Adult Bible Study Guide

Jan Feb Mar 2014

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Dan Solis, Principal Contributor

Discipleship Contents
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Disciples and Scripture Discipling Through Metaphor Discipleship and Prayer Discipling Children Discipling the Sick Discipling the Ordinary Jesus and the Social Outcasts With the Rich and Famous Discipling the Powerful Discipling the Nations Discipling Spiritual Leaders Harvest and the Harvesters The Cost of Discipleship

Discipleship Our Goal

We will look at discipleship as the process by which we become followers of Jesus and, as such, better soul-winners.

Discipleship Lesson 2, January 11

Discipling Through

Metaphor

Disciples and Scripture Key Text

Matthew 13:34, 35 NKJV

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.

Discipling Through Metaphor Initial Words

Jesus framed eternal truths in ways that went beyond mere intellect alone. Jesus spoke through concrete pictures drawn from everyday life in order to reach people where they were. Children and adults could understand deep truths delivered through parables wrapped in images and metaphors.

Discipling Through Metaphor Quick Look

1. Old Testament Metaphors (2 Samuel 1-7) 2. Christs Metaphors (Matthew 7:24-29) 3. The Disciples Metaphor (James 3:4-12)

Discipling Through Metaphor 1. Old Testament Metaphors

2 Samuel 12:1-7 NKJV

There were two menone rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks. But the poor man hadone little ewe lamb. But he took the poor mans lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Nathan said to David, You are the man!

1. Old Testament Metaphors Utilized by Prophets

Nathan tells a parable in order to disguise the real purpose of his visit. David implicates himself as the transgressor, thereby pronouncing his own sentence. Using a parable, Nathan accomplishes something that otherwise might have produced confrontation and, perhaps, even execution (his own!).

1. Old Testament Metaphors Utilized by Prophets

Isaiahs poetic story draws from the agricultural background which teaches about Gods unlimited mercy during times of punishment. Divine punishments reflected their redemptive purposes; they were sufficient to encourage repentance, revival, and reformation.

1. Old Testament Metaphors Utilized by Prophets

Jeremiahs parable is a terrifying illustration of judgment. Whenever human beings frustrate Gods redemptive purpose, God eventually releases them to the consequences that they have chosen. Ezekiel uses a different symbol to convey a similar message.

Discipling Through Metaphor 2. Christs Metaphors

Matthew 7:24-29 NKJV

I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. [W]ill be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. [T]he people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

2. Christs Metaphor Matthew 7: Builders: Wise and Foolish

God offers salvation for the entire human race. Christ used forms of communication that could reach the greatest number of people. Oral tradition, transferred from generation to generation through simple stories, became the currency of redemptive thought.

2. Christs Metaphor Luke 14: Builders: Counting the Cost

Miraculous feedings, spectacular healings, and apparent success could lead prospective disciples to assume that following Jesus was easy. Jesus encouraged His listeners, to study the complete picture. Self-sacrifice, suffering, humiliation, and rejection constituted considerable costs.

2. Christs Metaphor Matthew 13:3-7: The Sower

Disciples are to confront themselves. Looking into their souls mirror, they can evaluate their materialistic tendencies, review their capacity for perseverance, analyze their worldly entanglements, and choose the lifestyle of uncompromising discipleship.

2. Christs Metaphor Matthew 13:24-30: Wheat and Tares

True discipleship places condemnation in the hands of the Master, not those of the disciple. God alone possesses faultless understanding. Satanic infiltration does happen. Disciples cannot surrender their discernment to other professed believers because these believers may be weeds, not wheat.

2. Christs Metaphor Luke 14:16-24: The Great Supper

We have been greatly blessed: redeemed by the blood of Christ, promised salvation based on His righteousness (not our own), given the assurance of eternal life, and offered the Holy Spirit. It is easy, however, to forget all that we have, to take it for granted, or to even scoff at it.

2. Christs Metaphor Luke 20:9-19: The Vineyard

Like the vinedressers in the parable, we might not even realize the implications of that which we are doing. In the end, their ignorance didnt excuse them on Judgment Day. It wont excuse us, either.

Discipling Through Metaphor 3. The Disciples Metaphor

James 3:3-12 NKJV

We put bits in horses mouths that they may obey us. Look also at shipsthey are turned by a very small rudder. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. And the tongue is a fire. But no man can tame the tongue.

3. The Disciples Metaphor Christs Creative Legacy

Paul made considerable use of metaphors, similes, and other creative devices (see Rom. 7:16, 1 Cor. 3:1015, 2 Cor. 5:110). James wrote, He will pass away like a wild flower (1:10, NIV). Take ships as an example (3:4, NIV). Peters vision (Acts 10) assumed symbolic form.

Discipling Through Metaphor Final Words

Building upon the listeners experiences, Christ and His disciples used comparisons and illustrations that stimulated an understanding of truth. We should, when appropriate, not be afraid to do the same.