God’s Wisdom Principles: Multiplying Disciples with Purpose and Efficiency

Summary

God designed creation with wisdom principles that enable efficient multiplication and fruitfulness. These same principles apply to disciple-making. Jesus commands believers to multiply obedient followers, not merely grow churches. Success is measured by people becoming more like Christ. Nature illustrates efficient energy use, while believers must apply wisdom intentionally. When churches embrace God’s principles, interdependence, multiplication, and fruitfulness, they influence far more people to become faithful, obedient disciples of Jesus.

God’s Creation Reveals Wise Design

God’s creation isn’t random. Behind it is an unimaginably great genius—God and His wisdom principles. He designed every species on earth to efficiently reproduce after its kind while contributing to the well-being of the whole system.

Wisdom Principles Applied to Multiplying Disciples

We can apply God’s wisdom principles to our lives and our multiplying disciples assignment. They are resources to fulfill our purpose of reproducing disciples.

God Commands Multiplication

God commands the plant and animal kingdoms and human beings to multiply after their kind (Genesis 1:11–12, 20–24, 28). His grace makes His commands achievable. Read more about God's wisdom principles.

Jesus commands churches to multiply followers who obey Him and are becoming progressively more like Him (Matthew 28:18-20). God’s grace makes it possible (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Measuring Success God’s Way

More and more people becoming more like Jesus is the standard. Let’s not substitute growing congregations and offerings for it. Bigger churches aren’t necessarily better than smaller ones. Churches with great resources might not be superior. Is a church making people like Jesus proportional to its resources? That’s the standard.

What kind of people we have in our church is more important than how many. Mature Christians obey and serve Jesus and empower others to do the same. Applying God’s wisdom principles enables us to do that efficiently.

Nature Teaches Energy Efficiency

Plants and animals using energy efficiently increase the likelihood they will reproduce after their kind. They maximize their energy input while minimizing their energy output. Consider some examples.

Northern pike don’t waste energy chasing their next meal around the lake. They ambush their prey by hiding around aquatic vegetation. They rocket out of their hiding places a few feet for their next meal.

Walleyes don’t spend all their time looking for food. They feed mostly at dawn and dusk when their unique eye structure enables seeing in low-light conditions. That gives them an advantage over their prey.

Alaskan grizzly bears prepare for winter by eating the fattest, most calorie-dense salmon parts. Thereby, they gain hundreds of pounds of stored energy.

Groundhogs hibernate over winter and expend little energy while their food supply is scarce.

Each creature uniquely uses energy efficiently to reproduce successfully. Underlying are God’s wisdom principles—interdependence, multiplication, using everything for their benefit, maximum usage, mutual benefit, and fruitfulness.

Applying God’s Wisdom Intentionally

In nature, these six wisdom principles operate automatically. Plants and animals don’t consciously apply them. We must. If we do, we’ll influence more people to be Jesus’ obedient followers than if we don’t.

Photo: NT217.The Great Commission | Bible drawings by Otto Semler a… | Flickr