What is a Disciple of Jesus Christ?

September 4, 2024 Rev. Paul Lawler

Discover the true meaning of discipleship as taught by Jesus, focusing on self-denial, taking up our cross, and following Him fully. Reflect on Luke 9:23-27 and consider whether discipleship is central to your life or an option.

What is a Disciple?

Our new mission statement declares: We exist to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ among all peoples.

Let’s contrast that with a quote from the late Dallas Willard:

“For at least several decades, the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship…So far as the visible Christian institutions of our day are concerned, discipleship is clearly optional.”

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, commanded the Church to make disciples. When we study the New Testament, He often spoke about discipleship and being a disciple. Considering Willard’s warning of the national crisis North America is experiencing, now is a good time to review what defines a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for disciple is manthentes, which the literal translation is “someone who is a learner.” Unfortunately, many in the North American church stop right there. They think the only requirement to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a learner. However, suppose we only define a disciple as a learner. In that case, we end up with only a notional understanding, meaning something that only exists in our minds or imaginations, of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

However, when we study the originating impulses and context of the word manthentes, we have starkly different understandings. Let me illustrate why context matters.

If I asked you for a Coke, your first instinct would be to hand me a soft drink. However, there are variations to a Coke, such as classic, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, caffeine-free, cherry Coke, vanilla Coke, and many more. However, your interpretation differs if you’re a chemical engineer because Coke is used as a fuel and a reducing agent in smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Additionally, coke is a shortened nickname for the illegal drug cocaine that has caused great harm to many individuals and families. Also, Coke was one of the first American Bishops in Methodism and is the father of Methodist missions worldwide.

To understand what Coke means, we have to look at the context in which it’s used. Therefore, if we’re going to understand discipleship, then we need to look at the context in which it’s been described and used. More importantly, we must look at how Jesus utilized the word so that we understand what He commanded surrounding “discipleship.”

When Jesus gave the Church the Great Commission (Matthew 28) and taught us to “make disciples,” He also shared that disciples should “teach all that He commanded.” So, that lets us know that being a disciple is not merely about “forever learning.” By all means, we want to continue learning; however, that’s not the full understanding of what being a disciple means.

We can recognize that Jesus tethered discipleship not to remain inside the walls of a church. He instructed believers that this teaching should be done among all nations (ethne: ethnic groups). So, learning was never intended as being only unto “forever learning” but also for integrating and propagating.

Is There A Difference between Being a Christian and a Disciple?

Sometimes, I hear believers asking this question: Is there a distinction between being a Christian and a Disciple?

The answer is simple: If you’re a Christian, there is no difference. The primary word for a Christian/Believer in the New Testament is the word “Disciple.” The New Testament uses the word “disciple” to describe a believer about 261 times. Contrast that to how many times the New Testament describes believers as Christians: three times (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28,1 Peter 4:16). Again, with context, even the use of the term Christians in those three references was used to reflect a derisive element in the term Christian (meaning little Christ) to refer to followers of Christ who didn’t acknowledge the emperor of Rome.

If there is a devil (and I do believe there is), he is going to use every ploy in his playbook to keep you from taking Jesus seriously around a matter He emphasized emphatically. He will do everything to distract, deceive, and destroy all opportunities for you to live into your true design as a Christ-follower.

In her book, The Willpower Instinct, the behaviorist Kelly McGonigal wrote this about distractions:

“Baba Shiv, a professor of marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, has shown that people who are distracted are more likely to give in to temptations. For example, students trying to remember a telephone number are 50 percent more likely to choose chocolate cake over fruit at a snack cart. Distracted shoppers are more susceptible to in-store promotions, and more likely to go home with items not on their shopping lists.2 When your mind is preoccupied, your impulses—not your long-term goals—will guide your choices.”

The enemy of your soul knows about your fallen human nature. We all have it, and we can all become the enemy by becoming so distracted that we don’t give emphasis to things that align our hearts and lives with the revelation of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the devil doesn’t only seek to distract you, but he also wants to deceive you. For instance, we could take our new mission statement and say, “Well, that’s only Pastor Paul’s vision for the church. Every previous pastor here had one. This is just another iteration; This, too, will pass.”

Let’s unpack the deep biblical roots of our mission statement.

How Did Jesus Describe Discipleship?

Disciples Are to Make Disciples

JESUS: “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 obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Too often, 21st-century Western Christians can receive the promise but reject the command. The promise in that verse is that Jesus is with us. I’ve often heard people pray, “Lord, be with us,” and that’s a good thing to pray. However, remember that we can pray for the blessing and reject the responsibility.

From these verses in Matthew 28, we see that a disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who’s also engaged in replicating who they are. Within the context of this verse, it’s also important that we invite God to guard our hearts against thinking that, as a church, our mission statement is just a fad or related only to a season of the church’s life. We must remember that this calling is based upon the revelation of Jesus Christ through His Word.

An Invitation to Live for His Purposes Over Our Temporal Preferences

JESUS: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23, Mark 8:34

Following Jesus will cost you something. If any pastor, lay leader, or fellow believer waters down that truth, they’re hurting you. It will cost you something, but you will do so for the right reasons.

