Discipleship

From: Doctrinal Definitions: A Handbook of Doctrinal Terms & Expressions in the New Testament

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Duration: 6min

• 4 min. read • grade level: 9

The word “disciple” means “a learner.” A disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is a professed learner and follower of His teachings.

Scripture presents discipleship as being a complete and unconditional surrender of the believer’s life to the cause of Christ in this world. The cost of this commitment is great in terms of what one must give up. It involves letting go of every personal ambition and goal that we may have had in life and adopting God’s objectives for the spread of Christ’s glory on earth. With this commitment comes suffering, reproach, hardship, and much hard labour. There is no escape from these things; they are normal to true discipleship. Strange as it might sound, these incredible sacrifices and hardships for the Lord’s name do not give the disciple a better standing in heaven; nor do they add one iota to his spiritual blessings in Christ.

In view of these hardships and difficulties, we may wonder why any believer would make this commitment to become a disciple of Christ when there is no apparent advantage in it. Furthermore, the Lord never commanded anyone to be a disciple of His! Those who have committed themselves to Him as such have done so on their own volition. In fact, the Lord forewarned those who considered being one of His disciples that it would involve much self-denial and sacrifice (Matt. 16:24²⁴Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)), and thus it would be a costly decision (Luke 14:28-30²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? ²⁹Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, ³⁰Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. (Luke 14:28‑30)). Yet, in spite of all this, many thousands have taken it upon themselves to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ—and none have regretted it! The reason for their willingness to surrender their lives in this way is that “the compassions of God” (Rom. 12:1¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)) and “the love of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:14-15¹⁴For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: ¹⁵And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:14‑15)) have taken a hold of their hearts and have constrained them—and therefore, they do it gladly. They see it as being the least that they could do for Him. They don’t regret the step they have taken because they have found, that while it is a difficult path, it is also a very happy path (Luke 6:20-23²⁰And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. ²²Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. ²³Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luke 6:20‑23) – “blessed” means “happy”). In fact, they have found the secret to true happiness in life that millions are looking for!

• Scripture indicates that there are two kinds of disciples of Christ:

• Those who are “disciples” (John 6:60-61⁶⁰Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? ⁶¹When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? (John 6:60‑61)).

• Those who are “disciples indeed” (John 8:31³¹Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (John 8:31)).

The difference between these is great. As to being a “disciple” of the Lord, He indicated that there are two things that make a person such. He said to His apostles, “Go and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you” (Matt. 28:19¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Matthew 28:19)). The first of these things (baptism) is a one-time act. It is the outward sign of a person’s identification with Christ (Gal. 3:27²⁷For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27)). It formally introduces a person into the sphere where the Lord’s authority is recognized practically in a disciple’s life. The second thing, which has to do with receiving moral and spiritual instruction, involves a process of learning. If these instructions are received and practised, it also makes a person a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

However, a mere professing believer with no real Godward faith can submit himself to the ordinance of baptism and receive moral instructions—and thus he could be counted as a disciple of the Lord. This being the case, the Lord tests each of His disciples as to his or her reality. We see this in John 6:24-59²⁴When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. ²⁵And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? ²⁶Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. ²⁷Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. ²⁸Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? ²⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. ³⁰They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? ³¹Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. ³²Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. ³⁴Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. ³⁵And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ³⁶But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. ³⁷All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. ³⁸For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. ³⁹And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ⁴⁰And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴¹The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. ⁴²And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? ⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. ⁴⁴No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. ⁴⁶Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. ⁴⁷Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am that bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ⁵²The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? ⁵³Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. ⁵⁸This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. ⁵⁹These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. (John 6:24‑59). The Lord intentionally used symbolic teaching in connection with eternal life when addressing His disciples. Many of them could not understand what He was saying and balked at it. They dismissed it as being senseless and went back from following Him (John 6:66⁶⁶From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. (John 6:66)). And, in doing so, they proved that they were not real believers at all. Strange as it may sound, they were disciples but not believers!

On the other hand, there are those who are real believers and committed to following the Lord. He called these “disciples indeed” (John 8:31³¹Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (John 8:31)). They prove themselves to be such by continuing in that path of faith, following the Lord through hardships and rejection associated with real discipleship. Besides being marked by the two outward signs of a “disciple” (baptism and receiving instruction), there are a number of other things that set them apart as being “disciples indeed.” These are:

• They deny themselves and make Christ’s claims pre-eminent over all other claims in their life (Luke 14:26²⁶If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26); Matt. 16:24²⁴Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)).

• They are willing to be identified with Christ in His rejection and to bear His reproach (Luke 14:27²⁷And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27)).

• They have counted the cost and have made a lifelong commitment in their Master’s service (Luke 14:28-33²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? ²⁹Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, ³⁰Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. ³¹Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? ³²Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. ³³So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:28‑33)).

• They have a passion to be like their Master in all things (Matt. 10:25²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? (Matthew 10:25)).

• They continue in the Word (John 8:31³¹Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (John 8:31)).

• They have a genuine love for all other disciples (John 13:35³⁵By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35)).

• They are characterized by having a life of prayer and communion with God, which results in an fruitful life for the glory of God (John 15:7-8⁷If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. ⁸Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:7‑8)).

Click here to show subject links in the text for more information.