{"id":4466,"date":"2019-02-21T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T14:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=4466"},"modified":"2019-03-14T10:56:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T15:56:35","slug":"a-paradigm-for-discipleship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2019\/02\/21\/a-paradigm-for-discipleship\/","title":{"rendered":"A Paradigm for Discipleship"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Paradigm for Discipleship<\/strong>
\nBy Stephen Jones, Student Ministries Team Leader<\/strong><\/p>\n

I still have a lot of questions about the Day of Pentecost.<\/p>\n

It MUST have been an awe-inspiring sight, a multi-sensory overload.<\/p>\n

Consider the great diversity of people there in Jerusalem for the festival, the multiplicity of languages spoken within earshot, and the cultural complexities present in every interaction. Then, add the fireworks of the Holy Spirit and a rag-tag group of home-grown disciples passionately preaching in obscure languages!<\/p>\n

Pentecost represented the birth of the church\u2014the first mega-church, even by today\u2019s standards. It must have been amazing to witness. We can read Luke\u2019s description of it, and we can draw our own mental images of that day. Many of us understand the power of a single, overwhelming experience. We\u2019re equally aware of how a one-off experience can be diminished in our memories over time, if there\u2019s no accompanying life-change. The Day of Pentecost was certainly a watershed moment in the history of Christianity\u2014even more significant when considering the incredible complexities of diverse people groups and language barriers! However, what about the days that followed?<\/p>\n

Luke said, \u201c\u2026and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Really?<\/p>\n

What exactly did the apostles teach those people — that diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual multitude.<\/p>\n

To what exactly did they study and devote themselves?<\/p>\n

What was communication like? There was no podcast.<\/p>\n

The Book of Acts does the modern reader a tremendous favor by recording some of the early messages that came out of the Empowering Presence of God on the Day of Pentecost. Those early messages, delivered by the apostle Peter, give us the basic tenets of the faith and a glimpse into how the apostles discipled the most diverse mega-church ever conceived.<\/p>\n

Luke described, in detail, at least four occasions when Peter articulated the Gospel. The first happened on the day of Pentecost when the onlookers asked, \u201cWhat does all this mean?\u201d (2:12-13). The second event happened when Peter and John healed the man at the Beautiful Gate, and a crowd soon gathered to see (3:11-26). The third, though much shorter on details, was Peter\u2019s response to the religious authorities who questioned their message (4:8-12). The fourth event was a second deposition in front of the Sanhedrin\u2014an interrogation about their preaching, their ministry, and their obstinate disobedience to the Council\u2019s orders (5:29-32). Those four messages, recorded early in Luke\u2019s account of the apostle\u2019s ministry, are amazingly similar in content and laser-focused on a single objective. Those messages form the outline of the apostles\u2019 teaching and the paradigm for discipleship today.<\/p>\n

What are those common threads among all of Peter\u2019s messages?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You have sinned.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In each circumstance, on every occasion, Peter took the opportunity to boldly remind the people of how Jesus had been innocent, attested to them by God with miracles and wonders, and they still chose to execute Him. On every occasion, once-timid Peter detailed how they had chosen a murderer in place of Jesus, how they had turned one of their own over to the Roman authorities to be nailed to a cross, how they had rejected the true Servant of the Living God. He was frighteningly sharp with his indictments of both laypeople and the religious leaders. There could be no doubt\u2014every single person stood under judgment on the basis of how they responded to Christ.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The core of the Gospel message was that even though Jesus had been crucified, He was no longer dead or laying in a tomb. The central focus of EVERY SINGLE SERMON was that Jesus was alive and well, that God had raised Him from the dead, and that the apostles were all witnesses of His resurrection. Whether the audience was a group of on-lookers in the temple courts, or the temple leaders themselves, there was no ambiguity or hesitation. Jesus was alive! Moreover, by virtue of His perfect life, sacrificial death, and documented resurrection, God has made Him Lord and Savior over all humanity and the created order. The man, who had once been attested by God (by His miracles) to be an authoritative teacher, had now been validated and verified to be the Son of God by His resurrection!<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Salvation is found only in His name.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Despite the bold, finger-pointed truth of Peter\u2019s indictment, he still offered to every single crowd a tremendous hope of forgiveness and restoration. In an historic, unprecedented, wonderful irony, the man whom they had turned over to Pilate for execution was the very same man in whom they would find forgiveness\u2014not only for their rejection of Him, but also for every single mistake they had ever made against anyone else, every way they had ever rejected God and His commands, both past, present, and forevermore. No other name, no other god could offer clean-slate forgiveness like the One they had rejected. There was also no wait-list, no probationary period, and no reason to delay accepting that free gift He offered.<\/p>\n

