God thinks of the big picture. He wants His Word to spread across all barriers and boundaries. No time zone or border should restrict the circulation of Scripture.
We have a big job cut out for us!
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” – Mark 16:15
And we can rejoice as more and more people learn about Jesus.
“The gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world–just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” – Colossians 1:6b
If we fear the task is too difficult, no problem. The angels will pitch in!
“Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth–to every nation, tribe, language and people.” – Revelation 14:6
It’s great that the gospel can go global, but there’s another way to view the dissemination of God’s Word. That’s from one generation to another.
The apostle Paul saw this as a basic element of effective ministry.
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” – 2 Timothy 2:2
Paul had dispatched Timothy to the city of Ephesus to correct some problems the church had. He knew that Timothy couldn’t straighten out everything by himself. The young man would need to disciple others who could replicate the process.
This one verse mentions four generations:
- Paul
- Timothy and the witnesses
- Reliable people
- Others
Paul passed on to Timothy what he’d learned about knowing and serving Jesus Christ. Timothy then had the responsibility to set this teaching before people of proven character. (The Greek word translated “reliable” is pistos which means “faithful.”) And of course, these Christians would train up others, handing off to them the life and ministry of the gospel.
From one generation to the next to the next, and on it goes. We can interpret this progression according to birthdays. Seniors teach middle-age adults who instruct young adults who train teens. You get the picture.
This works, but it’s not the whole story. God’s calendar doesn’t always align with ours. A 30 year old who’s been walking with Jesus for 20 years can disciple a 65 year old who got saved last week. Age is a factor in church leadership, but spiritual maturity is more important.
Sticking with a traditional, age-related approach preserves the truth. If everyone on planet Earth heard the Bible 500 years ago but no one informed later generations, the gospel might have died out. Retaining Scripture is crucial, but we have to pass it down, too.
This includes Bible lessons people might not want to hear.
Paul didn’t come up with the idea of a four generation process on his own. It’s in the Old Testament, too. Centuries before Paul wrote Timothy, the prophet Joel declared:
“Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.” – Joel 1:3
As in 2 Timothy 2:2, so here we can detect four generations:
- Joel’s audience
- Their children
- Their grandchildren
- Their great-grandchildren
If each generation serves the one in front of it, Joel’s message from the Lord will outlast them all.
What message?
A plague of locusts! That’s what chapter one is all about! And things get worse; Joel ties this to the Day of the Lord as a time of punishment and judgment.
Why such a dark message and why bother to tell the children? God didn’t want to judge His people; He called them to repent. Living in faithful relationship with Him, they would be ready for any challenge and the Lord would deliver them. But if they insisted on disregarding God and living for themselves, then they’d have to face judgment.
One generation passes its history onto the next generation. I know kids like to look through old photo albums and hear stories about relatives from long ago. And young people can learn from the successes and failures of those who preceded them.
So Joel tells the Jewish people to warn their children about the danger of rebelling against God. The young ones should learn all about their background and history, but they can’t make those excuses for not serving the Lord. Everyone is responsible to God for himself or herself.
The health of God’s people depends on sharing His stories with the next generation. Joel and Paul considered this a multi-generational ministry. Every generation must hear what God wants and what He’s done. Listening to His Word and obeying it helps us grow in our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
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