Discipleship

Ministry in tough places requires hard work, a devotion to the Word, and a commitment to discipleship. What was true then and there for Paul and the early church is true here and now for us and this small part of Christ’s church.

In our text for this morning, we see Paul, Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila each one involved in discipleship in some form or another.

A disciple is someone who follows the teachings, the life, the aim of another until they become like their master. So, a Christian disciple is someone who follows the teachings of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the aim of Jesus until they become like Jesus.

Discipleship is the process by which one believer helps another believer become more and more like Jesus. A disciple is a student who is learning the ways of Jesus. To disciple someone is to walk alongside them, helping them understand the teachings and way of Jesus.

Some of the discipleship efforts are strengthening, some corrective, some helping, and some evangelistic.

You see, there is not just one type of discipleship. Discipleship takes many different forms, depending on the needs of those being discipled.

You wouldn’t work through an advanced systematic theology or a Greek primer with a new believer. Neither would you take an educated and seasoned believer through elementary Sunday School curriculum in an effort to disciple them.

There are different discipling needs, depending on the one being discipled. What we know for sure is that there is a need for discipleship and our Lord and Savior has issued a command that we make disciples.

Our church has not done a great job at this, at least not in the 10 years I’ve been here. And that’s on me. I don’t know how much of this took place prior to 2010, but very little has taken place in the last decade. And I feel the weight of that; that’s a personal and pastoral failure, one I’m seeking to make right.

Jesus has given us our marching orders. He spelled it out for us as clearly as He could have. We repeat it every week:

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As I’m fond of pointing out (and also because it’s important to point out), the main verb in these verses is translated for us as make disciples. Go, baptizing, and teaching are participles. Make disciples (math-e-teu-sat-e) is the main verb (aorist, active, imperative); it’s what Jesus wants us to be doing, continually.

It’s imperative, essential, required of the Church to be making disciples. Disciples making disciples. Disciples making disciples. Disciples making disciples. Disciples making disciples.

Acts 18:18–22 NIV

18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.

After spending some time in Corinth, which we know was more than a year and a half (he spent there in Corinth a year and a half (v. 11), and then stayed on in Corinth for some time after that (v. 18))—after Corinth, Paul, Priscilla and Aquila sailed for Syria—that is, they are heading back to the church in Antioch which sent Paul on his initial missionary journey.

Paul left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus as he traveled on. Priscilla and Aquila would help to establish the ministry there and the church in Ephesus would be helped greatly by this dynamic couple. When you hear Priscilla and Aquila I want you to picutre: John & Thelma Doolen, Bob & Cecil Scott, Royce & Elaine Beckett—established, mature, husband-wife ministry teams.

Paul doesn’t stay with Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, but says he will return if God wills. Paul’s plans, like ours, are ultimately in God’s hands.

James 4:13–15 NIV

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

If God wills… Paul will return, and we’ll see that it was the Lord’s will. Ephesus will be the main destination for Paul’s third missionary journey.

The Lord had in mind for Paul to return to Ephesus to minister, but not before going back to Jerusalem and Antioch to report to the churches there.

We pick up (v. 23) when Paul leaves Antioch...

Strengthening Discipleship (18:23)

Sometimes churches need a little help, no matter how far along those churches are. The churches Paul visits here throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia are baby churches, toddler churches; churches that probably aren’t quite ready for kindergarten.

Paul and Barnabas had planted some of these churches mere years before Paul stops by and visits them. We read that Paul traveled from place to place. This certainly means town-by-town, church-by-church. And Paul’s goal in this was strengthening all the disciples.

The main sense of this verb is to fix something so that it stands upright and immovable. It means “support.”

In this case, where the church of Jesus is concerned, this strengthening is by God, by His Word (the truth). Paul comes to each church, place after place, to strengthen them—giving them understanding, encouraging them from the Scriptures, giving them the support of the Word, hoping to make them immovable.

Of course, Paul’s strengthening the churches assumes they are young and in need of help, but also that they are under assault and in danger.

We know this is always the case. The church—the people of God—are daily attacked, engaged in a spiritual battle. And our enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

Also true is that the church—the people of God—need strengthening because they can become slothful/lazy in their faith or walk.

“It’s not that important.”

“I’m too busy.”

“Sunday is family day.”

“It’s the one day of the week I can sleep in.”

Worse yet is a going-through-the-motions kind of faith. Have you ever been there?

I’ve been there.

It’s especially easy for a pastor to go through the motions, to get lost in everything that needs to be done. It is so incredibly easy to miss the point. We’re not to be pragmatists, doing church for the sake of doing church; we should be gathering together to hear from God because we realize He desires for us to be with one another worshiping Him, because we believe His way is best for us.

But, boy howdy, it’s easy to slip into a going-through-the-motions faith.

The churches in Galatia and Phrygia need strengthening. God, the all-knowing, Almighty, Sovereign of the Universe sends to them a pastor. God sends Paul to strengthen all the disciples.

A strengthening discipleship is what’s needed from time to time; people to speak into the life of a church body and give them some support, to help revitalize, to refocus.

