What is Discipleship?
At the time Jesus ascends to be seated at the right hand of the Father, he reveals his missional assignment to his disciples, telling them:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19–20).
The word "disciple" (mathetes) used here means "learner" or "follower." The New Testament treats the term disciple as a title for those who follow Jesus by learning his teachings and how to obey those teachings. When we discuss "discipleship," we are talking about the process of becoming a follower of Jesus. By looking at the pattern of Jesus's ministry and the ministry of his disciples, we can see a pattern of discipleship. Here are a few essential components to biblical discipleship:
Baptism: One of the first and most formative actions we can take in the discipleship process is following Christ in baptism. Jesus told his disciples to make disciples and baptize them (Matt. 28:18). Peter commands those who put their faith in Christ to "Repent, and be baptized every one of you" (Acts 2:38). This deeply formative practice is an act that you will point back to your entire Christian life as a remembrance of your faith commitment to Christ. If you are a disciple of Jesus, follow him in baptism!
Communion & Corporate Worship: Already in Acts 2:42, the early church was practicing communion as a central part of their worship gatherings. Taking the bread and the cup regularly provides two blessings in the Christian life. The first blessing is that it unifies the church (1 Cor. 10:16–17). Just as the church sings together and listens to the Word in preaching and teaching, they also partake of the same bread and cup. Worship and communion bring the church together. The second blessing is that communion reminds us of the price paid for our sins on the cross. Hopefully, this prompts each of us into worship. By making communion and corporate worship part of your regular routine, you will help form your soul and bind yourself to your church community as one body.
Learning God's Word: To obey the commands of Jesus, we must learn them first. To make sense of Jesus's ministry and teachings, it's vital that the Christian read the whole of Scripture. As you will notice in the gospels, Jesus continually quotes the Old Testament, treating it as God's Word. Jesus's life and ministry begin to make a lot of sense against the backdrop of the Old Testament story of sin, law, sacrifice, and redemption. We learn God's Word by listening to weekly sermons rooted in Scripture, meeting up with disciple-makers to hear the Word and discuss it, and by daily reading the Word for ourselves.
Memorizing Scripture: God's Word is full of commands to memorize passages of Scripture. Think of the key Old Testament text, Deuteronomy 6, which commands us to meditate on the Word of God all day long, even to find satisfaction and delight in God's commands. Think of Col. 3:16, which calls us to "let the word of Christ dwell in us richly." An advantage of church membership should be that you surround yourself with other Christians on mission to embed God's Word in their hearts, and they encourage you—even push you—to do the same. What a blessing to have brothers and sisters who help us practice this habit regularly.
Doing Theology in Community: Studying God and developing our understanding of God should be done in community. This is a safety measure to guard us against heresy and false doctrine—often stemming from our own desires to make God in our own image. Coming together to discuss our ideas and deep beliefs about God will help us sharpen our theology and worship. Even the Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem to vet his gospel understanding against those who followed Jesus directly during his ministry (Gal. 2:9). It is vital that Christians come together often and test their beliefs against Scripture and the understanding of other mature believers.
Confession & Repentance of Sin: Jesus continually called his disciples to repent. As God, he warned them of future sins they would commit (think of Peter and his denials of Christ). Confessing your sin with trusted disciple-makers helps you name your sin and begin killing sin through the practice of repentance. Repentance is simply the act of turning away from your sinful act, intending never to sin that way again. In the context of prayer and healing, James encourages us to "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:16). This sounds like praying and confessing sin together should be part of regular life in Christian communities.
Prayer: One daily discipline that Jesus modeled for us is prayer. Jesus was constantly praying to the Father, seeking his will, petitioning on behalf of others, and thanking the Father for many provisions (Heb. 5:7). Jesus sometimes spent the entire night praying (Luke 6:12). A centerpiece of discipleship is learning to follow Jesus into a deeply rich prayer life. Praying alone, praying in small groups, praying during worship services, praying for the sick and the poor—as Paul encourages us, we should learn to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:16).
Character & Habit Formation: Many daily habits can be learned to help us live like Jesus. As disciples, we must learn crucial habits, such as practicing the sabbath (Ex. 20:8; Mark 2:27-28), learning to control our tongue in speech (James. 3:1–12), giving a defense of the faith (1 Pet. 3:15), stewarding finances in a godly way (Luke 12:15), and so many other habits that shape and form our Christian character. These habits, modeled after the example of Jesus and empowered by the Spirit, "conform us into the image of Christ" (Rom. 8:29).
