Discipleship “Spread the Word”

“Discipleship is a journey of intentional decisions leading to maturity in your relationship with Jesus so that you become more like Him in your attitudes, focus and ultimately behavior. It requires a commitment from the potential disciple and the disciple-makers”

What Is Discipleship and How Does It Happen?

 15 Minute Read


When Jesus returned to heaven after His resurrection, He left His followers explicit instructions. They were both for the people who were there with Him that day and for every follower of Jesus who would come after them. He said, “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” (Matthew 28:19–20, RSV Revised Standard Version).

This instruction is known as the “Great Commission” because these words represent a critical assignment for the church as His people await His return.

But what exactly is Jesus asking His followers to do? What does it mean to make disciples? What does discipleship look like?
 

Talking Points:

  • How Did the Disciples Understand Jesus’ Instructions?
  • Christian Community and Discipleship
  • Mentoring and Discipleship
  • The Spiritual Key to Discipleship
  • Disciples Create Disciples
  • Next Steps

How Did the Disciples Understand Jesus’ Instructions?


A “disciple” is a kind of student. It is someone who follows the teaching of, learns from and models their life after someone else — in this case, Jesus.

The people whom Jesus gave these essential instructions to had a pretty good understanding of what it meant to be His disciples. They had left everything to follow Him, and for three years they soaked up His instruction, experiencing incredible highs and lows as they discovered what it meant to follow their Lord.

When Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, they wouldn’t have seen this as a casual assignment to squeeze between other interests. This would need to become their primary focus.

The disciples would have understood Jesus’ words to have some pretty important implications. Let’s look at each part of what He said.


“Go.”
Disciple-making is not a passive activity. It requires intentional, strategic behavior. Christ’s followers couldn’t wait around for people to come to them and ask to become disciples. They would have to go out and make them, which speaks to strategic and intentional behavior.

“Make disciples.”
To make other disciples, Jesus’ disciples would have to share the gospel message with people who had never heard it before. A disciple is more than someone who converts to a new religion. It’s someone who has committed their life to following Jesus. Communicating the gospel is a critical element of disciple-making.

“Of all nations.”
Jesus was a Jewish man, but during His ministry on earth, He taught that God was not only redeeming the people of Israel to Himself; He was redeeming the world. Around the same time that He gave the Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples, “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV). This is critical to understand. The Jews despised Samaritans, but Jesus was tearing down walls of hostility (Ephesians 2:14). His message of peace and reconciliation — of restored relationships — isn’t just for Israel and Samaria; it’s for the whole world. Everyone on earth can become a disciple of Jesus, and Jesus commands His disciples to go to everyone.

“Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Baptism is an inauguration into God’s community. A follower of Jesus should declare their allegiance to Jesus by identifying with His death and resurrection, which is what baptism illustrates. It’s clear from this instruction that Jesus’ commission includes people becoming his followers, but it’s not limited to it. It’s about identifying with and giving your life to the God who knows you, created you and loves you.

“And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
This is where discipleship goes beyond evangelism. The discipleship process is more than teaching people the right knowledge about God. A disciple models him or herself after someone. Making disciples of Jesus goes beyond teaching facts about Jesus. It means teaching people how to know and  be like Jesus — to obey God and seek His best for their lives.


Christian Community and Discipleship

Discipleship is a journey of intentional decisions leading to maturity in your relationship with Jesus so that you become more like Him in your attitudes, focus and ultimately behavior. It requires a commitment from the potential disciple and the disciple-makers. It’s not something that happens by accident or overnight, and it can’t be completed in a six-week class. This is a lifelong commitment to follow God with your whole self and to both learn from and eventually teach others about how to follow Him.

In a letter to a group of Christians in a city called Ephesus, Paul, an early follower of Jesus who wrote much of the New Testament, explains that God gives His followers gifts to help them make disciples. He begins by encouraging them to do whatever they can to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). This is critical because discipleship is intended to happen among a community of fellow disciples, which the Bible calls “the church” or “the body of Christ.”

Paul explains that God has equipped His people, the church, with specific gifts and skills. These gifts “equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12–13, New Living Translation).

The process of maturing in your faith and becoming more like Christ  is discipleship. Paul’s point is that discipleship happens as you are connected to other followers of Jesus.

“Jesus promised his disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.”— William Barclay

Christianity, How to Share Your Faith, Leadership, Walk in the Spirit, Starting with God

Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase”