The Gifts of God’s Power (pt.2)

Leader Guide ESV, Unit 13, Session 3

© 2019 LifeWay Christian Resources, Permission granted to reproduce and distribute within the license agreement with purchaser. Edited by Rev. Lex DeLong, M.A., Nov. 2022.

Summary and Goal

Elijah was called to anoint Elisha as a prophet in Elijah’s place by the Lord and Elijah fulfilled that call. Elisha took up the prophetic mantle in the spirit of Elijah. The story began at the end of 1 Kings 19 but continued into 2 Kings and is an important story for connecting the whole story of Kings with the rest of Scripture. Eventually, the One greater than Elijah and Elisha—the NT tells us is Jesus—would come. In similar fashion as God did with Elijah and the other prophets, our Lord gave us a Great Commission: to make disciples of all nations in the power of the Spirit. Jesus expects immediate obedience and wholehearted allegiance.

Session Outline

++The successor commits fully to the mission [One’s level of commitment to God’s call, nurtures blessing] (1 Kings 19:19-22).

++The successor requests God’s power to complete the mission [God works His power through His committed people, just ask] (2 Kings 2:6-12a).

++The successor is confirmed by a sign to begin the mission [God will confirm your commitment to His call] (2 Kings 2:12b-15).

Background Passage: 1 Kings 19–2 Kings 2

Session in a Sentence

God empowers His people to confirm their calling and to carry out His mission.

-or-

++God confirms His people by working His power through them to carry out His mission.

Christ Connection

When Elisha succeeded the prophet Elijah, he asked for the same spirit that was in Elijah to be given to him. God granted Elisha’s request and revealed His presence through a miracle.

Years later when Jesus prepared His followers to begin their ministry, He instructed them to wait for the Holy Spirit, who came upon them and confirmed His presence in miraculous ways.

Missional Application

Because we have been given the Holy Spirit, we fulfill the mission Christ has given us and share the gospel with the world, knowing that our strength comes from God’s Spirit.

Group Time

Introduction

(DDG) 29

Succession is important in various spheres of life. We see good succession plans emphasized in business, sports, and government, just to name a few. As Christians, we enjoy the benefits of faithful brothers and sisters in previous generations who have handed down the faith to the next generation.

How did the gospel get from Jerusalem to you? It was this:

Christians didn’t let the gospel die with them.

They shared it with others and passed it down to the next generation.

So here we are today and we bear that same responsibility.

Ask:

How have you been discipled by others in your life?

(be prepared to give an answer of your own to jump-start the conversation)

In the previous session, we read of Elijah’s call to anoint Elisha as a prophet in Elijah’s place, as his successor. In this session, we will find Elijah fulfilling this call. Elisha takes up the prophetic mantle in the spirit of Elijah.

The story begins at the end of 1 Kings 19 but continues into 2 Kings and is an important story for connecting the whole story of Kings with the rest of Scripture.

Eventually, the One greater than Elijah and Elisha—Jesus—would come. Our Lord has given us a Great Commission: to make disciples of all nations in the power of the Spirit. Jesus demands immediate obedience and wholehearted allegiance. Elisha was asked to follow a prophet in following the prophet’s God and call, but we have been called to follow the Son of God and the call to make disciples.

Point 1: The successor commits fully to the mission [One’s level of commitment to God’s call, nurtures blessing] (1 Kings 19:19-22).

Read: Ask a volunteer to read 1 Kings 19:19-22 (DDG p. 30).

19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

DDG (p. 30)

Elisha showed his commitment to follow Elijah by destroying all of his old means of sustenance. That is a very clear move of commitment to follow the Lord and a significant sacrifice, even for the family that he leaves behind. He then threw a party to tell everyone he was following God’s will. Elisha was excited to abandon everything he knew for the call of the Lord.

· Elisha: His name means “God saves.” Elisha was a farmer, and apparently a wealthy one since he had twelve teams of oxen (v. 19).