Many times, I have to reach out—to some of you, to my friends in ministry, to brothers who pastor other churches around the country and in the area.

I’m thankful for Derek Slack at Central Park Christian Church in Topeka, for Ty Cross at Fellowship Bible Church in Gardner, for Cody Morris at Double Branch Christian Church, for Adam Reynolds at Hume Christian Church, for Matthew Harris at Adrian Christian Church. I need, from time to time, a strengthening discipleship and the Lord provides in abundance.

My prayer is that, at some point, I can be a support to them, in some way or another.

Maybe you’re right there with me. Maybe you need someone to lean on, someone to help strengthen you. There’s no shame in that.

There wasn’t anything in these Galatian or Phrygian churches that was necessarily bad (at least not explicitly stated just yet). These individual churches needed a friend, someone to speak the Word of God to them, a shoulder to lean on.

As the great theologian, Bill Withers, says: “Lean on me, when you’re not strong; and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on. For it won’t be long ‘til I’m gonna need, somebody to lean on.”

Boy, isn’t that the truth...

Acts 18:24–26 NIV

24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

Corrective Discipleship (18:24-26)

This Jewish fella, Apollos, just came waltzing into Ephesus with his impressive resume and exceptional teaching abilities.

Apollos was a well-educated man. He was from Alexandria—an intellectual center in Egypt with a world-renowned library (more books than people in Alexandria; estimates say somewhere around 850,000 books). Alexandria was home to famous philosophers like Philo and Clement, Athanasius, and Origen.

Apollos was in good company; another intelligent, well-educated Alexandrian. And Apollos appears to be a Christian, though he may have picked up a what one author calls a “garbled understanding of Christianity” somewhere along the way.

Apollos had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.

He had been instructed in the way of he Lord.

He taught about Jesus accurately.

But something was deficient in his understanding. Apollos didn’t know about the new covenant baptism practice established by Jesus. Aquila and Priscilla needed to explain baptism more adequately, more accurately.

This godly couple would have taught Apollos how, in Christian baptism/believer’s baptism, how the Triune God places His name on His people. In Christian baptism/believer’s baptism, we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection.

It sure seems like Apollos understood, believed, and preached the gospel of Christ, but, as Johnson puts it, “knew nothing of this ordinance in which the use of water preaches the gospel.”

The New Testament hadn’t been written or compiled at this point, certainly not distributed. Apollos lived in an interesting time in history and so needed some clarification, some correction.

Notice what Priscilla and Aquila don’t do. They don’t make a scene. They don’t get up and walk out of church because they don’t agree with something they heard him say. They invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

They don’t rebuke him publicly. They don’t embarrass him or shame him. They show him love and concern, all the while acting upon their conviction. They don’t let the matter go; it’s too important. But so is Apollos; instead of alienating, they love him and teach him. They correct him the way a parent lovingly corrects a child, the way our Heavenly Father corrects us.

They honor Christ in their correction, filling-in the gaps of Apollos’ instruction, as Jesus would have—not breaking a bruised reed or snuffing out a smoldering wick. Theirs is a gentle instruction.

An argumentative spirit rarely wins anyone over. An open Bible, an open home, a loving and gentle demeanor will win the day.

Sometimes discipleship takes on a corrective tone.

One of my good friends, sitting right here in this room today, asked me over to his house many years ago and offered a corrective to my preaching/teaching. It wasn’t doctrinal, but it was important.

I think back to that often, and think how badly that could have gone. If he had ripped into me after church one Sunday, I doubt I would have taken it well. Instead, he gently and lovingly corrected me in the privacy of his home.

To this day, I think about that conversation, that needed corrective from a brother in Christ who cares for and loves me, and I thank the Lord.

It doesn’t get any better than that. You may have a similar opportunity—to disciple a younger believer in private, one-on-one. You might be able to sit with your brother or sister, open the Bible, and look together at what God’s Word says. That’s personal discipleship—there’s no substitute for it.

No matter how long we’ve been Christians or how many degrees we hold, we are never beyond the need of further instruction in God’s Word.

We see in these next verses the fruit of Priscilla and Aquila’s corrective discipleship:

Acts 18:27–28 NIV

27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

Helping Discipleship (18:27-28)

Apollos, with all his God-given gifting and the loving correction of his brother and sister—Aquila and Priscilla—is now in Achaia (that is, Corinth) where Paul recently ministered the Word for well over a year and a half.

Apollos is mentioned in several places in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Apollos continued the work Paul had started, and we read what every pastor would hope to hear: he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

The Corinthians had believed because of God’s saving grace at work among them.

Paul would write this to the church in Corinth, reminding them of whose work it was:

1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

How did Apollos help the Corinthians?

By teaching and preaching, instructing and exhorting the believers there.

Apollos helped the Jewish population in Corinth by explaining how the OT Scriptures pointed to and proclaimed Jesus.

Apollos was an effective evangelist—sharing the Good News with everyone—proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

But, as you can imagine from the responses Paul received when preaching Jesus, not everyone appreciated Apollos’ teaching.

