The Course of the Disciple

Well, good morning, team.

Last time we considered together the call of Christ to Simon, to put out into the deep

how it came to him, what Simon needed to overcome to answer it, and what came of it.

And this morning we want to take up the course that this calling sets us upon.

What is its nature?

What is the shape of the path which shapes us as disciples?

And likely it's true at all times, but it seems dramatically true in our own time that

we are in need of a refresher as to our course as disciples.

Let's recognize right out of the gate, it's really hard to stay on course in our calling.

To put it another way, it is not an easy task faithfully to fulfill Christ's charge to be

in the world, but not of it.

There is such a natural inveterate tendency, I certainly find it in myself, chameleon-like,

to take on the color of my context, to conform to my surroundings, to assimilate the character

of my setting.

Now it's not typically deliberate or even conscious on my part.

I'm going to absorb a worldly perspective.

I'm going to contract a worldly character.

Here I go.

No, it's more like swimming around in the ocean.

I wonder if you've done this.

And discovering that unwittingly I have been taken quite a ways down the beach by the current.

But, Paul likens it to taking on the shape of the world's mold.

Like jello conforming to the shape of the bowl.

Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold, he exhorts in Romans 12.

And it happens to all of us.

And it was happening to the young Corinthian church.

Even on the fundamental issue of what it means to be Christ's disciple,

their culture had tugged the Corinthians quite a ways down the beach.

And Paul writes to help them find their way back to their towels.

Reminding them what it means to follow Christ.

And I find that I am just as much in need of such a reminder as the Corinthians were.

So our question for this morning, and of our text,

is what does it mean to follow Christ in terms of the course that it puts us on?

And I want to answer this critical question by turning to a text in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 4, and I'll be picking up in verse 7.

So if you have your Bibles, you might want to turn there.

I'll try to tether my remarks to the text.

Let me read the passage for us.

So 2 Corinthians 4, beginning in verse 7.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay

to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

Perplexed, but not driven to despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

Struck down, but not destroyed.

Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,

so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So death works, is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what has been written,

I believed, and so I spoke.

We also believe, and so we also speak,

knowing that he who raised our Lord Jesus

will raise us also with Jesus

and bring us with you into his presence.

For it is all for your sake,

so that as grace extends to more and more people,

it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

So, we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this light, momentary affliction

is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory

beyond all comparison.

As we look not to the things that are seen,

but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient,

but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word,

your living word, Jesus Christ,

and how he is presented to us in your written word,

the scriptures here open before us.

And thank you that in searching them out to find Christ,

you have not left us to our own devices,

but has given us the very spirit of Christ

in dwelling within us,

to illuminate Christ himself,

and make him shine before us,

that we might be transformed increasingly into his image,

to your great delight and glory.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So, what is the calling of the disciple?

Well, leaping right in,

I want to assert

that it is first

a call

to experience death.

A call to experience death.

And this may sound jarring,

perhaps exaggerated,

somewhat extreme,

but I assure you

it is no attempt at rhetorical inflation.

It is rather,

it seems,

the frank testimony of the apostle.

Take a look at it with me.

As he states in verse 11,

here we're in 2 Corinthians chapter 4,

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

okay,

that's there at verse 11.

He writes,

for we who live,

that is we who have been made spiritually alive

by Christ through the gospel,

for we who live,

have we been made spiritually alive?

Then this refers to us,

okay?

For we who live

are constantly

being delivered over to death

for Jesus' sake.

Neither is this experience of death

a fluke

or a random matter.

doesn't just happen to be the case,

coincidentally.

No, it's by design

and none other than

divine design.

Notice

what theologians call

or exegetes call

the divine passive.

Being delivered.

Being delivered.

Indicated that it is,

indicating that it is God

who actually

delivers us

over

to death.

death.

So this is God's game plan

for the disciple.

The sovereignly appointed path

for the follower of Christ.

What is this

death

to which the disciple

is being

delivered

to?

Well,

notice

that it is something

that transpires

constantly.

Again,

verse 11.

