Call to Discipleship - Part 3 - by Leland Earls

CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP — Part 3 - by Leland Earls

[Reprinted by permission from Word of Life Fellowship, Shelton, Washington USA.
Visit www.wordoflifefelloship.com for more info about writings of the late Leland Earls. Also available are online copies of some of brother Earls' writings at www.firstloveministry.com ]

In the last article I was dealing with the quality of "humility" as the KEY to learning of (from) Jesus, as His disciple." God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace (to open our understanding) unto the humble." (James 4:6, I Pet. 5:5).

I indicated that I could not take the time to deal with all of the various aspects of humility, but that there were three that I wanted to emphasize with reference to our subject of "discipleship" - placing ourselves under the unconditional discipline of Jesus Christ in order to be taught of Him. The first was our willingness to be teachable. The second was the absolute necessity for us to recognize our desperate need to consistently study and meditate in the Word of God. The third, which I had not yet touched upon, is honesty The Word of God is like a like a sharp two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). It "cuts", exposes, rebukes - revealing the very depths of the thoughts and motives of our hearts. If we are going to be faithful to our Master (Teacher) then we must honestly "face" the convicting and often embarrassing truth as it penetrates our inner being. This is not always easy. The evasive, deceitfulness of the human heart is declared to us in Jer. 17:9, It takes the grace of God to enable us to fully repent, change our attitudes, ask forgiveness of those we have wronged, make restitution, change our minds about errors and wrong concepts that we have held to, and constantly make the adjustments necessary if we are honestly willing to be taught of the Lord. According to Luke 8:15, the "seed" (Word of God) which fell on the "good ground", "are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit to perfection. "

In this section, I have been dealing with the purposes of discipleship. I have written on Nos. 1 & 2, which you can refer back to in the two preceding articles on this subject. I will now proceed to No. 3: "To be made WORTHY” of Jesus, that we may be prepared to dwell with Him in His Heavenly Kingdom." In Mark 8:34, we read these words of Jesus: "Whosoever will come AFTER me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (See also Mt. 10:38, where Jesus says: "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not WORTHY of me."). In these scriptures, Jesus is NOT dealing with the matter of initial salvation which is a free GIFT upon faith in Jesus Christ (John 5:24, 6:40. Rom. 6: 23: Eph. 2:8-9). Those acquainted with my writings know that "eternal life" is nothing more than the restoration of what Adam lost when he sinned - deathless life on this earth. Beyond that, there are specific requirements for those who aspire to be intimately associated WITH Jesus IN His Heavenly Kingdom IN the New Jerusalem to be a part of His RULING Bride and Household. I will limit my remarks here since you can read what I have written in other writings ("The Three Comings of Jesus", "The Gift and the Prize" in Manifested Sons No. I, and "Preparation for the Lord's Coming" - all available upon request).

Concerning the requirements that Jesus enunciates: “denying” oneself, taking up ones' cross, and following Him, I will deal with later in the section on "The Requirements of Discipleship". But I will remark briefly on Jesus' statement that those who fail to fulfill these requirements are not "worthy" of HIM. If preachers and Bible students had not been so "brainwashed" by Satanic traditions, they would know how to "rightly divide" (II Tim. 2:15) the Word of truth, and they would know when Jesus was speaking of salvation (based solely on faith in Him and "His merits" alone) and discipleship, the requirements of which are necessary to make us "worthy" to dwell in His immediate presence. The Greek word translated "worthy" in Mt. 10:38, means "deserving, comparable, or suitable", which indicates that there must be a sufficient purifying of our inner being from innate carnality, as well as partaking of and growing-into the nature and character of Jesus Christ that there will be a sufficient "comparableness" or "suitableness" of our natures that we will experience a complete harmony, unity, and totality of love. This comes through His work IN us.
At times, I have been in meetings of Christians where the Spirit of God has moved in such a profound way and the presence of the Lord was so real that it was awesome. It was a thrill to me. Yet through experience, I discovered that many Christians do not like such meetings; the presence of the Lord makes them feel very uneasy and uncomfortable, because their spiritual attunement, hunger and love for the Lord was so limited, they simply were not ready to get that close to the Lord's manifest presence. How then can we say that such Christians are ready to dwell with Christ in the New Jerusalem where the awesome holiness of His presence will be at least one thousand times as great as anyone has experienced on this earth?

One of the most abused scriptures in the New Testament is I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." Most fundamentalist Christians teach that when we are translated (or "raptured" as they call it), that by some "magic button", not only will our bodies be changed to be like Jesus glorious body, but that at the same time our "inner being" will suddenly be changed into the "likeness" of Jesus in all of the perfection of His character qualities. All one has to do is to read the verse immediately following the one quoted above and such stupid fantasies can be dispatched to the pit where they belong, for I John 3:3 says: "and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." What need is there for us to submit ourselves to getting purified here and now, in this life, if this will at once suddenly in the instant that we are translated to be with Jesus? The expression that we at once shall be "like Him" when we shall see Him, refers to the change that will take in our physical body, for we shall have a body like unto His, even as Paul says in Phil. 3:21.

Both Peter and Paul liken the physical body to a "tabernacle", "building", or "house" in which our spirit and soul lives. Now tell me, if you move from one house into another one, does that act in itself suddenly change YOU (morally or spiritually)? NO, beloved, if we have the HOPE of having our bodies changed into the likeness of Christ's glorious body, then the cleansing and purging, the growing and changing into the image of Christ and the testings and provings that are so necessary to prepare us, must take place here and now - in this life. We read in James 1:12: "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation (trials - testings); for when he is tried (successfully), he shall receive the CROWN of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that LOVE Him." This scripture obviously has both a special qualification and a special promise. The "crown of life" is certainly something more than just the "gift of eternal life" (Rom. 6:23). A "crown" is associated with a "prize" (I Cor. 9:24-27, Phil. 3:l4) - that of "winning" Christ, to become a part of His "elect" Bride or Household. The "crown of life" or "life CROWNED", could refer to the GLORIFIED BODY which all who "rule" with Christ shall receive (Phil. 3:21).

Jesus solemn admonition that "he that taketh not his cross, and followeth not after me, is not worthy of me" (Mt. 10:38) is in perfect harmony with His revelation to the churches as given to John the apostle in the last book of the New Testament. In Rev. 3:4-5, He makes mention of certain ones in the church of Sardis: "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment." Surely there were many saved (born again) Christians in the church at Sardis, but Jesus makes it clear that only a few out of that church would "walk with Him in white; for they are worthy." And to add emphasis to this fact, He immediately follows with the added truth that such are those who "overcome". He explains that these are "worthy" because they have not "defiled" their "garments". To "defile" means to soil.

This brings up a whole new subject which is too vast to cover in this discipleship study. “Their garments” refers to the inner soul garment which each person has. Paul makes it clear in I Thess. 5:23, that we humans are composed of spirit, soul and body. Your "spirit" is the real "you", which has been "formed" or "fathered" by God out of His own "substance", for God is SPIRIT (see Zech. 12:1, Heb. 12: 9, John 4:25). But God has provided "clothes" for us, just as you provide clothes for your children. Your physical body is your "outer" garment, and your soul is your "inner" garment. Just as when you put on your clothes, I can see your outer garments, but I cannot see your under-garments or under-wear, it is a "picture" of the way that God has made us. I can see your physical body (or garment), but I cannot see your soul body (or garment). This is because the "atomic structure" of the soul is much more "highly attenuated" in its composition - its vibrational "pitch" is on a much higher level of existence, and the "visual waves" it emanates are not within the range of the physical eyes. Because of its "highly diffused" substance, the soul occupies the same space as the physical body, and is an exact replica of the physical body.

The soul is under the same sentence of death as the physical body. God declared through the prophet Ezekiel that "the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). The people had evidence for hundreds of years that the physical body was subject to death because of sin, but they needed to know that they had a "soul" which also was subject to death because of sin. Jesus confirmed this perspective in His teaching by stating in Mt. 16:26, "what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul." And also His warning in Mt. 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." And other scriptures are clear that the soul must be saved (from death) - see James 5:20, Heb. 10:39. To "save" means to "preserve".

There is so much more that needs to be said on this subject, and I hate to leave you "dangling" - so to speak, but I don't want to get too far off of our immediate subject of "discipleship". I must, however go back to Rev. 3:4-5, and clarify further the matter of our "worthiness" to be a part of the "elect" company who will "walk with Jesus in white". We have already noted that such are "worthy" because they have not "defiled their garments" (their inner "soul garments"). To grasp the significance of Jesus' words, we must understand that the Scriptures teach that the "desire nature" (with its emotions and feelings) functions through the soul. Because of the inherited fallen Adamic nature, the corrupted soul-desires become a "driving force" which dominate and "usurp" the authority and ruling power (will) of the human spirit, and use the physical body as the "instrument" to carry out and "fulfill" sinful propensities. Such soul-desires which lead to sin, rebellion, lust, covetousness, etc., then "defile" it - cause it to become "dirty" and unclean. Christ's redemptive sacrifice for us has not only made provision for the soul to be saved (preserved from death), but also for the soul to be purified (I Pet. 1:22), or cleansed. This not only means forgiveness of sins (the "fruit" of our sin nature), but also the cleansing or purging of the soul of that sin nature's dominance or "drive" towards sin. James says that God not only forgives our sins, but also cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness (James 1:9); that is, IF we are aware of God’s provision (and submit ourselves to it) for such "freedom" through cleansing by the truth of God's Word (John 8:31-32, 36) and the fire of God's Spirit (Mt. 3:11). This does not mean "sinless perfection" in the sense that one so "cleansed" cannot sin, for God never nullifies our power of free will to choose as we please.
Jesus' words in Rev. 3:4 indicate that there were those in Sardis who had received a deep cleansing unto purity of heart and holiness of life, but afterwards "defiled their garments". "Cleansing" by the power of God's truth and His baptismal fire*

[*Note: I have dealt with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in a booklet titled "A New and Living Way" (available on request), so I will not go into further detail here. But it is very important to note that the first words ever spoken about Jesus by John the Baptist, who was to prepare "the WAY" of the Lord, were: "he that cometh after me is mightier than I ... he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire (Mt. 3:11). And the last words that Jesus Himself spoke to His disciples were: "tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49, Acts 1:8). So to be His disciples requires that we ask, seek, even "knock" if necessary until we experience this "immersion" in the "fire" of His Spirit, to purge the inner "dross" and empower for victory (Lk. 11:9-13).]

from the innate "bondage" to sin does not make one suddenly a mature Christian. Much progress and growth towards maturity and perfection must still take place. Neither does it automatically remove all "faults" and "weaknesses" which are common to our strictly human nature. We must still diligently seek to "overcome" all that the Lord exposes and shows us that is not pleasing to Him. Thus it is possible for a "cleansed" one to "fall short" or fail the Lord in various ways; even to momentarily sin in thought, word, attitude or deed. But such inadvertent (not willful) failings are quickly taken to the Lord and confessed, and His forgiveness restores precious fellowship. I John 1:8-10.