· This young apprentice must have given Elijah fresh strength. In 2 Kings 2:12, Elisha called Elijah “my father,” indicating the closeness the two shared. Elisha was like an intern who apparently did some menial tasks, like washing the hands of Elijah (2 Kings 3:11).

DDG (p. 30)

How would you gauge your willingness to sacrifice in order to follow God’s call?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Prideful Refusal Joyful Surrender

DDG (p. 30), compare Elijah’s interaction with Elisha to Jesus’ response to a would-be disciple in Luke 9, where the would-be disciple asked to go back and say good-bye to his family and Christ said no. “No man, putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit.”

ELIJAH (1 Kings 19:19-22)

Allowed Elisha to Say Goodbye? Yes

A Prophet of God

Called Elisha as a Prophet

JESUS (Luke 9:61-62)

Allowed Man to Say Goodbye? No

The Son of God

Calls Disciples to Make Disciples

· Elisha asked Elijah if he could go say goodbye to his family before following him, and Elijah allowed it (Yes). To a would-be follower in Luke 9:61-62, however, Jesus responded to a similar request by saying this would make the man unfit for the kingdom of God (No).

· Why did Jesus not accept this request?

Was it that Elisha was being asked to follow a prophet of God, but we have been called to follow the Lord of glory, the Son of God. Remember that Jesus is greater than Elijah. Jesus’ call takes precedence over everyone and everything. He demands immediate obedience and wholehearted allegiance. Elisha was being called as a prophet to succeed Elijah, which he obeyed wholeheartedly; of greater importance, Jesus calls His disciples to lay down their lives for His gospel mission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20).

Or, is it that with Jesus, the young man was asking to go back to his life and live it while he can and when he has accomplished his goal, then he will follow? Jesus’ point was that if He has called you right now, the other things will take care of themselves, for He knows what you have need of (Matt. 6:8-32).

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 30)

Mission of the Church: Go into the world in the power of the Spirit and make disciples by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus, calling people to respond in ongoing repentance and faith.

Essential Doctrine “Mission of the Church”:The church is a sign and instrument of the kingdom of God, a people united by faith in the gospel announcement of the crucified and risen King Jesus.

The mission of the church is to go into the world in the power of the Spirit and make disciples by proclaiming this gospel, calling people to respond in ongoing repentance and faith...

...and demonstrating the truth and power of the gospel by living under the lordship of Christ for the glory of God and the good of the world.

Ask:

What kind of things must we give up in order to follow Jesus wholeheartedly?

(our pride; our worldly desires; our preferences; our security; our sin; our plans; our worries)

Point 2: The successor requests God’s power to complete the mission [God works His power through His committed people, just ask] (2 Kings 2:6-12a).

In the NT, when it comes to Jesus’ healing, a number of times He declares that the faith of the person who was seeking the healing has made them whole, but even in those cases, their faith is powerless to do it, but their faith is the tool, the avenue through which God exercises His own power.

Consider what N. T. Wright said...

Clearly it was Jesus’ power; but he says, ‘Your faith has rescued you.’ The answer must be that faith, though itself powerless, is the channel through which Jesus’ power can work (compare 6:5)

N. T. Wright

Read 2 Kings 2:6-12a (DDG p. 31).

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12a And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

DDG (p. 31) Would Elisha hang back as he was being asked or persevere in his calling to follow and succeed Elijah?

When the time came for Elijah’s departure, he initially tried to shake Elisha (vv. 1-6). This likely was a test to see if Elisha would count the cost of discipleship, and he passed. Regarding our own call to forsake all for the glory of God, will we persist and persevere?

DDG (p. 31) some characteristics, such as perseverance, that are important for a disciple of Jesus.

Ask:

What are some important characteristics, such as perseverance, of a disciple of Jesus?

(perseverance; faith in Jesus; humility; love; joy; peace; patience; kindness; goodness; faithfulness; gentleness; self-control; a giving heart; reliance upon the power of God; love for the church)

These characteristics do not make one worthy of salvation but develop and grow through the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 31)

Temple of the Holy Spirit: As the temple of the Holy Spirit, we live our lives differently than before, bearing the virtuous fruit that comes only by the indwelling work of the Spirit, which also equips individual members of the church with gifts for the work of the ministry.

