The Great Commission was to make disciples, not just converts. This is defined as teaching them to observe everything that He has commanded us. Therefore, the true disciples of Christ will no doubt have a Christian worldview, which means to perceive the world as Christ does, through His eyes. However, studies have shown that as many as 65 percent of Americans claim to be “born-again Christians,” but as few as 6 percent actually have a Christian worldview. How can this be? Obviously, we are only making converts, not disciples.
This may also be reflected in how only about 5 percent of those who “make a decision for Christ” end up in the church. In the New Testament, everyone who received Christ was added to the church. Certainly this could be because much of the church today is so far from what true church life is supposed to be, and new converts do not feel any connection to it. Obviously something must change to correct this most basic disparity between modern and biblical Christianity.
The remedy for this is shown by the five equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. As the subsequent verses declare, these are given “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
We cannot really be a disciple of Christ without at least being in pursuit of a Christian worldview. If our view of the world is shaped more by the media, a secular education, a philosophy handed down to us by parents or others who did not have a Christian worldview, or even by our own prejudices, then we are not truly disciples of Christ. If we have been taught by Him, then we will perceive as He does. This should be the basic goal of every Christian.
Basic to understanding the times is having a Christian worldview. If we are going to be the prophetic church, which has a message for the world from God, then we obviously must view the world from His perspective. True disciples of Christ will therefore spend far more time seeking God’s perspective than they will be seeking anyone else’s. God’s perspective is revealed primarily through the Scriptures. If Jesus, Who is the Word of God, would constantly declare “it is written” when challenged by the devil, how much more should we be taking our stand on what is written?
The gift of prophecy has its place in revealing the strategic and tactical will of the Lord, but only the Scriptures are given for establishing doctrine. The prophets who wrote the Scriptures were obviously steeped in the written Word, sowing its perspective throughout their prophecies. Most likely, we will be trusted with the gift of prophecy only to the degree that we have built our perspective on a solid, biblical worldview, which is God’s view of the world.
We are in the time when “everything that can be shaken will be shaken” (see Hebrews 12:27), and all other worldviews will fail because they are not based on truth. We are told in the parable that it is by hearing and obeying God’s Word that we will build our houses on the rock which will stand in the storms that are coming (see Matthew 7:24:25). God’s Word alone will stand, and building our life and worldview on His Word must be a primary devotion of our lives.
Seeking God’s perspective, especially through the Scriptures, is fundamental to prophetic ministry, or even basic discipleship. I have not known a true prophet who was not deeply devoted to diligently studying the written Word, and most were more knowledgeable of the Scriptures than almost any theologian I know. True seekers read it out of passion and love, not just duty, or as a profession.
The prophetic ministry is also very supernatural with the knowledge that is not gained through study. There are exceptions, but it seems that those who are given the greatest gifts of revelation are the ones who have the strongest foundations in the Scriptures, in history, and in knowing the times they live in. It is the great and spectacular supernatural prophecies that get most of the attention from a prophetic ministry, but this is not necessarily the most important, and certainly not the main body of work of prophetic ministries. Just as the spectacular revivals in history are the ones that are included in most of the history books, but are actually only a tiny percentage of the work of God, spectacular prophecies likewise get most of the attention, but are probably not nearly as important as the much more common and less spectacular ones. Therefore, our main goal should not be to be spectacular but to be obedient and faithful, day-by-day.
(Please excuse my redundancies. However, many begin reading these Words for the Week well into the studies so I try periodically to repeat some of the basics. Such repetitions are also good for those who may well know these things, but need the faith that comes from the word to walk in them.)
