What is a Disciple of Jesus? (Recap)
Over the past few weeks/months, I’ve been answering the question, “What is a disciple of Jesus?” I thought I would give you a post with links to all the posts in one place. Hope you enjoy!
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part I
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part II
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part III – Finding Your Identity in Jesus
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part IV – Imaging Jesus
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part V – Worshiping Jesus
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part VI – Living in Community
- What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part VII – Being on Mission
What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part IV – Imaging Jesus
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. – Ephesians 5:1-2
In the beginning, God created us in His image. Like a mirror, we were created to reflect God’s glory to the world around us. Unfortunately, sin entered the world and our reflection became distorted. Our mirrors became bent and broken.
The story doesn’t stop there though. Jesus entered our world and imaged the Father perfectly. He reflected God’s glory to the world perfectly. Everything he did showed us a perfect image of who the Father is. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”[i] Jesus imaged the Father.
We are called to image Jesus in the same way that Jesus imaged God the Father. As disciples we are being conformed into the image of Jesus.[ii] Bruce Ware describes our imaging this way:
Created and finite representations (images of God) of God’s own nature, that in relationship with Him and each other, they might be His representatives (imaging God) in carrying out responsibilities He was given to them. In this sense, we are images of God in order to image God and His purposes in the ordering of our lives and carrying out of our God-given responsibilities.[iii]
In the next three weeks we will focus on three distinct areas in our lives in which we are called to image God. We are called to worship Jesus with all of our lives, live in gospel-centered community, and be on mission in the world around us. For now we will simply focus on the thought of imaging God.
Now that our identity is in Jesus, our lives are called to be a reflection of Jesus. Our mirrors are being repaired so we can image Jesus in everything we do, think, feel, and say. This is only possible because of the relationship that we now have with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit as we are continually purified into the image of Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus, it is our goal that every aspect of our life would reflect God’s glory. Our families should reflect God’s glory. Our finances should reflect God’s glory. Our relationships should reflect God’s glory. Our jobs should reflect God’s glory. Spend this week focusing on how you are called to be an image-bearer of God.
[i] John 14:9 (ESV)
[ii] Romans 8:29
[iii] Wayne Grudem, Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood (Crossway Books, 2002), 79.
What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part II
We ended yesterday with the following definition to answer the questions, “What is a Disciple of Jesus?”
A disciple is someone who is on the path to becoming like Jesus by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. As the disciple becomes more like Jesus, they find their identity in Jesus and image Him by worshiping God with all their lives, living in gospel community with other disciples, and going on mission to make more disciples of Jesus.
Let me break down this definition a little bit more. As the lead singer of Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, sings in his song Amazing, “Life’s a journey, not a destination.”[i] Being a disciple of Jesus has no ultimate connotation that you have arrived in any way. You see in the Apostle John’s gospel that those who were called disciples were simply on the path to being made into the image of Jesus. Some only took a few steps, whereas some followed Jesus to their death. The reality is that being a disciple of Jesus means that you are on the path, following Jesus.
Now like most journeys, there are going to be points of interest along the way (salvation, joining a church, special callings in your life, etc.), but these aren’t the ultimate focus. The ultimate focus of a disciple is Jesus himself. A disciple isn’t marked by their experience, knowledge, actions, or expertise. A disciple is marked by whom they are following. For a Christian, that is Jesus himself. Our ultimate goal is to be transformed into the image of Christ.
This isn’t by any merit of our own. The fact that we are disciples of Jesus is strictly by the grace of God. It is through the blood of Christ that we are called to be His disciples. You see this over and over again in the gospels when Jesus called his disciples: they were not called base on merit. There was simply Jesus’ call into their lives to “follow me.”[ii]
Our growth and progress as we follow Jesus is also nothing for us to boast in either. Sanctification doesn’t happen because of our own will, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter encourages some exiles of gospel in 1 Peter 1:1-2 by telling them:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.[iii]
We are called by the grace of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit to become more and more like the Son of God…Jesus. This is what it means to be a disciple.
My definition of a disciple ends with the sentence, “As the disciple becomes more like Jesus, they find their identity in Jesus and image Him by worshiping God with all their lives, living in gospel community with other disciples, and going on mission to make more disciples of Jesus.”
As a disciple is being transformed into the image of Christ, there are some clear areas in the life that will be transformed. Disciples will begin to find their identity in Jesus, worship Jesus with all their life, live in community, and be on mission to make more disciples of Jesus. That is the out powering from who the disciple is. These are the actions of a disciple. Over the next few weeks we’ll focus on each one of these more. Until then, I pray that you grow in your walk with Jesus.
[i] Aerosmith, Amazing (Geffen, 2001).
[ii] Matthew 4:19, Matthew 8:22, Mark 1:17, Mark 2:14, Luke 1:3, Luke 5:27, John 1:43
[iii] (ESV)
What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part I
My week at Re:Train for the Spiritual Formations class truly helped me to solidify what my concept of a disciple is. Before then, I had only given minimal thought and study towards the question, “What is a disciple of Jesus?” Let me clarify my definition of a disciple before I move forward with the implications this has on my ministry.
Before we can understand what a disciple is, we first have to take a look at what a disciple isn’t. While each of the following is an aspect of a disciple, none of them by themselves give us a full picture of what a disciple is.
First, a disciple isn’t a mystic. A mystic’s whole life’s goal is to seek to be in the presence of Jesus. While this is a noble task and one that we should all seek to some degree, it is not a disciple.
Some would say that a disciple is a student. A student’s goal is to gain knowledge from a teacher. While we need to grow in our understanding of Jesus and the gospel everyday, a student and a disciple are two different things.
Third, some think of a disciple as a practitioner, focused on actions. They want to do what Jesus did. They love seeking out the methods of Jesus and seek to do the same thing as He did. While we need to learn to do what Jesus did, this isn’t a disciple.
Lastly, some people think of a disciple as a professional. In his or her mind, a disciple is someone who has finally arrived. They have read several books, taken classes, and probably hold some kind of title in the church.
So if a disciple isn’t a mystic, student, practitioner, or professional, what is a disciple? To begin, we need to take a look at what it would have culturally meant to be a disciple during the time Jesus was on earth. Ray Vander Laan talks about the education system and the relationship between a rabbi and disciples.
A few (very few) of the most outstanding Beth Midrash students sought permission to study with a famous rabbi often leaving home to travel with him for a lengthy period of time. These students were called talmidim (talmid, s.) in Hebrew, which is translated disciple. There is much more to a talmid than what we call student. A student wants to know what the teacher knows for the grade, to complete the class or the degree or even out of respect for the teacher. A talmid wants to be like the teacher, that is to become what the teacher is. That meant that students were passionately devoted to their rabbi and noted everything he did or said. This meant the rabbi/talmid relationship was a very intense and personal system of education. As the rabbi lived and taught his understanding of the Scripture his students (talmidim) listened and watched and imitated so as to become like him.[i]
A disciple doesn’t want to know what the rabbi knows or do what the rabbi does or simply be in the presence of the rabbi; he wants to do all these things to become who the rabbi is. The disciple’s sole focus is to become who the rabbi is. So this shapes my definition of a disciple:
A disciple is someone who is on the path to becoming like Jesus by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. As the disciple becomes more like Jesus, they find their identity in Jesus and image Him by worshiping God with all their lives, living in gospel community with other disciples, and going on mission to make more disciples of Jesus.
Tomorrow we’ll break down this definition a little more…
[i] Ray Vander Laan, “Rabbi and Talmidim,” Follow the Rabbi, http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=2753.
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