Type of Doctrine: Tertiary
"18 And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 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
Why does it matter?
Making disciples matters because it is a command given to us by Jesus. Matthew 28:18-20 is the primary mission of the church. Jesus says to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). He explains this showing that we are to lead nonbelievers to become believers, baptize them, and to help believers grow in Christlikeness (i.e., teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded).
Making disciples is a primary issue. Everyone must obey the command of Jesus. However, the specific strategy is at least a secondary issue and probably even a tertiary issue. At times it could become a secondary issue because it could significantly affect church worship services and activities. In this case, a person may need to find a church that better aligns with their view (i.e., meaning it would be a secondary issue).
But, more commonly, it is probably a tertiary issue. Why do I say this? Because there are times when one believer may disagree with another believer's discipleship view or strategy and it may not significantly affect church decisions or activities. In this case, it is a third-tier issue and well-meaning Christians could disagree with each other respectfully and remain in the same church.
What is it?
Discipleship is becoming a follower of Jesus and growing as a follower of Jesus. A key Scripture is Matthew 28:18-20: "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.'"
Discipleship is becoming a follower of Jesus and growing as a follower of Jesus.
The sentence structure sheds light on what Jesus means. The verb in this sentence is "make disciples." Jesus also uses various participles that are connected to this verb to explain how to obey this command.
The first is "go," the second is "baptizing," and the third is "teaching." "Go" suggests that we would need to go to them and preach the gospel (perhaps even has the idea "as you go"). In Luke's version, he seems to stress preaching the gospel: " . . . repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). "Baptizing" suggests that we need to baptize a person who has saving faith in Jesus (i.e., which communicates the idea of immersing them in water). Lastly, "teaching" suggests that we teach the things that Jesus taught. By extension, all of the words of Scripture are the words of God, and therefore, we should teach all of Scripture (for more on the role that theology plays in the teaching part of the discipleship mandate click here).
But notice that Jesus doesn't merely say accumulate knowledge. Instead, he says to observe his teachings. In other words, learn it but also live it and obey it. So, to summarize, making disciples means sharing the gospel with nonbelievers, baptizing someone who has become a believer, and teaching believers to obey Scripture.
Thus, we can identify two groups that Jesus is talking about:
- Nonbelievers: need to hear the gospel and believe
- Believers: need to be baptized, need to be taught Scripture, and need to obey Scripture
Or, to put it even more simply:
Evangelism: becoming a Christian
Growth: growing as a Christian
Now, at this point, many look at Jesus' relationship with the disciples to figure out what we should do in discipleship relationships. So, it's important to define what Jesus is doing. Is Jesus saying everyone must find their twelve and disciple them for three years like he did? I'm not so sure. Why? Because for one thing the phrase "made disciples" can clearly refer to evangelism - that is, the evangelistic process that comes from preaching the gospel (see Acts 14:21). Did Jesus not preach the gospel to the masses? Was that not one form of discipleship as well? What about his training and sending out of the seventy-two? Was that not one form of discipleship? What about his inner circle of three? Was that not also discipleship? I think that discipleship encompasses all of these groups, but Jesus was doing a form of leadership development with the twelve (and perhaps some form of this with the seventy-two as well). Additionally, the apostles do not seem to all literally take twelve people each to disciple. Instead, after the resurrection, we see them preaching, praying, starting churches, and training leaders.
Therefore, we can update our earlier understanding with this:
Evangelism: becoming a Christian
Growth: growing as a Christian
Leadership: developing Christian leaders (It must be made clear that this is not a second-stage Christian by any means! See the next paragraph.)
Some use the word "discipleship" to mean a second-stage Christian. John Piper comments on this in his article What Is Discipleship and How Is It Done?: "The word disciple in the New Testament does not mean a second-stage Christian. There are some ministries that are built around this distinction that is just so unbiblical, as if there were converts, then there are disciples who are little stage-two Christians who learn more, and then there are disciple makers. Now all those groupings are linguistically foreign to the New Testament. A disciple in the New Testament is simply a Christian: 'And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians' (Acts 11:26). Everybody that was converted to Jesus was a disciple. Everybody that was converted to Jesus was a Christian." Thus, being a disciple means being a Christian. It means being a follower of Jesus. There are no second or third stage followers of Jesus. Instead, a person is either a Christian or not; they are a disciple or not.
Being a disciple means being a Christian. It means being a follower of Jesus.
Additionally, many related ideas may affect our view of discipleship. To provide a few examples, one's theological view of sanctification, whether discipleship is individualistic or communal, an eastern worldview or a western worldview, whether the discipleship process is linear or nonlinear, one's theological view of the Lord's Supper, one's view on the method and importance of preaching, one's view on the power and presence of the Spirit, and one's theological view of spiritual gifts may affect the view on discipleship that someone adopts.
Sometimes, particularly in Western culture, we are so individualistic that sometimes we may think that discipleship is only one person spending time with another person. This can lead us to think that what happens in a worship service is not actually discipleship; "discipleship happens at other times," some may say. But do we preach the gospel in worship services? Do we baptize? Do we teach Scripture? Biblically speaking, according to Matthew 28:18-20, that is a form of discipleship! In fact, it could be argued that the worship service has been the centerpiece of Christian discipleship throughout church history.
