Outline
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We are disciples of Christ, those who are following and learning Christ according to the reality that is in Jesus, which is the actual condition of the God-man living of Jesus recorded in the four Gospels; this is to experience Christ in His experiences so that we might become His organic reproduction and duplication for Him to have a corporate expression of Himself for His glory in the church and in the New Jerusalem—Matt. 5:1; 28:19; Eph. 4:20-24; 3:21; Isa. 43:7; Rev. 21:11:
A
We are being discipled from being a natural man to being a God-man, living the divine life by denying our natural life according to the model of Christ as the first God-man; this is to learn Christ and be taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus, to be renewed in the spirit of our mind by the word of God so that we may become a new and corporate God-man—Eph. 4:23; Deut. 17:18-20:
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"If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free"—John 8:31-32, 36; 15:7.
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By the prayerful reading of the Scriptures and by having an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches through the ministry of the word, we are being discipled by the Lord through being transformed by the renewing of our mind—Eph. 6:17-18; Rev. 2:7; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23.
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For us to be renewed in our mind is to get rid of all the old concepts concerning the things of the human life through receiving the new thoughts of God by the teaching of the Holy Scriptures and the enlightening of the Holy Spirit—Psa. 119:105, 130.
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In order to be the Lord's disciples who are being saved in Christ Himself as life to reign in life over Satan, sin, and death, we must be reconstituted with the holy word of God so that we may be instructed, governed, ruled, and controlled by the word of God—Rom. 5:10, 17; Deut. 17:18-20; 2 Tim. 3:15-17.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 9:9 And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man sitting at the tax office, called Matthew, and He said to him, Follow Me. And he rose and followed Him.11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
First, the believers are designated as disciples. The term disciples is often used in the Gospels and in Acts, but it is not used at all in the Epistles…[In Matthew 5:1], when Christ sat down on the mountain, His disciples, not the crowds, came to Him to be His audience…The crowds that gathered around Him were the outer circle, but His disciples were the inner circle. These disciples were Jewish believers. However, when they were on the mountain listening to the decree of the kingdom’s constitution, they were representatives not of the Jewish people but of the New Testament believers. In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus told His disciples to go and disciple the nations, that is, the Gentiles. This means that the nations would be converted into disciples. Therefore, both the Jewish and Gentile believers are disciples. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1131)
Today’s Reading
Disciples are those who follow Christ. In His ministry the Lord Jesus told people to repent, for the kingdom of God has drawn near (Mark 1:15; Matt. 4:17). When some repented, or had an inclination to go with Him, He said to them, “Follow Me” (Matt. 4:19; 9:9; 19:21; Luke 9:59).Disciples are also those who learn of Christ. In Matthew 11:29 the Lord Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Discipline is required for both following Christ and learning of Him. We cannot follow Him or learn of Him without being disciplined. We especially need to be disciplined in order to learn of Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1132)
We are being discipled from being a natural man to being a God-man, living the divine life by denying our natural life according to the model of Christ as the first God-man (Matt. 28:19). The young people have come to the full-time training not to be trained in the human understanding but to be discipled in the divine understanding. While I am helping them to be discipled, I am also being discipled day by day in many aspects to live the divine life by denying my natural life.
We should live such a life according to the model of Christ as the first God-man. When Christ was on this earth, He denied His natural life, Himself. He said that whatever He spoke was not His word but the word of the Father who sent Him (John 14:24). He never did anything out of Himself (5:19, 30). He did everything out of and by the sending Father. He was not the Sender but the sent One. He did not live Himself; instead, He lived the Sender, the Father (6:57a). This is the model of the first God-man.
There has never been such a man in all of human history…After God’s incarnation there was a particular man on earth who was a God-man. This God-man did not live His human life. Instead, He lived the divine life, God Himself, by denying His human life. The Lord called some to follow Him just to see how He lived so that He could show them the pattern of a God-man. For three and a half years they saw and were discipled by this pattern. In the church life we are also being discipled by the Lord. The church life is a discipling life to disciple us from being a natural man to being a God-man. God does not care whether you are a good man or a bad man, because everything of your natural man, good or bad, must go to the cross. All the natural persons should be discipled to the cross because we have another person in us. We have another life and nature, both divine, according to which we must live. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 88-89)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 105; Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 46—47; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” chs. 2—4, 6, 10—11