The Church Defined预览

Disciple Makers

Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV)

The mandate to ‘make disciples’ of all nations, has to a large extent, become the Great Omission in the Great Commission. The directive of Jesus is not to make ‘converts’ but to make ‘disciples.’ According to Wikipedia, “A disciple in biblical terms is one who is a dedicated follower of Jesus. A disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master. It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.” 

Luke records in Luke 6:12-16, that Jesus prayed all night before He chose His twelve disciples. Note how Mark 3:14-15 explained this: “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons…” (NKJV) It was this close companionship with Jesus that transformed His disciples into great stalwarts for the Kingdom. It is therefore no wonder then, that when Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin to speak in Acts 4:13, the leaders “perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (NKJV)

To those who desired to be His disciples, Jesus set forth some demands. A disciple according to Jesus is:

· One who denies himself and takes up his cross daily to follow Him Luke 9:23.

· One who loves God more than anyone else, even more than his own life Luke 14:25-26

· One who is willing to give up everything Luke 14:33

Jesus further taught, that if the people around us were to recognize us as His disciples, then certain characteristics would have to be evident in our lives. As disciples of Jesus, we must abide in His word John 8:31, love one another as He loved us John 13:34-35, and bear much fruit in our lives John 15:8

The early church made disciples of all those who believed, and we read in Acts 11:26, “So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” (NIV) 

Making disciples is the call of God for the church today. It is a challenging task as it requires of us to give more than just the good news. It demands we share our time, energy, resources and our lives as well. Paul says this gracefully in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” (NLT) Paul further explains this discipleship process to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2: “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (ESV) 

Someone said this so powerfully, “We aren’t called to fill the pews with members; we are called to fill the world with disciples.” Here’s a thought provoking quote by A.W Tozer, “Only a disciple, can make a disciple.” As Disciples of Jesus, let us fulfill the Great Commission in it’s entirety, and be Disciple Makers for Jesus.