Sometimes, following Jesus isn’t going to be popular with everyone. But consider this: Was Jesus popular? Yes. Was He unpopular? Yes. Whose image is God seeking to conform you to? Believing that you can be a follower of Jesus and remain popular with everyone is a daydream and false Christianity. That’s why He encouraged us to count the cost before we build our tower. Jesus was adamant that people ponder their decision to put their faith in Him.

Once, a high-ranking business professional told me that while no moral boundaries had been crossed, he had become deeply and emotionally connected with a female coworker. He was married with children and knew the longer he allowed this relationship to foster, the more things would slip beyond his grasp. So, as a Christian, he made a sacrifice. He transferred to another department, which included an office in an entirely different building and a salary cut. Because he pursued righteousness, he did the hard thing on the front end. Rather than accommodating vulnerabilities to sin that would bring destruction, he sacrificed to follow Jesus.

The Christian author Trevin Wax said, “When we say we want to be Jesus’s hands and feet, we need to remember what happened to Jesus’s hands and feet.” Jesus is worthy of our reputation being burned up in the eyes of some. Much like we can read in Scripture about what the disciples endured for their faith, we, too, have the assurance that Jesus is worthy of our suffering.

[READ MORE: What Does It Cost to Follow Jesus?]

Higher Love

JESUS: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25-27

When we read that verse on the surface, it can make us uncomfortable. However, as we’ve stated, following Jesus will have a cost. We were expecting our first grandchild when I was led to Memphis to serve as a pastor. It wasn’t easy to move several hours away, but we couldn’t intellectually or rationally deny God’s leading. When someone asked how we could do that, the answer was always, “Because Christ comes first.”

Jesus told us we can’t be disciples unless He is our first love. A pastor once said, “When I love Jesus first, I love my wife and children more.” When our first love is our Savior, we can love everyone around us more, including, and perhaps especially, those who can be difficult to love at times.

When we love Christ with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, a greater love dwells within our hearts, and we’ll have more love to give away because of God’s love within us.

Extravagant Love

JESUS: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

This can be easy to overlook, but what’s described in those verses is an extravagant love! The word used is agape, which is different from the other Greek words used for love.

Phileo: friendship love
Eros: lustful love
Agape: sacrificial love

Agape love is giving of yourself to love others. When we understand agape love, we grow to understand how extravagant God’s love is and how He’s called us to demonstrate and share extravagant love. This also applies to people like us, but especially those who aren’t. It’s a calling to love people who aren’t like you and to willingly sacrifice, in the name of Jesus Christ, to show them extravagant love. Jesus called us to love, bless, forgive, and pray for our enemies. That’s part of what sets Christianity apart.

Ability to Move From Bondage to Freedom

JESUS: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32

Numerous college campuses in our nation have the phrase, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” etched in stone or on some monument, but few, if any, put the phrase in its true context. You can study botany (a worthwhile topic), but it won’t set you free.

However, Jesus said in its proper context that if you hold to my teaching, then you are my disciples, which is the truth that sets you free. Truth is a person, not just a concept. Raised from the dead and now seated at the Father’s right hand, He prays for you and intercedes on your behalf.

Jesus is your source and your power to things beyond your flesh. The Gospel is our access to the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Through the shed blood of Christ, you have communion with God, and your sins are forgiven.

[READ MORE: How to Live in the Freedom of Grace]

A Church of Disciples

God has justified disciples. When you come to Christ by faith, through grace alone, you’re in the process of sanctification. A disciple of Christ is sanctified, commanded, and empowered by God for mission. We must use caution to ensure that we’re not deceived into thinking that our mission as a faith family is a passing fad based on another phase of pastoral leadership because this is based upon Jesus’ words.

A disciple is a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Based on the revelation of Jesus and Scripture, as a church, we define discipleship in this manner: Discipleship is the process of developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who develop fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. These definitions create an environment of intentionality, measurability, and responsiveness in seeking to be faithful to Christ’s command to “make disciples.” This enables us to determine:

Lord, are you at work in us?
Are we making progress?
Is the needle moving for your glory?

Learning from Jesus is both a foundation and a fountain of all we are as disciples. He is the cornerstone, but Jesus is also the fountain, meaning He is our living water, which gives us the power to live in this. We’re not supposed to live into our own power, but we’re designed to be a geyser of living water through Jesus Christ.

Reviewing the stories of fellow believers who live into discipleship, we see the tremendous things God can do through individuals. In 1933, Dawson Trotman taught fellow sailor Les Spencer the principles of Christianity, who then taught someone else. Soon, those they taught began teaching others, and 125 men on the USS West Virginia were growing in Christ. After World War II, they began the Navigators ministry to expand to college campuses. Today, tens of thousands of individuals worldwide are being reached because of the Navigators.

Consider this: If God can do that through two people, what might God do through a people called Christ Methodist Church in a season when the church family is also committed to equipping? In a culture riddled with brokenness, we have the opportunity to be subversive in a holy way. Please don’t overlook that word “holy” because we want to honor people and point them to the way, the truth, and the light that is Christ.