Friday, July 20, 2012

Jesus: Example of True Discipleship

At His incarnation, Jesus was conceived just as the angel Gabriel had foretold Mary, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God."

The relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was unbroken throughout Jesus' life as He "increased in wisdom (in broad and full understanding) and in stature and years, and in favor with God and man" from that moment on. His constant fellowship in the Holy Spirit, with His Father, is prophesied by Isaish in chapter 11:

1 AND THERE shall come forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse [David's father], and a Branch out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit.

2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him--the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord--

3 And shall make Him of quick understanding, and His delight shall be in the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord. And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears;

4 But with righteousness and justice shall He judge the poor and decide with fairness for the meek, the poor, and the downtrodden of the earth; and He shall smite the earth and the oppressor with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of His waist and faithfulness the girdle of His loins.

So the way of a true disciple is in reality Jesus, the Way, through His Holy Spirit!

Luke, chapter 4, shows us that at the moment John the Baptist was baptizing Jesus, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove alighted on Him, and then immediately "drove" Him into the wilderness to be tempted! Jesus passed that test by speaking the truth of the Scriptures in response to all the devil's wiles. His powerful demonstration as the prototypical Overcomer showed all of us His way: the perfect combination of God's word by His Spirit!

Jesus then returned to His hometown of Nazareth, to actually announce through the reading of the precise Isaiah 61 text chosen for that day, the arrival of His Spirit led, Spirit-filled ministry on the earth! He not only proclaimed the fulfillment of that prophecy, but also declared Himself wholly dependent on the anointing of the Holy Spirit:

1 THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion--to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificient, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, and He may be glorified.

Jesus not only told us the way, but then entered into His years of ministry to show us the way. In choosing to live out these predictions to prove that He indeed is the awaited Messiah, He also gave us a clear example to follow. His instructions to His closest disciples and His teachings to the multitudes rounded out our picture of what discipleship in Jesus is really all about.

All of these texts pictured a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life, showing us the presence of the Holy Spirit within the coming Messiah, and also previewed His qualities which would also be working within all dedicated believers.

As we read through each of these prophetic pictures of our Lord Jesus, we can discern which attributes were fulfillments of His specific ministry as the One like Moses sent to His people of Israel. We can also glean which aspects of Jesus' special spiritual anointing, are generally and genuinely available to every person who chooses to receive Him as Lord and His Spirit in fullness!

Following our Lord's example, we must also lay aside our natural abilities, so that we can walk out our destinies as His disciples, so that we may also bear the best fruit and give God all the glory.

Neil Uniacke, MC
Executive Director



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