Discipleship Series – Part 1

Today I want to jump right into this first question: What is discipleship and what is a disciple.

If you have been in church for any time at all you have heard this term: Discipleship. This is a word that is found nowhere in scripture yet it holds in its meaning a dynamic life with Christ that opens up keys to Sanctification, Spiritual Growth, and Maturity.

To quote John Piper: Discipleship is an ambiguous word, it can mean my own discipleship, the process in my own life of becoming a Disciple; It can also mean the process of Discipling another person, the process of making a disciple of another.

I think this ambiguity John Piper describes though is actually clarity. Scripture gives us both of these pictures: that we are to be becoming disciples, discipleship. and also we should be engaged in the process of making another a disciple, Discipleship.

In the Greek the word for Disciple is μαθητής (mathētēs) It means in the generic sense of the word “a Follower, or a Pupil”

It is a word that describes followers of John the Baptist, Followers of the Pharisees, etc. In the Greek culture as an example, this is a word used to describe the pupils of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, and other Greek Philosophers.

The generic definition of the word Mathetes though falls short of what Jesus meant by His use of it. For example in Matthew 8:21 Matthew as he is writing his gospel uses this word: Mathetes to describe one who is following Jesus:

“Then another of His disciples (mathētēs) said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

Matthew uses the same word that is the word Jesus uses when he calls us to be His disciples, but it is used in a generic “one who follows” sense, lacking the devotion or commitment Jesus is really calling His disciples to. Hence Jesus response to this follower’s statement: “But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus uses the word: ἀκολουθέω (akoloutheō) (Ah-Ko_Loo_Thao) which is an expanded word for Follower, It means to “Follow and Obey” and it carries the implication of a deeper commitment and submission.

So we must first understand that not everywhere we read the word disciple in scripture does it carry the weight of what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus, sometimes it is the writer’s generic use of the word simply meaning someone who was following in the simplest form of that term.

I would use this term in this generic manner to describe those who we have “followed on social media” We are seeing what they are doing and saying, and sometimes we like, comment, or share it, but we are not deeply committed to them. And honestly, if we were to ἀκολουθέω (akoloutheō) (AhKoLooThao) those we followed on social media that would likely be disastrous because they often might be contradictory.

Yet I think for many we find ourselves following Jesus more in this generic understanding of the use of the word μαθητής (mathētēs), We follow Jesus like we follow someone on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and we like some stuff but scroll past other stuff that we don’t necessarily like or agree with.

This use of the term Disciple – Follower is more Anthropocentric in its devotion. Anthropocentric meaning “Human-Centered, Man Centered or more specific in this context – “Me Centered”

The discipleship Jesus is calling us to is not anthropocentric discipleship, it simply is not about me, it is simply not about you. It is Christocentric in that it is all about Christ, becoming Christ-like.

In John 6:66-69 We find this generic, anthropocentric use of the word disciple after Jesus had taught a difficult teaching: vs 66 “From that time many of His disciples μαθητής (mathētēs) went back and walked with Him no more.”

Jesus goes on to ask the twelve this question: “Do you also want to go away?”

Peter responds: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Skip Hietzig in his book “When God Prays” describes this encounter this way: “A disciple of Jesus is one who responds to the revelation of God about Christ: This is the epicenter of discipleship.”

This revelation is further described in Matthew 16:13-17 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples μαθητής (mathētēs), saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Revelation is always a call to action: Revelation requires a response. John Piper describes the idea of becoming a disciple, of our response to the revelation of God to us, as the process of: Conversion, Baptism, and a lifetime committed to becoming Christ-like.

It is the commonly known intent of the word Disciple in the context of Scripture in its historical context, one who has been converted, Baptized, and is now on this lifelong journey of becoming Christlike through teaching and being taught.

It is seen in a great picture in Acts 14:21-22 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

In this passage, we see both the verb form of Disciple: μαθητεύω (mathēteuō) and the noun form μαθητής (mathētēs). The verb form is used here in verse 21: “made many disciples” This verb sense of the word Disciple is the same as Jesus command in the great commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus defines this process of becoming a disciple: Conversion, Baptism, and lifelong teaching to become Christlike. Conversion is a prerequisite to discipleship. The Disciples knew and understood this was the chief first portion of making a Disciple: Preaching the Gospel. Jesus describes it further in Mark 16:15: “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Paul’s describes it in Romans 10

Vs 9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And continued in context Vs 14: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Returning to Acts 14 we see this first step in Vs 21: And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples”

The proclamation of the Gospel is not designed to produce converts, it is designed to produce Disciples, of which Conversion is the first step into a lifelong process of becoming a disciple and co-laboring with Christ through His command to make disciples.

This is that descriptive language Ship Hietzig used: A disciple of Jesus is one who responds… That response is more than conversion it is to become a disciple.

Let me close today’s teaching with this quote by Dr. James Boice from his book “Christ call to Discipleship” he says this: “There is a fatal flaw in the professing church today: a lack of true discipleship. Discipleship is talked about, of course. There are books about it, particularly about what is called “discipling” other people. Words are not the problem. What is lacking is the thing itself.”

I hope today you have a better understanding of Disciple and Discipleship, my challenge as we close this teaching is that you ponder the scripture from today’s teaching and weigh what you have heard against the last part of Dr. Boice’s quote: “Words are not the problem. What is lacking is the thing itself.”

Be sure to watch for Part 2 of this series where we continue this conversation as we ask the question: Am I a Disciple?