Jesus words in Rev. 3:4-5, however, indicate that "inner garments" which have been made "white" can once again be "defiled". Last time, in part 2 of this study, I commented on our Christian "walk" and the need to have Jesus "wash our feet" every day from the "surface" contaminations which we pickup from the inevitable "rubbing shoulders" with the people of the world in our daily activities. Thus we must continually exercise our will in seeking the Lord, abiding in His Word, and letting Him cleanse us from "surface" contaminations, for Satan has many devices and "wiles" (Ephes. 6:11) to try to entice us to once again "awaken" mental-emotional desires and attitudes which can lead to sinful actions - in word and/or deed. If we are again so "enticed" and begin to "take pleasure" in that which is displeasing to the Lord, then the "dirt" of this world (the "lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes (covetousness), and the pride of life (self-importance and self-exaltation)" - I John 2:16, can begin to pollute and "defile" our inner soul garment - and such can disqualify us from being among those who will "walk with Jesus in white". Even though saved, we would fall again into the category of a carnal Christian, and become subject to the chastening dealings of God.

Aside from avoiding unnecessary contact with the world and worldly people, the most important thing for the "purged" Christian, who wants to remain "sanctified" (wholly separated unto the Lord) unto holiness (purity), is to avoid about 90% of all TELEVISION - for the majority of the programs bring the pollution and filth of the world right into your living room. You cannot "feed" your mental-emotional being on such "garbage" and not run the risk of getting seriously defiled within.
I want to focus your attention again on the words of Jesus in Mt. 10:38: "and he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." One thing to "follow after" means is to pursue. According to Webster's dictionary the definition of "pursue" is "to follow with a view to overtake; to chase; to seek; to use measures to obtain; to go in pursuit; to proceed along, with a view to some end or object." Think of this definition in terms of a young man (or woman) who has become acquainted with the one they believe is the one they want to "win" as a life companion. And with eventual marriage in mind, they go about to "pursue" that person in line with the definition of that word that I have quoted above. Read it again, and try to grasp the parallel between a young persons' pursuit of the object of their affection for a life partner, and our need to pursue Christ to "win" Him if we hope to be a part of His heavenly Bride or Household to be His partner in companionship and love. We must pursue Him with all or our hearts. Does not a young person who is ' pursuing ' the one they desire spend as much time as they can with them, find out all they can about them, seek to pi ease them in every way they can, express their love to them, be willing to forsake all fanner family ties to be joined to them? Does Christ require any less of us if we want to be joined to Him in intimate bliss?

Even though we can receive the free gift of eternal life from Him, 'Christ Himself must be "won" as illustrated above, and this perspective is confirmed by Paul in Phil. 3:7-8: "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge (full or intimate knowledge) of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suf¬fered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may WIN Christ." In vs. 14, Paul relates this "winning" of Christ with the "prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Salvation is a gift - not a prize; but certainly Christ Himself is the greatest "prize" one could give his or her ALL to WIN.

Look with me again at Mt. 16:24: "If any man will come AFTER me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." To "come after" Jesus can mean to "come" (or arrive) at a later time. Notice Jesus' words in John 13:36: "Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Wither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Here Jesus is using the "follow me" to indicate the actual, and eventual, personal arrival of Jesus' disciples to be where He was going. Jesus had told his disciples that He was leaving them to return to the Father, but they could not "follow Him" in that journey at that time, but they would AFTERwards (at a later time). Just a few statements later, in John 14:2-3, Jesus said: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I AM, there ye may be also." Ordinarily this promise is automatically applied to all Christians. But a careful examination of this and other scriptures that we have been considering, makes it clear that Jesus promise is applicable only to disciples; those who deny self, take up their cross, and follow Him - those who truly desire and commit themselves to "go after Him" - not only to "pursue" Him with all their hearts, but to go (or "be taken") to where Jesus is AFTER Him (at a later time). Later, when I deal with the requirements of discipleship more specifically, these truths will come into clearer focus.

Continuing this section on the purposes of discipleship, No. 4 is indicated by Jesus in Lk. 6:40: "The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master." The Amplified version reads: "A pupil is not superior to his teacher, but every one [when he is] completely trained - readjusted, restored, set to rights and perfected - will be like his teacher. Discipleship is for the purpose of "perfecting" us AS our Teacher - becoming LIKE Him. There are two Greek works translated "perfect" in the New Testament. One is teleios, which implies a goal reached, that which is complete or finished, and relating to God's goal for his children, the word can be translated "mature" or "perfect" (in the sense of the finished work God has purposed to accomplish in our lives in terms of a certain measure of growth which He had previously determined - see Phil. 1:6). This word is used by Jesus in Mt. 5:48: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect [that is, grow into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], (Amplified version).
The Greek word which is used in Lk. 6:40, however, is katartizo, and although it is translated "perfect" several times in the New Testament in the King James version, its meaning is more accurately definition is, "to thoroughly furnish, to equip, to adjust, to repair, to restore, to mend (it is used in medical language of setting a bone or joint); also used in classical Greek for refitting a ship." Teleios is the Greek word which points towards the ultimate goal to which God is bringing us - full maturity in Christ; whereas katartizo characterizes the means to that end or goal - that is, the day by day adjustments, changes, repairs (from the damages of sin), mendings (from hurts and offenses), restoring (in broken relationships), furnishing and equipping for battles against Satan and for service for the Lord - that we might learn by experience and thus progress in growing spiritually, etc. Praise the Lord! Only discipleship to Jesus Christ can "equip" us with the spiritual "tools" to bring about the necessary changes and adjustments in our lives that will enable Him to bring us to the ultimate goal of spiritual maturity.

A passage which relates to this matter, and which I believe has been greatly misunderstood, is Mt. 19:16-22. A young man asked Jesus: "what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answered him in accordance with that which was necessary for salvation at that time - the keeping of the Iaw. This was before Jesus had provided a "more perfect way" by His death and resurrection. Those who lived under the law were saved by acceptably (in the sight of God) keeping the law. Study Ezek., chap. 18. Any sins which were done in ignorance or inadvertently, were atoned for (covered) by the blood of the sacrificial animals (see Lev. 17:11, Lev., chaps. 4-6).

When Jesus quoted the commandments of the law as the requirement for eternal life, the young man said, "All these things have I kept from my youth up" (Mt. 19:20). He had met the requirements that Jesus enunciated (according to the law) and thus could be assured he was saved (provided he continued to keep the commandments of the law and did not turn to wickedness, as clearly explained in Ezek. chap. 18). But there was something in the young man's heart which yearned for something more. So he said to Jesus, “What lack I yet?" Jesus said unto him, "IF thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." However, Mt. 19:22 says that "when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." When Jesus spoke these words to the young man, contrary to what some teach, He was NOT giving him further requirements for salvation. He would have been dishonest to do so. Jesus was born under the law covenant, lived un¬der the law, and that law covenant was not terminated until the cross (Col. 2:14), Heb. 7:19 says that the law could make nothing (no person) perfect. God is not just interested in the salvation (preservation of our souls). He has purposed our growth unto perfection (maturity). Salvation is just the beginning - as a new born babe in God's sight. When we are saved we still LACK MUCH (to put it mildly!) So when the young man said, "What lack I yet?” Jesus answered him in terms of DISCIPLESHIP - one of the purposes of which, as I have been setting before you - is to bring us to perfection (full maturity in Christ). I will develop this more fully when I discuss the requirements of discipleship.

The final purpose of discipleship that I will deal with (No. 5) is that we might come to know intimately the person of Christ, and the principles of His Kingdom. I am dealing with these together, because it is impossible to separate the person of Christ from what He taught (Kingdom principles for living - here and now). And to really know Christ and to love Him is to want to please Him and keep His commandments.

As I have repeatedly taught, just being saved is not enough to be prepared to be intimately associated with Jesus in His Heavenly Kingdom in the New Jerusalem. When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me", He first meant to come to know Him personally in an intimate, loving way. The word "know" was used by the Hebrews as an "idiom" to express the most intimate relationship that a man and woman could have in the marriage union (see Gen. 4:1, 17, Lk. 1:34, Mt. 1:25). So when Jesus uses such expressions as, "I know you not" (Mt. 25:12), or "I never knew you" (Mt. 7:23), I do not believe He was saying that they were not "saved". But He was indicating that either through carelessness or indifference, or through being so busy working for Him, they had neglected to take the time to develop an intimate relationship and fellowship with Him, to where loving Him and pleasing Him becomes the paramount issue of one's life.

We come into a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ when we are truly "born again". But this initial "knowing" of Him is immature and must be cultivated and developed. An increased "intimate "knowing" of Jesus come through consistent study and meditation in His Word - until it becomes Spirit (quickened) and LIFE to us (see John 6:63) - that our minds might be "renewed" and our lives "transformed" (Rom. 12:2), and we become more "attuned" to His nature. Knowing Him also involves cultivating a "prayer life" whereby we commune and fellowship with Him; experiencing His "working" in our lives by His Spirit, increasingly drawing us to Himself as He "proves" His love to us over and over again.

There is just one more thing that I want to mention in these brief comments on "knowing" Him. Satan tempts us to draw us away from the Lord, but God tests or proves us in order to draw us closer to Him. So our reaction in times of trial is so important - that we might learn to TRUST Him implicitly, knowing that everything that He allows to happen to us is only for our good. And IF our heart is truly SET on increasingly knowing Him, as was the apostle Paul's (Phil. 3:8, 10), then that trial (of whatever nature it may be) can SOLIDFY our relationship with the Lord and INCREASE our "knowing" of Him.

It is clear from the Word that it is only mature grain (from which the "chaff" has been removed) is to be gathered into the "barn" of Jesus' Heavenly Kingdom (Mt. 13:30). Jesus made it clear that there are three categories of Christians - 30, 60 and 100 fold (Mt. 13:8). The same three groups are indicated in a different parabolic illustration in Mark 4:26-29 by three stages of growth - the blade, the ear, and the full grain in the ear. A wheat farmer does not go out and harvest and gather into his barn green blades, or unripe, partially filled ears, but only the full ripe grain - and that only after the "chaff" has been removed by threshing.

