Disciples of Christ – The Goal

By William Cunningham

Introduction

Matthew 28:18–20 (NASB95) — 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In order to truly practice Christianity, we must be a disciple of Christ. This is where the distinction is made in many if not all cases.  There is a difference between being a religious person and a Christian.  There is a difference in being a person professing to be a Christian and someone who is actually a disciple of Christ.  In order to practice Christianity, we need to be disciples, i.e., followers of Jesus Christ.  After all, the great commission from Jesus to His disciples is to make disciples of all nations.

An important issue here is knowing what a disciple of Jesus Christ is and what a disciple is supposed to therefore do.  Since a disciple is a follower of Christ and expected to do what Christ did, then we only need to examine the Scriptures to see what Jesus did during His ministry and what He taught His disciples to do.

This lesson will be a brief overview of what Jesus did and therefore what His disciples are supposed to do.

Disciple

Someone who follows another person or another way of life and who submits himself to the discipline (teaching) of that leader or way.[1] A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is taught what Jesus taught his first disciples and lives it.  A disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who follows Christ, i.e., the way of Jesus.

Believe

In order to be a follower of Jesus Christ, we must be a believer in Jesus Christ.  We must believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was raised from the dead by the power of God, and ascended to heaven to be with the Father (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  Jesus said himself…

John 3:16 (NASB95) — 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Acts of the Disciples

What does a disciple of Jesus Christ do?  To answer that question, we only need evaluate what Jesus did since we are to follow him.  Consider this passage of scripture.

John 14:12–14 (NASB95) — 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

This passage of scripture succinctly identifies one of the greatest problems in the religious community today.  We do not do the works of God. We do not do greater works than Jesus Christ.  We do not accomplish great things by asking in the name of Jesus.  Instead, we busy ourselves with religious activities.  Satan delivers to us sickness, poverty, disease, frustration, anger, etc. and we accept those in the name of Jesus.  We’ve been lied to and we believe the lie.  How many times have you heard someone say that God gave a person cancer for a greater good or that God killed that person because He loved him or her more than you.

What were the works of Jesus Christ?

  1. He preached the Kingdom of God
  2. He taught His disciples
  3. He healed the sick
  4. He raised the dead
  5. He cast out demons
  6. He revealed the Father

Jesus taught many disciples to carry on His message of salvation and the Kingdom of God. Consider the following passages of scripture with regards to a disciple of Jesus Christ.

  • Matthew 10:1 (NASB95) — 1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
  • Mark 6:13 (NASB95) — 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
  • Mark 3:14 (NASB95) — 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,
  • Acts 6:7 (NASB95) — 7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
  • John 15:5–8 (NASB95) — 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

The ultimate goal is to be a disciple and make others disciples.  Everything that you do with regards to religion, heaven, etc. must be measured against the commission of Jesus Christ.  We also note that according to John 3:16 discipleship is only available to us because of God’s love, then we should operate out of a heart of love and not necessarily mere duty or as a job.  God loves us so He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins.  We love others so we point them to that same object of God’s love, namely Jesus Christ.  They then become disciples and the cycle continues.

Some things that a disciple should do since we do not have direct access to Jesus’ original disciples.

  1. Be born again, i.e., have put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
  2. Be diligent to know Christ by reading and studying the Bible
  3. Live according to the word of God, i.e., be a doer of the word
  4. Share the gospel of Christ with others
  5. A disciple goes and does what Jesus commands

A Disciple is Not…

I thought it necessary to discuss what a disciple is not.  In other words, the following things practiced do not make one a disciple.  See Matthew 7:21-23.

  1. One who attends church regularly
  2. One who is religious
  3. One who does good deeds
  4. One who follows the rules of their denomination
  5. One who prays a lot
  6. One who is a good person
  7. One who sings on a choir
  8. One who preaches
  9. One who teaches
  10. One who is a church leader

It is important to understand that a disciple of Jesus Christ is not defined by the items in the list above, though a disciple may exhibit those traits or activities.

A disciple of Jesus Christ is a Christian who learns the ways of Christ, lives by them and shares them.

A Christian is one who has put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and not on their works.  Being a Christian and therefore a disciple is therefore founded upon what Jesus Christ has done and what he commanded his disciples to do.

The key word to discipleship is “go.”  We are to go out.  Too often we promote our own religious ideals or institution instead of Christ.  We are to be ready to give an answer for the faith we have at any time (1 Peter 3:15)

Conclusion

Be a disciple of Christ.  In whatever way God has equipped you, be prepared to share the good news about Jesus Christ to those around you.  Begin to pursue a life of a disciple so that you would do what Jesus’s disciples did.  Preach (proclaim) the gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, live a life of love, etc.  Do what Jesus commanded a disciple to do.

Remember that our allegiance is to God and the first priority is His Kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33).  Obey God and truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Now Go!

[1] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 629). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.