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"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19–20).
The word "disciple" (mathetes) used here means "learner" or "follower." The New Testament treats the term disciple as a title for those who follow Jesus by learning his teachings and how to obey those teachings. When we discuss "discipleship," we are talking about the process of becoming a follower of Jesus. By looking at the pattern of Jesus's ministry and the ministry of his disciples, we can see a pattern of discipleship. Here are a few essential components to biblical discipleship:
Baptism: One of the first and most formative actions we can take in the discipleship process is following Christ in baptism. Jesus told his disciples to make disciples and baptize them (Matt. 28:18). Peter commands those who put their faith in Christ to "Repent, and be baptized every one of you" (Acts 2:38). This deeply formative practice is an act that you will point back to your entire Christian life as a remembrance of your faith commitment to Christ. If you are a disciple of Jesus, follow him in baptism!
Communion & Corporate Worship: Already in Acts 2:42, the early church was practicing communion as a central part of their worship gatherings. Taking the bread and the cup regularly provides two blessings in the Christian life. The first blessing is that it unifies the church (1 Cor. 10:16–17). Just as the church sings together and listens to the Word in preaching and teaching, they also partake of the same bread and cup. Worship and communion bring the church together. The second blessing is that communion reminds us of the price paid for our sins on the cross. Hopefully, this prompts each of us into worship. By making communion and corporate worship part of your regular routine, you will help form your soul and bind yourself to your church community as one body.
Learning God's Word: To obey the commands of Jesus, we must learn them first. To make sense of Jesus's ministry and teachings, it's vital that the Christian read the whole of Scripture. As you will notice in the gospels, Jesus continually quotes the Old Testament, treating it as God's Word. Jesus's life and ministry begin to make a lot of sense against the backdrop of the Old Testament story of sin, law, sacrifice, and redemption. We learn God's Word by listening to weekly sermons rooted in Scripture, meeting up with disciple-makers to hear the Word and discuss it, and by daily reading the Word for ourselves.
Memorizing Scripture: God's Word is full of commands to memorize passages of Scripture. Think of the key Old Testament text, Deuteronomy 6, which commands us to meditate on the Word of God all day long, even to find satisfaction and delight in God's commands. Think of Col. 3:16, which calls us to "let the word of Christ dwell in us richly." An advantage of church membership should be that you surround yourself with other Christians on mission to embed God's Word in their hearts, and they encourage you—even push you—to do the same. What a blessing to have brothers and sisters who help us practice this habit regularly.
Doing Theology in Community: Studying God and developing our understanding of God should be done in community. This is a safety measure to guard us against heresy and false doctrine—often stemming from our own desires to make God in our own image. Coming together to discuss our ideas and deep beliefs about God will help us sharpen our theology and worship. Even the Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem to vet his gospel understanding against those who followed Jesus directly during his ministry (Gal. 2:9). It is vital that Christians come together often and test their beliefs against Scripture and the understanding of other mature believers.
Confession & Repentance of Sin: Jesus continually called his disciples to repent. As God, he warned them of future sins they would commit (think of Peter and his denials of Christ). Confessing your sin with trusted disciple-makers helps you name your sin and begin killing sin through the practice of repentance. Repentance is simply the act of turning away from your sinful act, intending never to sin that way again. In the context of prayer and healing, James encourages us to "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:16). This sounds like praying and confessing sin together should be part of regular life in Christian communities.
Prayer: One daily discipline that Jesus modeled for us is prayer. Jesus was constantly praying to the Father, seeking his will, petitioning on behalf of others, and thanking the Father for many provisions (Heb. 5:7). Jesus sometimes spent the entire night praying (Luke 6:12). A centerpiece of discipleship is learning to follow Jesus into a deeply rich prayer life. Praying alone, praying in small groups, praying during worship services, praying for the sick and the poor—as Paul encourages us, we should learn to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:16).
Character & Habit Formation: Many daily habits can be learned to help us live like Jesus. As disciples, we must learn crucial habits, such as practicing the sabbath (Ex. 20:8; Mark 2:27-28), learning to control our tongue in speech (James. 3:1–12), giving a defense of the faith (1 Pet. 3:15), stewarding finances in a godly way (Luke 12:15), and so many other habits that shape and form our Christian character. These habits, modeled after the example of Jesus and empowered by the Spirit, "conform us into the image of Christ" (Rom. 8:29).
Please fill out this form if you would like email notifications of the Timber Blog.
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