God's Plan for our Discipleship

The 7 steps:

1. They received His word

• The word preached: the word of the cross
• By receiving the word in faith, they received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour
• All that's required for an eternally secure salvation

2. They were baptised

• As an expression of their love to the Lord John 14:15; Mat 28:19; Acts 10:48
• As a picture of death & resurrection (by immersion); so to count themselves as dead to sin and alive to God Rom 6:11
• As a public testimony of their commitment to - and identification with - the Lord Jesus

3. They were added

• To the number of the disciples already called out and gathered together in that locality
• They received their place in the local Church of God fellowship (some were later subtracted or put away from fellowship, eg. 1 Cor 5)
• The addition was 'by' and 'to' the Lord Acts 2:47, 5:14, 11:24

4. ...in the apostles' teaching

• This was the mould of teaching to which they were delivered - as molten metal is delivered to a mould Rom 6:17
• Known also as 'the Faith' - as in the body of teaching - it was also said to have been 'once for all' delivered to them (Jude 1:3)
• Replaces the 'blueprint' or pattern instructions in Moses' Law for God's (now spiritual) house on earth 1 Pet 2:5

5. ...in the fellowship

• The original sense being the fellowship - as something concrete - not casual, but demanding commitment
• The New Testament vision clearly shows local Churches of God linked together on a regional and overall basis
• Throughout the New Testament, the people of God were in the one inter-linked Fellowship of churches

6. ...in the breaking of the bread

• The gem was first given in Mat 26:26
• Then the gem was placed in its setting in Acts 2:42
• Its observance is always a corporate function of a Church of God - being the collective worship of God's people together in the Holy Place every Sunday morning

7. ...in the prayers

• These being the regular Church prayers (eg. Acts 12)
• Responding to the invitation to 'draw near with boldness' to God's throne of grace collectively Heb 4:16
• Women, as part of the praying company (1 Cor 11:5), pray silently (1 Cor 14:34) with heads covered (1 Cor 11:2-16)