Foundations of Discipleship
Discipleship isn’t complicated, but it can be difficult. If you ask a believer who knows the Bible and seeks to live it out, I am confident they will tell you how important discipleship is. But how, in your local Church week after week, do ordinary Church members prioritize discipleship? And how do you become a “discipling Christian?”
As I said, discipleship can be difficult. Sometimes, it is good to go back to the foundational text for discipleship: Matthew 28. It is here you can see the theological foundations of discipleship and can clarify your thinking about what discipleship is, and what it isn’t. I want to give you some brief observations on Matthew 28 before giving you three foundations of discipleship from the text.
Matthew 28
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20, ESV emphasis added
Let me make a few brief observations before we go deeper into what this text is saying. The first is simply this: everything Jesus says in these few verses is based on Him having all authority. All authority in heaven and on earth. There is no authority He is lacking. So, this last command, to make disciples, is based on Him having all authority.
This isn’t like your close friend suggesting you change jobs or move locations. This is the risen Christ who has more power than every human ruler combined. And this Jesus is telling His disciples what they are to do next. This command based on all authority in the entire universe is vitally important and not given lightly.
This leads to the next observation: Jesus uses all His authority specifically to tell His disciples to go and make disciples. Is that strange to you? If you had “all authority in heaven and earth,” would that be your command? To make disciples? I think most people today would use such authority to say “go therefore and solve all the world’s problems” or “go therefore and bring about justice and world peace” or “go and change the world.” But Jesus doesn’t say any of that.
Jesus does not command His disciples to solve all the worlds problems. But He also doesn’t tell His disciples to merely stay together as a group. Jesus doesn’t say “stay therefore together as one group and enjoy the fellowship and forgiveness I have bought.” Instead, He sends His followers on a mission. In order to see the greatness of the great commission, you need to think through all the things Jesus could have said, but didn’t.
So what does Jesus command? He tells his disciples to make disciples. Then Jesus clarifies specifically what this looks like: baptizing them and teaching them to obey all His words. An article in this months Tabletalk magazine describes this as “bringing them in and building them up.” That’s good. Baptism brings new believers into the Church and after that begins the lifelong process of building them up in Christ-likeness. This latter “building up” is what the Church often defines as “discipleship.”
Theological Foundations of Discipleship
Now that you have seen a couple brief textual observations from Matthew 28, I want to give three big picture theological foundations of discipleship. These three truths are crucial for you to understand if you want to become a discipling Christian. Unsurprisingly, each of these truths are centered around Jesus and God’s glory. If you don’t start with Christ and God’s glory, you will fail to understand discipleship properly and will likely become “burnt out” as you try to disciple others.
Foundation 1: Jesus is raised from dead and has all authority
As I mentioned before, Jesus commands His disciples to go and make disciples based on complete and total authority. During His time of earthly ministry, Jesus was a “man of sorrows” and had “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant.” But this command for the evangelism and discipleship of all nations comes after Christ has defeated death. After He has paid for the sins of His people. Jesus was the suffering servant; now He is the glorious, resurrected King.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11, ESV emphasis added
Certainly the fullness of Christ’s glory will be revealed when He returns. But now, you and I live after His resurrection. This means Jesus already has all authority; He is Lord of history and Lord of the nations. But not only does Jesus have authority after the resurrection, He also has a people, His bride: the Church.
The Church’s desire is to obey Christ, their glorious resurrected King. So, when Jesus says “go therefore and make disciples,” it is not a painful duty for the Church to perform. It should be every Christian’s delight to obey the commands of their King. Jesus has proven His love and mercy towards you by dying in your place and defeating death on your behalf.
The question is “what then should I do?” If you are saved and believe in the gospel, Matthew 28 answers that question:
No matter where you go or what you do, your mission is to make disciples of all nations.
There are many avenues to obey this command. But the key is not to wait for a “perfect situation” (see my book quote of the week for this Monday). Obey where you are today. You don’t have all authority over your life. Jesus does. And He tells you “make disciples.”