Among all the other things that our precious Lord Jesus is to us, we must realize that He is also the "Thresher". In Mt. 3:12, John the Baptist characterizes Him in the following words: "His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out and clean His threshing floor, and gather and store His wheat in His bam; but the chaff will He burn up with fire that cannot be put out" (Amplified version). The "chaff" is not a part of the wheat, but that which surrounds. Chaff is a type of the world; symbolizing the fact that the world surrounds us, but is not to be a part of us. However, for our spiritual development unto maturity, it takes the temptations and tests from the world around us; that's why the Lord leaves us in the world after we are saved - it is the "crucible" in which the Lord allows the "fiery trials" to prove and strengthen our faith, and to help "purify" us as gold (see I Pet. 1:7, 4:12). Jesus prayed of His disciples, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." (John 17:15; see also John I5:I9). In John 16:33, Jesus gives us the assurance that we can have victory over all of the evil influences of the world: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." His victory is OUR victory - if we will just believe and receive it by faith - and completely submit our will to His (see I John 5:4), for "greater is he (Christ) that is in you, that he (Satan) that is in the world" (I John 4:4).

When those who are represented by the "full grain in the ear" (Mark 4:28-29) are ready to be translated into the heavenly realm, then they shall be completely removed from the "chaff" of this world. However, even now the Lord is "working" on us on His "threshing floor" - for He wants every evil influence of the world to be nulli¬fied in our lives. He wants us to be totally separated ("in spirit") from the present world-system ruled by Satan (see II Cor. 6:14-7:1). Therefore, even now, He is putting us through "threshing floor" experiences of testings and provings to separate us UNTO HIMSELF, and AWAY from all "chaff" of this world.

Mt. 3:12 says that the Lord will "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." I believe this takes place during the tribulation period - especially the final "vials of wrath". For at that time this world's system ruled by Satan will be completely destroyed. Also at that time, He will "thoroughly purge His floor" (that is, take His church through the tribulation period - all except the “firstfruits" - in order to cleanse and purify it, that it might be ready to be presented to Him "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephes. 5:27). Ordinarily, Christians think only negatively about the tribulation. But let me SHOCK you! The tribulation period will be God's great act of mercy to the church, when multitudes who have been blinded by the traditions of men will "awaken to the truth", and have the opportunity to GET READY to meet their Lord and be a part of that "elect company" who will be translated to the glorified estate at the tribulation's close.

Now for a few final comments on this fifth purpose of discipleship: to increasingly know the person of Christ, and to understand (in order to implement in our lives - both within and without (in action), the principles of His Kingdom. Jesus came as a KING, proclaiming (preaching) the "good news” of that Kingdom. He manifested the nature of that Kingdom by spending untold hours virtually every day in ministering to the needs of the people - in healings, deliverances, miracles - that He might lay a foundation for FAITH in Himself. But also, almost daily, He spend untold hours TEACHING the PRINCIPLES of His Kingdom - which cannot be separated from His PERSON - for they reflect the LIFE-STYLE that He Himself LIVED. These "principles" (of life) are the spiritual and moral TRUTH-laws that are in constant operation for our benefit and blessing IF we align our lives with them in thought, motive, word and deed. They may be expressed as immutable "cause and effect" truth as "blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt. 5:7) and "give, and it shall be given unto you.” (Lk. 6:38), or given as a commandment such as "a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you" (John 13:34), or "as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Lk. 6:31); but regardless of the form of expression, that are ABSOLUTES for living - eternal "verities'' - as unchangeable as God Himself. If we are true disciples, we will study and meditate on every axiom for living that Jesus taught, diligently seeking to apply its every facet - that "joy-bells" may ring, as we actually experience these Truth-laws working for our blessing and ultimate good.

Before I comment further on the above, I want to include in this section a quotation that I believe helps to confirm my perspective, explained earlier, that the "soul" is actually an "inner body-covering" for the human spirit. The same life forces that develop the fetus within the mother's womb also generate within that fetus this fine spun, highly attenuated duplicate of the physical body. For the person whose soul has been saved (preserved from death), that soul serve as a functioning vehicle for the spirit in the heavenly realms after the death of the physical body, and also maintains the personal identity of that person who has lived on this earth. For the unsaved, the soul (after the death of the physical body) gradually loses its cohesiveness, causing its disintegrating (death). This process is pictured by type in the Bible by the disease of leprosy. We read in I Pet. 3:19 of "spirits in prison", because they were "denuded" - having lost both their physical and soul garments. But in Rev. 6:9 we read of "souls under the altar" in heaven - saved persons clothed in their soul garments, or bodies.

The following is taken from "Caught Up Into Paradise" by Richard E. Eby, D.O., physician and surgeon, published by Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, N.J. Dr. Eby had an accident and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. I don't remember how long he was dead, but God miraculously restored him to life. While his body was dead, he was taken to paradise and describes a portion of his experience as follows:
''Aside from the complete absence of pain and the total presence of peace (neither of which I had ever known on earth), I looked like me, felt like me, reacted like me. I was me. I simply suddenly had shed the old body and was now living in this fantastic cloud-like body! Being a physician, first instinct was to inspect my new body, and I instantly admired it. It was mine alright. After 60 years in the old one, it was easy to see that the new body was me. I was the same size, the same shape, as the person I had seen in the mirror for years. I was clothed in a translucent flowing gown, pure white, but transparent to my gaze. In amazement, I could see through my body and noted the gorgeously white flowers behind and beneath me. This seemed perfectly normal, yet thrillingly novel. My feet were easy to see. No bifocals needed. There were no bones or vessels or organs. No blood. I noticed the absence of genitals. The abdomen and chest were organless and transparent to my gaze, though translucent to my peripheral vision. There was no air to breath, no blood to pump, no food to digest or eliminate. This was not a carnal body of organs, mortal and temporary."

Note that he observed that the body he had in paradise was exactly like the physical body he had on earth, but without the organs necessary for a purely physical existence. Although "cloud-like" in substance, it was a real, identifiable body. Note also that this body he describes was not the glorified physical body which Christians will eventually receive - either through translation or resurrection. The glorified physical body will be a much more powerful and versatile body or "vehicle" than the soul body. A glorified body can function both in the heavenly realms and on the earth. This was demonstrated by Jesus after His resurrection, for in His glorified body He was able to remain invisible in the vicinity of the earth for 40 days (Acts 1:3); yet also "manifest" (appear) many times to individuals and groups (I Cor. I5:5-7). When causing His body to manifest in the physical realm, He could be seen, touched, and even eat food (Lk. 24:36-43). He emphasized that His manifest physical body had flesh and bones (Lk. 24:39), whereas the body that Dr. Eby had in paradise did not have any bones. A soul-body cannot manifest in the physical realm. It is only for the use and functioning (unto progress in God's plan) in the realms of paradise, until the "outer garment" (the physical body) is restored in the resurrection as the primary "functioning vehicle" for the human spirit.

I'm going to conclude for this time with this page, so have to leave this subject for now. But I will continue it in some future study for Jesus had other things to say about the distinction between spirit, soul and body, even what happens finally in the "lake of fire" (Gr. - "gehenna"), for those who are unsaved. You might read Mt. 10:28 and Mark 9:43-38 and meditate on them. In the latter scripture, what is the "worm" (figuratively speaking) that "dies not" in "hell fire"? Jesus was primarily a teacher, and He wants dedicated disciples (pupils). Are you one?

CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP - Part 7 - by Leland Earls

[Reprinted with permission from Word of Life Fellowship, Shelton, Washington; please see www.wordoflifefellowship.com for contact information for the ministry carried on by Leland's son Kevin Earls.; Also, for more of Leland Earl's writings, visit www.firstloveministry.com which is the website of brother Chris Anderson.]

CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP - Part 7 - by Leland Earls (1980's)

"Posture of Discipleship"

What must be our "posture" in relationship to Discipleship? According to Webster’s dictionary, one of the meanings of "posture" is, "a state or frame of mind: attitude." Probably the "frame" of our mind or our mental posture which must ever be present as we progress on the path of Discipleship can be summed up in the statement by Jesus in Lk. 12:48: "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." In other words, with knowledge comes responsibility. There can be no escaping that responsibility. We cannot turn back except to our own grief. We must ever be ready to incorporate into our lives and put into action the increased understanding that is bound to come as we progress with the Master and "learn of Him".

Jesus said, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”If you will examine the context in which Jesus said this (Lk. 9:57-62), you will find that this scripture has nothing to do with salvation. He is talking about "following Him" and being made FIT to share with Him in HIS (heavenly) Kingdom. This is the essence of Discipleship - the determination ("putting the hand to the plough") to "follow Jesus" all the way INTO His Kingdom GLORY - and not looking back to earthly things, having to settle for just salvation and life in the earthly kingdom. Regarding the same matter, Jesus warned: "Remember Lot's wife"! Read the context: Lk. 17:26-37. Those who have read my "Three Comings" booklet know that Lot and his family - in contrast to Noah, who represents the "firsrfruits" - represent the "harvest company" who will be "taken" (translated) at the close of the tribulation. Lots' wife "looked back" (see Gen. 19:21-25) and became a "pillar of salt". Salt is for the earth, and earthlings (see Mt. 5:13). Lot's wife represents those "missing" the "heavenly calling" and Kingdom-GLORY to "rule" with Jesus, but the are destined to become "pillars" in the earthly kingdom, to exert a positive, salutary, preserving influence among those who will be living in the earthly kingdom.

So few understand much of the life and teachings of Jesus because they have been "brainwashed" by the church traditions that all Jesus came to provide for (by His perfect life, death and resurrection) is generally called "salvation", which provides "eternal life" in some place called heaven" for all who exercise faith in Jesus and His sacrifice. What those do in that "heaven" most have not the slightest idea, except to sort of enjoy a perpetual "vacation" of rather aimless bliss with other saved loved ones. The shocking truth which I have tried to "hammer away" at, is that what is called "salvation" is noth¬ing more than the lifting of the death penalty that came on all mankind through what is called "sin", and that such salvation is only the first step in entering into ALL that Jesus came to provide for those who will take seriously His CALL to Discipleship and FOLLOW Him all the way without "looking back".

Jesus Himself is the pattern for those who aspire to share HIS Kingdom-glory, joint heirship, and rulership dominion over all those who will have their lot on earth because all they knew about or settled for was "salvation". That's why His challenge was always to those who believed in Him: "FOLLOW ME" - let me show you the way, let me discipline you in it, until you overcome all hindrances and obstacles, begin to take on my nature, be tested and proven, and learn responsibility, trustworthiness and faithfulness, making ME the ONE and only supreme object of your love and total submission. For "to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with ME in MY throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). The pattern is the same. The only difference is that Jesus overcame by His own inner virtue and unwavering determination, whereas we overcome only by means of His matchless grace - His Divine LIFE and SPIRIT working IN us all that is necessary to make us "fit" for His Kingdom and Glory (see Phil. 2:13). Keep in mind that as you learn these truths, great is your responsibility. But if you take them seriously, and act accordingly, then GREAT shall be your reward!

