POST OVERVIEW. Developing the idea that Purpose is downstream from Identity. That is, Identity is primary and Purpose is derived from a clear Identity. These concepts of Identity and Purpose and how they operate in discipleship are topics in my upcoming book on the subject of discipleship and of discipling others.

Because man is made in the image of God, he has an inherent need for both Identity and Purpose. These ideas have been the subjects of many works of philosophy and psychology as people have tried to unlock the key to a life of meaning, because without a clear Identity and an invigorating Purpose, we seem to be adrift without a rudder. Also, as followers of Jesus we want to know how these ideas work in the life of a believer.

First, we need to understand that Identity must precede Purpose. This is true, by the way, for all people, not just for the disciple of the Lord Jesus. A clear personal Identity is necessary for anyone to have a compelling Purpose, and since very few people have such an Identity, the vast majority of people in the world have no compelling Purpose for their existence.

In stark contrast to the world, when a person initially trusts in Christ for salvation, he immediately obtains the Identity of “Disciple of the Lord Jesus.” And from this spectacular Identity flows an entire life of Purpose. The primary Purpose of the “Disciple of the Lord Jesus” is to conform their life to the description of a disciple given in the pages of Scripture. In other words, the disciple is to grow and to change so that their inward and outward selves are in accord with the characteristics of the disciple of Jesus given in the Bible. Having been made righteous in God’s sight by his faith in Jesus, the disciple of the Lord Jesus is to grow in sanctification so that his practical righteousness is progressively conformed to his positional righteousness. The disciple of Jesus has been wrapped in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), and now his Purpose is to conform what is wrapped with the robe of the wrapping.

The raising of Lazarus in John 11 pictures this for us. Jesus’ friend had been dead four days, so he was extremely dead. But when Jesus called Lazarus by name, “the man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings” (John 11:44). After Jesus called him, Lazarus was as alive as he would ever be, but he was also bound with the grave wrappings and had his face wrapped with a cloth. He was alive, but he was also encumbered with wrappings and was effectively blind. So Jesus commanded the people, “Unbind him, and let him go” (11:44). Lazarus was fully alive, but for him to function as a living person, he needed someone to remove the wrappings so he could walk and see.

In a similar way, we were “dead in transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-3). But when the Holy Spirit called us through the gospel and we responded with repentance and faith, at that moment we were both as justified as we would ever be and as unholy as we would ever be. We were wrapped in God’s robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) and, at the same time, wrapped in all the grave clothes of our former life of sin, righteous by position but unrighteous by practice. In this state, our Purpose becomes apparent. We are to make every effort to remove the “grave clothes” of our former life and put on every one of the “clothes” of the disciple of Jesus that we see modeled or commanded in the Scriptures (Ephesians 4:22-24).

We see another example of this in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. The risen Lord Jesus Christ gives His church her mission for the remainder of this age when He says, “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (and) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, (even) to the end of the age.” Although this passage has immense importance for the mission of the church, we also see here a clear prescription for how the disciple grows. “Go, make disciples,” in this context means, “Preach the gospel and gather those who believe in Jesus.” Now, those who profess faith in Jesus are to be identified as disciples by being baptized as a public profession of their faith. Therefore, water baptism gives the disciple his Identity as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. What flows from this Identity? Those who have identified as disciples of the Lord Jesus have the Purpose of observing (i.e., doing) all that Jesus commanded His disciples to do, and the church has the mission of teaching these disciples to obey. Once again, we see that Identity as a disciple of Jesus leads to the Purpose of growing in obedience and holiness.

SUMMARY. What we are saying is that, once a person has committed to the Identity of “a disciple of the Lord Jesus,” the discovery of Purpose is not complicated. In fact, the disciple of Jesus can immediately embark into their Purpose of becoming who they already are. The disciple’s Purpose does not need to be invented or created, but rather is discovered discipline by discipline and repentance by repentance as he becomes more conformed to the biblical description of a disciple of Jesus.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 8/7/2023                     #666