From INHERITANCE Issue #4 - Winter 2009

Discipleship is a word having “disciple” as the root which means: a learner and a follower. Thus, discipleship is the process of learning and following so a specific purpose can be achieved.

In the Scriptures, we can find believers in the New Testament who are called disciples. Jesus taught what it means to be a disciple. Also in the Epistles, we can find teachings that further defines and applies the concept of discipleship.

Characteristics of Discipleship:

So what did Jesus teach about being a disciple? The following are some examples:

1. A born again believer who will live according to the words of Christ. John 8:31:
   ³¹Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. (KJV)
    
2. A believer who will love Christ more than anyone, who will suffer for His sake and who will forsake all to gain Christ. Luke 14:26-27:
   ²⁶If 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. ²⁷And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (KJV)

   Luke 14:33:
   ³³So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (KJV)
    

3. A believer who wants to grow in the Lord to glorify God with his life. John 15:8:
   ⁸Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (KJV)
    
4. A believer who wants to love another believer with the love of Christ. John 13:35:
   ³⁵By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (KJV)

Examples From the Bible:

And the following are some examples from the Epistles of what a disciple is:

1. A believer who makes glorifying Christ the purpose of his life. Philippians 1:21:
   ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (KJV)

   Philippians 1:20:
   ²⁰According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (KJV)
    

2. A believer who will forsake all to have a closer relationship with Christ. Philippians 3:8:
   ⁸Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. (KJV)
    
3. A believer who wants to grow in the Word and be fruitful in his life. Colossians 1:10:
   ¹⁰That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. (KJV)
    
4. A believer who wants to love another believer with the love of God. 1 John 3:16:
   ¹⁶Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (KJV)

As we can see, even though the word, “disciple” is not mentioned in the Epistles, the teaching of these letters is there to show us how to live as a disciple of Christ.

So being a disciple simply means that we have chosen to live for and glorify our Savior according to His Word. And the reward of this life will be a more abundant life of having a close fellowship with Jesus.

Before we can truly go on to discipleship, we should ask ourselves: “Am I a disciple of Christ? Does my heart want to be one? Do I want to live that abundant life with my Lord?” 

Becoming a disciple is an individual choice that no one can make for us. This decision will be a lot easier if we meditate on the love that God has shown to us so we can understand, experience, and be persuaded by it.

How about discipleship? Though the actual word, “discipleship”, is not found in my Bible, the teaching is definitely there to show us how we can help each other grow in the knowledge of Christ and become closer to Him.

If we are led to have discipleship time with other brethren, we should look into the Bible to see how God wants us to do it.

Functions of Discipleship:

First, here are examples of the different types of discipleship:

1. Teaching younger believers. Titus 2:4:
   ⁴That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. (KJV)

   Titus 2:6:
   ⁶Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. (KJV)
    

2. Training of teachers. 2 Timothy 2:2:
   ²And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (KJV)
    
3. Restoring the fallen. Galatians 6:1:
   ¹Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (KJV)

Methods of Discipleship
Second, here are examples of the methods of discipleship.

There are four helpful words from the book of Acts associated with ministering to the believers: exhort, confirm, teach, and preach. Acts 15:32:

³²And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. (KJV)

Acts 15:35:

³⁵Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. (KJV)

Through exhortation, we give believers instruction on how to live for Christ and encourage them to follow Him.

Through confirmation, we strengthen the faith of the believers by providing scriptural proof for what we believe.

Through teaching, we impart knowledge of the Word to help others know the Bible better.

Through preaching, we pass on the learning and the convictions the Lord gave us onto others.

Through the examples of Paul’s relationship with Timothy and that of Aquila and Priscilla with Apollos, we see that the investment of love, time, and patience is a must if we are called to disciple another.

We might ask, “Why spend all that time for others when we can use it for our own pleasure?” Simply put, it’s a great honor to serve our God. It’s a blessing to be a blessing to another. It’s an indescribable joy to see others mature in Christ. It’s a great way to make our lives count for eternity.

Practical Suggestions

1. Encourage the person to start reading the Bible. Reading seven chapters a day of the Gospel of John takes three days to finish or a week if we read three chapters a day. Read this book through several times and write down the definition of difficult words, notes of reflection or questions.
   The book of John will cover the deity of Christ, His relationship with a believer, eternal security, the person of the Holy Ghost, how to pray, etc.
2. Then go on to the book of Romans. It only takes two days to finish the book if we read eight chapters a day; we’d get through in four days with four chapters a day. Again, read it through several times taking notes. This book will cover why we need to be saved, how to be saved, what to do after we are saved, etc…
3. Then go through chapter by chapter with the person, answering questions and discussing any thoughts of reflection.
4. The teaching time can move on to the more personal level perhaps in praying for the needs and struggles of the person you are discipling.
5. Remember 2 Timothy 3:
   ¹⁶All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (KJV)

So it’s important to let God’s Spirit lead in where to study and to be sensitive to where we need to concentrate. God didn’t set rules or standards of where we must read first or second so the suggestions given are simply “suggestions”.

Since discipleship is learning how to follow God, we’ll ultimately find it most fulfilling when we learn to follow God’s leading in studying, searching through the Scriptures, and of course, in discipling others.