Christ in Discipleship

A second way is when someone starts the process of becoming a disciple or being a disciple, such as in Matthew 27:57 or Luke 14:26-27. Lastly, there are those who are referred to as disciples that only occasionally followed Jesus, such as those in Matthew 8:21. Samra summarizes discipleship succinctly by saying that it is the “process of becoming like Christ.”

According to Willard, "The training required to transform our most basic habits of thought, feeling, and action will not be done for us." (345) This training is for the betterment of the people and representation of God and His love. Training was given to change a person heart from their way of thinking about the unbeliever and feelings of rejection because evangelism is not about the person but God. So, the first thing of a curriculum for Christlikeness is to change what people believe. Willard also states, "In order to become a disciple of Jesus, then, one must believe in him. To be at home in his kingdom, learning to reign with him there, we must share his beliefs." (319) Otherwise, the individual character and behavior cannot change. The disciple must live as well as believe the word /gospel taught.

Each of the four Gospels contains points in ecclesiology. In the Great Commission, Jesus’ last instruction to the Apostles is to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching people (Matthew 28:19-20). For Jesus’ mission to continue and for his Church to grow, discipleship is necessary. Discipleship is a prominent theme in all four Gospels, for purposes of this essay, only the Gospels of John and Luke-Acts will be analyzed. The similarities regarding discipleship in these Gospels include images of the net and fishing, and the sheep/shepherd/sheepfold. The differences include the preparing of the Twelve to carry on Jesus' ministry in Luke, and service to the community and passing of authority in John's Gospel.

Discipleship is about engaging in the Word, following and obeying Jesus and going out to make disciples. An essential element in being a disciple is to be open to learning, to be teachable. It is a mindset to be continuously adopted and cultivated. For us to disciple others, we must be a better disciple ourselves. When making disciples, we are instructing others to be willing to be a discoverer. It applies to both spiritual growth as well as personal development, openness to new techniques, ideas and methods in all aspects of life. Our spiritual learning comes from delving into His

2 – Disciple-Making – Discipleship is the “critical, perhaps even the central, element of mDNA in Apostolic Genius…” (page 113) He ties true discipleship to developing Christ-like character.

grown strong in the Lord. These are reliable disciples who are qualified to teach others.14 2

Jesus told the disciples that if they call him Lord they must do what he commands (Matthew 7:22). To be a disciple of Christ, we must submit to Jesus and trust that He is our Lord and Savior. We must have faith in Him and look to Him as our guide. Disciples of Christ should obey Jesus because God is not a man, but a sovereign God who has every right to command His disciples. Christ is not just a sovereign God, but also a saving God who suffered on a cross so that humans could receive salvation. Disciples of Christ who are saved by grace are not their own, but bought with a price that Jesus paid on the cross. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The disciples are called blessed because they have obeyed the call of Jesus.2 To be a disciple of Christ, we must

According to Early & Dempsey, “a disciple is a person, while discipleship is a process. A disciple is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ who is intimately involved in the mission of Christ. On the other hand, discipleship is the process of moving the disciple towards spiritual maturity and the mission of Christ. Being a disciple is God’s perfect will for every individual life; however, discipleship is God’s will for every individual church” [1]

Making disciples is the overarching purpose of the church. However, many churches struggle with understanding and fulfilling the true meaning of Christian discipleship in individuals’ lives. This writing assignment will attempt to expound on several significant aspects of discipleship. The importance of the centrality of Jesus Christ to Christian discipleship will be detailed. Also, obedience to the directives of Christ and submission of particular areas of one’s life will be outlined. Finally, the three stages of discipleship according to Dave Earley and Rod Dempsy will be delineated and expanded upon.

“A maturing believer taking an immature believer and walking along in maturity together. Once the immature believer has reached a certain point of maturity, they will take on an immature believer and disciple them.”

Discipleship is one of the highest aspirations of many of the different followers and sections of Christianity, but as Luke 14:25-35 shows, it is not something that is handed to each and every follower as it must be earned and truly worked towards in order to be allowed to experience the full effect and ownership of being a disciple. The idea of discipleship is something that is not necessarily tangible as is more of a state of belief rather than something that you can go and take or purchase. Discipleship is found best described as, “a ‘follower’, ‘adherent’ or ‘student’ of a great master, religious leader or teacher.” This definition shows the basic nature of a disciple during the time that Jesus walked the earth, yet this barely scratches the surface of the true requirements needed to be a true follower of Christ and not a person that simply follows because they are being led to do so. This section of verses found in chapter 14 of Luke show that there are stringent requirements needed to be a true disciple of Christ and as he demonstrates in the text through example and shortened parables, there is no way to become a true follower if it is being done halfheartedly and with a lax nature.

Like having a little faith Jesus Christ can make your faith grow. In order for Jesus Christ to use us we need to submit fully to Him. We must study the word of God, so we know how to be obedient to Him, furthermore the word teaches us what God expects from us. When we submit totally to Jesus Christ He gives us strength to bare our cross, also when we submit to God He gives us strength to do His work. Hebrews 13:21 says God will, “Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen”. By submitting to God, He will reveal to you what it is He would have you to do, but we have to submit first. When we are doing God’s work people should see some evident of God in us our spirit should bear fruit that people can see. Paul said to the Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” Galatians 5:22-23a. A person who has submitted to God, should show these signs. Also, we ought to seek the mind of Jesus Christ so He can instruct us in all spiritual things. Smith Wigglesworth said, “We must seek to have the mind of God in all things. If we don’t, we will stop His workings. He wants us every day to live in the Spirit so that all of the revelations of God are just like a canvas thrown before

There are many views and ideas of how to define a “disciple”. Yet how do they stand up to Jesus’ example?

Teachers around the time when Jesus lived thought that learning was such that the people who wanted to learn should come to them to be taught. But Jesus felt differently and rather than waiting for people to come to him, he went out to find them and then chose them to be his followers. He called them disciples and this word means one who learns. But Jesus chose his disciples carefully as we are told in Mark 1:16-20 and also in Mark 3:13-19. In the first passage, Jesus appoints his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus said to them "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus calls up the fifth disciple, Levi who was a tax collector, and Jesus later renamed him

This five-step process begins by creating a definition for what it is we are addressing as disciples. It’s important to ask the question “what is…” because it helps us distinguish from other topics that are closely related. For example, if we are talking about what discipline is, we would want to distinguish if we are speaking about the punishment of a child, the act of training in a habitual manner, or a branch of knowledge. Our world is a very complicated, intricate, and interwoven place. Though people often want things to be straightforward, they’re not always that simple. It’s important to define exactly what we’re talking about in order to understand the topic as clearly as possible.