The last two Discipleship Dimension articles considered the marks and the makings of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. This month’s article will look at the maturity of a true disciple - the growth objectives the true disciple is to reach toward and attain.
The true disciple of Jesus Christ has a responsibility to grow spiritually. The objectives of that spiritual growth are threefold:
- The true disciple of Jesus is to bear fruit for Him.
- The true disciple of Jesus is to bring others to Him.
- The true disciple of Jesus is to become like Him.
A true disciple is to bear fruit for Jesus. In the upper room discourse, Jesus’ last extended teaching before His death, He said to the eleven, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8). The context of Jesus’ statement was His teaching that His disciples are the branches that must remain, or abide, in the vine which is Jesus. If they do not abide, they cannot bear fruit.
The fruit Jesus’ disciples are to produce is “kingdom works,” which are everything we do for Him both in the church and in the world. Kingdom works are the light of Christ a disciple shines. They are the kind word spoken, the help lent, the bounty shared, the love extended, the spiritual gifts employed, the encouragement given, and the service rendered. In short, kingdom works are the very lives true disciples lead for the sake of the Lord, to the glory of the Father, by the power of the Spirit. The fruit a true disciple is to bear - the kingdom work that is to be done - is expected of, and is the natural byproduct of the new nature of the disciple. As Paul put it in Ephesians 2:10 in speaking of those who have been saved by God’s grace, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
A true disciple is to bring others to Jesus. Before He ascended to the Father, Jesus gave the following command to His disciples “… 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…” (Matthew 28:19 & 20a). That command is referred to as the “Great Commission.” The key command of Jesus is “make disciples.” His disciples are to go, which means they are to engage the world around them as lighthouses, shining the way to Jesus and a relationship with Him. When a seeker accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, Jesus’ disciples are to baptize that new believer and then teach him or her. Thus, bringing others to Jesus means making disciples. And making disciples is a process which includes the initial and on-going contacts with people by which Jesus’ disciples witness to the gospel, recognize when a person has put his or her faith in Christ, and then begin and continue to teach the new believer in God’s word and its application to one’s life.
The true disciple is to be constantly engaged in the process of making disciples, and in so doing should be busy in all aspects of the process. The disciple may have just met someone in which case there is a new acquaintance, then later a friend. The disciple is to care and extend grace. Along the way, God will open the door to the sharing of faith. The point of an individual’s decision to follow Jesus may come early on, or may come only after years. Following the point of decision comes baptism, then the lifelong process of teaching. The disciples’ responsibility in making disciples is simply to keep shining forth. Individuals will come and go in the life of a disciple, and as they do, the disciple is to keep active in “bringing” them to Jesus, recognizing that sometimes there will be planting, sometimes watering, and sometimes harvesting, but that it is only God who makes things grow (See I Corinthians 3:1-9).
A true disciple is to become like Jesus. The ultimate objective of the true disciple of Jesus is to become like Him. In a word, Christ-likeness. Everything in the life of the true disciple is to focus on that one objective. In Philippians 3:7-12, Paul makes the point exactly concerning his own walk. He writes the following:
“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
God has rescued His chosen ones from the dominion of darkness and brought them into the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13). God accomplished this rescue through Jesus who took hold of each believer when He called each one. Each became His disciple when he or she responded to Him, and then believed in Him. And each one now belongs to Him because he or she has been redeemed at the cost of His precious blood.
Jesus is model, example, teacher and leader, as well as Savior and Lord. His disciples, are to become like Him in attitudes and actions, in character and commitment, and in wills and words. His disciples are literally to become Christlike in every way all the time so that they can live in the world like He did.
Application:
As a true disciple of Jesus, are you seeking after the “three B’s”? Do you seek to bear fruit for Him, to bring others to Him and above all, to become like Him? It is both yours and my responsibility to seek after these three objectives as we grow in grace. Let us each consider our own life as to how we are doing with regard to these objectives, commit to seek after them, and pray for God’s enabling in achieving them. God’s promise to us is that as we seek after the three B’s, He will bring about His desired result in us, namely Christ-likeness, as He works in us “to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13b).
Tags: Discipleship, Discipleship Dimensions // 1 Comment »
“We went to Beechwood Nursing Home. The residents were very open to our visit and seemed to crave company. The Lord helped me to serve ‘out of my comfort zone.’ THIS IS WHAT OUR CHURCH NEEDS TO BE DOING - loving our community.”
“My family had the joy of playing music with a neighbor - a get-together long anticipated and worth looking forward to. Our friendship with him grew, and we’re definitely going to do this again. This was step one of many … the beginning of a story.”