I want now to take you back to Luke, chap. 9, covering much more of the context, that we might get an even clearer picture of the meaning of Lk. 9:62. We will begin with verse 51: "And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up (His ascension to glory), He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And sent messengers before His face: and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready (make arrangements) for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem." (Lk. 9:51-53. The Samaritans realized there was something different about Jesus on this journey through their land. They evidently perceived in His face that there was first one thing on His mind, which apparently conveyed to them something they had not seen before: a complete indifference to their wishes or needs. They, of course, could not understand that at this point Jesus' ministry to people's immediate needs was over. The time had come for Him to not be deterred in any way, for He must be on time for His destiny at Jerusalem.

Verses 54-56 relate the reaction of Jesus' disciples to the Samaritans and Jesus' rebuke to them. Since this is not pertinent to our purpose I will not comment on it. I want to focus in on Jesus attitude and determination expressed in the words that "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem". Since Jesus is our pattern (on the path of discipleship), there is a spiritual application to us in that which is expressed in these words. Jesus realized that His life was to terminate in a definite GOAL, and that He must exert His upmost determination to reach that goal, not letting the attitudes or actions of any person or persons to deter Him.

Our goal (if we have determined to follow Jesus all the way) is not an earthly Jerusalem, but rather the New Jerusalem above, that celestial city which is to be lowered into our earth's atmosphere during the coming millennium to become the home and headquarters of Christ and His "overcoming saints" from which they shall descend and ascend to rule over this earth. The traditional teaching that all "born-again" Christians will share Christ's glorious Kingdom centered in the New Jerusalem is totally false. An abundance of Scripture could be brought to bear on this subject, but I will use just one verse to dispel this myth. Rev. 3:12 designates one group to be "imprinted with" (meaning "to inherit") the "name" of the celestial city - the "overcomers": "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go out no more: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and write upon him My new name."

I hope by now that you will begin to understand that Jesus came to provide, not only salvation as a free gift, to be received by "whosoever" exercise faith in Him, but also to extend an invitation and challenge to a "higher calling" - and this is what "discipleship" is all about. If you do not understand this, you will not be able to comprehend much of what Jesus taught. Going back to Lk. 9:62, we can understand that when Jesus talked about "putting one's hand to the plough and not "looking back", He was using an "idiom" or "figure of speech" to emphasize the importance of a vision of the GOAL of being made "FIT" for joint-heirship with Him in His glorified Kingdom realm centered in the New Jerusalem. The warning about not "looking back" has nothing to do with denying Christ, losing one's salvation, etc., but indicates a failure to "follow through" in ones' determination to "forsake all" (Lk. 14:33) in the "pursuit" of Jesus to be discipled by Him. It is the failure to spiritually "set ones' face steadfastly to go to (the New) Jerusalem." The Greek word translated "looking" in the expression, "looking back" in Lk. 9:62 is blepo, and it not only indicates the act of looking with the eyes, but to observe accurately and with desire and contemplation. Thus we are to understand that those who "look back" are not Christians who whose total commitment to follow Christ "all the way" is sometimes "clouded" by momentary temptations, indecisions and longings for materialistic attachments and compromised relationships which "invade" their thinking from time to time, but rather those who by deliberate contemplation give in to selfish desires which begin to take precedence over their first (chief) love (Rev. 2:4) for Jesus Christ, and the willingness to "suffer the loss of all things (if necessary) for the sake of WINNING Christ and qualifying for the 'high calling", as the apostle Paul expresses it (Phil. 3:8, 13-14).

The context of Lk. 9:51-62 also seems to indicate that "looking back" not only refers to those who truly seek to begin to follow Jesus all the way, but are deterred into some kind of compromise; but also those who "feign" their intention to follow Jesus all the way, but are really insincere or self-deceived. As Jesus was traveling on this last journey, having set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, there were three men who came to Him and offered themselves to follow Him. What their motives were, we do not know. Maybe they were just trying to impress Him, but Jesus perceived their lack of full commitment. The first one came and said, "Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest." By His words, at least, this man "put his hand to the plough". But Jesus discerned something deeper in his heart, (see John 2:23-24). His response indicated that He knew the man would not be able to make the sacrifices and fulfill the conditions in order to follow Him. The spiritual implications for us I will comment on by means of a reprinted article, which appeared in one of my early publications that I will add at the close of this study.

In Lk. 9:59, we read that Jesus said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my Father." His response was a euphemism for declining the invitation, as the Jews buried within twenty-four hours and did not leave the house for ten days. Jesus then answered, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go then and preach the kingdom of God." Jesus uses a figure of speech by which one word is used twice in the same sentence with two meanings: "leave the dead to bury their own corpses". Finally, another said to Jesus, "Lord I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house." Jesus perceived this excuse as an inner vacillation which would eventually manifest in an unwillingness to ' follow through". (Lk. 9:61-62).

This brings us back to that which was introduced at the beginning of this part of our Discipleship study: that of responsibility. Is not responsibility the ability to take whatever action is necessary and follow through with it? - thus manifesting the qualities of reliability, trustworthiness and faithfulness. Those who are going to be chosen (the "elect") to participate with Jesus in His "ruling" Kingdom, must let the Spirit of God develop these qualities in their inner being. In Rev. 17:14, we read that those who are WITH the Lord of lords, and King of kings are the "called, and chosen (elect) and faithful." We will come across this word "faithfulness" again as we develop these theme of responsibility.

As Jesus discipled His followers, He sought by many means to teach and impress in a forceful manner the importance of responsibility. His KEY way of doing this was by means of par¬ables on "stewardship". Remember that Jesus told parables for those who had "ears to hear" (Mark 4:9, 23, etc.); those who are interested in more than just "salvation" and what they can receive from the Lord, those who have heard the call to discipleship and are willing to be prepared for Kingdom responsibility.

In the culture of Jesus' day, "stewards" were very common. A steward was one who had oversight and management of another persons property, finances, or other affairs. Those rich enough might hire a person or persons to manage their affairs, or more often, they would own slaves who would be given various responsibilities in the Master's estate, from little to great. As a slave proved responsible and trustworthy, he would be given greater responsibilities. Often a well-proven and trusted slave would be made "governor" of his Master's children, to teach them proper conduct and manners, and provide whatever discipline was necessary.

Probably the prime example of a faithful steward in the Bible (besides Jesus, who was a steward of His "Father's business" and our example) was that of Joseph. Joseph was sold by His brothers as a slave and taken info Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, bought Joseph. Joseph conducted himself in such a proper manner, that Potiphar made him overseer (steward) over all his household affairs. He so trusted Joseph that Gen. 39:6 says, "And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat." Then came a supreme test. Potiphar's wife desired Joseph to "lie with her". But Joseph, determined to act responsibly and be faithful to his Master, refused. (Read his words in Gen. 39:8-10). As a result, he was betrayed and had to spend a number of years in prison. You know the story. Ps. 105:18-19 says, of Joseph: "whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time his word came: the word of the LORD tried him." But while in prison Joseph chose to trust the Lord and His Word; he chose to learn rather than "burn"(with anger); he became better rather than bitter. He acted so responsibly and proved to be so trustworthy, that he was promoted to 'chief steward" over all the other prisoners (Gen. 39:21-23). This kind of responsible behavior prepared him to be elevated to the oversight of all Egypt under Pharaoh (Gen. 41: 39-40).

Beloved, this is a TYPE for us. One of the purposes of discipleship is to prepare us for positions of responsibility in Christ's coming Kingdom. Jesus makes this very clear in two of His "stewardship parables". In what we call the "parable of the talents" (Mt. 25:14-30), Based on the principle that "to whom much is given, much is required", the servants (stewards) who acted responsibly were commended with the words: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant (steward): thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." Contrast Mt. 25:20 & 22 and notice that to whom more was given, more was required. In the "parable of the pounds" found in Lk. 19:12-27, Jesus gives even more specific indication of future posts of rulership in His Kingdom by His words to certain servants (stewards): "Then came the first, saying, 'Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.' And He said unto him, 'Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.' And He said likewise to him, 'Be thou also over five cities.'"

Notice that the commendation and "assignment" in the Kingdom-rule of Christ is to those who have been faithful. Paul says in I Cor. 4:2 that "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." Faithfulness implies the willingness to accept the increasing responsibilities of discipleship, uncompromising devotion to the Master (Jesus) above every other person or thing, trusting the Lord and staying true to our unconditional commitment to Him through ALL the testing experiences that He brings to each one of us as a part of “refining" and preparation for future Kingdom "roles", as well as providing opportunities to affirm our loyalty to our Lord under various pressures and difficult circumstances.

In the context of "stewardship", faithfulness means that we are responsible and trustworthy "managers' of ALL that God has given us - our lives and all that, we are blessed with, both spiritual and material. Paul tells us in I Cor. 6:19-30, ‘‘…ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." The body (and material wealth) and the spirit (and spiritual wealth) cannot be separated: they are inter-related when considering our stewardship responsibility before God. Jesus put it this way: "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteousness mammon (material wealth), who will commit to your trust the true riches? (spiritual wealth) - Lk. 16:11.

There ore two ways of applying this principle of stewardship: (1) As it applies to our present progress and growth in the Lord, (2) As it applies to our preparation for the future Kingdom. First, the "true riches" in terms of our present experience comprises all of the blessings and benefits that we receive as a result of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which enrich and develop the "inner man" of the "heart" (our TRUE self - the human spirit and soul, with all their faculties and infinite potential) because of the infusion of Christ's LIFE and SPIRIT working within to bring forth "fruit" unto God (John 15:8) and transform us into the likeness and image of THE Son of God (Rom. 8:29). Too vast to deal with here, this subject of the "true riches" for the "inner man" which brings "LIFE abundant" and "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (John 10:10, I Pet. 1:8), can possibly be best summarized in a prayer by the apostle Paul for the Ephesian Christians as recorded in Eph. 3:14-21: "For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell (increasingly) in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend (lay hold of and make your own) with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (NAS version). Reading the above passage out of the Amplified version is very helpful.