Essential Doctrine “Temple of the Holy Spirit”: The Holy Spirit indwells the church, both individually and corporately (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 12:13). As the temple of the Holy Spirit, we live our lives differently than before, bearing the virtuous fruit that comes only by the indwelling work of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). This indwelling work of the Spirit also equips individual members of the church with gifts for the work of the ministry (1 Cor. 12:11).

DDG (p. 31)

Elisha asked for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit. He recognized that he would need great help as God’s representative to fulfill his calling. The God who sent the chariot and horses of fire for Elijah is that help, and He would be with Elisha in power.

· A “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit likely was a reference to the inheritance of the firstborn (Deut. 21:17).

Double Portion: next screen vs.

Deuteronomy 21:17 NASB

“But he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the first-born.

Elisha was saying he would live as though he were Elijah’s firstborn son and carry on his prophetic work in Israel.

· Some would say that the appearing of the chariot and horses of fire symbolized that these prophets were the power of Israel because God’s power was with them. In a whirlwind, Elijah went on to his eternal reward without tasting death because it is God who is in control of death and He alone can overrule it.

· Looking on as Elijah was taken up into heaven, Elisha called Elijah “the chariots of Israel and its horsemen” (2 Kings 2:12). Elisha was saying Elijah was like the army of Israel or better—he was the true defense of Israel because God had been with him in power to call the people to repentance from their idolatry. Elisha would be described in the same terms at his death by the king of Israel (2 Kings 13:14).

Ask:

How is the power of God evident in the life of the believer in Christ?

(in the service and use of spiritual gifts in the name of Christ for the glory of God alone; refusal to hold grudges; forgiving others as you have been forgiven; perseverance in the faith despite hardships and suffering; proclaiming the gospel of Christ crucified and raised for our salvation with urgency and boldness)

Point 3: The successor is confirmed by a sign to begin the mission [God will confirm your commitment to His call] (2 Kings 2:12b-15).

Read 2 Kings 2:12b-15 (DDG p. 32).

12b And he saw him no more. 13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

DDG (p. 32)

God would not cease to have a prophet calling Israel to faithfulness. Elijah might have been gone, but God wasn’t. The God of Elijah was still present, which was what Elisha communicated when he struck the river once again with Elijah’s cloak. Elisha believed that God had not abandoned the people, and he relied upon God to exercise His power through Elisha, to minister to them. Elisha, like Elijah, operated with a great vision of God. These two prophets had great faith because they had a great God—as do we.

Voices from Church History

“[Elijah] left his mantle as a legacy to Elisha, and, though in itself it was of small value, yet as it was a token of the descent of the Spirit upon him, it was more than if he had bequeathed to him thousands of gold and silver.” 1 –Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

· The company of prophets who saw Elijah and Elisha cross the Jordan on dry ground saw Elisha return alone in the same way, and they realized that Elijah had passed his prophetic work and power on to Elisha (vv. 7,15). They showed Elisha reverence as the new representative of God for Israel because he had the spirit of Elijah resting on him, evidenced by the repeated miracle of walking through the Jordan River on dry ground.

Ask:

What should faith in the God of Elijah lead believers to do and say today?

(press forward in sharing the gospel, believing God will open pathways for its proclamation; boldly stand up against idolatry and injustice in the world; pray for miracles that help reveal God’s glory)

DDG (p. 32)

Elisha was a true successor to Elijah, so His ministry in Israel and the surrounding nations would bring the blessings of God’s grace and the curses of His judgment. But his ministry was greater still, for it pointed forward to a greater Prophet-like One, the Person of God the Son, Jesus Christ.

The true firstborn Son of God, also was anointed at the Jordan River, interestingly in the same river talked about in 2 Kings. His command over water came not through a mantle but by the sound of His voice. And He came not just to confront idolatry but to provide salvation from idolatry. He is greater than Elijah; He is greater than Elisha; He is the God-man, Jesus the Messiah.

