A Disciple Is Shaped By The Word

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus. 

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

2 Timothy 3v14-17: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, ¹⁵ and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Going Deeper:

Karate Kid is a really old movie now, and it’s probably a bit cliché to even talk about is as a reference for Discipleship. But in the movie, Mr Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, and through seemingly ordinary activities and chores, slowly trains him in Karate.

It takes Daniel a long time to realise this, but eventually through Mr Miyagi’s multi-faceted means, Daniel is trained, and is able to compete in a competition, which *Spoiler Alert* he wins in the end.

The Discipleship process is also a journey, with its own multi-faceted means. But central to us growing as Disciples of Jesus is His word.

John Stott said: “Scripture is the chief means which God employs to bring the ‘man of God’ to maturity.”

We see in 2 Timothy 3, that this journey or process to maturity is centered on the scriptures:

V14: “…continue in what you have learned and firmly believed…”

V15: “…from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures…”

But all of this is to get to our end Goal of maturity as a Disciple:

V17: “complete, equipped for every good work”

That word “equipped” is an interesting one. Hughes and Chapell say that it could be translated as saying that disciples are “super-equipped by the word of God.” And I love that. The thought that as I read, study, wrestle with, pray through, meditate on or memorise the scriptures, that God is equipping me as a disciple, by His word, to be ready to minister in any and every situation.

Sometimes to grow, I need the scriptures to teach me. At other times I need an encouragement. Sometimes I need the word to correct something that is wrong in my thinking or action, and to even rebuke me when I am drifting from Jesus to sin. But in this process of prayerfully engaging with God’s word, even when we don’t realise it is happening, we are being trained. And we are growing and maturing as Disciples.

I’ll end with this. There are very few dinners in our lives that we remember clearly. Maybe a few significant moments around a table with family or friends, or meals where big news was shared, or you ate an incredible meal in a beautiful setting with special people. For the most part, as we grow up, even when we eat the most delicious meals, we quickly forget them and can’t even remember what we’ve eaten over the last few days. 

But the nutrition of those meals has nourished and strengthened us, and given life to our bodies and minds, and helped us to grow.

When it comes to the Bible, often we might forget what we read the day before. Or even what was preached last Sunday. And very rarely is a time of prayer and Bible reading or a Sunday Sermon going to be one of those “I remember when” moments that we hold onto for the rest of our lives.

But, over time, somehow, like those meals, we are being strengthened, and fed, and are built up and grow to maturity as Disciples of Jesus. To a place where we can re-produce other disciples, raise others up, feed them, nourish them, answer their questions, and fulfill the Great Commission. 

All because we have been super-equipped by the word. 

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.
 
Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?
 
Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?