Now the point I want to make, based on Jesus' words in Lk. 16:11, is that the degree we are able to understand and experience the "true (spiritual) riches" in the present life, is to a great extent dependent upon how faithful we are in our stewardship of the money and material things that God entrusts to us. It has been my experience through many years of pastoring, that those Christians who do not joyfully (II Cor. 9:7) and faithfully GIVE of their material substance (tithes and offerings) to God, have a difficult time understanding Scriptural truths beyond that which is elemental, and usually do not have the heart interest or receptivity that makes it possible for the lord to lead them into the deeper realms of His Word and Spirit which might be characterized as the "true riches". (See Mt. 6:21 for material treasure and the heart).

Second, we need to see this scripture (Lk. 16:11) as it relates to our preparation for Christ's Kingdom of Glory, It is quite obvious that the "true riches" are something other than anything material, as they are contrasted with the "unrighteous mammon ', which is obviously money and material things. Therefore the "true riches" would indicate our inheritance in the "higher realm" of that which is eternal and permanent, in contrast to the temporal, transitory and changing realm of the earthly and material. Paul says in II Cor. 4:17-18 that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Furthermore, the Greek word translated "true" in the expression "true riches", is alethinos, which means veritable: i.e. genuine, real, substantial, unchanging - thus as "eternal" as God Himself. Contrast this with II Cor. 4:17-13 which is quoted above, where Paul declares that only that which is not seen is "eternal"; whereas that which is seen (physical and material things) are "temporal. The Greek word is proskairos, which means "for the occasion only, i.e. temporary, endure for a time, for a season, temporal." Thus in my thinking, at least from the point of view of God's cosmology, and in terms of His coming Kingdom, the "true riches" refers to the glorified (heavenly) realm, in contrast to the earthly Kingdom realm.

The verse I have been dealing with (Lk. 16:11) is part of a stewardship parable whereby Jesus teaches by contrast. He sets forth first Israel's failure as His steward nation under the Old Covenant, and then contrasts that with what He requires of those who would be "faithful stewards". Under the Old Covenant, Israel was God's steward nation, entrusted with the manifestation of His Kingdom on the earth. To Israel much was given; therefore much required (see Rom. 9:4-5). But Israel failed miserably in her stewardship responsibilities. This is portrayed to us in the parable in Lk. 16:1-2: "And He said unto His disciples, There was a certain rich man which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, 'How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no Ionger steward'." Instead of confessing their wrong and repenting, enabling the Master to reinstate him in his service, and after a time of proving that he was trustworthy, being restored to his stewardship, the man in the parable resorted to an entirely different course. I will not quote it, but you can read about it in Lk. 16:3-7).

The unfaithful steward in the parable represents the Jewish nation at the time that Jesus came to "call them to give an account of their stewardship". Jesus excoriated them for their failure. But they refused His call to repentance. They said: "We will not have this man (their very GOD in human flesh) to reign over us" (Lk. 19:14). Jesus pronounced judgment on them (Mt. 23:37-39), and we know the historical record of how they were cast out of their stewardship and out of their land (Lk. 21:22-24). As illustrated by the man in the parable (Lk. 16:3-8), the Jews resorted to living by their own shrewdness, that they might be received into the "houses" (lands) of the Gentiles.

I can't take time to go into all of the significance of tactics employed by the man in the parable and its fulfillment in the history of the Jews. But in order to show the truth by contrast, we find that the man in the parable is commended by his Master because "wisely" (better translated "shrewdly" - for he was employing the "wisdom" that James calls 'earthly, sensual, devilish", not the "wisdom that is from above" - see James 3:13-18). Now the reason for that commendation is to lead up to basic teaching of this parable; that "the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light" (16:8). The "unjust steward" (in this parable picturing the Jews), in order to assure his future, began to adopt the principles of this world: questionable practices in the manipulation of finance and business in order to advance his own interests; seeking to "buy" friends by ingratiating himself with others, but for selfish purposes only.

Now comes the "problem" verse (16:9). As it is translated in most versions of the Bible, it appears that the Master is telling the "children of light" to "ape" the same tactics as the "unjust steward". This is the way it is usually preached: "use your money to make friends". But, beloved, this is a parable by contrast. In telling the parable, Jesus first illustrates how a "steward" is not to act: first by acting irresponsibly by wasting his master's goods, and then by further compounding his irresponsible conduct by hardening his heart and adopting the principles of this world to assure his future.

In contrast, Jesus then enunciates the principles by which the children of light are to live in order to be responsible stewards, please our Master (Jesus) and assure our future in HIS kingdom. To rightly understand this parable, I believe that verse 9 should be put in the form of a question, with a negative answer implied. I will quote this verse from the "Living Bible" which conveys the right thought, at least as far as punctuation is concerned. "But shall I tell you to act that way, to buy friendship through cheating? Will this ensure your entry into an everlasting home in heaven? No!' This makes a sensible transition to vs. 10, where Jesus gives the requirements of a true steward in contrast to the one who failed his Master. I will quote verses 10-12: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"

Beloved, this brief series on Discipleship has meant to be only a general survey of the subject, covering what I considered to be the basics. And one of the most important basics is that which I been seeking to set before you in this final study: that we are responsible, in direct proportion to what we have received (entrusted to us) from the Lord - whether that be spiritual light and understanding, gifts and ministries; or whether that be material possessions. The same principle applies: "to whom much is given, much is required (Lk. 12:48). We must respond with responsibility (reliability, trustworthiness, faithfulness).

I remember reading a great insight in the Reader's Digest at one time in a quotation by the President of General Motors. He said: "If you see a man reaching for authority, watch him, he will hurt you. If you see a man reaching for responsibility, bless him, promote him, he will bless you." After years of pastoring, how true I have found this to be. Those who reach out for authority usually want to exalt themselves, instead of letting God exalt in His time. They only bring grief to themselves and hurt to others. Those who reach out for responsibility have a servant's heart, wanting to be faithful stewards of whatever is committed to them.

To conclude this study, I want to emphasize briefly on the three marks of responsible stewardship in the passage that I quoted earlier from Lk. 16:10-13. The apostle Paul admonished Timothy to entrust to "faithful men" that which he had taught him. There are no better "ear-marks" of faithful men (and women) than the following given by Jesus Himself. (1) "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous in much"(NAS version). Oh the sad stories I could tell of those who wanted to have some great ministry, gift or position in order to serve God. Yet they would totally fail to be responsible and faithful in "small" tasks that were entrusted to them. But God knows that He cannot commit greater things to those who have not learned to be faithful in those things that seem so "little" and insignificant. (2) "If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteousness mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you?" I have already dealt with this point so will not write further. (3) "And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?" "That which is another's" is first of all that which is God's. If we are faithful "stewards" (trustees) of all that God has given us: whether material or spiritual, then in His coming Kingdom, God will grant us that which is "our own". But there is another application that I want to make for those aspiring to be used in some kind of ministry or service for the Lord. I believe it is important for each one to place himself or herself under another's ministry (one proven and mature) to learn by helping and serving him in any way you can, doing all you can to promote the success of and enhance his ministry (as Joshua did for Moses, and Elisha did for Elijah). Then, as you prove yourself faithful in that which is another's ministry, in time God will bless you with your own ministry. We must prove ourselves trustworthy and faithful to others as well as to our Lord.

There is an important point that needs to be emphasized before closing out this part of our study. In Lk. 16:1-2 we saw that Israel was discharged as God's national steward because of irresponsibility and unfaithfulness. In another stewardship parable Jesus announces the transfer of that corporate stewardship in these words: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation (people) bringing forth the fruits thereof." We have already seen that one of the marks of discipleship is the bringing forth of much fruit from the heart, and that only those "abiding in the vine" (Jesus) can produce that fruit. Therefore the "nation" or people to whom the Kingdom stewardship is given can only be those who are placed "in Christ" by personal faith in Him, and then daily "abide" (remain, continue, and "live" in a vital relationship with Him).

Faithfulness is a manifestation of FRUIT of the heart. It is not a "work". It is the heart's response to the responsibilities of discipleship because the Word-seed of Christ (sown in the heart - Mt. 13:18-23), and nourished and developed by the Holy Spirit - Gal. 5:22-24). Now works are important and are expected of us (Mt. 5:16, Ephes. 2:10, Titus 2:14), and the more fruit that is developed in our inner lives, the more good works we will be engaged in, for good works are the RESULT of the FRUIT that irradiates from the heart.

However, it is possible (for various reasons and motives), for Christians to be preoccupied in various works ("busy-ness" for the Lord"), with little or "puny" fruit in the heart. A very vivid example of this is the church of the Laodiceans. Jesus words to this church indicate that it was virtually devoid of any real spiritual fruit. Yet, notice His first words to this church: "I know thy works", indicating a church full of activities and no doubt well-meaning "left-liberal" social action programs, but not springing from a "hot" committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ as LORD and a heart-desire to be faithful to Him. I will not quote all that Jesus said about this smug, self-satisfied, "blind" church (Rev. 3:14-22), but I am personally convinced that this 7th and last of the 7 churches addressed by Jesus in the book of Revelation represents the majority of churches and church systems of Christendom in these last days.

But, beloved, I want you to notice that Jesus loves this "lukewarm" church. In Rev. 3:19 He says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent." The "rebuke" will come when Jesus "spues" this church out into the great tribulation. There the "chastening" will come through the difficult trials and "buffeting" conditions of the tribulation (referred to symbolically in Lk. 12:47-48 as "stripes"). Multitudes of formerly "lukewarm" Christians will then learn quickly what true discipleship to Jesus Christ means and go "all out" to secure what Jesus proffers in Rev. 3:18. But NOW is the time to take our discipleship seriously, and not be "caught short" at that time.

Finally, I want to link faith and faithfulness. There is a close relationship. Faithfulness is actually faith's ultimate expression. The Greek words are very similar. The Greek word for faith is pistis, which comes from a primitive verb - peitho, which means "to convince, to assent to evidence or authority, to rely by inward certainty". Thus faith is an inward belief and conviction of the truth of God and His Word, but also an inner reliance because one is convinced of the trustworthiness of God and what He has spoken. The Greek word for faithful is pistos, which comes from the same root verb as pistis (faith). Subjectively, faithful means trustful; objectively it means trustworthy.

This helps us to understand faith, for we are trustful (subjectively) of God and His Word, bringing that inner conviction and certainty which provides an "open channel" for God: to reward and bless us with the reality of Himself and His promises. So faith is a means of receiving from God (and this is the aspect that most emphasize). But there is another aspect of faith: objectively it means to be trustworthy (or faithful). In this respect faith is not only subjective inner conviction, but also an objective, active, commitment of our lives to God, providing another kind of "open channel" for God to enable us to "LIVE (in active obedience) by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mt. 4:4); for faith, if it hath not works (of obedience), is dead" (James 2:17).

