Randall Baptist Church

Before one can make disciples as Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19), one ought to know what a disciple is. Today we will look at the word itself, at the way it was understood in Jesus’ day by those around Him, and at the particular meaning Jesus gave to the word. Subsequent articles, will consider what it means to be a disciple by looking at the “marks,” the “makings” and the “maturity” of the true disciple.

The Hebrew word for disciple, limmud, means “to learn” and is also translated “taught.” The word is used only four times in the Old Testament, all in Isaiah (8:16; 50:4; 54:13). The sense in all four uses is that of one who follows after another in order to learn and then use what is learned. The disciple is taught by receiving instruction in the process of following.

The Greek word for disciple is mathetes, the root word for which, namely manthano, means “to learn” or “to receive instruction.” In the Greek culture, philosophers were surrounded by their pupils who, as disciples of their teacher, sought to learn the particular and distinctive teaching of their master and then adhere to it.

Among the Jewish people, disciples were not uncommon in Jesus’ day. Recognized rabbis had their disciples. These disciples lived and studied with the rabbi, including in a setting not unlike that in which then twelve year old Jesus spent time with the teachers in the Temple as described in Luke 2:41-47. The goal of the disciple was to learn what the rabbi knew, and to be like the rabbi. John the Baptist had disciples (Matthew 11:2; Mark 2:18; cf. Acts 18:25; 19:1-5), as did the Pharisees (Mark 2:18).

Like John the Baptist and the learned rabbis of His day, Jesus had disciples. However, Jesus called out certain ones to follow Him and be His disciples, as opposed to individuals simply choosing to follow Him as would have been the case with the rabbis. Jesus therefore added new meaning to the word disciple. For Jesus, a disciple was more than one who followed after to receive instruction. A disciple of Jesus was one “called” by Him to follow after and receive instruction (Matthew 4:18-22; 11:25-30; John 6:65-71). And beyond that, a disciple of Jesus was one who responded to His call (John 1:35-51), and who personally believed in Jesus as the Messiah (John 2:11).

If you heard Jesus’ call to come to Him and receive salvation, and if you responded to His call and believed in Him as your Messiah, you are a disciple of Jesus. But what does it mean to live as a disciple of Jesus? What should mark the life of a true disciple? What should be the makings of a true disciple? And what should characterize the maturity of a true disciple? Look for the answers in the coming weeks.

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(Read Part 1 of “What is the Church”)

The second response to the question is that the Church is the local church. The local church is the assembly of believers in Jesus at any one place at one time. The local church is thus the visible expression of the universal Church referred to above. The New Testament refers to a local assembly as an ecclesia when referring to a specific church as, for example, to the church at Thessolonica (I Thess. 1:1) or the church at whatever place (I Cor. 4:17). The word used for a group of churches is the plural form of ecclesia as, for example, when Paul refers to the churches of Judea (Gal. 1:22).

It is the ecclesia that is referred to in the common answer, “The church is place I go to worship God.” noted at the start of this issue. However, remember that the ecclesia is not the place, it is the people who are gathered or assembled at the place that is the local church. As such, the building could be burned down or taken away through foreclosure, but the church would still exist in the form of the people, as it is the people who are the church.

Altogether, a believer becomes a member of the universal church upon believing in Jesus Christ, and it is the expectation is that a believer will join in fellowship with a local church or assembly. (Heb. 10:25) It is in and through the local church that a believer can exercise his or her spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:11), experience koinonia, which means close, intimate fellowship one with another (I Thess. 4:18), and be built up in the faith (Eph. 4:15 & 16; Heb. 10:24). It is in and through the local church that a believer can be a part of the visible expression of Christ to the world (Matt. 5:14-16; Eph. 5:8-10; I Peter 2:12).

So, what is the church? It is at the same time all believers everywhere for all time, and local assemblies of believers gathering in one place at one time. It is the people of God who worship and serve Him, and who are the visible expression of and the witness to His Kingdom before the watching world.

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You may have attended a church all your life; or you may have only recently begun to attend. But have you ever asked yourself the question, “What is the Church?” Perhaps the response heard most often is, “The church is place I go to worship God.” While that answer is true, the Church is really much more than a place. This issue will briefly explore the “really much more” part of that last sentence in answer to the question.

The first response to the question is that the Church is the universal church. The universal Church consists of all those individual humans who have believed - that is all those past, present and future - on Jesus Christ for their salvation and received forgiveness of sin. Thus, some believers have already died and are with the Lord in heaven, some are living now all around the world, and some have not yet believed including living people and those yet to be born and believe (Acts 13:48).

As the above definition indicates, only personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation brings one into the universal Church. One does not become a part of the Church by birth - having Christian parents does not give one a faith in Christ (Acts 2:47; 10:43; 13:38-39; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 2:8). One does not become a part of the Church by being baptized or dedicated as an infant. And one does not become a part of the Church by joining a local church (in other words, some local churches will accept people into membership even though they are not a believer).

Given, then, that only those with a personal faith in Jesus Christ are part of the universal Church, it is fair to say that the universal Church was not only founded by Jesus Christ, it is focused on Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke of the Church coming into being after His death and resurrection (Matt. 16:18), and the Church is described as His body (Rom. 12:5; I Cor. 12:12-31; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4 & 12, 5:30; Col. 1:18 & 24).

The nature of the universal Church can also be described by the following statements: the Church is at the same time one and many - it is one entity in its essence made up of uncounted individual parts; the Church is at the same time invisible and visible - The body of Christ as made up of its members cannot be seen as a whole as it is made up of deceased believers, living believers and believers yet to believe. But the body can be seen in the persons of those very believers; The Church is indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit - it is a “dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit” (Eph. 2:22b); and the Church is an organism not an organization - it is a living thing; it is not a man-made structure.

(Look for part 2 later this week.)

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Randall #1 - 2008 Christian Athletic League Champs

Congratulations to Randall #1 men’s fast-pitch softball team, champions of Western New York’s Christian Athletic League after emerging victorious from an intense, hard fought contest with skilled rival Amherst Baptist Church on Friday, August 1st. Randall has now won four of the last six CAL championships, dating back to 2003.

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Randall persevered with some fundamentally sound, station-to-station softball, capped off by a thrilling squeeze bunt for the win.

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