Discipleship

In the Gospels, Jesus called those who believed His teachings disciples (Matt. 9:14; 16:24; Mark 2:16). After His resurrection, He gave these believers a mission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. 28:18–20).

Jesus made disciples. Then, as He prepared to return to heaven, He told these disciples to “make disciples.” But what are disciples? And how does Jesus say they are made?

The foundation of Christian discipleship is the authority of Jesus Christ. He rules everything: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” For that reason, the church can and must make disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples.” Christian disciples can be made only because Jesus is King.

But Jesus is not just a King who rules. He is a King who saves. As the eternal Son of God, He has always ruled the world. Jesus says, though, that authority has been given to Him. What does He mean by that? He means that He now has authority as the incarnate Messiah, the God-man, who finished the work of salvation that God the Father had given Him (John 17:4; John 19:30). As sinners, we are God’s enemies (Eph. 2:1–3), but Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross to bring us safely into God’s holy presence (Heb. 10:19–22).

Although a disciple is a student, Christian discipleship is far more than an apprenticeship program. In Jesus’ time, Jewish rabbis and Greek philosophers had disciples who followed their teachings and ways of life. But Jesus did not just teach a way of life; He is the way to life (John 14:6). He forgives His disciples’ sins, gives them new hearts, and unites them to Himself forever.

For that reason, Jesus tells the church to make disciples, first, by “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism makes one a member of the visible church, which is made up of everyone who professes faith in Christ and their children. In the visible church, people are taught to obey everything that Christ has commanded, which is also part of what it means to follow Christ as His disciple (Matt. 28:18–20). Baptism shows that we have become members of Christ’s visible kingdom. Through baptism, we become visibly part of the church, the covenant people of God, and the church pledges to disciple us. Baptism consists of words as well as water: the church baptizes new disciples in the name of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All those who have received a proper water baptism are disciples of Christ outwardly and members of the visible church. They are called to improve on that baptism by trusting in Jesus and becoming disciples inwardly as well. Those who have saving faith are members also of the invisible church, which is made up of everyone from all time who has saving faith. These are the faithful disciples of Jesus who inherit eternal life.

But if Christian discipleship is far more than an apprenticeship, it is not less. God’s intent for the disciples of Jesus is that they be “conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29). God the Holy Spirit works in the lives of His people to make them like Jesus, the Son of God. Moreover, the Holy Spirit works through His church to accomplish this.

The church teaches disciples, first, through the ordinary means of grace: preaching and the sacraments. As we hear God’s Word preached week after week, year and year, the Holy Spirit matures our faith and forms our character. As we receive the Lord’s Supper, God feeds us spiritually and deepens our knowledge of Christ and the gospel.

God also trains disciples in other ways. Christians learn through the example of mature believers, especially the pastors and elders Christ has called to lead His church (1 Peter 5:3). We should study their lives and imitate them (Phil. 3:17). Christian parents are called to teach their children (Deut. 6:7). We learn through prayer as we thank God, praise Him, and bring all our burdens to Him in faith (1 Peter 5:6–7). Christ’s disciples also learn through suffering. God uses suffering to free us from the love of sin and teach us to rely entirely on His grace (Rom. 5:3–4; 2 Cor. 12:10; 1 Peter 4:1).

Discipleship is a lifelong process. Disciples strive to obey God’s law, but they stumble every day. As we daily repent of our sins and turn again to Christ, we put our sinful nature to death and “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:10; see also Eph. 4:20–24). Dying to who we were without Christ and becoming who we are in Christ is ongoing. Perfection will only be ours when this life is over.

But perfection is certain for those who have trusted in Christ. All disciples will reflect the image of their Savior and teacher, Jesus. The God who “began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Christians seek to learn and obey Christ’s commands, but it is the Holy Spirit who transforms them, and nothing will stop Him (Phil. 2:12–13).

In fact, the assurance that this will happen helps us move toward this end: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2–3). Our hope in the day we will see Christ and “be like him” makes us more like Him now. It purifies us.

When Jesus commanded the church to make disciples, He was preparing them for His ascension to heaven. He would leave their physical presence and return to His Father’s side, where He now reigns. But He would not leave them alone. After giving His disciples their task, Jesus told them, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Disciples of Jesus do not look inside themselves for the strength to follow their teacher. Instead, they rely on the presence and power Jesus, who is with them through the Holy Spirit. He is with us until the end, the day we “see him as he is.”