Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1)
Message Three
Discipling All the Nations by Baptizing Them into the Name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Matt. 28:18-20 Jesus …spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Word of Appetizer
The Lord did not instruct His disciples to preach the gospel, but to make disciples of all nations. What is the significance of this?
Preaching the gospel is simply leading sinners to salvation, while making disciples of all nations is making Gentiles into members of the kingdom. We are sent by the Lord not only to lead people to salvation but also to make disciples of all nations. This is a matter of the kingdom. For all authority has been given to the heavenly King, and He sent His disciples to make disciples of all nations. They went with His authority. Making disciples of all nations is making Gentiles into members of the kingdom, so that His kingdom, which is the church, can be established on this earth, right now.
Spiritual Burden
God is the supreme authority, and He has all authority. Spiritual authority has two sides: the positive side is to serve the saints, shepherd them, supply them, and build them up; the negative side is to deal with the enemy and anything related to the enemy.
The heavenly kingdom cannot be composed of flesh and blood people (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50), like earthly organizations, but must be constituted by a group who have been immersed into union with the Triune God and who have been built up and established by the Triune God who works in them.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”.
“Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
“And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age”.
The Experience of Life
The heavenly King is Immanuel, God with us; therefore, wherever we are gathered in His name, He is in our midst.
The Lord promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age, in His resurrection, with all authority.
Practice and Application
“Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”; baptism is to bring repentant people out of their old condition into a new state; this is by terminating their old life and regenerating them with the new life of Christ, making them members of the kingdom.
“And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age”; teaching believers to obey the Lord’s commandments is for making disciples of all nations.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Spiritual authority is not a position, but a matter of life (2 Cor. 13:10, Heb. 13:17)
(Please illustrate that since authority is not a position, there are no classes or ranks.)
T2 Where there is anything other than Christ, there is no authority (Matt. 28:18, Eph. 1:20)
(Please illustrate that the amount of Christ in us is the amount of authority we have.)
Day 2
T1 To make disciples of all nations is to make Gentiles into citizens of the kingdom (Matt. 28:19)
(Please illustrate that the Lord did not command the disciples to preach the gospel, but to make disciples of all nations; what is the difference between the two?)
T2 We can share in divine authority (Matt. 28:19, 16:19)
(Use Bible verses to explain that the Lord has given us the authority to bind and loose.)
Day 3
T1 Baptism is to bring those who repent out of their old situation and into a new one (Acts 2:38, 19:5)
(Please illustrate that the two aspects of immersion.)
T2 To baptize people into the name of the Trinity is to bring them into union with the Trinity (Matt. 28:19, Acts 19:5)
(Please illustrate that to baptize people into the name of the Trinity is to baptize them into all that the Trinity is. )
Day 4
T1 In the Gospels, we receive Jesus Christ, not as life first, but as king (Matt. 4:17)
(Please illustrate that the gospel is first presented not in terms of life, but in terms of the kingdom; what is the reason for this?)
T2 The kingdom is the scope and domain where God governs and blesses us (Matt. 1:1, 4:17)
(Why must we first accept Christ as the son of David, then as the son of Abraham?)
Day 5
T1 To baptize people into the reality of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is for the constitution of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 3:16-17)
(Please illustrate that Matthew 1, 3, and 12, with one name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, reveal the reality of the Holy Trinity for the constitution of the kingdom. )
T2 The believer’s divine inheritance (Acts 26:18, Eph. 1:13-14)
(Please illustrate that since God is our inheritance, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of that inheritance. )
Day 6
T1 In the four Gospels, only Mark and Luke record the Lord’s ascension (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51)
(Why do John and Matthew not mention the Lord’s ascension?)
T2 The Lord is the King who is with His kingdom people in the kingdom, He is with us everyday (Matt. 28:20, 1:23)
(Please illustrate that the Lord will be with us until the end of the age. )