You want to become a discipling Christian? Remember is it Jesus who has authority over your life and He commands you to make disciples.
Foundation 2: Jesus is always with His people
What is amazing about Matthew 28 is Jesus doesn’t just say “go make disciples”; He also says He will be with His Church as they go make disciples. And there isn’t an expiration date for this promise: Jesus says He will be with His disciples always, even to the end of the age.
How can Jesus say this when He is about to ascend back to heaven? If you have read through the gospels you know the answer: Jesus is not going to leave His disciples orphans. Once Jesus ascends, the Holy Spirit descends on the Church. If you read through the book of Acts, you see that the growth of the early Church was a Spirit-empowered growth.
On your own, you cannot make disciples of all nations. But Jesus never asks you to do it alone.
Don’t expect discipleship to be easy. As you seek to obey Jesus command, you will face suffering, persecution, road blocks, and every manner of difficulty. But none of these should ever hinder you as you obey Jesus commands. Why? Because unlike world rulers who issue laws from a far distance, Jesus doesn’t just issue commands. He comes alongside His people to help them accomplish His commands.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Hebrews 13:5-6, ESV emphasis added
Notice the logic of Hebrews 13: Christ will never leave or forsake the believer. He is the Christian’s sovereign, all-powerful helper. So, there is nothing to fear; nothing another human can do to you will stop God’s plan. If you are going to commit your life to obeying your King’s command in Matthew 28, you are going to need to rely on Christ and His strength. You will need to daily draw comfort from the truth that even if everyone else in the world forsakes you, Christ never will.
There is no one who can ultimately harm you when Jesus is your ever-present, ever-faithful helper.
You want to become a discipling Christian? Remember that Jesus is the source of your comfort and strength. There is no obstacle to your obedience which is too great.
Foundation 3: Discipleship is part of God’s plan for the world
The final foundation of discipleship I want to point out is discipleship is a vital component to God’s overarching plan for the world. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s goal is to gloryfy Himself among all people. It is through God getting the glory that blessing comes to us who believe. This plan was not just for one people group; from the very beginning God was going to bless the nations and save true worshipers from the nations.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-13, ESV emphasis added
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
Psalm 22:27, ESV emphasis added
It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
Isaiah 2:2b-3b, ESV emphasis added
If you want even more verses, read them here. It is overwhelming the amount of times God clarifies in Scripture His end goal is His glory among all nations. That is where the whole story of Scripture ends:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, f“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:9-10, ESV emphasis added
If your heart is not excited by these passages, I recommend you study more deeply Biblical Theology. God’s plan is astounding, rich, and almost too good to be true. If you are not gripped by God’s plan for the world, you will not prioritize discipleship nor be effective in it. In order to do something well, you must have a clear goal in mine.
The clear goal of discipleship is God’s glory among the nations.
This makes it a joy to labor to bring people into the Church and then labor to build them up in obedience to Christ. The actual day-to-day tasks of discipleship might be wearisome. But if you keep in your mind that the goal of what you are doing is so God can get glory, worship and honor, you won’t be shaken by the ups and downs along the way. Biblical discipleship aims at God’s glory among all nations. Not moral improvement. Not “practical advice.” Your focus as you go about discipling should be on eternity, when the redeemed Church of God worships Him forever.
You want to become a discipling Christian? Spend your life not on your own plans and agenda, but labor for God’s glory among all people. Only that agenda is worth your greatest effort.
Conclusion
Discipling others may be the most important thing you ever do with your life. 100 years from now, almost no one will remember what you did in your life. Even your own great-great grandchildren likely won’t remember as much as your name. In light of death and the brevity of life, what can you do that really matters? If you are a Christian, you have the answer: go and make disciples of all nations.
Jesus has all authority and commands you to do this. He also presently empowers you to live in obedience to this command. And you know your time is not wasted, because making disciples is part of God’s plan for the universe. If you want to live for God’s glory, if you want to live in obedience to Christ, if you want your life to “count”, you are going to have to prioritize discipleship. A discipling life is a life worth living.
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