“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith"

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 6:12-16:

In the process of His work; even as short as it has been thus far, Jesus has many disciples who follow Him. It is here that Luke records that Jesus would select twelve of these disciples to be His chosen.

These disciples would have been with Him from the baptism of John to the day He was taken up from them (ascended – Acts 1:22 ); as this was their witness. While they were among the Lord, they were His disciples . This term of possession distinguished them from other disciples. They received specific training and instruction that was aimed at preparing them for the coming of the kingdom of God . After His ascension and on the Day of Pentecost when they received power from on high, they would begin to fulfill their roles as ones sent (the definition of an Apostle). They would be appointed first in the church ( I Corinthians 12:28 ). They would be the foundation of the church, note:

Ephesians 2:20-22 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

The word Apostle would be used in its generic meaning in other places in the scriptures (one sent); however, only those who were Apostles of ‘ Jesus Christ ' had been charged with the great work of introducing the kingdom to the world in power!

Here we will examine the selection of these men.

Text #1:

Luke 6:12-16 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.”

He Went to the Mountain: The selection of the men who would carry out the work of the kingdom was a monumental task. It is fitting and a good example to this day, that Jesus should go out alone and pray all night to God. Likewise every great decision and undertaking in our lives should be a matter of meditation and prayer.

The Twelve: Since we have done the biographies of some of these chosen in prior lessons (the links will be included in case you wish to revisit them), we will only list the biographies of those we haven't done yet (also for your notes, the complete lists for the Apostles are found in Matthew 10:1-4 ; Mark 3:13-19 ; Luke 6:12-16 ; Acts 1:13 ).

• Simon , who is called Peter. http://www.plvcc.org/Luke438-44.htm
• Andrew , his brother. http://www.plvcc.org/Luke51-16.htm
• James . http://www.plvcc.org/Luke51-16.htm
• John . http://www.plvcc.org/Luke51-16.htm
• Philip : He was from Bethsaida of Galilee and knew Andrew and Peter ( John 1:44 ). He is best remembered because he brought his brother Nathanael to Jesus ( John 1:43 -51 ). Jesus tested him prior to the feeding of the five thousand ( John 6:5-7 ). It is believed that because he was from Bethsaida that he had many dealings with the Gentiles and that is why they sought him out as they searched for Jesus ( John 12:20-23 ). He would be recorded during the last supper teachings to have difficulty understanding what Jesus was attempting to reveal to them ( John 14:8 ). The last recorded mention of him by his name is found in Acts 1:13 , after this he is just included in the group, spoken of as Apostles.
• Bartholomew : He is mentioned in all four of the lists of Apostles; however, there is no further reference to him in the New Testament apart from his inclusion in the group of Apostles. It is thought that he is the Nathanael mentioned in John 1:45 as Philips brother. However, this cannot be truly substantiated.
• Matthew : http://www.plvcc.org/Luke527-39.htm
• Thomas : He was also called “Didymus”, which means, “the twin” ( John 11:16 ). He was recorded as not having a great deal of hope ( John 11:16 ), as not having direction ( John 14:5 ), and finally he was best known as doubting Thomas ( John 20:24 -29 ). He was among the six mentioned when Jesus appeared to them at the Sea of Galilee ( John 21:1-8 ). Like many of the others, his last mention by name is Acts 1:13 .
• James, the son of Alphaeus : Because of where his name appears in the list of Apostles, he is often referred to as “James the less”. Matthew is also recorded as the son of Alphaeus and it is possible that they were brothers ( Mark 2:14 -Alphaeus was a popular name however and none of the authors of the Gospels list them as brothers).
• Simon called the Zealot : He was also called Simon, the Canaanite, which is believed to be another name for the Jewish party called the Zealots. This was the Jewish patriotic party that started in the time of Cyrenius, to resist Roman occupation of Palestine . According to Josephus, the Zealots resorted to violence and assassination in their hatred of Romans (BJ, IV, iii, 9; v, 1; VII, viii, 1), which finally provoked Rome to the war that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. His working together with a tax collector of the enemy would have been a miracle, being bitter enemies, except for the greater cause of Christ and is in itself fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy concerning the reign of the Branch of Jesse, where the wolf and the lamb would dwell in peace ( Isaiah 11:1-9 ).
• Judas the son of James : Also known as “Judas of James” or “Judas, not Iscariot” (Judas is only found in the two accounts that Luke wrote). In Matthew and Marks lists, he is known as Lebbaeus whose surname is Thaddaeus. Nothing else is known about him.
• Judas Iscariot : He was the son of Simon ( John 6:71 ), and best known as the betrayer of the Lord. Iscariot is commonly thought to be from the Hebrew, “ Ish Kerioth ”, which means, “a man from Kerioth”. This was a city south of Judah ( Joshua 15:25 ). He was appointed the treasurer for the disciples of Jesus ( John 12:6 ; 13:29 ). However, the Lord knew that he was a thief ( John 12:6 ). He was also a great pretender, as the other disciples did not know by his outward actions that his heart was evil; only the Lord knew His heart ( John 13:21 -22 ). He would go out the night of the last supper and fulfill his prearranged plans to betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver ( Matthew 26:14-16 ; John 13:30 ; 18:1-5 ). After the betrayal of the Lord, he was remorseful and believed himself condemned. He returned the money and went out and hanged himself, and was buried in a field bought with the betrayal money ( Matthew 27:3-9 ). With his office vacated prior to receiving the power of the commission, prophecy would be fulfilled, in that another would take his place ( Acts 1:15-26 ).

As we stated earlier, Jesus had many disciples; however, these would be the ones chosen to be Apostles (ones sent). As we consider these individuals, let's also take a look at the magnitude of the work they were going to do”

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, " Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature . 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

John 16:13-14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth ; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

John 20:21-23 “So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you ." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the end of the earth."

Next: “ The Sermon on the Plain ”