The Big Picture of Discipleship

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 observe everything I have commanded you...” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

• Go—We are not to sit back and passively wait for people to come to us. We are to go to them, and we are to go with a purpose.
• Evangelize—Who were Jesus’ disciples going to baptize? The new believers they had led to Christ (those they had evangelized).
• Baptize—These new believers were to quickly identify themselves as obedient followers of Jesus by being baptized.
• Train—These new believers were to be taught how to know God, to love God, to serve God, and to walk with God in absolute obedience.
• Multiply—These disciples were to be sent out on a mission with a conviction and mind-set to spiritually reproduce not only disciples but disciple-makers. This is true for every true believer in every generation.

What is a true disciple?

• Why do we use the term true disciple? The people who followed Jesus were called disciples. In John 6:66, we have the record that “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” The fact that they never followed Him again was proof that they were not true disciples (1 John 2:19).
• The true disciple should have a consuming passion to allow the Holy Spirit to control his/her life and to become more like Jesus: “...we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT).
• The life of the true disciple is a dynamic life, which means it is constantly changing. We are either moving forward, with increased spiritual growth and maturity, or moving back, away from God.

In true discipleship . . .

• Jesus is the star, and we are mere players. It is He who transforms an unbeliever into a disciple and then transforms the new disciple into a disciple-maker. Yet He tells us to “go make disciples,” which simply means to cooperate with Him and become His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) — disciples through whom He can spread His message to reach the world with His love.
• Jesus, the only perfect producer of disciple-makers, is our teacher and model. We learn not only from what He said but from what He did. Jesus told us to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Although He did not use the actual words “produce disciple-makers,” here are three situations that communicate this truth:
  
  
  1. Jesus became a producer of disciple-makers when His disciples began making other disciples.
  2. (Matthew 28:20 NIV) speaks of future generations of new disciples. Jesus said, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” just after He said, “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19 NIV). Therefore, every new believer is to be taught to obey the command to “go and make disciples.” (John 8:31 AMP) describes true disciples as those who believe in Him, abide in His Word, and obey His teachings. When we are obedient to make disciples and those discipled are obedient to make disciples, we become producers of disciple-makers.
  3. Paul understood this principle of producing disciple-makers. As a result, he instructed Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2 NIV).

Why make disciples?

• Jesus commanded us to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).
• People without Jesus are without hope, “...living apart from Christ...excluded from God’s people...without God and without hope” (Ephesians 2:12 NLT).

• A disciple is the product of the discipling process, which ultimately relies upon the transforming power of God. When we say we have “discipled” someone, we mean that God has allowed us to be involved in the process.
• We are to continue to grow, mature, and become better trained so that we might be more usable instruments in God’s hands (Romans 12:1-2), “strong in character and ready for anything” (James 1:4 NLT).
• Paul modeled never giving up but constantly pressing toward becoming all God wanted Him to be. “I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing; Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT).
  
  In the process of discipleship, what is my responsibility, and what is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit?
  
  My responsibility is to:
  • Be available—“Come to Me [Jesus],” and “learn of Me [Jesus]” (Matthew 11:28-29 AMP).
  • Live under God’s control—“...yield yourselves unto God” (Romans 6:13). Let Him be boss in your life today.
  • Abide in Jesus (John 15:4).
  • Live in His Word and obey His teachings (John 8:31 AMP).
  • “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances...” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 RSV).
  • Deny yourself, take up His cross daily, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).
  • Be Jesus’ ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). Be a witness for Him (Acts 1:8).
  • Go in Jesus’ POWER to make disciples—He sends us out in His power (Matthew 28:18-20).
  • Adopt Jesus’ PLAN—as you go, share His message (Matthew 28:19-20).
  • Stand on Jesus’ PROMISE—“I am with you” (Matthew 28:20).
  • Run a disciplined race (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 JBP).
    • Set your goal to win.
    • Train seriously.
    • Be determined.
    • Practice discipline and self-denial.

  The Holy Spirit’s responsibility is to:

  • Illuminate the mind (1 Corinthians 2:12-14).
  • Convict the heart (John 16:8-11 NKJV).
  • Live in us (Romans 8:11 NIV).
  • Teach us (John 14:26).
  • Comfort us (John 14:16).
  • Help us (Romans 8:26 NKJV).
  • Guide us (John 16:13).
  • Empower us (Micah 3:8).
  • Produce fruit in us (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).

• View the model—Jesus.
• Catch the vision—cast by Jesus.
• Set a goal—to invest their lives in making disciples who will continually reproduce themselves spiritually in disciples who will make disciples.
• Follow the example—Jesus.
• Repeat the process.
  • Years ago I read a booklet with the title “How Jesus Trained Leaders” by Dr. W. Maxfield Garrott, a missionary to Japan. I have never forgotten his closing statement concerning training leaders, a statement that is also true about making disciples. He said, “To get results comparable to His [Jesus’], all you have to do is to be like Jesus and live close enough to few enough men for them to acquire His image through you. Very simple.”

Why make disciples?