        Looking back on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles brought a wealth of experience to that Gospel moment; their three years spent with the Servant-Leader, King of Kings, could have filled countless books with lessons on ethics, wisdom, how to be right before God, and to follow His commands. When they were released by Jesus and empowered by the Spirit to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, they had also been equipped to lead unbelievers to a saving knowledge of Him.<\/p>\n

        Yet, when Peter\u2019s first messages are read together, and in one sitting, three core truths are announced at full-volume, over and above those many other lessons and experiences. Without messaging experts, speechwriters, or teleprompters, Peter was able to deliver powerful sermons in separate venues with different audiences and with incredible responses because of the power of the Holy Spirit\u2014and from the intimacy of His own experience. He, too, had rejected Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He, too, had seen the empty tomb. He, too, had experienced the loving forgiveness of his Lord.<\/p>\n

        When we ask, \u201cWhat exactly did they teach,\u201d I believe the answer is a simple Gospel, framed by their experiences with the risen Lord. In that way, I believe their message was a paradigm for discipleship.<\/p>\n

        **This is part one of a two-part series about the core teachings of the early church. Look for part two during the month of March.**<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,305,3],"tags":[940,985,16,941,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-4466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-student-ministires","9":"category-youth-ministries","10":"tag-940","11":"tag-a-paradigm-for-discipleship","12":"tag-discipleship","13":"tag-sound-doctrine","14":"tag-stephen-jones","15":"entry"},"title_es":"Un paradigma para el discipulado","content_es":"Un paradigma para el discipulado<\/strong> Por Stephen Jones, L\u00edder del Equipo de Ministerios Estudiantiles<\/strong> Todav\u00eda tengo muchas preguntas sobre el D\u00eda de Pentecost\u00e9s. DEBE haber sido una vista sobrecogedora, una sobrecarga multisensorial. Considere la gran diversidad de personas que hay en Jerusal\u00e9n para el festival, la multiplicidad de idiomas que se hablan al alcance del o\u00eddo y las complejidades culturales presentes en cada interacci\u00f3n. Luego, agregue los fuegos artificiales del Esp\u00edritu Santo y un grupo de rag-tag de disc\u00edpulos locales que predican apasionadamente en idiomas oscuros. Pentecost\u00e9s represent\u00f3 el nacimiento de la iglesia, la primera mega iglesia, incluso para los est\u00e1ndares de hoy. Debe haber sido asombroso presenciar. Podemos leer la descripci\u00f3n de Lucas de eso, y podemos dibujar nuestras propias im\u00e1genes mentales de ese d\u00eda. Muchos de nosotros comprendemos el poder de una experiencia \u00fanica y abrumadora. Somos igualmente conscientes de c\u00f3mo una experiencia \u00fanica puede disminuir en nuestros recuerdos con el tiempo, si no hay un cambio en la vida. El D\u00eda de Pentecost\u00e9s fue ciertamente un momento decisivo en la historia del cristianismo, \u00a1incluso m\u00e1s significativo al considerar las incre\u00edbles complejidades de los diversos grupos de personas y las barreras del idioma! Sin embargo, \u00bfqu\u00e9 pasa con los d\u00edas que siguieron? Lucas dijo: \"... y se dedicaban continuamente a la ense\u00f1anza de los ap\u00f3stoles\". \u00bfDe verdad? \u00bfQu\u00e9 exactamente ense\u00f1aron los ap\u00f3stoles a esas personas? Esa multitud diversa, multi\u00e9tnica, multiling\u00fce. \u00bfA qu\u00e9 exactamente se estudiaron y se dedicaron? \u00bfC\u00f3mo era la comunicaci\u00f3n? No hab\u00eda podcast. El Libro de los Hechos le hace un gran favor al lector moderno al registrar algunos de los primeros mensajes que surgieron de la Presencia de Dios Capacitadora en el D\u00eda de Pentecost\u00e9s. Esos mensajes tempranos, entregados por el ap\u00f3stol Pedro, nos dan los principios b\u00e1sicos de la fe y nos permiten ver c\u00f3mo los ap\u00f3stoles discipularon a la mega iglesia m\u00e1s diversa jam\u00e1s concebida. Lucas describi\u00f3, en detalle, al menos cuatro ocasiones en que Pedro articul\u00f3 el Evangelio. El primero ocurri\u00f3 el d\u00eda de Pentecost\u00e9s cuando los espectadores preguntaron: \u201c\u00bfQu\u00e9 significa todo esto?\u201d (2: 12-13). El segundo evento ocurri\u00f3 cuando Pedro y Juan sanaron al hombre en la Hermosa Puerta, y una multitud pronto se reuni\u00f3 para ver (3: 11-26). El tercero, aunque mucho m\u00e1s corto en detalles, fue la respuesta de Pedro a las autoridades religiosas que cuestionaron su mensaje (4: 8-12). El cuarto evento fue una segunda deposici\u00f3n frente al Sanedr\u00edn: un interrogatorio sobre su predicaci\u00f3n, su ministerio y su obstinada desobediencia a las \u00f3rdenes del Consejo (5: 29-32). Esos cuatro mensajes, grabados al inicio del relato de Lucas sobre el ministerio del ap\u00f3stol, son asombrosamente similares en contenido y enfocados en un solo objetivo. Esos mensajes forman el esquema de la ense\u00f1anza de los ap\u00f3stoles y el paradigma para el discipulado de hoy. \u00bfCu\u00e1les son esos hilos comunes entre todos los mensajes de Pedro?\r\n

