Who is a Disciple and How to Make Disciples?

Making disciples of Jesus means making servants who love one another. 

Jesus said, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33), so only those who renounce all for Christ are actually Jesus’ disciples, but how can we know whether someone is truly a disciple of Jesus or not? We cannot know, God knows.

We just persevere in His Word, we believe in His Word and share His Word. It is whether they do what He commands. That’s a start. It doesn’t matter at all if they are male or female, black or white, a business owner or a janitor…God is no respecter of persons. 

A disciple of Christ has nothing to do with who they are or what they look like. They are someone called to live “in” Christ, equipped to live “like” Christ, and sent to live “for” Christ. 

This “calling” includes salvation and abiding in Christ (John 8:31–32). “Equipping” includes spiritual formation and growth (2 Timothy 3:16–17). “Sending” includes discipling others, doing good works, bearing much fruit, and loving our neighbors (Matthew 28:18–20, John 15:8, John 13:34–35). 

“Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’” (Matt 16:24), and said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40), and those who are like Christ will suffer persecution like Christ, although not to the same extent of course. 

 

This means, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26), and “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27), so every Christian should know, if they don’t already, it will be narrow path to eternal life that will be difficult to travel, and apparently few will find it (Matt 7:13-14)

Does that sound like something only a mature Christian can do? There are some of us who are yet in the milk stage... but if we persevere, we will get to partake of the meat of the Gospel in our becoming a disciple and making disciples as we are discipled into mature Christians. What about 'hating' father/mother/wife/children... ? 

This is the price of being a disciple. It sounds harsh but this is the price everyone pays. It means to put God FIRST!  Yes, husband puts God first, wife puts God first, parents put God first, mother puts God first, child puts God first, etc. In this way, we are now all equal before God, because He is First!

We know this is possible for all things are possible with God and we know that the basic element is love. Love of God, Love of neighbor... Making disciples of Jesus means making servants who love one another.

Think of it like this, if you meet someone you can fall in love immediately but that does not mean you truly know that person and could have a godly life with that person. Yes, love is powerful and can overcome much but as the world is fallen, we need more than the love the world offers. 

As we are born again, we get a taste of another kind of love, a greater love. In this love, we can grow in love and share that love over time ...this is the experience for the disciple. Its becoming a follower of Jesus Christ and as we are discipled we grow in love more and more each day as such and can disciple others.