The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Twenty-first Century Disciples
When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven , the disciples “were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them...they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’! (Acts 1:10,11). The fact that He had gone from them did not, however, mean that His ministry had come to an end, nor had the responsibility He had placed on the shoulders of His disciples – both then and now.
How do we know this to be true? The answer is found in Acts 1:1,2 – “In my former book” [referring to the Gospel of Luke] “I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.” So the book of Acts is a record of what the disciples did in the early church, and a text book for all disciples down through the ages to the present day from which to learn as they – we – continue “to do and teach” by the Holy Spirit of God.
This statement throws up two questions. (1) What were the characteristics of these early disciples? (2) What can we learn from them for today as Twenty-first Century disciples?
They were Praying and Believing Disciples
We only have to read the first few chapters of Acts to realise that these early disciples were praying people as well as believing people. These two characteristics go together. True prayer and true faith are partners, because “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Prayer and belief (faith) go hand in hand in this verse – “anyone who comes to him” [this is prayer] “ must believe.”
As Twenty-first Century disciples there is much we can learn from these First Century disciples. So often today our praying is weak and does not receive the priority it should have – the prayer meeting is usually the least attended of all church meetings – and our beliefs are also weak, with erroneous preaching from the pulpit on the increase. Let us ask the Lord to make us more like those early believers, that we, too, might become mighty and powerful praying and believing Twenty-first Century disciples.
They were United Disciples
Read through the Gospels and we discover a marked lack of unity from time to time amongst the disciples. Discord and dissension flared up on more than one occasion, such as arguments as to who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:46-48), then there was denial and betrayal ( Mark 14:72; Matthew 27:3) – these alone illustrate the point; we could cite many other occasions. But when we come to the Acts we find a great transformation has taken place. For example, in Acts 2:1 we read, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” The AV (or as some prefer to call it, the KJV) emphasises this unity even more effectively. “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” All dissension had given way to fellowship (Acts 2:42).
This statement throws up two questions. (1) What were the characteristics of these early disciples? (2) What can we learn from them for today as Twenty-first Century disciples?
They were Praying and Believing Disciples
We only have to read the first few chapters of Acts to realise that these early disciples were praying people as well as believing people. These two characteristics go together. True prayer and true faith are partners, because “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Prayer and belief (faith) go hand in hand in this verse – “anyone who comes to him” [this is prayer] “ must believe.”
As Twenty-first Century disciples there is much we can learn from these First Century disciples. So often today our praying is weak and does not receive the priority it should have – the prayer meeting is usually the least attended of all church meetings – and our beliefs are also weak, with erroneous preaching from the pulpit on the increase. Let us ask the Lord to make us more like those early believers, that we, too, might become mighty and powerful praying and believing Twenty-first Century disciples.
They were United Disciples
Read through the Gospels and we discover a marked lack of unity from time to time amongst the disciples. Discord and dissension flared up on more than one occasion, such as arguments as to who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:46-48), then there was denial and betrayal ( Mark 14:72; Matthew 27:3) – these alone illustrate the point; we could cite many other occasions. But when we come to the Acts we find a great transformation has taken place. For example, in Acts 2:1 we read, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” The AV (or as some prefer to call it, the KJV) emphasises this unity even more effectively. “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” All dissension had given way to fellowship (Acts 2:42).
As Twenty-first Century disciples we need to recognise the importance of unity and fellowship in our church. (Incidentally, this cuts right across all denominational barriers – not only within each local church individually but with each local church collectively.) This is the responsibility of every member of the church, from the Pastor/Minister/Vicar down to the newest member – or should that be the other way round, from the newest member down to the minister? On second thoughts, perhaps there should be no “up” or “down”, because we are all there to serve the Lord, each with his or her own ministry! We are all members of the Body of Christ, we all have a part to play, we are all precious in God’s sight.
Discord and dissension will destroy true unity and fellowship within our church and will hinder (even destroy) the work of God in that church. The advice given by Paul should be heeded by every disciple: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Where there is a spirit of unity and a warm, radiant fellowship, there will also be a healthy and growing church. This is a valuable lesson for Twenty-fist Century disciples to learn.
They were Generous and Selfless Disciples
Not only were they praying and believing disciples, united in fellowship with one another and with God, they were generous and selfless, as described in Acts 2:44. “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” These early disciples devoted all that they possessed to the Lord’s work and the common good of their fellow-disciples. The times may have been hard and difficult for these Christians in the First Century, but the disciples responded according to their beliefs with generosity and selflessness. (Of course, they were not yet called Christians – that would come later, recorded in Acts 11:26, “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”)
It is true that times and conditions have changed in the Twenty-first Century, and we may not be required to sell our lands and houses to further the work of God in our church, but the principle has not changed. We still recognise that all that we possess belongs to the Lord, we are but stewards or custodians for Him. He still requires us to use all that we have in furthering His work and spreading His Gospel. Without self-sacrifice there can be no true spiritual revival within our church, nor in the Church, but we can be assured that any time, energy or wealth given to God will be repaid a hundredfold (Mark 10:30) . Thinking again of those early disciples, their generosity and selflessness shone through , and wherever they went they stirred the people with “miraculous signs and wonders” (Acts 5:12). But this is not the whole story!
What is the whole story? There may have been these manifestations of supernatural power, but we need to remind ourselves that the greatest impact the lives of these early disciples had on the people was in their ever-day living. The quality of their lives manifested the greatest power. It is often in the common and ordinary tasks of life that we demonstrate how deeply we are committed to the Lord. Perhaps we could ask ourselves the question, am I a praying and believing disciple, a united disciple in that I am enjoying fellowship with my fellow-believers as well as with the Lord; generous and selfless in my daily living? This may be an important question, but the answer we give is even more important.
They were Happy and Sincere Disciples
In spite of the difficult times in which these early disciples lived, where they frequently endured persecution and hardship, it did not blunt the avidity, the enthusiasm, the passion they had as Disciples of Jesus Christ.. Their love and devotion for the Lord, for their fellow-believers and for those around them found expression in their radiant happiness. “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people” (Acts 2:46,47). The New English Bible translates it as “unaffected joy”, Eugene Peterson’s The Message uses the phrase, “exuberant and joyful”, and the Weymouth Translation says, “They took their meals with great happiness”.
But there is another important characteristic expressed in this verse – sincerity. At the end of this verse is a significant phrase, both for those early disciples as well as disciples of today, and that is that they enjoyed the favour of all the people. As in the First Century so in the Twenty-first Century, the people of the world who make no profession of faith look on and are quick to detect and denounce any insincerity those of us who make profession to be followers of, and committed to, Jesus Christ. There is nothing more destructive to the work of God than insincerity, Christians who pretend to be what they are not. The early disciples were found “praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people”, but what about His disciples today? It is a sad thing to say, but some Christians today can be found praising God yet not enjoying the favour of the people around them. This is what lack of true happiness and insincerity can do to our witness!
In the First Century Church the disciples (indeed, all true believers) were well received by the people, even if the hierarchy of the somewhat corrupt and ritualistic church of that day opposed them and persecuted them from city to city. Their lives, in words and in deeds, witnessed constantly to a good profession of faith in the Lord Jesus. By the power and grace given them at Pentecost, these praying and believing disciples, united in fellowship with each other and with their Lord, showing generosity and selflessness, proclaimed by their lives a radiant happiness in spite of their persecution , and were sincere in all that they did and said. The question now remains – where do we stand today in comparison with them? After \all, the same power and means of grace are available to us in the Twenty-first Century.
They were Bold Disciples
But there is one other characteristic evident amongst those early disciples, and that was their boldness. Read through the first five chapters of the Acts and mark the contrast. Before the day of Pentecost the disciples were timid, fearful, cowering behind closed doors. After Pentecost they became fearless and forceful preachers, suffering hardship and persecution in the name of Christ. What had changed them? Wrong question! Who had changed them? The answer is in Acts 4:31. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” The infilling of the Spirit of God banished fear. It is impossible for fear and faith to live side by side. The infilling of the Spirit opened their mouths. The infilling of God’s Spirit made them bold in their actions, in their preaching, in their witness. It is impossible for a Spirit-filled disciple to remain silent.
These then are the characteristics of these Spirit-filled early disciples – praying, believing, united in fellowship, generous, selfless, happy, sincere and bold in their witness. We began this article by saying that just because Jesus had ascended, in effect had gone from the midst of the early disciples, this did not mean that His ministry had come to an end, nor had the responsibility He had placed on the shoulders of His disciples – both then and now. In one of my books, Back To Basics, there is a basic statement which appears throughout the book. “If we believe what the first Christians believed we will achieve what they achieved.” May we learn this lesson well.
Let us always remember this, as Twenty-first Century disciples, that our responsibilities today have not changed from those of the First Century disciples. We are empowered by God through His Spirit by grace today just as those early disciples were. We have the same divine responsibility today as those early disciples had. We are living in the Latter Days, so time is short and the message is urgent. We are required to believe today and achieve today the same as that of those early disciples. If we, His disciples in the Twenty-first Century Church, are prepared to display and live by the characteristics of the disciples of the First Century Church, then until He comes again He can safely leave His Church in our hands as we accept the responsibilities He has given us, to continue all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven – “to do and teach” by the same power and means of grace given to us by the Holy Spirit of God.
© 2010 Denis A. Wheadon. All rights reserved. Website: http://www.Pen4God.co.uk. This document is the property of the Author and
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact with
the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact with
the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
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