          \r\n \t
        1. Has pecado<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nEn cada circunstancia, en cada ocasi\u00f3n, Pedro aprovech\u00f3 la oportunidad para recordar audazmente a las personas c\u00f3mo Jes\u00fas hab\u00eda sido inocente, le hab\u00eda sido atestiguado por Dios con milagros y maravillas, y a\u00fan as\u00ed optaban por ejecutarlo. En cada ocasi\u00f3n, Peter, una vez t\u00edmido, detall\u00f3 c\u00f3mo hab\u00edan elegido a un asesino en lugar de Jes\u00fas, c\u00f3mo hab\u00edan entregado a las autoridades romanas a una de las suyas para que las clavaran en una cruz, c\u00f3mo hab\u00edan rechazado al verdadero Siervo de los Vivos Dios. Estaba terriblemente agudo con sus acusaciones tanto a los laicos como a los l\u00edderes religiosos. No pod\u00eda haber ninguna duda: cada persona estaba bajo juicio sobre la base de c\u00f3mo respond\u00edan a Cristo.\r\n
            \r\n \t
          1. Dios ha resucitado a Jesucristo de entre los muertos.<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nEl n\u00facleo del mensaje del Evangelio era que, aunque Jes\u00fas hab\u00eda sido crucificado, ya no estaba muerto ni tumbado en una tumba. El enfoque central de CADA SERM\u00d3N INDIVIDUAL era que Jes\u00fas estaba vivo y bien, que Dios lo hab\u00eda resucitado de entre los muertos y que todos los ap\u00f3stoles hab\u00edan sido testigos de su resurrecci\u00f3n. Ya sea que la audiencia fuera un grupo de espectadores en los patios del templo o los mismos l\u00edderes del templo, no hubo ambig\u00fcedad ni vacilaci\u00f3n. \u00a1Jes\u00fas estaba vivo! Adem\u00e1s, en virtud de Su vida perfecta, muerte sacrificatoria y resurrecci\u00f3n documentada, Dios lo ha hecho Se\u00f1or y Salvador sobre toda la humanidad y el orden creado. El hombre, que una vez hab\u00eda sido certificado por Dios (por Sus milagros) como un maestro autorizado, \u00a1ahora hab\u00eda sido validado y verificado como el Hijo de Dios por Su resurrecci\u00f3n!\r\n
              \r\n \t
            1. La salvaci\u00f3n se encuentra s\u00f3lo en su nombre.<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nA pesar de la atrevida verdad de la acusaci\u00f3n de Peter, a\u00fan ofrec\u00eda a cada multitud una tremenda esperanza de perd\u00f3n y restauraci\u00f3n. En una iron\u00eda hist\u00f3rica, sin precedentes y maravillosa, el hombre que hab\u00edan entregado a Pilato para su ejecuci\u00f3n era el mismo hombre en el que encontrar\u00edan