Twos
-Ecclesiastes 4:9
Two is the number of witness & testimony. (Gen. 41:32, Mark 6:7, Luke 9:32, Acts 1:10, 1 Cor. 14:27-29, and Rev. 11:3-4). Two (and three) is the number of people who are mentored or discipled together (Matt 18:20).
When Jesus commanded his first batch of learners, and now all of us to go make disciples, he meant and means to go and make learners out of people, as he first did it with them. That means close up. That means questions and more questions from the learners. That means twos, usually.
My question is, do we get it that there is power in the small? The twos and threes and fours, and all the way up to twelve. Maybe we wanted our group to be fifteen, twenty, fifty or a hundred. Maybe we felt like failures if our whole church was less than a hundred.
Jesus words are still true and still powerful: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Jesus never said that when you get to twelve, he will be there; or a hundred or a thousand. He said, "two or three", and we should pay attention to that.
If you have one 'discipler ' for each one 'disciplee', then that is ideal, because the learner will get the most attention. The two have special learning times together, with the Lord in their midst. These two are also part of the wider, bigger, Christian community.
It is paradoxical to our minds that what goes on in the twos and threes is actually more important than your time with tens, twenties, fifties, or hundreds. If you only have the twos and threes in your life, but not the tens, twenties, fifties, or hundreds; then you will be ok and may even be very healthy, spiritually.
On the other hand, if you are part of a ten, a twenty, a fifty, or a hundred or more (only); then, you are missing something. You are missing discipleship. Many are part of a Christian culture (in the West) where we don't do twos and threes, in Christ; but we are very committed to Christ in the context of hundreds, fifties, twenties, and sometimes tens.
The ancient rabbis believed that if two sat together with the law between them, that God's presence (the Shekinah) would rest between them. Jesus says that when we gather, in twos and threes, that he will dwell with us.
Jesus is there when we do discipleship, when we gather in twos and threes, in his name. To do discipleship means to make disciples and to make disciples means to support and encourage someone in their learning to walk in Christ. Jesus is the one who does it. When we come together in twos and threes, in his name, it is for the purpose of him making us like him.
So, when we make disciples, we are intimately following Christ together. Apostle Paul said this when he said, "you should imitate me as I imitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). Paul wanted to make disciples of Jesus, not himself. Paul could say that he was like a father or a mother who's passion was to see each one in discipleship with the living Christ.
My question is, do we get it that there is power in the small? The twos and threes and fours, and all the way up to twelve. Maybe we wanted our group to be fifteen, twenty, fifty or a hundred. Maybe we felt like failures if our whole church was less than a hundred.
Jesus words are still true and still powerful: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Jesus never said that when you get to twelve, he will be there; or a hundred or a thousand. He said, "two or three", and we should pay attention to that.
If you have one 'discipler ' for each one 'disciplee', then that is ideal, because the learner will get the most attention. The two have special learning times together, with the Lord in their midst. These two are also part of the wider, bigger, Christian community.
It is paradoxical to our minds that what goes on in the twos and threes is actually more important than your time with tens, twenties, fifties, or hundreds. If you only have the twos and threes in your life, but not the tens, twenties, fifties, or hundreds; then you will be ok and may even be very healthy, spiritually.
On the other hand, if you are part of a ten, a twenty, a fifty, or a hundred or more (only); then, you are missing something. You are missing discipleship. Many are part of a Christian culture (in the West) where we don't do twos and threes, in Christ; but we are very committed to Christ in the context of hundreds, fifties, twenties, and sometimes tens.
The ancient rabbis believed that if two sat together with the law between them, that God's presence (the Shekinah) would rest between them. Jesus says that when we gather, in twos and threes, that he will dwell with us.
Jesus is there when we do discipleship, when we gather in twos and threes, in his name. To do discipleship means to make disciples and to make disciples means to support and encourage someone in their learning to walk in Christ. Jesus is the one who does it. When we come together in twos and threes, in his name, it is for the purpose of him making us like him.
So, when we make disciples, we are intimately following Christ together. Apostle Paul said this when he said, "you should imitate me as I imitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). Paul wanted to make disciples of Jesus, not himself. Paul could say that he was like a father or a mother who's passion was to see each one in discipleship with the living Christ.
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