Admittedly, one-on-one mentoring can be a great thing to do, but if that is the only way of viewing discipleship then it is very narrow. In fact, there are very few cases of Jesus doing discipleship that way (he often used various sizes of groups). As Glenn Packiam points out in his book The Resilient Pastor, we have devised a vision of discipleship that is "individual and internal" (154; emphasis his). It seems that we may have identified a good solution to a legitimate problem (i.e., it would be good to meet and go deeper outside of the worship service), but we may have pendulum swung too far (i.e., wrongly thinking that real discipleship only takes place outside of the worship service). He elaborates: "Formation in the early church was not focused on the individual or the internal but rather the communal and the habitual. Evangelicals are fond of saying that going to church doesn't make you a Christian. True enough. But perhaps in emphasizing personal faith we've forgotten what the first centuries of Christians knew: it takes a church to make a Christian" (154; emphasis his).
This communal vision of discipleship is exactly what we see in 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4 as well. Various people with various spiritual gifts coming together with this result: we are all edified, encouraged, and we grow in Christlikeness.
Today, there are so many strategies for making disciples. Some argue that a certain book, or books, must be read (often not necessarily the Bible). Others argue that a certain level of emotional health must be developed. Others claim that a certain type of small group must be set up to confess sin. Still others claim there is a linear process that must be followed (i.e., certain steps to progress through). Some see evangelistic success as a sign that someone has matured as a disciple. Others say that discipleship is simply a lifetime of learning to obey Jesus. Others say believing the gospel is how you become a Christian, but the gospel is also how you grow as a Christian. Others see Bible knowledge, spiritual gifts, character, ability to train other leaders, or some other marker of spiritual maturity. That demonstrates how many different modern views there are on this subject.
Eric Geiger highlights the following modern views of discipleship: (1) one-on-one mentoring, (2) new believer follow up, (3) education classes, (4) small groups, and (5) mission and/or overarching process (click here to read his article). It's an interesting and helpful article, but note what is missing. Worship services are not included in his list.
I am not suggesting that all of these methods and strategies are not helpful at times; instead, I am demonstrating the smorgasbord of views on discipleship. Some of them, however, are almost put forth as if they are the right way to make disciples that have now been discovered in the 21st century!
Historically, as noted earlier, worship services were the centerpiece of Christian discipleship. As Michael Horton comments in his book The Gospel Commission, "The idea is that real disciples are formed not in the theater of ordinary Word-and-sacrament ministry and the care of elders and deacons, but in the parachurch enclaves for super-spirituality" (165; emphasis his). In other words, many modern Christians have moved from believing Christians can be discipled by the Spirit's ordinary work in the weekly worship service. They might say that disciples aren't produced from worship services that include singing, preaching, the Lord's Supper, and baptism. Other things must be done outside of the worship service to produce real disciples. Why? He claims that "this goes back still further, to pietism and revivalism and before that to the radical Protestant movements and still further back to monastic spirituality" (165). He continues by arguing that this ordinary work that God does in the worship service is God's main method for discipling us.
What are some biblical and historic ways to view discipleship? Here are some simple historic tools for discipleship:
Attend Church Worship Service (with singing, preaching/teaching Scripture, the Lord's Supper, and baptism if possible)
Read and meditate on Scripture
Daily prayer (often multiple times per day) - Confessing Sins, Thanksgiving, The Psalms, The 10 Commandments, The Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, The Lord's Prayer
Regular Fasting (the early church often fasted twice per week)
Community & Relationships (originally this happened in the context of lovefeasts, see Jude 12, but a modern version could be like a small group)
Family worship & discipleship (read the Bible, sing, pray, catechism, 10 commandments, Apostles' Creed, etc.)
Application
Discipleship means being a Christian. Once you become a Christian by believing in the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in your place, then discipleship means growing as a Christian. Being a Christian affects our whole lives (i.e., family, friends, work, rest, and leisure). We aren't merely Christians on Sunday morning.
To put it simply, at its most basic level, being a disciple means that we should join a church (which is playing some part in reaching the world for Jesus, Matt. 28:18-20) and seek to read the Bible and pray. As we do these things the Spirit will work in us, helping us grow to become more like Jesus. Paul says it this way: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13 ESV).
Where can I learn more?
Bibliography:
My recommendation would be to start with John Piper's brief article first!
Books
- Coleman, Robert. The Master Plan of Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006.
- Dodson, Jonathan K. Gospel-Centered Discipleship. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.
- Horton, Michael. The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011.
- Packiam, Glenn. The Resilient Pastor: Leading Your Church in a Rapidly Changing World. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2022.
- Peterson, Eugene. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. Downers Grove: IVP, 2021.
- Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert Coleman. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.
- Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship: Moving from Shallow Christianity to Deep Transformation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021.
- Spader, Dann. 4 Chair Discipling: What Jesus Calls Us to Do. Chicago: Moody, 2014.
Articles
- See Eric Geiger's article titled, "5 Current Views of Discipleship"
- See John Piper's article titled, "What Is Discipleship and How Is It Done?"
- See Godwin Sathianathan's article titled, "Grow a Disciple-Making Culture in Your Church."