perd\u00f3n, no solo por su rechazo a \u00c9l, sino tambi\u00e9n por cada error que hab\u00edan cometido. contra cualquier otra persona, en todas las formas en que hab\u00edan rechazado a Dios y sus mandamientos, tanto pasados, presentes como para siempre. Ning\u00fan otro nombre, ning\u00fan otro dios podr\u00eda ofrecer perd\u00f3n de pizarra limpia como el que hab\u00edan rechazado. Tampoco hubo lista de espera, per\u00edodo de prueba ni raz\u00f3n para demorar la aceptaci\u00f3n del regalo gratuito que \u00c9l ofreci\u00f3. Mirando hacia atr\u00e1s en el D\u00eda de Pentecost\u00e9s, los ap\u00f3stoles aportaron una gran experiencia a ese momento del Evangelio; los tres a\u00f1os que pasaron con el Siervo-L\u00edder, Rey de Reyes, podr\u00edan haber llenado innumerables libros con lecciones sobre \u00e9tica, sabidur\u00eda, c\u00f3mo estar bien ante Dios y seguir Sus mandamientos. Cuando fueron liberados por Jes\u00fas y autorizados por el Esp\u00edritu para ir a todo el mundo y predicar el Evangelio, tambi\u00e9n estaban equipados para guiar a los incr\u00e9dulos a un conocimiento salvador de \u00c9l. Sin embargo, cuando los primeros mensajes de Peter se leen juntos, y en una sola sesi\u00f3n, se anuncian tres verdades b\u00e1sicas en todo su volumen, por encima de esas muchas otras lecciones y experiencias. Sin expertos en mensajes, redactores de discursos o teleprompters, Peter pudo entregar sermones poderosos en lugares separados con audiencias diferentes y con respuestas incre\u00edbles debido al poder del Esp\u00edritu Santo y la intimidad de su propia experiencia. \u00c9l tambi\u00e9n hab\u00eda rechazado a Jesucristo de Nazaret, \u00e9l tambi\u00e9n hab\u00eda visto la tumba vac\u00eda y \u00e9l tambi\u00e9n hab\u00eda experimentado el perd\u00f3n amoroso de su Se\u00f1or. Cuando preguntamos: \u201c\u00bfQu\u00e9 ense\u00f1aron exactamente?\u201d, Creo que la respuesta es un Evangelio simple, enmarcado por su experiencia con el Se\u00f1or resucitado. De esa manera, creo que su mensaje fue un paradigma para el discipulado. ( l\u00ednea de transici\u00f3n, que no debe utilizarse en este contexto:<\/em> cuando nos reunamos a continuaci\u00f3n, veremos c\u00f3mo, a pesar de su tremendo \u00e9xito, fue un Evangelio bastante impopular).","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/A-Paradigm-for-Discipleship.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1a2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}