III. APPLICATIONS OF THE LORDSHIP
OF THE MESSIAH TO SPECIFIC AREAS
The third major section of the Lordship of the Messiah is
the application. This section will be discussed in four
specific areas: discipleship, giving, prayer, and marriage.
A. Discipleship
The first specific area, discipleship, will be discussed in
five categories.
1. The Definition
In the first category, discipleship can best be defined as a
man's relationship to Yeshua the Messiah in three
capacities: as a teacher, as a master, and as Lord.
2. The
Usages of the Word “Disciple”
There is clearly a progression in meaning in the second
category of discipleship because, when the Bible talks about
disciples, there are three levels of discipleship. The word
itself merely means “learner.”
a. The Curious Ones
The first level of discipleship refers to the merely curious
ones. These are the ones mentioned in Matthew 5:1:
And seeing the multitudes, he went
up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his
disciples came unto him.
Later, Matthew 13:2 states: And
there were gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he
entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on
the beach.
A third passage dealing with this category is John 8:31:
Jesus therefore said to those Jews
that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye
truly my disciples.
The people involved in these verses were the curious ones.
At this point they were merely learners, wanting to know who
Yeshua was or who He claimed to be. At this point they were
no more than pupils in a school. For now, this was only an
intellectual pursuit for them. The members of this group
have not as yet responded one way or the other to the claims
of Yeshua. The first level of discipleship is merely the
curious, the learner, the intellectual pursuer, and nothing
more.
b. The Convinced Disciple
The second level of discipleship is for one who is
convinced; the convinced disciple. This category is
mentioned in John 2:11: This
beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and
manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
When a person moves from being curious to being convinced,
he moves from the first level of discipleship to the second
level of discipleship. He believes the facts; he is
convinced of the truth of the claim. In this case, they were
convinced of the truth of His claim to be the Messiah.
c. The Committed
Disciple
There is a third level of discipleship, the kind that
actually involves the Lordship of the Messiah. This is the
committed disciple. This is the one who has found out the
facts, has believed and been saved, and is now committed and
has dedicated his life to that truth. This kind of disciple
is spoken of in Matthew 16:13-16:
| Now when Jesus came
into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked
his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the
Son of man is? And they said, Some say John the
Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or
one of the prophets. He said unto them, But who
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God. |
Another passage on this same level of discipleship is John
6:66-68:
| Upon this many of
his disciples went back, and walked no more with
him. Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, Would
ye also go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord,
to whom shall we go? you have the words of
eternal life. |
In this passage, we actually read of two different groups of
disciples: those who were merely convinced but would no
longer follow Him, perhaps these were the merely curious,
but the others, the eleven, are the third level of
disciples. They were committed; they were going to stick
with Yeshua no matter what because they knew He had
the words of eternal life.
So there are three levels of discipleship: the merely
curious or learners; the ones who are convinced but not
committed to it; and the committed, dedicated believers.
Those who have made the act of dedication and are living the
Spirit-filled life fall into the category of the committed
disciples. This is true discipleship. This is a total
commitment. This is actually showing that the Messiah has
become the Lord of one's life, and that he is living the
Spirit-filled life.
3. The Demands of Discipleship
In the third category of discipleship, the demands of
discipleship are spelled out in three passages. First is
Matthew 16:24-26, which teaches that a disciple must say no
to himself and take up
[the] cross, which means
he must be willing to be rejected even as Yeshua was
rejected. The second passage is Luke 14:27, which also
emphasizes that one must identify with the Messiah's
rejection. Third, Luke 14:33 teaches that discipleship
involves a total renunciation of what is first in one's
life.
The demands of discipleship mean that we are no longer in
authority of our own lives. The Messiah is the Lord of our
life; He controls us and we totally identify with Him. We
have totally identified with His rejection and we have
totally renounced anything that might become the center of
our life besides Him.
4. The Means of Becoming a Disciple
In the fourth category of discipleship, three passages spell
out the means of becoming a disciple.
a. Matthew 11:28-29
The first passage points out two steps. The first step is
take my yoke. “Taking His yoke” means to
become His disciple. To become His disciple is to dedicate
one's life once-and-for-all. The second step is
learn of me. This is the means: learn of Him and
become intimately acquainted with Him. We learn more about
Him when He is the Lord of our life, and we are a disciple
because we have made this total commitment.
b. John 8:30-32
The second passage teaches that becoming a disciple means
abiding in the teachings of the Messiah. Yeshua said:
If ye abide in my word, then ye are
truly my disciples. “Abiding in the Word” means
“to know His Word, to follow it and obey it.” Obedience is
the key mark of a disciple.
c. Luke 9:57-62
The third passage points out that becoming a disciple
involves doing three things. First, “count the cost.” Do not
make a commitment rashly or foolishly. Count the cost,
realizing that once we make this commitment we have no
guarantee of earthly comfort. Count the cost of being a
disciple because it is a terrible thing to make a commitment
and not follow through. Second, having made a decision,
there is to be no delay in following through. Once you have
made a decision, fulfill it. Then, third, once having
started on the road of discipleship, there must be no
turning back, because that would be apostasy.
5. The Great Commission
In the fifth category of discipleship, the Great Commission
of Matthew 28:18-20 is not to evangelize, but to make
disciples. In the Greek text there is only one imperative,
which is make disciples.
The imperative is followed by three subordinate participial
clauses: going, baptizing, teaching. They spell out the
three elements of making disciples: first, going means
“evangelizing;” second, baptizing those who have believed;
and third, teaching all things that God has commanded
because obedience is the mark of a disciple.
B. Giving
Giving is the second specific area of application of the
Lordship of the Messiah. There five passages of Scripture
that teach on giving and its relationship to the Lordship of
the Messiah.
1. I John 3:17
In the first passage, we are taught that sharing materially
with a fellow believer in need is evidence of spiritual
life.
2. II Corinthians 8:1-5
The second passage teaches that believers need to support
the ministry and those in the ministry financially. If a
believer is not giving to the support of a ministry or
ministries, he is not exercising the Lordship of the Messiah
in this area.
3. Galatians 6:6
The third passage teaches that the one who receives
spiritual benefit from a teacher is obligated to share with
that teacher in material benefits. If you are being taught
Scripture through a minister of a church, a Sunday School
teacher, or a radio ministry, and you are not sharing the
financial support of those from whom you are benefiting,
thus you are not fulfilling the Lordship of the Messiah in
this area of your life.
4. I Corinthians
16:1-2
The fourth passage teaches four things about giving.
a. Giving Is Required of All
The first thing this passage teaches is that giving is
required of all, for it states: let
each one of you. Every believer is required to
give.
b. Giving Is
to be Proportionate
Second, it teaches that giving should be proportionate: as
God has prospered. There is no tithing for the New Testament
believer. Tithing was only under the Law of Moses; it is not
part of the Law of the Messiah. However, if we are going to
practice the Lordship of the Messiah, we must learn to
practice Spirit-filled giving. Maybe sometimes there will
only be a nine percent possibility, maybe at other times
eleven percent, sometimes ninety percent. Actually, the Old
Testament tithe was not ten percent; it was twenty-two
percent if one were to add all three tithes together.
A believer's giving must be proportionate and as God has
prospered him. Based on how God has prospered you, you need
to set aside a certain amount of money, be it ten, fifty, or
ninety percent for the Lord's work.
c. Giving Is to be
Private
The third thing this passage teaches about giving is that it
should be in private deposit: lay
up
in store. The Greek word
used here means “to store up” or “to treasure up.” It is
reflexive, meaning “to himself,” and it is a private
deposit, not some public depository like the church
treasury. In other words, this is speaking of a private fund
into which the Lord's money is placed and out of which one
distributes to specific causes as he is led by the Spirit.
Let's suppose our family has two separate checking accounts.
One is our operating account, from which we pay our food
bills, car bills, mortgage, etc. We have a second checking
account which we call “God's Account.” We put the Lord's
money into that account and what goes in there is never used
to meet personal needs. Never! From then on, that is the
Lord's money and, as we are led by the Spirit, we distribute
this money in support of various ministries.
There are various options by which one can fulfill it, but
it must be a private deposit of some kind. “Laying up in
store” does not rule out regular giving, like supporting the
ministry of a congregation. Nor does it rule out making a
pledge, because the Corinthians made a pledge in II
Corinthians 8:10-11. There should always be an ever-ready
supply of money available to give out as the Spirit directs,
and the best way of accomplishing that is by way of a
private deposit.
d. Giving Is to be Periodic and Organized
The fourth thing about giving is that it should be both
periodic and organized: the first
day of the week. The laying up in store should
not be erratic, but on
the first day of the week.