Both the subjective (receiving) and objective (active giving of ourselves in obedience) are seen in the great "faith chapter - Heb. 11. In Heb. 11:11 we read, "Through (as a channel) faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, for she judged Him faithful Who had promised." In Heb. 11:8 we read, “By (as a motivating force) faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he would after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing wither he went." Faith and faithfulness - like two sides of the same coin! Both receiving and giving!

NO PLACE TO LAY HIS HEAD

In Matt. 8:19-20 we read these words: "A certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Jesus saith unto him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." How ridiculous to think that the very incarnate Lord of Glory was talking only about not having a place to live or sleep while walking this earth. This was certainly true, He had no place He could call His own, but we must constantly keep in mind that "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev. 19:10). Therefore every word which He spoke can be distilled into prophetic patterns to show truths for future ages and generations. Think not that Jesus wasted His time just talking about the physical conditions in which He found Himself. He was using these incidents and circumstances to portray something far more vast and important than that which first meets the eye. Let us look and BEHOLD the footprints of the majestic Son of God.

In Matt. 8:16 we notice that it says when even was come "They brought unto him many that were possessed with devils; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick." WHY does it mention that this occurred in the evening? Just to fill in space? It is not to show that Jesus was picturing things that would happen at the close (evening) of this age when His Body would be ministering in power and doing the works that He did? In verse 18, we read that Jesus gave commandment to the disciples to "depart unto the other side." Even so is the Body of Christ to depart unto the other side (heaven) after finishing the work that has been given to it for this end time. It is in THIS SETTING that we have the words of the scripture with which we begin. It was a certain scribe who said to Jesus, "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." The scribes were the scholars and teachers of that day, comparable to the theologians and ministers of our day. Thus we see portrayed in this end time those who are asking what is required to follow the Lord all the way. In Jesus' cryptic answer is couched the enigma that He saw would prevail in this end time. WHAT did He see? "The foxes have holes," said He. In Ezekiel 13:4 we read: "O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts." Also in Luke 13:32 Jesus refers to Herod as "that fox." Thus we see that Jesus was referring to certain kinds of humans when He used the term "fox." If you will read Ezekiel 13 you will see that the Lord was rebuking the prophets of Israel because they were speaking out of their own hearts and following their own foolish spirits. Of them He says, "Ye have not gone up into the gaps (breaches), neither made up the hedge (wall) for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." (Ezek. 13:5). Thus he is describing a type of religious leader or preacher that is interested only in his own ways and seeking to promote that which serves his own interests. "The foxes have holes (lairs)" said He. The LAIRS are the modern denominational systems which have become the holds and strongholds of those who, like foxes, have made a place for themselves to "lie down" in to promote their own welfare and security. And with them they hold captive the people of God to the traditions and cus-tome of their particular approach to God. These, in turn, are not willing to follow the Lord to the point where their primary concern is not where THEY are going to find a "lair for security," but rather in finding a place for the LORD to lay His head. The above is not meant to be an indictment against the many sincere and conscientious ministers who are doing the best they know how with the understanding they have. But it is an apt description of the religious systems and the many who know what the score is, but who refuse to "forsake all" to follow Him.
Jesus could have used some other term of expression to denote His lack of an abiding place on the earth. But again, every word was designed to portray truth. He does not in these days have a place to LAY HIS HEAD. The Bible teaches that the church is the BODY of Christ, and that He is the HEAD of the Body (Ephes. 1:22-23, 4:15). "Laying down His head" denotes a place (or people) where His HEADship is the primary concern. In other words the Lord portrays that time when many scribes, teachers, etc. would come with feigned words about following Him all the way, and yet refuse to recognize HIS HEADSHIP OVER HIS CHURCH. The Lord has no people in this day who are willing to let Him "lay His Head" down to where He is in complete charge of everything that is done in His Body, and where everything is directed by Him through the Holy Spirit. But NOW has the day dawned for this peo¬ple to come into being. The beginning stages are evident in many places.

Jesus also said "the birds of the air have nests." He was picturing those conditions which would prevail in the endtime when the religious systems would become like that described in Rev. 18:2, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is becoming the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Thus every kind of religious "bird" can find a roost somewhere in the religious systems of today, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head; for His Headship is not welcomed or sought for by the religious leaders of today.

Immediately following the words we have just been dealing with, we find in Matt. 8:21 that another disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." The Berkeley version renders this passage, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead." Again Jesus was using a contemporary situation to portray a prophetic truth. When the disciple said that he wanted to go and bury his father, he did not mean that his father had already died. This was merely a way of saying, let me stay with my father and take care of him until he dies, and then I will follow you. Jesus said in effect, "Let the spiritually dead take care of their own, you follow me NOW." Letting His words be the spirit of prophecy for our day we can see that there are those who say they want to follow the Lord, but first they want to remain with the spiritually dying denominations which have fathered them until they feel their usefulness there has been completed. But Jesus is saying, let the spiritually dead take care of the spiritually dying denominations, YOU FOLLOW ME. He wants us to leave that which is dying and forsake all to follow Him.

Epilogue

I hope that you will study this series on "Discipleship" a number of times. Too long the churches have lulled the people to sleep with the fake assumption that "salvation" is all that is required to guarantee one all the glories of Christ's Kingdom, and all the fullness of the incredible joint-heirship with Christ in "His coming rulership of all the kingdoms of this world. Thank God that in His unfathomable love He has provided a simple way of deliverance from death and the provision of eternal life through Christ's substitutional sacrifice on our behalf. But that is just the first step to the ultimate that God has for us. Otherwise WHY Jesus' CALL to Discipleship?

All of us begin our Christian experience as "newborn babes" in Christ (I Pet. 2:2). But like any normal natural father, our Heavenly Father expects us to grow up. Only as we heed the call to be FULLY DISCIPLINED by Jesus, through His Word and Spirit, can we grow to become LIKE our Lord. "A pupil (disciple) is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher" (Lk. 6:40, NAS version).

Although works are involved, discipleship is not a "system of works", It is a commitment to cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus until we "know" Him in such intimacy that His love captivates and motivates us to make Him our ALL in ALL; thus increasingly releasing His Spirit to work within.

Call To Discipleship - Part 4 - by Leland Earls

[Note from Joel Jones: Yes, we have not posted parts 1 through 3, but we are prioritizing this one.]

(CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP—Part 4)

In the last article on this study in "Discipleship", I was dealing with the Purposes of Discipleship, having concluded with No. 5, which I thought was to be the last. However, the Lord has made it clear to me that there is a sixth that I should briefly deal with. There are no doubt more, but some tend to "overlap", so I believe that this No.6 will conclude this section. In "discipleship", Jesus is seeking to develop in us an unshakable and uncompromising FAITH in HIM and His WORD, that through that "channel" of faith, we might not only enjoy and profit from the blessings and benefits of His Kingdom Rule, but that He might cause to grow (through His Divine importation) the FRUITS that reflect "Kingdom living".

First, it must be clearly understood that there is a difference between "head" (intellectual) belief or assent to truth, and "heart" faith. Jesus made it clear that the "seed" of His Word must "take root" in the heart in order to produce that which He desires: "but that (seed) on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Lk. 8:15). The "heart" stands for the entire "inner man" (Ephes. 3:16, I Pet. 3:4), which involves thoughts, motives, emotions, conscience and will. ALL of these are involved in true heart faith.

In light of the above, we might say that "heart faith" involves a number of "ingredients". Without seeking to go into all of the scriptures to confirm this perspective, just let me mention some of the ingredients that are inseparably connected with (and make possible) heart faith, such as repentance, confession, obedience, patience, steadfastness, commitment, confidence (or assurance), hope, a clear conscience, rest, trust, and love. I simply cannot elaborate on all these in this present study. I have written an article on the "Three Elements of Divine Faith" which gives the basic essentials of faith and is available upon request.
I do believe I should make a few comments on repentance. For, repentance is that which prepares the "soil" of one's heart to receive the "seed" of the Word which causes faith to "take root" and grow into "fruitfulness." Without repentance there can be a head (intellectual) belief in facts or truths of the Word of God, but certainly no heart faith which makes possible the "new birth" experience and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The importance of repentance in connection with true heart faith is a study in itself and will not be dealt with in detail here, but we need to go no further than to note that Jesus began His preaching ministry with the words, "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15).

In the Greek, “to repent" means "to think differently after" — after one has heard the truth of God's Word and realizes he must change his thinking to agree with what God says. The Greek word is metanoeo (verb form). The "meta" is a prefix meaning "after", and the rest of the word comes from the Greek nous, which means "mind". In the Greek, however, "mind" has a somewhat broader meaning that in the English. Quoting Strong’s concordance on the Greek word nous: "the intellect, i.e. mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will)." Thus "repentance" means more than just an intellectual change of thinking: it also involves the feelings and the will (implying conviction and action). Thus it indicates a total "about face" in one's life — a complete "turning away" from one's former "way of life" (thinking, feeling, acting) to GOD'S WAY. We might say that repentance is the "breaking up of the fallow (undisturbed, unattended) ground" (Jer. 4:3) of our hearts, that the "seed" of the WORD (which produces heart faith — see Rom. 10:17) might "take root" and bring forth FRUIT!

I believe I have alluded to "fruit" before so will not elaborate now, but Jesus makes it clear in John 15:8 that "bearing fruit" is one of the primary evidences of discipleship: "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." "Fruit" is a figure of speech indicating the attributes and charac¬ter qualities that the Lord purposes to develop in our lives. Just as fruit grows and matures slowly over a period of time, so does it require the continual submission of our lives to the Lord's working IN our lives to enable Him to produce the fruits of righteous, goodness, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance, mercy (John 15:8-17, Ephes. 5:9, James 3:17). You will notice that the New Testament mentions twelve fruits. Just as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem bears twelve kinds of fruit, so are we (as trees planted by the Lord — PS. 92: 12-13, 52:8, 1:3) are to also "bear" (by the Lord's working IN our lives) twelve kinds of spiritual "fruit".

But back to faith and repentance. The two cannot be separated. Jesus said, "Repent ye and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Peter, on the day of Pentecost declared, "Repent, and be baptized (an act of faith), Paul testified to both Jews and Greeks, "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38, 20:21). Rom. 10:10 says that "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Now hearken to my words: It is impossible to believe with the heart unless one has first repented. The reason is explained in the second paragraph on page 2, and need not be repeated here. I quoted Rom. 10:10 that "confession" is to be made with the mouth; vs. 9 tells us what we are to confess; "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord". Now if you will just think for a moment, you will realize that if one truly confesses Jesus as LORD, it is an important indication that one has truly repented.

