Recently some troubling things happened in my life regarding the church I was involved in, which lead me to studying discipleship, since that was the focus of the church ministry. I want to have a better understanding of what discipleship is, how it should be done, and what the Biblical model is, if there is one.

I have been told that discipleship ministries appear cultish, and I can see why, I have been in a few of them. In my first discipleship ministry 20 years ago, I was taught some things I had to unlearn after I left, mostly regarding some verses they used to validate their methods. More recently, my church promised to develop and grow in a way that never actually happened. Yet Jesus called his followers “disciples,” so we must be able to be disciples without all the weirdness.

To begin a study on discipleship, we should define the word disciple. Maybe the meaning seems obvious, but the point of studying something is to make it certain. I have most often heard that the word disciple means learner, which is true:

g3101. μαθητής mathētēs; from 3129; a learner, i.e. pupil: — disciple. (Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary)

We need more than a translation, though, so I went to Vines:

A “disciple” was not only a pupil, but an adherent; hence they are spoken of as imitators of their teacher; cf. John 8:31; 15:8. (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary)

A disciple is not simply a learner. A student is a learner, but a biology student is only learning biology from his teacher and not really anything more. A disciple is more than that, because they are not only learning knowledge but trying to become like the teacher in lifestyle, character, and world view. A disciple is what you call those who pursue religion and philosophy.

This makes sense because we as Christians are trying to become like Jesus. Disciples are learning to be like someone else, which means they are trying to change themselves and become a different person.

There is something that separates Christian disciples from others, though. It was pointed out to me recently that Christians not only learn from and become like Jesus, but they worship him as God.

Sure, this seems obvious, but we are trying to understand fully what discipleship means, so we need to understand fully, in all aspects, what is a disciple, and how it is applied. Disciples of Christ do not merely learn to be like a teacher, we are learning to be like God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. This is an important distinction.

The 11 disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:16-20, HCSB)

Notice in this passage that they worshiped Jesus despite some doubts, that Jesus has all authority, and that disciples are taught to observe (in the Greek, to watch over closely, much like the Hebrew “shamar”) and not merely learn or know. There is a doing, a living it out that must accompany the learning, and the motive is that it comes from God, Creator of heaven and earth, Creator of all that is true. This should be powerful motive to change one’s lifestyle, character and world view.

The Vine’s definition above cites two passages that also show us the same things.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples (John 8:31, ESV)

Here Jesus says we must live in his word, meaning the way we live our lives must have its foundation in his words. It does no good to have a great knowledge of the Bible if our lives do not change because of it, or to live contrary to what the Author of truth tells us. To abide implies that this cannot be a part of our lives, like what we do in mornings and on Sundays only, but that everything we do, say, and even think is based on what is in the Bible.

I questioned a Buddhist once about his faith, after he explained how helpful that religion was to his business and personal life. I asked him how the beliefs such as reincarnation affect him, and his answer was that he takes what is useful from Buddhism and leaves the rest.

I know many Christians often do the same thing, but Jesus did not say, “If you abide in most of my word, you are truly my disciples.” Jesus did not come and die for us so that we can only observe some of what he said and throw the rest out because it is hard to understand. No, if we are truly disciples of Christ, it should be reflected in our whole life. Jesus is not just some great teacher to emulate, but God who we must worship with everything we have.

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8, NIV)

Being a disciple of Christ is not something that can be hidden, or done without notice. We cannot truly be disciples of Christ if our lives do not change in a way that others can see, because it requires living a different lifestyle, moral values, and way of seeing the world around us. Jesus not only said that we should bear fruit, but that we should bear much fruit, indicating that it should consume our lives.

I heard a Christian telling another Christian how to manipulate conversation to steer it toward Christ, and I thought this was strange. I have never had to artificially bring up my faith, because it cannot help but come out. It affects everything I do! I get up early to study the Bible, I work hard at a job I do not enjoy because I am working for Christ, and I have no fear of doing the right thing knowing that my life is in Christ’s hands. People come up and ask me questions about the Bible not because I am always preaching at them, I do not. Rather, they see that I live differently and that it comes from my faith.

A Christian disciple is one who not only learns from and imitates Christ but worships him as God and Creator of heaven and earth, and this is reflected clearly in the person’s lifestyle, in moral character, and their worldview (the sermon on the mount is a great place to see all this, Matt 5-7). Discipleship would come from this definition, but I will have to explore this next.

Are we truly Christ’s disciples if we are not demonstrating it in our lives by bearing much fruit? Do we truly believe that Jesus is God and has complete authority in heaven and earth if our lives do not reflect a drastic change toward Christ-likeness? Even writing this is convicting for me! I hope it is for you as well, to our Father’s glory.

Blessings! – Shamar Covenant

Next article in series, Discipleship: From Disciple to Discipleship