Skip to main content

What is a Disciple?

 




A disciple of Jesus is someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus.

We find Mark 1:17 (Matthew 4:19) to be a helpful verse that can serve as a useful framework around which we can place the teachings of the New Testament on what it means to be a disciple.

“And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (ESV)

Notice the three key characteristics of a disciple:

    He/she follows Jesus

    He/she is being changed by Jesus

    He/she is committed to the mission of Jesus

The diagram at the beginning of this post is a simple way that we sometimes picture how people grow as disciples:

    Head – in the mind the decision to follow Jesus has been made (now he/she needs to connect in discipling relationships)

    Heart – in discipling relationships we are changed by the Spirit to be more and more like Jesus (now he/she needs to minister to others)

    Hand – by our actions we actively committed to the mission of Jesus (now he/she needs to share the gospel and disciple others)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLT N.T. CHRONOLOGICAL READING PLAN (SEPT-OCT)

  SEPTEMBER   September 24 Mark 1:1a, Luke 1:1-4, John 1:1-18, Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23b-38, Luke 1:5-38    September 25 Luke 1:39-80, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-40    September 26 Matthew 2:1-23, Luke 2:41-52, Mark 1:1b-8, Matthew 3:1-12, Luke 3:1-18, Mark 1:9-11,  Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 3:21-22    September 27 Mark 1:12-13, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-15, John 1:19–2:25    September 28 John 3:1–4:45, Luke 3:19-20    September 29 Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 4:12-17, Luke 3:23a, John 4:46-54, Luke 4:16-30, Mark 1:16-20,  Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37, Mark 1:29-34, Matthew 8:14-17, Luke 4:38-41, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 4:42-44, Matthew 4:23-25    September 30 Luke 5:1-11, Mark 1:40-45, Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 5:12-16, Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 5:17-26,  Mark 2:13-17, Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32, Mark 2:18-22, Matthew 9:14-17, Luke 5:33-39 October    October 1 John 5:1-47, Mark 2:23-28, Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5, Mark 3:...
Post a Comment
Read more

THINGS TO ADD TO OUR FAITH

In Second Peter 1:5-9, Peter addresses his readers who are already believers and encourages them to add certain virtues to their faith. These virtues serve as important steps in their spiritual growth and development. Let's look at each step in more detail: (1) Add goodness to faith (1:5): Peter emphasizes that true faith goes beyond mere intellectual belief or affirmation. It should be accompanied by genuine goodness, which involves transparent trust and ready obedience. This means that believers should actively pursue acts of kindness and righteousness, rather than being passive in their faith. (2) Add knowledge to goodness (1:5): While some knowledge is necessary for faith, Peter urges believers to go beyond the basics. He encourages them to deepen their understanding of God's Word and His ways. A growing knowledge of God's truth is stabilizing and motivating, equipping believers to live in accordance with His will. (3) Add self-control to knowledge (1:6): Knowledge a...
Post a Comment
Read more

NOTES ON ROMANS 6 – JOHN STOTT

  NOTES ON ROMANS 6 – JOHN STOTT United to Christ and enslaved to God (6:1–23) The apostle has been painting an idyllic picture of the people of God. Having been justified by faith, they are standing in grace and rejoicing in glory. Having formerly belonged to Adam, the author of sin and death, they now belong to Christ, the author of salvation and life. Although at one point in the history of Israel the law was added to increase sin (5:20a), yet ‘grace increased all the more’ (5:20b), so that ‘grace might reign’ (5:21). It is a splendid vision of the triumph of grace. Against the grim background of human guilt, Paul depicts grace increasing and grace reigning. What was their criticism? It was not just that Paul’s gospel of justification by grace through faith without works seemed to make the doing of good works otiose. Worse than that, it seemed to stimulate people to sin more than ever. For if, in his understanding of Israel’s story, the law led to an increase of sin, and s...
Post a Comment
Read more