In the Great Commission, Jesus made it clear that every one of His disciples is called to reproduce himself.
"Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." ~ Matthew 28:19-20 (CEV)
Every disciple is to be involved in the work of living for Christ, leading others to Christ, and mentoring believers so they might also be productive for Christ. A disciple must reproduce himself. Through reproducing ourselves, a multiplication effect results, which leads to the growth of the kingdom of God.
The growth of the kingdom of God in this world has always hinged on the principle that true disciples of Christ reproduce themselves.
In our passage, we find Paul speaking about the disciple’s heritage-that of multiplying himself or herself. Investing our lives in others so that they too, might be true disciples of our Lord and Savior. Timothy is challenged to become intimately involved in the life-changing march of passing on God’s truth from one generation to another. And so are we.
"One of the first verses of Scripture that Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, encouraged me to memorize was 2 Timothy 2:2. This is like a mathematical formula for spreading the gospel and enlarging the church. Paul taught Timothy; Timothy shared what he knew with faithful men; these faithful men would then teach others also. And so the process goes on and on. If every believer followed this pattern, the church could reach the entire world in one generation! Mass crusades, in which I believe and to which I have committed my life will never finish the Great Commission; but a one-to-one ministry will." ~ Billy Graham
This is what Paul wrote to challenge Timothy to involve himself in. A focused ministry of leading others to become true disciples of Jesus Christ-which means that they, too, are able to others to become true disciples of Jesus Christ.
"The work of evangelism is never complete until the one evangelized becomes an evangelizer."
~ Dr. Herschel Hobbs
So what can we learn from Paul’s words here about living out our heritage as a disciple? What principles can we apply in our relationships with others that will result in growing the kingdom through multiplication? There are at least four that we find in these verses.
1. The principle of example-v. 1
If I am going to be effective in developing others as a true disciple of Christ, I must set the proper example. It was because of his example that Paul was able to say:
"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." ~ 1 Corinthians 11:1
Specifically, there are two things about the example we must set before others that we want to encourage toward true discipleship.
A. The example of submission- "My son"
Timothy had been mentored by Paul. He was now the pastor of the church in Ephesus. But despite the fact that he occupied such a position, that didn’t mean he had nothing else to learn. He still needed someone to mentor him. You see, a true disciple is a life-long learner. He will never get to the place where he thinks he "knows all he needs to know." When we stop where we are, we are no longer moving forward; and if we are no longer moving forward, then we cannot be walking with God!
"Every disciple needs three types of relationships in his life. He needs a ‘Paul’ who can mentor him and challenge him. He needs a ‘Barnabas’ who can come along side and encourage him. And he needs a ‘Timothy,’ someone that he can pour his life into." ~ Dr. Howard Hendricks
B. The example of surrender-
"be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus"
"be strong (strengthened inwardly) in the grace (spiritual blessing) that is [to be found only] in Christ Jesus." ~ 2 Timothy 2:1 (Amplified)
Timothy was to look to Christ alone as the source of his strength. This is a picture of surrender. A true disciple must be surrendered to Christ if he is to be strengthened by His grace.
Commitment Surrender
Self is in control Christ is in control
I define the terms Christ defines the terms
I set the agenda Christ sets the agenda
I find my strength in myself I find my strength in Christ
It is only as a result of surrender that I can say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." ~ Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
The principle of example cannot be underemphasized. If I am going to be effective in encouraging others toward true discipleship, I must be a true disciple myself.
2. The principle of enlistment- "reliable men"
Once I accept the challenge of mentoring another believer in the effort to encourage him to be a true disciple of Jesus, where do I begin? First of all, of course, you need to begin by looking to God for guidance. Pray about it. This is what Jesus did in selecting the twelve:
"Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them." ~ Luke 6:12-13
It is interesting to note that Jesus selected the twelve only after having spent time with them and observing them. Then He prayerfully sought the Father’s guidance.
From our Lord’s example and from what Paul tells Timothy, we learn two things about enlisting someone to mentor:
A. Look to those with whom you have a personal relationship.
This is important, because it is through relationship that the mentoring process takes place.
"The classic phrase, ‘More things are caught than will ever be taught’ defines one important aspect of effective (mentoring). Although many aspects of spiritual growth can be transmitted through a corpus of Christian literature; personality, enthusiasm, laughter, and the twinkle in one’s eye cannot. While the cognitive aspects of discipleship are numerous, there is an intangible quality of spiritual life which only flows through the friendship itself."
~ Billie Hanks
B. Look to those who have proven reliability.
The word used here for "reliable" is the Greek word, "pistos" which literally means "faithful."
We are not to intensely involve ourselves in the depositing of God’s eternal word into the lives of just any believer. They must prove themselves worthy of this eternal investment. God gives only one requirement, but it is crucial. The requirement is FAITHFULNESS and it is the dividing line between mediocrity and excellence in Christian living. It is important to note that the requirement is not eloquence, charisma, intellect, or natural giftedness. These are the things that tend to capture our eye in Christian circles. But the thing that captures God’s eye is simply faithfulness, for there is no limit to the things God can do with and through a truly, faithful believer. John Wesley, the great English evangelist once said, "If I had 300 men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men except Jesus Christ and Him crucified; I would set the world on fire." The world is still reverberating from the effects of John Wesley’s faithful ministry so many years ago.
~ Dwight Edwards
3. The principle of equipping- "who will also be qualified"
Timothy was charged to make sure these men were qualified to teach others. In order for them to be qualified for the task, they would need to be equipped for the task. God intends for this to be done by means of relational learning-one on one mentoring.
When it comes to equipping others, I believe there are three areas that should be addressed:
A. Relationships- Believers need to be equipped to effectively relate to God, to themselves, their mate, their families, their fellow believers, and to a lost world.
B. Responsibilities- This has to do with the realm of service. Discovering what and how God wants me to serve Him in this world.
C. Reproducing disciples- How do I go about reproducing myself as a Christian? How can I not only be involved in leading people to make a decision for Christ; but to become a true disciple of Christ?
It is one thing to delegate a job. It is another to dump a job on someone.
When a job is delegated, the one assigning the task has first made sure the one receiving the assignment is qualified to carry it out. How can he be sure of one’s qualifications? By spending time with them-mentoring them-to do the task they are being expected to accomplish. The progression of this equipping process between a mentor and the one they are encouraging toward true discipleship is as follows:
I do it.
I do it-you watch.
I do it-you help.
You do it-I help.
You do it-I watch.
You do it.
This leads us to a fourth and final principle to consider.
4. The principle of empowerment- "to teach others"
Empowerment has to do with allowing the person we have mentored to move forward on their own in discipling someone else.
It has often been said that in the church 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Why is that?
It is because the 20% do not teach anyone else how to do the work!
What kind of difference could be made if Christians sought not only to be a disciple, but to encourage other Christians to be disciples? Parents would not just seek to "make a living," but would teach their kids how to live their lives. Teachers would not just prepare lessons, but prepare others to teach also, so that more people could be reached! Cell leaders would not just focus on growing their group, but on growing up leaders! Evangelists would not just focus on reaching the lost, but on training others to reach the lost. In other words, God’s work would move forward exponentially!
"the number of the disciples was multiplied" ~ Acts 6:1
"the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly" ~ Acts 6:7
"the churches . . . were multiplied" ~ Acts 9:31
"But the word of God grew and multiplied." ~ Acts 12:24
Let us all surrender ourselves to letting God give us a "multiplication mind-set!"