My reasoning for the above is as follows. The Greek word for Lord — kurios — means "to have dominion over", "to rule", to be supreme in authority", and "belonging to". It was used in Bible times to indicate one as a "Master" who owned slaves, and thus had supreme authority over them. Now, when a person comes to the place where he is willing to truly confess Jesus as LORD, it indicates that he realizes that he is "not his own", but that he has been "bought with a price" (I Cor. 6:19-20), for when Jesus died on the cross He “purchased" the fallen human race, and that we are His "slaves". The Greek word doulos is used many times in the New Testament to indicate one who is a slave, although the King James Version invariably translates the word "servant". The New American Standard vacillates between "bond-servant" and "slave". A scripture correctly translated by the NAS, and although I have quoted it before, I will use it again to vividly illustrate the point I am seeking to make: "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and a slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household (Mt. 10:24-25). Jesus also declares in John 13:13: "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right; for so I am." (NAS version)
Now back to my main point. Jesus as LORD means that He is supreme in authority. For one to "confess Jesus as Lord" (see Rom. 10:9), and really mean it, indicates that he has come to realize that he is "not his own" — that he no longer has any right to govern or rule his own life and "do his own thing" — for he must submit his life to the authority and supreme rulership of Jesus Christ. And this is the evidence of true repentance. This also confirms the Biblical perspective which I have been seeking to convey, that "salvation" (the "new birth" — imparting the GIFT of eternal LIFE), comes only through true repentance and heart faith. We must realize, however, that when a newly repentant, heart believer, confesses Jesus as Lord, this does not mean that such a one fully realizes ALL the implications and ramifications of surrendering his life to Jesus' LORDSHIP. It becomes a learning and growing experience — even a life-time of ever-increasing understanding of just what Jesus' Lordship over every aspect of one's life (in word, thought, attitude, motive, and action) really means, and all the "ways" in which it is implemented. And this is where discipleship comes in, because a true disciple of Jesus Christ never quits learning and changing.

My "burden" in sharing the foregoing is based upon my conviction that the vast majority of professing Christians have never been "born anew". They are simply "head believers", assenting to certain knowledge of facts about Jesus Christ and His redemptive work, but only intellectually. They have never come to a personal (experiential) knowledge of Jesus Christ, to where He is a "living reality" in their hearts and lives. This is because they have never truly repented, with "godly sorrow" (II Cor. 7: 11), renouncing the sin and selfishness which caused them to "run" their own lives the way they wanted to — doing "their own thing", and with humbleness of heart acknowledging the claims of Jesus Christ upon their lives as their Lord (redeemer — owner and master) and turning their lives over to Him as their supreme authority to seek to do His will. Christianity is not a "religion" but a "relationship" — a personal "knowing" of Jesus Christ, and then a con¬tinual "building" of that relationship through daily communion, prayer, praise and worship, meditation in the Word, fellowship and interaction with other "born again" Christians in love, etc.

Before leaving this phase of our study, I want to give a warning to what I believe is a serious error. Although conditioned on our heart response to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, salvation is clearly indicated by God's Word to be a GIFT (as a "seed" is a gift to the soil that has been prepared — even so we receive the gift of "eternal life" within when we are "born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God" (I Pet. 1:23), pass from death to life at that instant (John 5:24), and can know that we have eternal life (I John 5:10-13). Some are teaching, however, that only after we have become disciples and have learned to follow, Jesus can we receive eternal life. This is like putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Discipleship is to train us in the ways of the Lord AFTER we have been "born" into the Kingdom-family of God. I sought to make this clear in the first article in the section on "The Position of Discipleship", but felt to re-emphasize it here.

The Priorities of Discipleship

A "priority" is that which takes precedence over everything else—that which must come first. Jesus made it very clear that there are certain requirements for those who would be His disci¬ples. In general, the substance of what Jesus declared as neces¬sary to discipleship is stated in Mt. 16:24: "If any man will come after me (read the last article—Part 3 to understand the ultimate implication of going "after Him"), let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." But Jesus gave detailed specific requirements which we need to examine carefully. The passage which gives the greatest detail is found in Luke 14:26-33. Three specific requirements are given that we need to consider. First, in Lk. 14:26 Jesus deals with that which is probably the closest and dearest to all of us — our relation to our immediate family members, and makes it very clear that if we are to be His disciples, our relationship to Him must take precedence over every human tie. Quoting Jesus' words: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

According to Strong's concordance of Greek words, the Greek word for "hate" can mean, not only what we usually associate with that word, but also by extension can mean "to love less". Jesus never taught us to carnally hate anyone. But just as there is a godly jealousy" (II Cor. 11:2; see also Ex. 20:5, 34:14) in contrast to carnal jealousy, and a "godly sorrow" in contrast to the sorrow that works death (II Cor. 7:10), so there is what we can call "godly hatred". This is a divinely inspired "resistance" to anything or anyone that would try to keep us from making our love and obedience to Jesus the supreme priority of our lives.

Jesus gave this requirement because He knew that inevitable conflicts would arise in households over priorities. In Matthew's account we can get a more complete picture of this priority conflict by words of Jesus not given by Luke. Quoting Mt. 10:34-37: "Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. "

Certainly Jesus is not deliberately trying to divide families, but He is simply "telling it like it is". He is "jealous" of the LOVE of those who aspire to be "worthy" (fit) to be chosen to be among the "elect" company who will be with Him in His heavenly glory as His Bride and Household. At all costs, our love and allegiance to Him must take precedence over every other relationship.

In order to give Jesus such absolute love and allegiance, it is necessary to fulfill another requirement, which actually has two phases to it. Both phases are given in Matthew's account in chap. 16:24: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." The essence of these two requirements is SACRIFICE — which is actually LOVE IN ACTION. When I commented on Lk. 14:26 where Jesus indicated that we must "hate" all other relationships in comparison to Him, I did not emphasis the fact that Jesus said that such "hate" must include "yea, and his own life also."

The Greek word translated "life" in that passage is psuche, and is translated many places in the New Testament as "soul". The soul is the focal point of our selfish desire nature. If we are to be Jesus' disciples, we must leam to "hate" our selfishness — our self-centered desires to "govern" our own lives, direct our own affairs of life, do what we want to do, etc. To "deny self" means to absolutely refuse to let "self" reign in our lives, but to turn our lives over to the Lord Jesus so completely that He alone rules our lives and His will in all that we do is our consuming passion. Ones supreme lesson that every disciple must learn is that we can never hope to be prepared to rule WITH Christ until we are willing to be ruled BY Christ.
The correlative phase of "self-denial" is the requirement to "take up our cross and follow Jesus". In Luke 9:23 there is an added word which is important to note. Jesus said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Taking up our cross to follow Jesus is a DAILY commitment. Now WHAT does this mean? What did the cross mean to Jesus? If we know what the cross meant to Jesus, then we can understand what it means to "take up OUR cross" and follow Him.

In Philippians 2:8 we read that Jesus "being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

To Jesus, the cross meant OBEDIENCE to the Father's will, not out of compulsion, but out of LOVE. He willingly and gladly gave His life, not only because it was the Father's will, to make possi¬ble the salvation of mankind, but because it was a joy for Him to give His life in sacrifice FOR OTHERS. So often we think of Jesus only laying down His life by His death on the cross, but actually, His entire life was "laid down" as a "living sacrifice" for others. "Taking up OUR cross daily, to follow Jesus, means that we are committed to following His example in these two basic areas: (1) above everything else, we desire to know and DO only the WILL of our Heavenly Father, as it was revealed in word and deed by Jesus in His life upon this earth; (2) as a necessary correlation to the first, and as an "outgrowth" of it, is that we are motivated by Jesus love in us to GIVE ourselves in service to OTHERS—that we might be in¬struments in the hands of the Lord to meet their needs.
To help "impact" this truth upon our hearts, I will quote some scriptures to show that Jesus "bore His cross" during the entirety of His life — joyfully, not grudgingly. The Hebrew writer tells us that because Jesus "loved righteousness, and hated iniquity", that God the Father "anointed Him with the oil of gladness above His fellows" (Heb. 1:9). This tells us that Jesus was the most joy-filled, happiest, man that ever lived on the face of this earth. But let me quote some of Jesus' own words from the NAS version. "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does these things the Son also does in like manner. . . I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 5:19, 30). "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but 1 speak these things as the Father taught Me" (John 8:28). "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak. . . Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Fa¬ther is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works" (John 12:49, 14:10).

According to the pattern which Jesus manifested in His life, the things that God desires from us more than anything else is OBEDIENCE from the heart — joyfully, out of LOVE; and the willingness to give our lives in sacrifice to others. This is the essence of "taking up our cross daily and following Him (His example). John in his first epistle ad¬monishes us: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." But I think we all realize that this is easier to give mental assent — than to put into daily practice. There is a two-fold reason for this. First, even though we may be "born-again" Christians, we have the carnal propensity to the self-centered and too often the selfish desire to put ourselves, and what we conceive as our own inter¬ests first, instead of the Lord and others. But as we have seen, discipleship requires that we deny self. What we fail to realize is that the greatest joy and fulfillment comes to us when we live first to seek to please the Lord and do only His will, and also "lay down" our lives in service to others (beginning with those of our own household). But because of that innate selfish propensity, we have to DAILY lay down the self-life and take up our cross. This means that daily we must let the Lord "dig" into the inner motives our hearts, and yield to the inner cleansings of His Word and His Spirit, giving ourselves to "watching and praying". I will amplify on this shortly.

But secondly we must realize that we have an adversary. In I Peter we read: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." The devil will lie to us, deceive, misrepresent to us circumstances and people, and use every other "trick" possible to get us off the "path of the cross" back into the path of self-indulgent, "me-first" syndrome. This is why in Luke 14, where Jesus enunciates the priority of “cross-bearing” in order to follow Him, He amplifies with a parable to “drive home” the point. I will quote the whole context so that you can see the connection. “And whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. FOR which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build, and was not able to finish (Luke 14:27-30). The key point of this parabolic illustration is that we must COUNT THE COST of discipleship to Jesus Christ – which means total commitment to Him¬ and His will above every other interest and relationship of our lives. And we have already seen that this involves sacrifice – even separation between family members at times. But there is ANOTHER COST that is the main teaching of this man in the parable who would build the tower. We need to understand the purpose of a “Tower”, as it was used in Bible times. A tower was a fortified structure rising to a considerable height on walls of a city to enable a watchman to see in every direction to detect any approaching enemy. Towers were also built in vineyards as an almost necessary appendage to them (Isa. 5:2, Mt. 21:33, Mk. 12:1). They were used to watch for thieves or marauders who would come to raid, plunder or destroy, or for small animals who could “squeeze” through the outer hedge and spoil the vines. Song of Solomon 2:15 says that it is the "little foxes (sins) that spoil the vines." Such towers in vineyards served as lodges for the keepers of the vineyards.

