE WAY.” Also, Luke uses the word Lord here instead of Jesus. If Luke had said, “the way of Jesus” you could have thought that Apollos had more knowledge of Jesus’ earthly ministry but he used the KURIOS for Lord, referring to the what appears a commitment to Christ as Lord and not just a knowledge of him.
The last phrase causes the most difficulty in translation in light of the remaining verses. Commentators see this last phrase of 25 as with “FERVENT IN THE SPIRIT” or “FERVENT IN HIS SPIRIT” where the latter seems to be a more appropriate translation. Even so, Apollos has zeal to preach to other Jews that Jesus is the Christ because he so adamantly believes this truth in his own heart.
When Aquila and Priscilla came to Ephesus, they quickly heard this passionate preacher of the Gospel standing before the people and proclaiming the truth but he was incorrect in all that he taught. Luke tells us that he only knew of the baptism of John and not of the connection between the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the NT. The baptism of John was the act of faith by Jews who awaited his Messianic rule and were preparing themselves for his coming by repenting of their sins. The baptism they received was one symbolic of the forgiveness of sins that were to come.
The Faithfulness of Disciple-making
The point of emphasis this morning needs to be the faithfulness of Aquila and Priscilla to pull aside this fervent preacher of Christ and instruct him appropriately in the truth of the Scripture. His intellectual background and his zeal could have been a deterrent of confrontation but just as Paul instructed Aquila and Priscilla, so they were going to teach Apollos for the glory of God’s name.
We all need people to disciple us in the faith. We must have those brothers and sisters in Christ who have different experiences and are at different places in their lives where they have practiced their faith in Christ in areas of life that are new to us at the moment.
How do you practice faith in Christ when putting a child through college or while homeschooling young children or while taking care of ailing parents? God has people in his church who have already navigated these waters and who can spend that time pouring truths from God’s word that helped them through that time.
The Humility needed in Disciple-making
Apollos was a learned preacher of Jesus Christ and probably had the certifications hanging on his wall in his office to prove that he had learned from the best. Some commentators believe that Apollos was actually instructed by the great Philo in Alexandria. Regardless, all that education can lead to pride if we are not careful and it keep us from being discipled properly the way that God intends us to be.
Apollos displayed amazing humility in receiving the truth from Aquila and Priscilla. In order for Apollos to be used effectively in the church, God had to use his servants to properly teach the truths of Scripture to him so he could in turn accurately teach others in the future.
The Power of God through Disciple-making
1 Corinthians 3:5–7 (ESV)
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
We conclude tonight with the clear picture of what God intended for his church. Jesus taught a group of men the truths regarding Himself so that when the time came, they could go out into the world and reproduce in others what he produced in them.
Jesus appeared to Paul as a violent, angry Jew and radically changed him and discipled him in the faith. Paul in turn passionately went from city to city proclaiming Christ and making disciples. Two of those disciples were named Aquila and Priscilla, common tentmakers by trade. But God used this couple to radically shape the understanding of a great leader of the church, Apollos. Disciple-making works!