This death

is always

happening

to the disciple.

Indeed,

to underscore

the ongoing nature

of this experience

of death,

Paul elucidates

verse 10

there

with a word

that conveys

the notion

of a perpetual

process.

Now,

not all translations

reflect this,

but we would better

have

dying.

Better reflects

the Greek here.

Dying

as distinct

from simply

death.

Caring about

in the body

the dying

of Jesus.

And again,

worth marking

always,

always.

Not occasionally

or under extreme

circumstances,

rather always.

So,

the disciple

carries about

in the body

the dying

of Jesus.

Have you

tended to think

of your life

in those terms?

So,

what do you do

if someone asks you?

I carry around

in my body

the dying

of Jesus.

Well,

what does it

mean?

What does it

mean?

Well,

what was

the dying

of Jesus?

Jesus?

Well,

not simply

his death

upon the cross,

though that was

surely the culmination

of it.

Rather,

it was

the whole

sweep of

his life

from Galilee

to Galgotha

with

Gethsemane

summing it up.

Not

my will,

but

thine.

the dying

of Jesus

was the

unrelieved

dying

to self,

the utter

and unbroken

submission

of his

will

to that

of the

Father,

and the

unabating

effect

upon body

and soul

of that

unwavering

devotion.

the hunger,

the thirst,

the weariness,

the homelessness,

the abandonment,

the betrayal,

the false

accusations,

the flung

taunts,

the torn

flesh,

and the

cry of

dereliction

from the

cross.

The

dying

of Jesus

was all

that it

cost him

to stay

the course

of the

will of

the

Father

to

and

through

the

bitter

end.

What

then

is it

for the

disciple

to carry

about in

the body

the

dying

of

Jesus?

It is

the same

unrelieved

dying

to self

to stay

the course

of the

Father's

will

and all

the cost

to body

and soul

of never

wavering.

It is

as it

was for

Jesus,

a martyrdom

not confined

to the hour

of death,

but lifelong

of spending

and being

spent,

as Paul writes

in 2 Corinthians

12,

of pouring

oneself out

as a

sacrifice,

Philippians

2.

I die

daily,

says Paul,

1 Corinthians

15.

So the

shape

of

discipleship

is

daily

dying,

the

steady

cost

of

staying

the

course.

life.

But

dying

in

the

interest

of

what?

Embracing

the

steady

cost

of

staying

which

course?

Well,

verse 12

gives us

the answer.

You see it?

So death

works in

us,

but life

in you.

The death

that is

working out

in Paul's

life

has the

correlate

of life

working in

the

Corinthians.

Well,

how is this

so?

Well,

the suffering

that Paul

has endured

has been

the hardship

of body

and soul

required to

deliver,

to declare,

and to

display the

gospel

to the

Corinthians,

which has

brought them

new life

in Christ.

So death

works in

me,

says Paul,

but life

in you.

Spiritual

life for

the

Corinthians

has had

its cost.

It has

cost the

apostle

the pouring

out of

his life.

concretely,

to take

a quick

tally,

as he

does in

chapter 11,

it has

cost

beatings

times

without

number,

thrice

39 lashes,

being stoned

and shipwrecked,

dangers

from rivers,

robbers,

and rogues,

sleepless

nights,

hunger,

thirst,

cold,

and exposure.

And that's

simply to

mention the

physical

side of

the cost,

the more

harrowing

actually being

the emotional

burden.

But as he

urged his

disciple

Timothy,

I endure

all things

for the

sake of

those who

are chosen,

that they

may obtain

the salvation

which is in

Christ Jesus,

and with it

eternal glory.

2 Timothy

2.10.

Or as he

states in our

passage,

verse 15,

for all

things are

for your

sakes.

The suffering

is simply

the cost,

as he puts it

again in

verse 15,

of grace

spreading

to more

and more

people.

And there is

often

great cost

involved

in this

great cause.

As Jesus

would put it,

unless a grain

of wheat

falls to the

ground

and dies,

it remains

alone.

But if it

dies,

it bears

much fruit.

so,

the dying

that marks

the path

of the

disciple,

the suffering

Paul is

talking about

here,

has here

an accent

that falls

upon a

specific

suffering.

suffering.

We might

aptly call it

missional

sufferings,

for it is

the suffering

sustained in

the work of

witness.

To carry

about in

our bodies

the dying

of Jesus

here

involves

the

mortification

of

mission.

It is

the pain

and travail

of making

Christ

known.

It is

a call

to endure

in that

endeavor.

Now,

I believe

that the

affliction

the disciple

is called

to endure

is broader,

okay,

broader

than that

suffered in

bearing witness

to Christ,

faithfully

seeking to

bear his

image.

But this

is the

part that

the disciple

focuses upon

here.

So let's

for a moment

stick to

this passage

and this

accent.

At times,

Paul uses

what is

almost a

technical

term for

this

missional

suffering

as he

does in

chapter 1

verse 5

of this

book,

2 Corinthians,

where he

writes,

the sufferings

of Christ

or the

Messiah

are

ours in

abundance.

Now,

this notion

of the

sufferings

of the

Messiah

or the

messianic

woes,

as some

call it,

distilled

from the

Old Testament

prophets,

Isaiah,

Jeremiah,

Hosea,

and Micah,

and developed

by Jewish

teaching,

held that

the triumphal

messianic

age to

come would

be preceded

by woes

or intense

suffering,

akin to the

birth pangs

of a woman

in labor.

this

suffering,

and here's

the interesting

thing,

this suffering,

the messianic

woes,

would be

endured

not by

the Messiah

himself,

but rather

born by

those

associated

with him.

And the

New Testament

writers took

this up,

a suffering

intense,

but of

fixed duration

and even

a fixed

quantity,

that would

be the

lot of

Messiah's

people,

Christ's

disciples.

And they

held that

Christ's

death and

resurrection,

his ascension,

and then his

gifts of the

Spirit from

his ascended

right hand of

the Father

had inaugurated,

had begun,

the messianic

age.

And his

people,

living now in

the last

days,

were called

to endure

tribulation

in fulfillment

of the

scriptures and

in fulfillment

of Jesus'

own words

until the

full measure

of this

appointed

suffering was

complete

and Christ

returned.

So against

this conceptual

backdrop,

we understand

what Paul

means when

he tells

the

Colossians,

Colossians 1

24,

I do

my share

of filling

up what

is lacking

in Christ's

afflictions,

or the

Messiah's

afflictions.

He is

speaking of

these sufferings

of the

Messiah.

And notice,

fill up,

which implies

there is a

fixed amount,

a fixed

measure of

intense

suffering that

must be

endured by

Christ's

disciples

before he

returns.

What is

this sum

of suffering

to be

endured?

Well,

it is the

sum of

what it

will cost

to deliver,

declare,

and display

the gospel

through the

ends of the

earth,

both near

and far.

As Jesus

had told

his disciples,

the gospel

of the

kingdom

shall be

preached in

the whole

world for

a witness

to all

nations,

and then

the end

shall come.

And as

Paul explains

again to

the Colossians,

I fill

up what

is lacking

in Christ's

sufferings,

verse 24,

by filling

up,

or fully

carrying out,

same word,

the preaching

of the

gospel,

verse 25.

You see,

as disciples,

we enter

into a

partnership

in suffering

with our

master.

And that's

indeed what

fellowship

means.

It means

partnership

in a

cause.

The cause

is redemption.

and the

disciple

partners

with the

master

in paying

the cost.

Both

Christ

and his

disciple

suffer

to reconcile

the world

to God,

to bring

many sons

and daughters

to glory.

Now,

let me be

very careful

here,

because I

don't want

anyone to

misunderstand.

We suffer

in the

same

cause

as the

Savior,

but our

suffering is

not of the

same character.

The

suffering

that our

Lord endured

to bring

many to

glory,

none but

he could

bear.

He must

tread the

winepress

alone.

