Definition of Discipleship
How do you define discipleship? What qualities would you include in the
discipleship process? Write your thoughts below before proceeding.

The Scriptural Definition
A disciple is a person who is growing spiritually. It should be of great concern when days, weeks, months, or even years go by, and one is still a babe in Christ. Remember the apostle Paul’s stern words to the Church at Corinth:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

The goal of the disciple is to be like Jesus. “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:13-15).

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology associates several Greek words with discipleship, noting that they are applied chiefly in the New Testament to Jesus and His followers. The words are:

• akoloutheo (follow), which “denotes the action of a man answering the call of Jesus whose whole life is redirected in obedience.”
• mathetes (a disciple), “one who has heard the call of Jesus and joins him.”
• mimeomai (imitate), which “emphasizes the nature of a particular kind of behavior, modeled on someone else.”

• Making disciples, not simply making converts, is Jesus' Great Commission to the church.
• Making disciples involves a redirection of a person's life toward
obedience to Christ.
• Making disciples takes place in the context of close and loving
personal relationships.
• Making disciples is a group process in which each participant
contributes to the growth in commitment of the others.
• Making disciples involves helping others respond to Christ's call to service and godliness.
• The high calling of discipleship is the privilege and responsibility of every believer in the body of Christ.

How Did Jesus Select Disciples?
Jesus did not select someone from the established religious orders: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. These people, representing laity, priests, and secular religious leaders, were not primary targets of His call. This does not mean He did not desire they be born again and follow Him (John 3, Nicodemus; Matthew 2:34-44, a lawyer). Rather, it meant Jesus knew that people strongly tied to religious traditions would find it more difficult to understand and accept the newness of His message and ministry.

• Jesus was not afraid to call someone, like Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot, whose reputation might put a strain on the group. It was a scandal that Jesus spent time with tax collectors and probably caused consternation with the others in His group of twelve. But Jesus saw a person whose presence in the group would cause issues to emerge that needed to be confronted by His grace (Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32; 6:15).

• Jesus was not afraid to call someone He knew would betray Him. He even knew Judas Iscariot was a thief. This had something to do with fulfilling the divine plan at the cross, but it also had to do with the
relationship dynamics of Judas with the others (John 6:64; 12:6; 13:11).

• Jesus called two sets of brothers, people already in a family relationship, to be part of a larger “family of God” relationship (Matthew 4:18).

• Of the twelve men He called, Jesus spent additional time with an inner circle of three: Peter, James, and John (Mark 9:2; 14:32-34).

• Jesus had relationships that went beyond the Twelve. He appointed, trained, and sent seventy other men into ministry (Luke 10:1). He also had close relationships with women who supported his ministry (Luke 8:1-3) and with a special family in Bethany (John 11:1-5).

Jesus called people from the common side of life. He touched them where they lived on the seashore, their place of business, and invited them to spend time with Him (Matthew 4:18; Luke 5:1-11). He made Himself at home with them (Mark 1:29).

How Did Jesus Make Disciples?
The best way to learn how to make disciples is to go to school with Jesus. We discover that His school is not like most of the educational systems used in Western culture which focus on acquiring
information.

Jesus used two primary ways of teaching: instruction and modeling.

• He “lectured” (the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5-7; teachings about eschatology - Matthew 24; Mark 13; and the Holy Spirit - John 14-16).
• Jesus used parables to reveal the mysteries of His kingdom (Matthew 24; Mark 13).
• Jesus demonstrated the power of His teachings through His actions (Matthew 9:1-17, 35-38; Mark 10:1-45; Luke 7:36-50; John 8:1-12; 13:1-17).
• Jesus gave His disciples opportunities to practice what they had learned while being with Him (Matthew 10:1-26; Luke 10:1-20).

But more importantly, Jesus “called” disciples to be in a transformational learning relationship with Him. It is the dynamic of this relationship, characterized by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in them, which brought about genuine change in their lives and empowered them to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. We discover in the Acts of the Apostles and letters of Paul, Peter, and John that correct doctrine was never isolated from transformational relationships of faith, hope, and love.

• Jesus took the twelve on a three-year apprenticeship.
• He poured His mission and life into them.
• He gave them opportunities to see His ministry and then put that
ministry into practice themselves (Luke 8:26 through 9:6).
• Jesus recognized the future character of followers and gave them new identities (Matthew 16:18).
• Jesus took the Twelve to “retreats” for times of prayer and teaching (Luke 9:10; 11:1-4).

The resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost initiated a new humanity and community. It established on earth a divine order of relationships based on Jesus' life, love, faith, grace, and presence.

The new community began the process of transforming individuals and culture by:

• dynamically connecting doctrine and fellowship so that truth was the basis of genuine relationships (Acts 2:42);
• experiencing the presence of Jesus in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30, 35; Acts 2:42);
• speaking to the Lord and hearing His voice in prayer (Acts 2:42);
• coming to a new understanding of stewardship regarding possessions (Acts 2:44, 45; 4:32-37).

In making disciples, Jesus was intentional, careful, and sensitive to every aspect of His Father's plan in those He chose. It seems He purposely chose people who were not overly influenced by religious tradition. He gave them His time and attention. At the same time, He was willing to take risks with them. He allowed them to minister and used every occasion as an opportunity to teach and shape their lives. He knew their limitations but trusted the power of His life to be greater than their shortcomings and failures.

