Modeling Kingdom Discipleship
Today’s Focus: Understanding Obedience in the Commission
Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20; John 5:19; John 14:8-11
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
When Jesus told the disciples to teach others to observe or obey everything that He has commanded, this has been misinterpreted in the sense that we need to teach people to obey everything in the Old and New Testament. Now think about this, could you imagine having to obey everything listed in the Old and New Testament? People would just turn away and go back to being a straight sinner because that would be extremely hard to do, and some has. Now here is a question, Jesus is obviously telling them to do something that He showed them to do and he is asking them to do that and show others. Jesus in His ministry did not walk around with scrolls under his arm and then when a problem arose, He pulled them out to find the absolute scripture and then quote it. Jesus did not do this. This is what Jesus did:
John 5:19: Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily Verily I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He see the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Jesus only did what he saw the Father do and Jesus only said what He hears the Father say. This is called obedience and worship because Jesus is fully submitted to the Father and has given up the right to rule Himself to do His Father's Will and so the Father loves Him and shows Jesus what He is doing. It is only by the Spirit of the Father in Jesus.
John 14:8-11: Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? HE THAT HATH SEEN ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER; and how sayest thou then , Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU I SPEAK NOT OF MYSELF: BUT THE FATHER THAT DWELLETH IN ME, HE DOETH THE WORKS. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Jesus gave the Father a place in time as a vessel in which the Father can live and impact His Will upon the earth. Jesus consciously hears what the Father is telling Him to do and that is the thing that He is doing. He does this moment to moment and day to day. Jesus is being led by the Spirit of God and this is a confirmation that He is the Son of God. Hence obedience is not just obeying the commandments, but obeying directions. This is the way of life we are called to live as sons of God. This is a intimate lifestyle to live and this is opposite of church culture that looks for a commandment and do it and think we are pleasing God. In this thought process we are the ones who decide what God is actually doing in the moment because we are the ones who are apply the word to some situation.
The four gospels are a testimony of an existing relationship between the Father and the Son and it records a truth that Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. Now this opens up and entirely different avenue to teaching discipleship that we have rarely heard of.
In the next message we will look at obedience and it's correlation to witnessing.
Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