There were opponents among the Jews whom Apollos had to refute. The church in Corinth benefited greatly from help from a skilled scholar and speaker like Apollos; this preacher with advanced academic knowledge accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit and Word of God.

Sometimes, the church needs the help of someone who has spent more time in the world and in academic circles. It’s good to have someone to sit down with and ask questions. It’s good to have someone who can debate false religions and equip you to debate them, as well.

There are many humorous stories of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses showing up at the home of Bible scholars and professors, long-time pastors who really know their stuff—it’s just plain unlucky when you’re peddling a false, empty religion and you knock on Matt Proctor’s door, or walk up Charles Stanley’s sidewalk, or find Crawford Lorritts at home.

My favorite tack to take with any follower of false religions, is to wait for them to say something about the errors in the Greek or Hebrew Bibles and then reach for my Greek NT and say, “Oh, that’s interesting. Let’s take a look!”

Sometimes, we need help. And the Lord will provide in abundance. Paul will write about Apollos being with him, no doubt Apollos was a help to Paul and vice versa.

Think of all those dear saints who have discipled you and helped you.

Name a few.

Who have you helped? Who have you discipled? Who in your sphere of influence needs you to help them, to disciple them?

Ask the Lord who He would have you disciple and help.

Acts 19:1–10 NIV

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Evangelistic Discipleship (19:1-10)

Ephesus was the major stop on Paul’s third missionary journey. Here Paul would share the good news about Jesus with the disciples of John the Baptist, with the Jews in the synagogue, and to the many residents of Asia in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

In the first 7 verses, Paul encounters some disciples. Unfortunately, these people weren’t true disciples. My good friend, Allistair Begg, calls them “twelve almost Christians.”

Paul witnessed something in their behavior that gave him pause. He asked some important spiritual questions, and he gets right to the point, asking them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed.

These disciples did not know Jesus; they knew nothing of the Holy Spirit, hadn’t even heard that there was a Holy Spirit.

They missed the memo about Pentecost and apparently hadn’t heard about Jesus’ life and ministry or death and resurrection. They must have moved out of Palestine and into Ephesus before Jesus’ ministry began.

So Paul tells them all about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He’s more than willing and ready to share the gospel.

After a discussion about the Spirit, baptism, and Jesus—the Messiah, the Christ—these disciples were baptized into the name of Jesus.

Paul placed his hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit, and they enjoyed a little taste of Pentecost right there in Ephesus.

The Lord works in awesome power.

To be the person the Lord uses to share the good news, to disciple an unbeliever in the way of Christ is an incredible moment in a believer’s life.

It’s an enormous privilege and blessing.

Like these disciples, there are a lot of “religious people” today who are unconverted; many “religious/spiritual” folk who do not know Jesus. I mentioned a few earlier—Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, a good chunk of Roman Catholics.

Then there are those who aren’t members of any of the aforementioned cults, but they attend Christian religious events and yet can’t articulate the basic truths of the gospel and give no signs of regeneration.

It’s our task, brothers and sisters, to share the gospel with those who are “religious” or “spiritual” but don’t know Jesus.

Paul moves next to the synagogue there in Ephesus, proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.

He evangelized there, speaking boldly for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

Some believed. Some were obstinate and refused to believe. This, we must always be prepared for.

We share the good news about Jesus, and we expect a mixed response; some will believe and some won’t.

Like Paul, we just keep going.

Paul takes the new converts with him to his next evangelistic location—the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

Here, Paul had discussions daily. And this went on for two years.

This hall was a public place, and as such, Paul could evangelize all sorts of people—both Jews and Greeks.

It’s possible that many congregations and early churches were established by people the Lord saved through Paul’s evangelistic discipleship.

We don’t have to look far to find people who don’t know Jesus.

What’s stopping us from sharing the Good News about Jesus with them?

What are we afraid of?

If every committed Christian at Rich Hill Christian Church discipled one or two people and each of them, in turn, discipled one or two people, and the pyramid kept spreading out—imagine the impact!

You don’t have to save the world by yourself. In fact, you can’t save anyone; neither can I! Let’s not get a savior-complex, alright?

The Lord saves. We witness.

The Lord saves. We share.

The Lord saves. We disciple.

We must start discipling. It’s not optional.

Our daughter, Patience, has a hard time going to sleep at night. It’s not that she’s not tired. It’s simply that she doesn’t want to go to sleep. She’d rather lay in bed and play with her stuffed animals or talk to herself. She’d like to be up watching Netflix. She’s exhausted, we can tell, but she doesn’t want to go to sleep.

We lovingly tell her, “It’s not an option. It’s time to go to sleep. The only choice you have in the matter is to choose to do what we’ve said.”

It’s time that this part of Christ’s church takes seriously what Jesus has commanded us—because we want to do what He says and we want to honor Him. And because we want others to know the joy of being His disciple.

“Make disciples of all nations...

Strengthening them.

Correcting when needed.

Helping as we can.

Evangelizing the lost.

Make disciples of all nations. Let’s go. Let’s get to it.