THE RICH DISCIPLE BY APOSTLE CHINONSO NDUKWE

God’s most sacred, beautiful and radiant mission is to propel mankind to walk in divinity, in apparent dominion over the fishes of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the land and vegetations within the earthly universe.

That’s why He didn’t create man: He formed him. Note, there is a subtle difference between formation and creation.

Bara is the only Hebrew for create. It means to build out of nothing tangible. Apart from mankind, everything in heaven and earth was spoken into existence. In special circumstances He forms. Man, and earth were formed.

To form is "to fashion," to produce." In man’s case, clay was the material in the hands of God. Hebrew translation calls it Yatsar. To form. To fashion. It is different from creation. It is a type of creation, but quite different from the norm. An activity is going on here.

In Genesis 2:7 the Bible says, "Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground," etc.). It took work — "to bring forth (in pain)" (compare Isa 13:8; Mic 4:10; De 32:18 (The King James Version), "God that formed thee"; Job 26:13 (The King James Version). He is called the Porter. He can form a message from a mess as trivial as your present condition.

Look at the earth with its abundant awe, even before the creation of light and all that is within it, God formed it as well. “Before the mountains were brought forth: Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalms 90:2 ASV. Form, there, means shaped. He shaped the planets.

The New Testament experience of the word form is strangely translated as morphoo, "to form" (Ga 4:19, "until Christ be formed in you"); plasso, "to form," "to mold" (Ro 9:20). Like to morph words into sentences.

Christ that has the capacity to break the laws of quantum physics, laws of wealth, laws of mathematics? He could bring money from the fish’s belly, turn water into wine, multiply loaves of freshly baked bread, like God did when he sent manna to the children of Israel? All of a sudden, that capacity cannot translate to raw material wealth in business, in God’s mission and direction?

God sat down, used His sacred, beautiful and radiant hands to form man’s body out of clay. Man, the beloved of God: The richest being ever.

In 3 John 1:2 AMP the Holy Bible says “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.”

That your body may keep well.

God’s intention, every time He comes across a poor person, is to make him, and his generations after him, rich and powerful. He’s the expert at crafting “grass to grace” stories; He loves turning drifters into princes. It was from clay, mere dustful sand, that He formed Adam, after all.

The Bible says, “He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory...” (1 Samuel 2:8 AMPC). The Lord Jesus Himself declared, “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me...to preach...(the Gospel) to the poor...” (Luke 4:18 AMPC); He knows that when the poor receives the Gospel, it would reform him, skyrocket him to splendor, catapult him from penury into destiny.

Abel Damina says, “No”. He believes that every time you see a rich man it’s by his effort, his passion, his hardwork.

Isaiah 48:17 tells you “...I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way that you should go” (Isaiah 48:17 AMPC).

Some say, “No”. That’s in the past. God has stopped doing that.

You tell him to read Hebrew 13 in context. When it gets to verse 8 it says “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” If God fed Elijah, He has fed you in Jesus Christ. If God fed Israel, He can feed you. If God makes many rich in the past, He can make you rich in material wealth, in holiness, in the prosperity of the soul, all at the same time. He made Job rich. He made Abraham rich in material wealth; He can do it again. If he led Abraham to a new city, blessed his work, he has blessed and glorified you in Christ Jesus, by a special grace, that spreads inviolable peace.

In Corinthians 8:9 the Bible says

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich"

The rich there is Plausios in the Greek Bible which means wealthy, opulent, moneyed, abundant in, well-to-do. It is the same word used to describe the rich fool in Luke 12:16 and Joseph of Arimathea the rich disciple of Jesus. Sharabaya. Poverty is far from my lineage on earth and forever. Hallelujah.

Matthew 27:57-60 described the Rich Disciple this way, “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.”

Plausios.  Rich. You shall manifest the riches of his grace.

However, Plausios also refers to abounding (rich) in Christian virtues and eternal possessions. Derived from the Greek verb πλέω (pleō), meaning "to flow" or "to sail," indicating abundance or fullness.

In the Greco-Roman world, wealth was often seen as a sign of favor from the gods, and it played a significant role in social status and power dynamics. However, the New Testament redefines true wealth, emphasizing spiritual riches over material possessions. This reflects a counter-cultural perspective that values eternal treasures over temporal gains.

So, I am not emphasizing material possessions over Christ for He is also the source of all, both material and abundant life. You must know the difference. You must not be moved to state that your riches came from your hard-work alone. You must not be moved to use the work of God for material gain. That God made you rich is that you make others rich, serve the people of God and equip them, form them as Christ has formed himself fully in you.

For to be rich in His power, in material possession, is to have reached the maturity enough to go the Governor to demand for the body of our Lord. The rich can also have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Mat 27:57 - “When the even came, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple.” Be the Rich Disciple, formed in resurrected Christ's image, full of power, wealth and good work. 

In summary, Jesus Christ has made you rich. Get up, walk out of your rags.