From Paul's Jewish perspective, this was any time from
sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday.
On the first day of the week,
we should sit down and see how God has prospered us
financially. Then, based on the way He has prospered us
financially, we are to take a portion of that amount,
whatever percentage it might be, and put it away in some
type of private deposit. Then, as the Spirit leads, we take
from this account and support the Lord's work.
5. Romans 15:25-27
The fifth passage on giving points out that, in our
missionary giving, we should follow the principle:
to the Jew first (Rom. 1:16). As Gentiles become
partakers of Jewish spiritual blessings, the Gentiles are
now obligated to share material things with Jewish
believers.
These are the various ways that the Lordship of the Messiah
should be applied to specific areas of giving.
C. Prayer
The third specific area of application of the Lordship of
the Messiah is prayer. The best passage is Luke 11:2-4,
which points out six things concerning the Lordship of the
Messiah in prayer.
First, all prayer is to be addressed to God the
Father, not to the Son
or the Holy Spirit.
Second, we should sanctify God:
Hallowed be your name.
Third, we should pray for the Kingdom Program, which is the
work of God. Since we know from prophecy that the Kingdom is
coming, we can be sure that it will come. Therefore, we are
to pray for the Kingdom to come. Part of the Kingdom Program
is salvation, so we should be praying for the works of
evangelism and missions.
Fourth, we should be praying for our personal needs,
emphasizing our dependence on God. This may seem petty, but
it shows dependence upon the Lordship of the Messiah. This
is how the Lordship of the Messiah is applicable to our
prayer life.
Fifth, there should be confession of sin in order to restore
our family relationship with God the Father. It is at this
point, by means of confession, that we inspect the state of
our dedication and the state of our filling to make sure
that we are still on the track of a dedicated life, that we
are still living the dedicated life.
Sixth, we should be praying about spiritual warfare.
D. Marriage
The fourth specific area of application of the Lordship of
the Messiah is marriage. Marriage, perhaps more than
anything else, is the imitation of the Lordship of the
Messiah. Just as the husband is the lord of the wife, even
so the Messiah should be the Lord of the believer (Eph.
5:22-33). In applying the Lordship of Yeshua to marriage, we
can point out five things based upon this passage.
First, the wife is to surrender to the Lordship of the
husband to the extent that she would submit to the Lordship
of the Messiah.
Second, an unsubmissive wife is in rebellion against the
Lordship of the Messiah. If a wife is in rebellion against
her husband, she is rebelling against God. It is that
simple.
Third, the reason this submission should be there is because
of the love of the Messiah.
Fourth, the husband is obligated to love his wife into
subjection, not force her into subjection. Forcing a wife
into subjection by mistreating her, verbally or physically,
is rebellion against the Lordship of the Messiah. An abusive
husband is not in submission to Messiah's Lordship. It is as
simple as that. A husband that is not loving his wife is not
loving God either.
And fifth, a husband is to do his best to bring his wife to
perfection in the area of her gifts and her talents.
This concludes our study on the Lordship of the Messiah.
All
scriptures are in the American Standard Version unless otherwise
noted.
RECOMMENDED READING
If you enjoyed this Bible study, Dr. Fruchtenbaum recommends the
following messianic Bible studies (mbs):
mbs 011: The
Suffering Messiah of Isaiah 53
mbs 012: The Messiah of the Old
Testament
mbs 013: What the New Testament
Says About Jesus
mbs 014: Why Did the Messiah Have
to Die?
mbs 025: Jesus' Right to David's
Throne
mbs 028: The Olivet Discourse
mbs 032: The Baptism and
Temptations of Jesus
mbs 035: The Three Messianic
Miracles
mbs 036: The Three Sabbath
Controversies Between Jesus and the Pharisees
mbs 044: The Transfiguration of
Jesus
mbs 052: The Names and Titles of
the Messiah
mbs 054: The Incarnation
mbs 056: The Triumphal Entry
mbs 060: The Upper Room discourses
mbs 062: The Feasts of Israel
mbs 063: The Deity of the Messiah
mbs 065: The Servant of Jehovah
mbs 067: The Seventy Sevens of
Daniel
mbs 070: The Death and Burial of
the Messiah
mbs 075: The Resurrection of the
Messiah
mbs 078: The Present Work of the
Messiah
mbs 094: The Sermon on the Mount
mbs 127: The Birth and Early Life
of the Messiah
