What is a disciple and how are they made? Discipleship through a Biblical lens. Are you a Christian or a disciple?
Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version (NIV)The Great Commission Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version (NIV)The Great Commission Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
God commissioned His people to make disciples, not denominations. |
Making Disciples!
Equipping Ambassadors! John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” |
1 Corinthians 12:12-31 ESV For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. Read more...
What then is Christianity (Christian)?
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32 see also Colossians chapter 2)
The term Christian was coined by unbelievers who labeled those who believed in and followed Jesus the Christ - God in the flesh (incarnate). Jesus did not call His followers 'Christians.' Jehovah God came to earth according to His perfect plan to redeem, reconcile, and restore His people (Other Source: Becoming a Disciple).
Jesus referred to His followers as 'disciples.' The Greek transliteration behind the English term "disciple" is mathetes,which means pupils or students. The first believers and those thereafter were instructed by Jesus to go out into the world to share the Good News - the Gospel which is the message of salvation in Christ alone. He told His disciples to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to follow His example in every area of their lives (Matthew 28:19) with the help of the Comforter (John 14:26).
The label 'Christian' is not synonymous with a committed follower of Christ Jesus. If we are committed to Christ we are not just students of the Word, but doers of the Word. As we grow in faith and endurance by learning and practicing the Word true born-again believers minds are renewed and their hearts ache for the Will of God to manifest itself in and through them to be a light to those around them for His namesake and glory.
Man-made religion, legalism, cultures and traditions separate The Body of Christ, but making disciples unites us in spirit, in truth, and in baptism, fulfilling the desires of God's heart (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
A child of God is drawn by and called to become a disciple (student) and a follower of Jesus the Messiah. Born-again believers nurture a personal relationship with their Creator. We must stand together in unity loving each other as Christ Jesus loved us. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people (1 Corinthians 14:33).
May our shared commitment to the Creator of the Universe, the One and only Holy and Sovereign God, inspire all God's children to bear each others burdens as a testimony to those around us that God's perfect love not only casts out all our fears, but it is the greatest virtue which binds us all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:13-14).
1 Peter 2:1-25 God's children are to put aside all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation (work out , not work for our salvation from glory to glory).
1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.…
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32 see also Colossians chapter 2)
The term Christian was coined by unbelievers who labeled those who believed in and followed Jesus the Christ - God in the flesh (incarnate). Jesus did not call His followers 'Christians.' Jehovah God came to earth according to His perfect plan to redeem, reconcile, and restore His people (Other Source: Becoming a Disciple).
Jesus referred to His followers as 'disciples.' The Greek transliteration behind the English term "disciple" is mathetes,which means pupils or students. The first believers and those thereafter were instructed by Jesus to go out into the world to share the Good News - the Gospel which is the message of salvation in Christ alone. He told His disciples to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to follow His example in every area of their lives (Matthew 28:19) with the help of the Comforter (John 14:26).
The label 'Christian' is not synonymous with a committed follower of Christ Jesus. If we are committed to Christ we are not just students of the Word, but doers of the Word. As we grow in faith and endurance by learning and practicing the Word true born-again believers minds are renewed and their hearts ache for the Will of God to manifest itself in and through them to be a light to those around them for His namesake and glory.
Man-made religion, legalism, cultures and traditions separate The Body of Christ, but making disciples unites us in spirit, in truth, and in baptism, fulfilling the desires of God's heart (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
A child of God is drawn by and called to become a disciple (student) and a follower of Jesus the Messiah. Born-again believers nurture a personal relationship with their Creator. We must stand together in unity loving each other as Christ Jesus loved us. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people (1 Corinthians 14:33).
May our shared commitment to the Creator of the Universe, the One and only Holy and Sovereign God, inspire all God's children to bear each others burdens as a testimony to those around us that God's perfect love not only casts out all our fears, but it is the greatest virtue which binds us all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:13-14).
1 Peter 2:1-25 God's children are to put aside all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation (work out , not work for our salvation from glory to glory).
1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.…