He alone

took the

cup of

the

Father's

wrath.

His

sufferings

were

propitiatory.

The

disciples

simply

propagatory.

His

the

cost

of

atoning,

ours

is but

the

cost

of

announcing.

His

the

procuring

of a

great

salvation.

Ours

merely

the

proclaiming

and

parading

that

great

salvation

to the

ends

of the

earth.

And

yet,

though ours

is the

much

smaller

part,

our

part

too

bears

a very

real

cost.

And

so

fundamental

is the

disciples'

call to

take it

up,

that Paul

can unpack

what it

means to

know

Christ

as

having

fellowship

in his

sufferings.

That I

might

know

him

Christ,

he writes

in

Philippians

3.10.

That is

the

fellowship

of his

sufferings.

This,

then,

is the

call of

the

disciple.

The

call

to

partnership

in

Christ's

sufferings.

The

call to

take up

a share

of the

messianic

woes.

The

painful

birth

pains

that are

bringing

his

return

through

helping

fully

to

carry

out

our

gospel

mission.

Now,

of course,

this

mortification

of

mission

is not

confined

to the

shores

and

sands

of

distant

lands.

We

shouldn't

just get

that

impression.

We

ought

not

to

think

that

missional

suffering

is only

about

exposure

to

malaria,

snake

bite,

and

akka

spears,

eating

strange

foods,

and

learning

hard

languages.

No.

enduring

in the

endeavor

of

gospel

witness

can

find

equal

expression

in

New

Haven,

as in

the

New

Hebrides

or New

Guinea,

among

our

neighbors

at

hand

as

much

as

among

the

strangers

across

the

sea.

Gospel

grace

needs

to

spread

not

only

to

the

next

continent,

but

also

next

door.

And

faithfulness

in

witness

at

home,

right

here

where

we

are,

has

a

price

that

needs

to

be

paid.

Even

if it's

only

in

terms

of

some

time

we

would

have

been

inclined

to

spend

to

ourselves

an

extra

effort

to

care

and

in

prayer.

more.

And

the

mission

is

not

merely

to

spread

grace

to

more

and

more

people,

but

also

and

equally

to

spread

grace

through

people

more

and

more.

It

strives

to bring

the

gospel

to

bear

intensively,

not

simply

extensively,

okay,

to reach

not only

every

person

for

Christ,

certainly

that,

but also

the

whole

person.

And

indeed

to

pervade

not

merely

all

nations,

but

also

all

human

thought

and

culture.

As

Kuyper

loved

to

pronounce,

there

is not

one

square

inch

in

the

whole

domain

of

our

human

existence

over

which

Christ,

who

is

sovereign

over

all,

does

not

cry,

mine,

mine.

Christ's

kingdom

must be

expressed

everywhere.

Art,

music,

science,

law,

politics,

medicine,

urban

planning,

recreation,

all of

these things.

And this

vital truth

is communicated

in verse

15 of

our passage

where we

discover

that the

phrase

typically

translated

grace

spreading

to

more

and more

doesn't

quite

capture

the

full

meaning

which

should

include

the

notion

of

grace

being

multiplied

through

many.

Thus,

the idea

is that

through the

disciples'

suffering,

grace

is abounding

in depth

as well

as in

extent.

we are

all called

to take

up the

cost

of what

it takes

not only

that grace

get to

others

but also

that grace

might grow

through

others.

I have

on my

desk

Botticelli's

depiction

of

Augustine

in his

study

and he

sits there

pen ready

his eyes

are closed

in

concentration

his brow

is furled

in thoughtfulness

and beneath

his desk

are a

score of

crumpled up

pieces of

paper

it's my

favorite bit

the discarded

products

of the

gestation

of his

laboring

mind.

Well this

too

for some

of you

scholars

this too

is caring

about in

the body

the dying

of Jesus

the mortification

of mission

the careful

thought to

clarify truth

to articulate

it.

