The Christian as Disciple

The idea of being a disciple serves as bookends to Christ's earthly ministry. When Jesus formally started his work he gathered 12 men around him who would be his disciples.  Then, at the end of his ministry, he underscored how important this concept was when he commissioned those disciples to "Go into all the world and make disciples." 

In this unique framing of his ministry we see something of the importance Christ places on this particular aspect of our identity, and it behooves us to take seriously what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Moreover, of all the descriptions Jesus could have used to denominate his people in his Great Commission, he chose the word disciples.  This should catch our attention!

To be a disciple of Christ is to be a student of Christ. It is someone who studies and is dedicated to research. So Jesus intended his followers to be people who fastidiously sought to learn more about him and his ways.

The original 12 disciples were men who were, of course, enrolled in the school of Christ. Their only job was to hang around with Christ for three years in order to learn everything they could from Jesus' life and teaching. Then, upon graduating from this prestigious institution, they were required to gather to themselves students of their own to teach and train.

From this we learn two things regarding the concept of "disciple." First, it explains that one of the chief aspects of our identity is that we are to be learners. We are to learn everything we can from Jesus about Jesus.

Of course, this means that we are to be engaged in the diligent study of the Bible, for that is the record of Christ's teaching. Prior to their demise the original disciples committed to writing all that we would need for our course of study. They knew we would not be able to sit at Jesus' feet like they themselves did. So, under the guidance of the Spirit, they wrote down the words and acts of Jesus that would best compliment what Christ had already inscribed in the Old Testament.

This book has been passed down as the main text for Christians. As disciples we scrupulously study it. On a weekly basis we listen to it at church. We gather in groups in homes to talk about it and to read it. On a daily basis we dig through it individually and as a family. The core of our lives is dedicated to the doctrines contained in it.

Christians have always been known as "a people of the book."  That is to say that the Bible has been the main focus of our daily attention throughout history.  So, whether it be reading it for pleasure, in-depth study of it, or discussing the morning's sermon with friends over coffee, the term disciple reminds us that Bible is to be a regular part of the warp and woof of the Christian's life.

Secondly, the term disciple reminds us of the God ordained pattern for propagating the faith. As disciples of Christ, we are to make it our aim to make disciples. That is to say, we are to make it our aim to glean all that we can from the Scriptures. Then, once we've become somewhat familiar with the doctrines of the Bible and adept at applying the Truth of Christ to our own lives, we are to seek to disciple others. Particularly we are to seek out souls that are not learned in the ways of Christ, and teach them.

In recent history a great deal of emphasis has been put on one-time, staged events where a call is made for people to "make a decision for Jesus." These decisions are then calculated as souls won for Christ, and little is done to continue the nurture in the faith. This focus is quite wrong headed. Certainly it is a wonderful thing that the gospel is being presented and that people are called to make a real, conscious act of faith and repentance. However, the emphasis has been on the decision making, rather than the lifelong process of discipleship as Christ instructed.

What's more is that this mentality has affected the generational flow of the faith. One of the main ways God intended the faith grows throughout the world was through families. The greatest growth is supposed to be through what has often been called biological evangelism. Parents are to literally "make disciples" as they have children. These offspring are then to be trained in the faith all their days. Unfortunately, parents have not seen their children as disciples of Christ, and have waited for them to make some sort of spontaneous decision for Christ before offering any serious Christian nurture.

This of course gets at the two aspects of being a disciple of Christ. We often think that a disciple of Christ is one who possesses true faith in Christ. But this is not always the case. Remember, a disciple is merely someone who may be considered a student of Jesus. Though he may be dedicated to learning about Christ and affiliate with a particular church, it does not necessarily mean that he possesses true faith.

For instance, in John 6 we read the story where a huge crowd decided not to follow Jesus any longer due to his hard teaching. The word "disciples" is used three times in this passage in reference to this mass of people. Verse 66 is perhaps the most specific when it says, "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him."

This is why our children can be considered "disciples of Christ" from their early stages despite never having made a public profession of faith. While under a parent's tutelage, he is a disciple. There may come a day where he or she shows his true heart by choosing to turn back and no longer walk with him. But until that time, he is a disciple in a real, though external, sense.

As well, when it comes to our evangelism, we ought to press our heathen friends and family to become disciples, rather than simply to make a decision. In doing so we will allow them the opportunity to get a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he has done. And above all, we will afford the Spirit of God many more opportunities to change that person inwardly.