"Building a tower" refers symbolically to our spiritually orien¬ted devotional and prayer life in communion with Christ our Lord, that we might "watch" (be alert) against our adversary, the devil, and all of his evil devices. After "laying the foundation" (see I Cor. 3:10-11), we begin to "build" on the foundation the "tower" of our spiritual relationship to Christ Jesus. In the context of our study, we must "count the cost" of the time and effort that MUST be given to prayer and communion with the Lord. Jesus said to His disciples, "tarry ye here, and watch with me" (Mt. 26:38), and again, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mt. 26:41). The Greek word translated "watch" means literally to "keep awake". In the New Testament, "sleeping" is symbolically associated with spiritual lethargy and indifference — a state of careless apathy. (See Rom. 13:11, I Thess. 5:5-6, Ephes. 5:14). To "watch" means to be spiritually alert, vigilant, actively praying and seeking the Lord that Satan not ensnare us in His wiles and temptations. Some New Testament admonitions along this line are: I Pet. 4:7, "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer"; I Cor. 16:13, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith. . .be strong"; Col. 4:2, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving"; I Thess. 5:6, "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober". Are you daily "building your tower" UPWARDS in your spiritual communion, prayer, and love-relationship with Jesus Christ?

Another implication of the "tower" is the symbolic representation of the Heavenly Kingdom in contrast to the Earthly. I mentioned that a tower in a vineyard served also as a lodging place for the keepers of the vineyard. God's Kingdom people (both under the Old and New Covenants) are likened to a vineyard, husbandry (field or cultivated land — NAS version of I Cor. 3:9); see Mt. 21:33-43, Lk. 13:6-9). All "born again" Christians who have received the gift of eternal life are a part of God's Kingdom people. But this "gift" only restores to us what Adam lost when he sinned — "life" for the soul now, and resurrection to an immortal body on this earth in the coming millennium. However, a part of the gospel—"good news" — is that for those who are wil¬ling to fulfill the conditions of discipleship, and thus "press on toward the mark for the prize of the high ("heavenly"—see Heb. 3:1) calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14), God is prepar¬ing a "lodging place" in the "tower" of the Heavenly Kingdom and glory, who will be the "keepers" (rulers with Christ) OVER those in the earthly Kingdom. The reason that the man in the parable of Lk. 14:28 is pictured as "counting the cost", "whether he have sufficient to finish it", is because Jesus Himself said that with reference to the Heavenly Bride and Household (atten¬dants), "many are called, but few (relatively speaking) are chosen" (Mt. 22:14). See also Rev. 19:7-9.

The third priority of discipleship as given in Luke, chap. 14, starts with Jesus giving a parable and then following it with the requirement. I will first quote the whole passage. "Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Lk. 14:31-33). Jesus was speaking of spiritual things. But first we must understand the purely material as¬pect of this parable. Remember that a parable contains "veiled" truth, and it can be understood by revelation of the Spirit. To reduce the 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers of the two kings down to the material realm, we divide by 10 and get 1,000 and 2,000. In dealing with material time factors, we know that a day is with the Lord as a thousand years. The Jews of Jesus day were looking for the restoration of the earthly kingdom of David. From the time that David began his reign over Israel until the time of Christ was almost exactly 1000 years, and from the time of Jesus' first coming until His second coming is to be approximately 2000 years. We know from Scripture that David is to be raised up to rule over the earthly kingdom (Jer. 30:9, Ezek. 34:23, 37:24). Although about 2,000 years in material time separates Jesus' first and sec¬ond coming, we know that His Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36), and is to be set up in the "heavenlies" above the earth when He returns, but to supervise the earthly kingdom.

The king with the 10,000 has a decision of make—therefore he sits down and consults with himself. He knows that the king with 20,000 (Christ) is coming to establish His Kingdom over the earth and nothing can stop Him — He has superior strength to do it. The true disciple, regardless of when he has lived down through this age, has recognized the claims of Christ on His life, lets His life to be totally "conquered" by the coming King, that the glorious purpose might by fulfilled to have his life "raised" to the "higher realms" of the coming Heavenly Kingdom. He con¬siders the "cost" of resisting full and unconditional surrender (and be "disqualified" for the prize of the high calling" —see I Cor. 9:27 — NAS version), having to settle for the "lower" or earthly kingdom, and he "sends an embassage" while the king is yet at a distance (with reference to His second coming) and expresses a desire (joyfully and willingly) for conditions of peace (through total submission and obedience). THAT is the spiritual essence of the parable; the "price for inheriting the heavenly Kingdom.

Jesus then gives the "bottom line" in plain terms: "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Lk. 14:33). The Greek word trans¬lated "forsaketh" means literally "to say adieu (by departing or dismissing); or figuratively "to renounce, to arrange in an orderly manner, i.e. assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot)”. To those of us who really mean business about our discipleship, I believe that this requirement means that we "release ownership" of EVERYTHING that we have and "assign" it over to Jesus. We merely become stewards (trustees) of that which belongs to God, and is at His disposal to use, or to assign for His ministry and glory in any way that will forward His purpose—not only for my life, but for the lives of all who belong to Him. My possessions and my relationships are unconditionally turned over to Him, so that my primary task is only to seek to know HIS WILL and DO it, for only He knows what is best for me and all others that my life is related to or "touches" in some way.

In terms of the parable we have just considered of the two armies, we can say, "I have considered the consequences of want¬ing my own way and trying to direct my own affairs, and in terms of the on-going, "flowing tide" and inevitable conquest of the KING of kings and LORD of lords, I have made a quality decision to give up my way, my plans, my life, my possessions, my relations and submit totally to His love plan to discipline my life according to the precepts and instructions of His Word. I will not compromise or turn back. I will rather "suffer loss" in terms of what man thinks rather than "hang on" to anything that would hinder my "following after" Him until I reach that "prize" of be¬longing to HIM in the totality of my being, and a part of that company of saints who will ultimately "lodge" in that "tower" of His Heavenly Kingdom and Glory."

By His grace, I can say with Bob Moorhead: "I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won't look back; I won't slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, taint vision, mundane talking, chincy giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, I don't have to be first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, walk by patience, lift by prayer, labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my God reliable, my mission clear. I can't be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I'm stayed up, stirred up, prayed up, paid up, fused up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus!"

To "forsake all that we have" in order to be Jesus' disciples, means the same in principle as it did when Jesus walked this earth. However, our perspective is somewhat different. When Jesus was on this earth as a man, those who chose to follow Him and be discipled by Him, had to literally leave behind home, family, etc. This was especially true of the "twelve", whom Jesus chose out of all His disciples to be apostles, and also to be WITH HIM all the time (see Mark 3:13-19). There were other disciples who followed Him and were taught of Him at various times, but were not with Him all the time. Among these were the "seventy", whom He appointed to go out "two by two" to go before Him into every city where He would enter into. There were others who followed Him at times, among whom were women, who ministered to Him out of their material substance (see Lk. 8:1-3). Yet all were disciples.
We no longer have a literal Jesus to follow after, even as the apostle Paul says, "though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more" (II Cor. 5:16). Our "following Him" now is a spiritual pursuit. But the principle of "forsaking ALL" to follow Him remains the same, even though its practical outworking may be somewhat different. IS IT WORTH IT? Peter had the same question in mind, when, as recorded in Mt. 19:27, he asked Jesus: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee, what shall we have therefore?" In the verses following (28-30): "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." Jesus deals first with the twelve, assuring them that they would be a part of His ruling Kingdom be¬cause they had been willing to follow Him for the purpose of having their lives "regenerated" (the Greek word not only means that rebirth which infuses the soul with Jesus' own life and nature, but also that spiritual renovation of the inner being which continues throughout one's life IF one "follows after" (pursues) Jesus with all of his heart). He then gives assurance that anyone who would have to forfeit possessions or relationships for their wholehearted devotion to Him would receive "an hundredfold" — besides being assured of "eternal life".

Although we do not have a right to try to "read into" the words of Jesus something He did not say or mean, we must also realize that He did not speak as an ordinary man; therefore we must not treat His words as those of an ordinary man. He spoke from God's perspective of His plan for man. Therefore many times in what we might consider ordinary conversational teaching, are "veiled" truth ("hidden nuggets") that can only be revealed by the Spirit. I believe that when Jesus promises that those who are willing to "suffer loss" for His name's sake shall receive an "hundredfold", this is a reference to the 100-fold category of Christians—harking back to the basic parable of the Word-seed yielding three categories--the 30 fold, 60 fold, and 100 fold. I have clearly demonstrated in my other writings that only the 100 fold Christ¬ians are candidates for the Heavenly Kingdom and Glory. The 30 and 60 fold groups will have their lot on this earth.

Some might question this, since in Mark's account of these words of Jesus, there is given an added thought. Quoting from Mark 10:29-30: "There is no man that hath left house, or breth¬ren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

Those who have gotten into the extreme prosperity teaching, have used this scripture to try to prove that for every one dollar we give to the Lord, He is bound by His Word to give us a hundredfold, or one hundred dollars back. I do believe there is a spiritual law that what we give to God or others (with the right motive) will eventually return to us many-fold (in one way or another). However, that is another subject and I will not deal with it here. The Scripture I am now dealing with, as quoted above, has nothing to do with our giving to God, although the "prosperity" teachers mis-use it that way. It has to do with those who are wil¬ling to "suffer loss" rather than compromise their commitment to Jesus Christ. In some way they have been rejected, cast out, disinherited, and thus have had to "forsake" possessions or relation¬ships. And Jesus is assuring them that their loss will be made up to them in the context of the larger family of God, wherein they shall receive (in care, love and fellowship) "an hundred-fold" more in houses (that they would find "refuge" in), as well as brethren in Christ; and also Christian sisters, mothers, children, etc., in the Christian community. Seeing this application, however, does not negate what I previously suggested concerning the fact that Jesus was giving a "veiled" reference to the 100-fold category of Christians. Jesus spoke from the perspective of infinite wisdom, even the "manifold" (many-sided) wisdom of God (see Ephes. 3:10), and we are therefore justified in seeing more than one application to many of His words.

Beloved, we have seen that discipleship requires "priorities". Our commitment to Christ must come first IF we want God's highest and best. We must seek the wisdom of God as to jut how to implement such priorities with reference to all our relationships and possessions, and also the will (determination) to carry them out. This does not mean that we neglect our natural responsibilities in daily routine of life. Much could be said about this but my space has run out. Next issue will deal with the "proofs" of discipleship.