Pack Item 4: Connections: Use this handout and the leader content below to help you explain the connections to Elijah and Elisha throughout Scripture (Looking Backward and Looking Forward) that ultimately point forward to the coming of Jesus the Messiah.

· Looking Backward: Elijah parted the Jordan River with language similar to Moses’ crossing of the Red Sea: “dry ground” (Ex. 14:21-22; 2 Kings 2:8). Both departed from the earth (Moses in death) outside the promised land leaving behind disciples to take up their work: Joshua and Elisha(Deut. 34; 2 Kings 2). Further, Elisha came back through the Jordan with the purpose of rooting out Canaanite worship in Israel, echoing Joshua’s leadership in conquering the Canaanites of the promised land (Josh. 1).

· Looking Forward: Elijah also pointed forward to John the Baptist, another prophet who wore the same clothes as Elijah (2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4). John the Baptist would be a forerunner to the Messiah, crying out in the wilderness (Mal. 3:1; 4:5; Matt. 3:1-3; 11:7-15); he condemned a national power with a woman, akin to Jezebel, at the center of it seeking his life (Matt. 14:3-12). John the Baptist also would anoint his Successor—Jesus, the greater Elisha—at the Jordan, the firstborn Son of God to receive the promised inheritance (Matt. 3:11-17). At Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared along with Him, not merely pointing to a successor but to the One who supersedes all (Mal. 4:5-6; Matt. 17:1-5).

· The God-man, Jesus the Messiah, doesn’t just call people back to covenant faithfulness. He actually bore the penalty that covenant breaking deserves and was lifted up on a cross so that, if you will seek Him, His judgment will be your judgment and His resurrection will be your resurrection.

Ask:

Why should the unfolding of the whole story of Scripture inspire us to worship and trust our God?

(He is sovereign, in control of all things; He is masterful in the true story He is telling with His Son at its center; Jesus comes not as an afterthought but as the eternal purpose of God for us)

Like Elisha’s call to follow Elijah, Jesus calls on His followers to deny self to follow Him. Following God’s will is a privilege, but it comes at a cost. Yet passing on the truths of God’s Word to the world is worth it because people will hear the good news of Jesus the Messiah and believe for eternal life. Elisha was a human being, like Elijah, and was therefore in need of God’s power to continue his prophetic ministry. We also share humanity in common with Elisha, so we need the enabling power of the Spirit to obey the Great Commission faithfully, and we can do so boldly because our God is faithful and we can trust Him.

DDG (p. 33)

Because we have been given the Holy Spirit, we fulfill the mission Christ has given us and share the gospel with the world, knowing that our strength comes from God’s Spirit.

Session in a Sentence

God empowers His people to confirm their calling and to carry out His mission.

-or-

++God confirms His people by working His power through them to carry out His mission.

· What are we being called to as a disciples of Jesus Christ?

· How can we develop godly relationships in light of the relationship between Elijah and Elisha?

· Who will we be praying for and calling to a life of discipleship in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Voices from Church History

“Except the Lord endow us with power from on high, our labour must be in vain, and our hopes must end in disappointment.” 2 –Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Close in prayer:

References

1. Matthew Henry, in The New Matthew Henry Commentary: Complete and Unabridged (Zondervan, 2012) [Wordsearch].

2. Charles Spurgeon, in Charles Spurgeon’s Classics (Charles River Editors, 2016) [eBook].

3. Paul R. House, 1, 2 Kings, vol. 8, in The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2003) [Wordsearch].

4. Havilah Dharamraj, “1 Kings,” in South Asia Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Brian Wintle (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 438.

5. Iain W. Provan, “1 and 2 Kings,” in ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 648, n. 2:11-13.

6. Jill Baker, “1 and 2 Kings,” in The IVP Women’s Commentary, eds. Catherine Clark Kroeger, Mary J. Evans, and Elizabeth Kroeger Elliott (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2011) [Wordsearch].

7. Iain W. Provan, “1 and 2 Kings,” in ESV Study Bible, 648, n. 2:14.

8. “2 Kings,” in Africa Study Bible (Oasis International, 2016), 524.