Column-From Where Do the Lord`s Disciples and Apostles Come from?

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Column - From Where Do the Lord's Disciples and Apostles Come From?

“So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirm‎ing the word with signs following, Amen.” (Mark 16:19-20)

1. Mark 16:9-20 is enclosed in brackets.

Although Mark recorded up to the scene of Jesus' empty tomb, He subsequently describes the scene where He appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, the event where He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the appearance of the eleven disciples at mealtime, where He gave them the Great Commission: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; otherwise, they will be condemned."

Following the declaration to believers that they will cast out demons in the name of the Lord, speak in new tongues, pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them, and that they will lay hands on the sick and recover (Matthew 16:15-18), today's passage was added.

The main point is when the Lord gives His disciples a mission, and when He is with them so that signs accompany it and they testify to the Word with certainty.

The part to note is the statement that He was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.

It was not when Jesus was in the flesh.

At that time, there were no people who performed such ministry.

However, Jesus did delegate authority to his disciples on a temporary basis before.

But when they reported on their ministry, He told them to rejoice that their names were written in heaven rather than the amazing feat of demons submitting to Him (Luke 10:20).

This implies that for the Lord's disciples, whether they have been seated in heaven is more important than whether they possess authority.

 2. Now, the Lord does not grant power as He did when He was in the flesh; rather, the Holy Spirit has come into us, and the Lord works together with us.Therefore, Jesus sends his disciples and apostles after he has died on the cross, risen, and taken his seat in heaven.

That is why He told his disciples not to leave the city of Jerusalem until they were clothed with the promised power (Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus is the Christ.

No matter how much we shout, we do not qualify as two witnesses.

The power of two witnesses exists only when I testify outside and the Holy Spirit testifies inside.

According to the words, "Receive the Holy Spirit, for whoever forgives whom will be forgiven" (John 20:23), one ascends as a disciple and apostle who brings about repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name. 

Therefore, one becomes a witness only when the Holy Spirit comes in us. (Acts 1:8).

Is the One who sent such an apostle truly Jesus or the Christ?

It must be after he has risen from the dead.

It is not the Jesus of his lifetime.

Many people speak as if Jesus gave them the power to use that name, but this is a mental training trainer.

3. John chapters 14–16 are a farewell sermon and testament.

A testament takes effect only after the testator dies.

The Lord says, " I go to prepare a place for you; And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also " (John 14:2-3).

The important thing is that there are those who see this word as already fulfilled, and there are blind people  who believe it will be fulfilled only after the Lord returns.

In any case, hearing and seeing are not our will but God's sovereignty, so what can we say? 

However, the Lord clearly states that he Himself is the way, the truth, and the life to the Father (John 14:6).

This means that you should go to the Father often through yourself.

Furthermore, He says, "If you believe on me because I go to the Father, you will do greater works than I" (John 14:12).

On top of that, He emphasizes it twice: "Verily, Verily."

This means that it will certainly happen that way.

Here, the Lord’s statement that He go to the Father is important.

Only by going to the Father can He send the promised Holy Spirit to be with his disciples.

He must go to the Father so that He may send the promised Holy Spirit and be with the disciples.

Through this, the great commission given by the Lord to His disciples can be carried out.

Jesus, the Word who came in the flesh, does not immediately walk with us; rather, that Word comes as the Spirit of truth in us and is with us.

Therefore, the Lord said, "If you loved Me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father" (John 14:28).

At that time, this statement was more difficult than a quiz game.

However, after the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost ten days after the Lord ascended, we came to understand the words the Lord had spoken.

4. Disciples or apostles cannot be made on earth. Nor are they produced by seminaries or denominations.

It is an office given to those with whom the Lord is present after his death on the cross, his resurrection, His ascension, and His sitting on the throne, through whom the Holy Spirit is sent.

It is an apostleship given from heaven to those who have been transferred to the new earth, receiving the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit through the labor of childbirth—repentance and baptism—in order to believe in Jesus as Lord and Christ.

Therefore, the logic that apostleship is imputed simply because human beings lay hands on other human beings is a delusion.

Even if one can serve as a model for becoming a disciple or an apostle and say, "Follow Me," to nurture disciples or laying hands on others to send out apostles is a result of ignorance.

It is a privilege given only to those who master the truth—the map of salvation that follows the path of Christ—and, in the Holy Spirit, become one bread, one body, and one spirit with Christ, thereby invading the throne of God's grace.

In the Bible, the faith of Abraham and David is a tradition (Romans 4).

This is because they are the ones who possess the textbook of faith.

Now, thousands of years later, as those born again through the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we come to possess the faith of Abraham and David through faith that looks toward the throne of God's grace in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 4, Galatians 3:14)

Today, the Spirit of Truth has come, and because the Lord is with those who have received the amazing blessing of becoming the house of God within the new covenant established by the Lord, signs follow, enabling them to testify to the Word with certainty.

Stop the absurd talk of walking with Jesus.

The promise of Immanuel has been fulfilled because the Holy Spirit, the Counselor sent after He died on the cross, rose again, and ascended, is with us.

If you ask anything there in the name of the Lord, He will do it (John 14:13).

Understand where you stand. where you stand.

Stand where the path toward heaven is clearly visible.

Written by Pastor. Yohan Kim

Translated by Missionary Sookyung Chung

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