So

the call

of the

disciple

is a

call

to come

and to

die

to

experience

body

and soul

as the

theater of

an ongoing

death

the cost

of the

grace of

the gospel

spreading

deep and

wide

until Christ

returns

suffering

and

ongoing

dying

is

fundamental

to the

path

of the

disciple.

But there

is another

theme

to the

passage

critical

to complete

the picture

for the

call of

the

disciple

is

simultaneously

and

paradoxically

a call

to

experience

life.

A call

to

experience

life.

Paul

has told

us

that his

dying

has produced

life in

the

Corinthians

so

death

works

in us

but

life

in

you.

But

this

is not

the only

place

that the

dying

produces

life.

The

caring

about

of the

dying

of

Jesus

also

produces

life

in

the

disciple.

Verse

10

Caring

about

the

dying

of

Jesus

that

the

life

of

Jesus

also

may

be

manifested

in

our

body.

Again

this

death

life

dynamic

is

God's

design

for

the

disciple.

Verse

11

God

is

the

one

that

delivers

over

into

death

in

order

that

the

life

of

Jesus

might

be

manifested

in

our

mortal

flesh.

So

just

as

the

great

work

of

the

spirit

was

the

incarnation

the

exhibition

of

Jesus

on

this

earth

so

the

continuation

of

the

spirit's

great

work

is

the

further

exhibition

of

Jesus

in

the

life

of

the

disciple.

How

does

the

spirit

manifest

the

life

of

Jesus

in

the

disciple?

By

sustaining

the

dying

of

Jesus

in

the

disciple.

When

the

disciple

answers

the

call

to

come

and

to

die,

when

she

takes

up

the

cross

and

begins

to

carry

about

in

her

body

the

dying

of

Jesus,

when

he,

the

disciple,

enters

into

the

fellowship

of

Christ's

sufferings.

So

costly

is

the

path

when

followed

faithfully,

so

full

of

affliction

and

challenge

that

sober-minded

assessment

would put

it beyond

our

powers

to

endure.

We

would

falter.

we

would

shrink

back.

We

would

fall

never

to

rise.

But

it

is

precisely

here

that

the

Spirit

pours

out

the

treasure

of

the

Christ

life

into

our

earthen

vessels.

Verse

seven.

That

we

might

endure

to

stay

the

course.

That

we

might

not

falter

or

shrink

back.

That

we

might

not

fall

never

to

rise.

The

Spirit

infuses

the

life

of

Christ

so

that

verses

eight

and

nine

though

afflicted

in

every

way

we

are

yet

not

crushed

though

perplexed

we're

not

despairing

though

persecuted

not

forsaken

though

struck

down

not

destroyed.

The

Spirit

is

poured

out

to

sustain

the

disciple

in

the

cause.

The

Spirit

does

not

save

the

disciple

from

suffering

he

sustains

her

in

it.

And

the

Holy

Spirit

does

so

by

manifesting

in

the

disciple

the

life

of

Jesus.

A

life

of

constant

mission

driven

mortification.

As

verse

16

expresses

that

death

life

dynamic

though

our

outer

self

is

decaying

yet

our

inner

self

is

being

renewed

day

by

day.

But

this

daily

renewal

is

more

than

simply

strengthening

us

to

sustain

the

costly

path

of

discipleship.

This

renewal

is

also

the

inward

transforming

of the

disciple

to

embrace

more

fully

this

path

of

self

giving

for the

gospel.

so

it's

not

just

giving

strength

for

the

path

but

bending

her

more

to

that

path.

The

background

and

explanation

for

this

inner

renewal

by

the

spirit

that's

here

in

verse

16

is

supplied

in the

previous

chapter

chapter 3

verse

18.

But we

all

Paul

writes

with

unveiled

face

beholding

as in

a mirror

the glory

of the

Lord

are being

transformed

into

the same

image.

The

spirit's

inner

work

upon

the

disciple

is a

transforming

work

transforming

into

the

divine

image.

Now

when we

hear

image

we ought

to

think

back

to

Genesis

and

the

debacle

of

Adam

in

the

garden

made

in

God's

image

ironically

in an

attempt