Day 1 · Session 1: Where It All Began & The Full Humanity of Jesus

Participant Handout

Session Theme

Jesus not only saves us - He also gave us a life pattern we can follow. We can do what Jesus did because He was fully human, depending on resources that are also available to us.

Scripture Focus

Philippians 2:5-8 (The kenosis - Jesus emptied Himself)
Luke 6:40 (Fully trained disciples become like their teacher)
John 14:12 (Whoever believes will do the works Jesus did)
1 John 2:6 (Walk as Jesus walked)
Hebrews 2:14, 17 (Jesus shared in our humanity, made like us in every way)
John 5:19, 30 (Jesus did nothing by Himself, only what He saw the Father doing)

Learning Objectives

Explain why knowing Jesus’s words and methods is not enough - we must understand His full humanity to truly follow His pattern
Describe what it means that Jesus was “fully God” and “fully man,” and why both are essential for disciple-making
Name the four resources Jesus relied on and identify which they most need to grow in

Teaching Block 1: The Journey of Discovering Jesus’s Pattern

Core Idea: Spader’s journey from studying Jesus’s message, to His methods, to His life model reveals that Jesus’s pattern of disciple-making is simple and reproducible by anyone.

Spader’s three-phase journey:

Phase	Focus	Discovery
First 10 years	Jesus’s Message (20% of NT words are His)	Profound, but message alone is not enough
Next 10 years	Jesus’s Methods (relational, invested in a few, prayer, loved sinners)	Strategic, but methods alone are not enough
A lifetime	Jesus’s Model - His life chronologically	Jesus intentionally discipled through 4 progressive challenges

Key turning point: Professor Gundry said, “Some of Christ’s first disciples could have been teenagers.” Jesus was training His own “youth group” - unschooled, ordinary men (Acts 4:13).
Imagine a farmer in a remote village who has never attended seminary. Can he make disciples? Absolutely! Jesus chose fishermen, not scribes. His pattern is reproducible by anyone.
The four challenges of Jesus (preview - unpacked in later sessions):
1. “Come and see” (John 1:39)
2. “Follow me” (John 1:43)
3. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19)
4. “Go and bear fruit” (John 15:16)

Scripture: “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” - Luke 6:40

Discussion Block 2: Whose Life Pattern Are You Following?

Small groups of 3-4

(5 min) Each person shares: Who is one person (other than Jesus) who has most shaped how you live - a parent, mentor, pastor, or other figure? Why them?
(5 min) Read Philippians 2:5 together. Discuss: What does it mean to “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”? What would this look like in the daily life of a church-planter in a remote village?
(5 min) Each group writes one sentence answering: “What is the biggest obstacle to making Jesus the pattern for our lives - not just our Savior?”

Our group’s sentence:

Teaching Block 3: Jesus Fully Human - The Key Often Missed

Core Idea: Jesus was fully God AND fully human. He never used His deity to live out His humanity - meaning everything He did, He did through resources also available to us.

The common objection: “But Jesus was God and I’m not!” We picture Jesus as Superman - ordinary by day, but secretly a caped superhero. This is poor theology!
Jesus’s two natures - two sides of one coin:

Fully God	Fully Human
Claimed equality with the Father (John 10:30)	Born of a woman (Matt 1:18)
“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58)	Hungry (Matt 4:2), thirsty (John 19:28)
Received worship as God	Weary (John 4:6), wept (John 11:35)
	Grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52)

The puzzle: As God, Jesus is omniscient - yet He did not know the time of His return (Matt 24:36). As God, He is omnipotent - yet “He could not do any miracles there” (Mark 6:5).
The kenosis (Phil 2:5-8): Like a king who left his castle, took off his royal robes, and lived as a vagabond. He never stopped being king, but chose not to exercise his rights. Only by becoming like the beggars could he truly help them.
The “God Card”: Jesus carried a card with infinite credit limit and no expiration - but He chose never once to use it. If He had, He would not have been fully human, and could not have redeemed us.
Miracles do not prove He used the God Card: The apostles also performed miracles (Acts). Jesus Himself said: “The Son can do nothing by himself” (John 5:19). Everything He did was in total dependence on the Father.

Scripture: “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” - John 5:19

Discussion Block 4: Jesus’s Four Resources - Self-Assessment

Individual reflection first, then pairs

Part 1 - Rate yourself (circle your score):

Resource	Score 1-5	Evidence in Jesus’s Life
Holy Spirit	1 2 3 4 5	Conceived, anointed, filled, led, sealed by the Spirit (Matt 12:28)
Prayer	1 2 3 4 5	45+ times withdrew to pray. Before the Twelve, before the cross (Luke 5:16)
God’s Word	1 2 3 4 5	90+ times quoted the OT, referencing 70 chapters (Luke 24:27)
Supportive Community	1 2 3 4 5	Family, close friends (Lazarus, Mary, Martha), the Twelve (John 15:15)

Part 2 - Pair discussion (10 min):

Share: Which resource scored lowest? Why?
Describe one specific challenge in your ministry context that makes it hard to grow in that area.
Pray briefly for one another.

My priority resource to grow in this week: _________________

Teaching Block 5: What This Means For Us - Three Life-Changing Conclusions

Core Idea: Jesus’s resources are our resources. We can follow His pattern because He was fully human, depending on the same things available to us today.

Conclusion 1: Jesus did NOT use His deity to live out His humanity

He lived as a true human - the second Adam - succeeding where the first Adam failed
His obedience to the cross was accomplished by dependence on the Father, not divine power
“Jesus was man as God intended man to be” - Ian Thomas
Ask not “What Would Jesus Do?” but “What DID Jesus Do?” (WDJD, not WWJD)

Conclusion 2: Jesus’s resources are OUR resources too

The same Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus dwells in us
The same prayer - six times in the upper room Jesus said “Ask!” (John 14:13-14, 16; 15:16; 16:23-24)
The same Scriptures Jesus studied are in our hands
The same community - Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (Hebrews 2:11)

Conclusion 3: We tend to underestimate what God wants to do through us

Seven times Jesus rebuked His disciples for lack of faith
“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…” (Matthew 17:20)
The greatest grief to Jesus is not great sins - it is our lack of faith in what He wants to do in and through us.

Scripture: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.” - John 14:12

Discussion Block 6: From “Impossible” to “Ask” - Personal Commitment

Groups of 3

What is one thing from this session that most challenged your view of Jesus?
In your ministry context - remote villages, unreached people, limited resources - in what area might you have underestimated what God can do?
Six times in the upper room, Jesus said: “Ask!” What is one thing you need to ask God for this week regarding disciple-making?

Commitment:

This week I will prioritize: _________________ One concrete step I will take: _________________

Prayer: Pray briefly for one another - for boldness to “ask” and to trust what God wants to do through you.

Application Handles

When you feel “I can’t do what Jesus did because I’m only human,” remember: Jesus was only human too - He never used His “God Card.” Ask not “What Would Jesus Do?” but “What DID Jesus Do?” - then look at how He depended on the Father, and do the same.
When ministry feels overwhelming and resources are scarce (no money, no vehicle, no church building), return to Jesus’s four resources that are always available: (a) Holy Spirit - ask for His leading, (b) Prayer - talk with the Father as Jesus did, (c) Scripture - read and obey, (d) Fellow believers - don’t walk alone. These four are enough to turn the world upside down.
When you train others (your disciples) and they feel unqualified, teach them Philippians 2:5-8 and the principle that “Jesus was fully human.” This will free them from the mindset that “only pastors or educated people can serve.” Farmers, fishermen, homemakers - all can make disciples the way Jesus made disciples.