03-07-2008, 05:37 AM
L E S S O N 12
“He Must Increase” – The Goal
So far we have learned that the increase of Christ begins when a disciple
receives the revelation of Christ and enters the gate. This sets in motion a
process in which Christ is continually increased in that disciple, provided
they continue to walk the narrow path. But what is the purpose of all this? What is
the goal of the increase?
To answer that, let's look at Ephesians chapter 4, beginning with verse 10: “He
who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that He
might fill all things.” Well, how will He fill all things? Here's part of the process,
in verse 11: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the
work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Now the word “knowledge” here is the Greek word epignosis. “Epi” means full or
complete. “Gnosis” means knowledge. So if you put them together you have
“epignosis”, which is “full-knowledge”. God's goal for the disciple is the epignosis of Christ: the full, complete, mature knowledge of all that Jesus means and all that
Jesus is.
This is what Paul meant when he said he wanted to know Him and the power of
His resurrection. Even as Paul neared the end of his life, he was still crying out to
know more of Jesus! God's goal for the church is exactly the same. The church
consists of all those disciples of Jesus who are walking the narrow path of
discipleship toward epignosis, the full-knowledge of Christ.
That's why Paul says “God sets some in the church to be apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers.” He gave some till we all. He gave some till we
all. Till we all what? Till we all come to the unity of the faith and to the epignosis
– full-knowledge – of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ.
Here's another quote from T. Austin Sparks that will help us better understand
God's goal for the church: “What is the church? God's thought is not Christianity.
It is not churches as organized centers of Christianity. It is not the propagation of
Christian teaching and enterprise. God's thought is to have a people in the earth
whom, and in the midst of whom, Christ is all and in all. That is the church.” I
just love that quote!
Now, we said that the increasing of Christ begins with the individual disciple, it
expands outwardly to include the church, and it continues until it encompasses all
things. If God's goal for the disciple is the full-knowledge of Christ, and God's goal
for the church is the full-knowledge of Christ, what do you think God's goal for the
world is? God's goal for the world is just the same: The full-knowledge of Christ.
We see this in 1 Timothy chapter 2 beginning in verse 1: “Therefore I exhort first
of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for
all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.”
Now that word 'knowledge' there is the same Greek word that we learned about in
Ephesians 4: epignosis. What a fabulous passage of scripture this is!
We already know that God's purpose
is not some things in Christ but all
things in Christ. To accomplish this
purpose God begins with disciples.
He then gathers the disciples into the
Church that Jesus is building. Then
the Church is called to do what? In
Matthew 28:19, Jesus says “Go into
all the world and make disciples of all
nations.” Then the increasing of
Christ repeats itself over and over and over again as new disciples enter the gate
and begin walking the path toward the full- knowledge of Christ.
What a Mighty God we serve! What an awesome privilege it is to work together
with Him towards the increase of Christ! But it gets even better! In our next
lesson we will discuss The Instrument of Increase.
QUIZ
Lesson 12 – “He Must Increase” – The Goal
1. The purpose and goal of the increase of Christ is
a) the full-knowledge of Christ
b) the epignosis of Christ
c) knowing Jesus as He really is
d) all the above
2. The Greek word “epignosis” simply means
a) full-knowledge
b) incomplete knowledge
c) no knowledge
3. In Ephesians 4, the Lord sets some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in His
Church. This is so they can
a) build international ministries
b) receive tithes from the rest of the saints
c) help the saints enter into the full-knowledge of Christ
4. God’s goal for the disciple is the increase of Christ. God’s goal for the Church is the increase
of Christ. God’s goal for the world is
a) the increase of churches
b) the increase of Christ
c) the increase of Bibles
“He Must Increase” – The Goal
So far we have learned that the increase of Christ begins when a disciple
receives the revelation of Christ and enters the gate. This sets in motion a
process in which Christ is continually increased in that disciple, provided
they continue to walk the narrow path. But what is the purpose of all this? What is
the goal of the increase?
To answer that, let's look at Ephesians chapter 4, beginning with verse 10: “He
who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that He
might fill all things.” Well, how will He fill all things? Here's part of the process,
in verse 11: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the
work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Now the word “knowledge” here is the Greek word epignosis. “Epi” means full or
complete. “Gnosis” means knowledge. So if you put them together you have
“epignosis”, which is “full-knowledge”. God's goal for the disciple is the epignosis of Christ: the full, complete, mature knowledge of all that Jesus means and all that
Jesus is.
This is what Paul meant when he said he wanted to know Him and the power of
His resurrection. Even as Paul neared the end of his life, he was still crying out to
know more of Jesus! God's goal for the church is exactly the same. The church
consists of all those disciples of Jesus who are walking the narrow path of
discipleship toward epignosis, the full-knowledge of Christ.
That's why Paul says “God sets some in the church to be apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers.” He gave some till we all. He gave some till we
all. Till we all what? Till we all come to the unity of the faith and to the epignosis
– full-knowledge – of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ.
Here's another quote from T. Austin Sparks that will help us better understand
God's goal for the church: “What is the church? God's thought is not Christianity.
It is not churches as organized centers of Christianity. It is not the propagation of
Christian teaching and enterprise. God's thought is to have a people in the earth
whom, and in the midst of whom, Christ is all and in all. That is the church.” I
just love that quote!
Now, we said that the increasing of Christ begins with the individual disciple, it
expands outwardly to include the church, and it continues until it encompasses all
things. If God's goal for the disciple is the full-knowledge of Christ, and God's goal
for the church is the full-knowledge of Christ, what do you think God's goal for the
world is? God's goal for the world is just the same: The full-knowledge of Christ.
We see this in 1 Timothy chapter 2 beginning in verse 1: “Therefore I exhort first
of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for
all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.”
Now that word 'knowledge' there is the same Greek word that we learned about in
Ephesians 4: epignosis. What a fabulous passage of scripture this is!
We already know that God's purpose
is not some things in Christ but all
things in Christ. To accomplish this
purpose God begins with disciples.
He then gathers the disciples into the
Church that Jesus is building. Then
the Church is called to do what? In
Matthew 28:19, Jesus says “Go into
all the world and make disciples of all
nations.” Then the increasing of
Christ repeats itself over and over and over again as new disciples enter the gate
and begin walking the path toward the full- knowledge of Christ.
What a Mighty God we serve! What an awesome privilege it is to work together
with Him towards the increase of Christ! But it gets even better! In our next
lesson we will discuss The Instrument of Increase.
QUIZ
Lesson 12 – “He Must Increase” – The Goal
1. The purpose and goal of the increase of Christ is
a) the full-knowledge of Christ
b) the epignosis of Christ
c) knowing Jesus as He really is
d) all the above
2. The Greek word “epignosis” simply means
a) full-knowledge
b) incomplete knowledge
c) no knowledge
3. In Ephesians 4, the Lord sets some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in His
Church. This is so they can
a) build international ministries
b) receive tithes from the rest of the saints
c) help the saints enter into the full-knowledge of Christ
4. God’s goal for the disciple is the increase of Christ. God’s goal for the Church is the increase
of Christ. God’s goal for the world is
a) the increase of churches
b) the increase of Christ
c) the increase of Bibles