The three years Jesus poured into the lives of the Twelve and others formed the framework for the Holy Spirit. He took Jesus' words and deeds and used them to transform individual lives into the most alive and dynamic organism on earth: the body of Christ.

What Is Important to Jesus? Jesus connected importance of relationships and discipleship in three specific ways in the Gospel of John. Notice the links between the highlighted words in each Scripture.

1. John 8:31, 32 – “Then Jesus said to those Jews which believed him, If you abide in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Discipleship is based on abiding in Jesus' words. Discipleship is not about our words, thoughts, or opinions. Discipleship is knowing and obeying Jesus' words. The emphasis on “my disciples indeed” is important. The Greek for “indeed” is the adverb alethos, which means “truly, really, actually.” Jesus did not describe something that might occur if we remain in His word. The tense structure of “If you abide” means those who remain in His word “are not fickle but genuine disciples.” “Indeed, truly” at the end of verse 31 connects with the focus of verse 32 on “truth.” The Greek for “truth” is aletheia (which is related to the adverb in verse 31). To be a “true” disciple is to be a person who lives in the liberating truth of Jesus' words.

2. John 13:34, 35 – “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Spirit-filled relationships do not arise from our expectations, demands, or definition of relationships. They arise from obedience to the commandments of Jesus. It is His demand, expectation, and power that distinguish Christian relationships from other “small groups” or other kinds of human relationships. This distinction is expressed in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community (HarperCollins, 1979):

Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ. [This] dismisses once and for all every clamorous desire for something more. One who wants more than what Christ has established does not want Christian brotherhood. He is looking for some extraordinary social experience which he has not found elsewhere; he is bringing muddled and impure desires into Christian brotherhood. Just at this point Christian brotherhood is threatened most often at the very start by the greatest danger of all, the danger of being poisoned at its root, the danger of confusing Christian brotherhood with some wishful idea of religious fellowship, of confounding the natural desire of the devout heart for community with the spiritual reality of Christian brotherhood.

The “new” commandment is different from the “old” commandment. Jesus did not negate the Ten Commandments (the old), but He brought to light something that was previously unknown in the commandments: the power of divine love made real in human relationships.

Twice in the John 13 passage Jesus refers to our loving “one another.” This “Jesus Mandate” that we love one another is enough to transform our relationships. But such love is not the introduction of another list by which we measure one another. Rather, it sets forth the unlimited possibilities through which the love of Christ, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), transforms the body of Christ in the world. This expression of love for one another is the primary witness to all that we are Christ's disciples.

3. John 15:7, 8 – “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

In speaking of disciples, Jesus calls us back to the theme of abiding in His words. The Greek of verse 7, “If ye abide in MY (emoi) words,” and of verse 8, “so shall ye be MY (emoi) disciples,” shows the intensity Jesus placed on HIS words in order to be HIS disciples. The “words” (rhema) of Jesus are the specific words the Holy Spirit uses in our lives to transform us into Jesus' character and likeness.

The connection with prayer in verse 7 is important. We learn what to pray as the rhema words of Jesus touch our hearts. This frees us to pray with confidence and boldness because we know that the “desires” stirring in our hearts have come from His specific words to us. God is eager to answer such prayers because they express His will on earth.

This kind of prayer “bears much fruit” and glorifies the Father. This prayer, birthed in the words of Jesus, leads to fruitful living and validates the fact that we are truly His disciples.

These three passages in the Gospel of John teach us what Jesus considered important in order for us to be identified as His disciples:

• abiding in His word;
• living with one another in the dynamic of His love;
• praying with confidence because we have heard His word to us;
• bringing glory to the Father by the fruit we bear in response to the prayers He has put in our hearts through His word.

Review Your Definition.
Take another look at the definition of discipleship you wrote at the beginning of this section.

• In what ways is your definition similar to our discussion in this section?
• In what ways does your definition differ?
• How would you revise your earlier definition?
• What are some of the most surprising aspects of Jesus' disciple-
making process?
• How can you incorporate those aspects into your ministry?

Where to From Here?
In light of Jesus' mandate to make disciples and the model He left for us, our response can only be one of submission to His authority and obedience to His Word. The following steps have been developed to assist you as you begin the task of developing a meaningful discipleship process for your ministry and/or local church.

Step One: Initiate a Disciple 3 Prayer Strategy. By using the tools of the Mission 21 prayer strategy (Day of Fasting/Prayer, First Friday Fasts, Mission 21 Prayer Watches), you can begin right now to involve people from your congregation in specific prayer for the discipleship efforts.

Step Two: Focus the Church. This is a special, annual emphasis on discipleship beginning at Easter and continuing until Pentecost Sunday. The material is designed to help focus your church on their most important task: making disciples.

Step Three: Use the Jesus Model. This section guides you into the formation of discipleship groups, with helps and tips regarding small groups. A twelve-week Disciple 3 Study course has been developed to help get you started. Other resources are also suggested for continuing group studies. The key is to multiply the discipleship groups under the direction of key, gifted leaders in your local body who have participated in your discipleship group.

Step Four: A Lifelong Journey. Disciple 3 is not intended to be another annual emphasis, done once and forgotten. Instead, Making Disciples should become a permanent, refreshing new way of doing ministry. Discipleship is not an event; it is a lifelong process. The Holy Spirit is at work continually to bring us into the likeness of Jesus.

Last update on 8/1/07
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