LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Spiritual Formation and Disciple Assignment
Submitted to Dr. Micheal Pardue,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN500– B08
Spheres and Stages of Discipleship
by
xxx
September 11, 2022
Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
The Five Stages of Discipleship.....................................................................................................2
The Four Spheres of Life...............................................................................................................4
Current Stage of Discipleship.......................................................................................................7
Current Sphere of Discipleship.....................................................................................................7
Submission to Christ......................................................................................................................8
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
Discipleship should not be considered a single event, it should be considered a journey.
Just as it is important to organize a journey that one is going to take. Identifying stages and
spheres of one’s discipleship journey is also important. If we do not understand the journey that
we are on and why there is a chance that they will miss what is truly important for that particular
season of our discipleship journey. It is also important to identify where others are in their
journey as well. Believers cannot come alongside and disciple others if they cannot identify the
stage of the maturity of the disciple they are speaking into.
Every new believer comes to the feet of Jesus Christ empty and in need of a savior. When
they are willing to make that decision they surrender their life to following Jesus and are born
again. This is the beginning of that spiritual journey and the infancy stage of that relationship
with Christ. The spiritual nourishment of a new believer is greatly different from that of a more
mature adult disciple. The journey of discipleship will bring many transitions and growth as the
relationship grows to a more meaningful one with their savior. This can be seen through the level
of dependency on Christ and their relationships within the world or the fruit that is seen in their
lives.
No journey in the spiritual world is the same. As Christians, we must be aware of the help
and nourishment that may be needed for someone who may be in a different stage than the one
they are in. If Christians are disciple others, they need to have an understanding of the five stages
and four spheres of discipleship to effectively lead others to grow in their relationship of
becoming disciples of Christ.
The Five Stages of Discipleship
1
The stages of discipleship are a form of explaining the path of progress to identify one’s
levels of spiritual growth. As the authors of Discipleshift explain, “we recognize that although
growth typically does not happen in a linear fashion, there is a path to progress, a direction we
need to move in order to grow.” 1 The first of which is spiritually dead. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And
you were dead in the trespasses and sins”. This is the stage of life where someone has not yet
accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. They may be seeking out information or understanding
of God, but the acceptance of Christ as their Lord and Savior has not yet taken place. This can be
identified through the lack of fruit that comes from their life. During this stage, they may have an
interest in spirituality, or possibly none at all. Again we see in Discipleshift, “The key concept is
that a spiritually dead person does not have the life of Jesus within. This life is not there because
they have no faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.”2 This stage should be approached with loving
friendship and relationships from believers. One should be introduced to the Gospel followed by
an invitation to trust and follow Jesus. Jesus said in John 3:3, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless
one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To move from the spiritually dead phase,
one must be born again.
Upon a person professing their life to Jesus and being born again, they move into the
infant stage of discipleship. They have been born again, committing to follow Jesus and craving
spiritual nourishment. Just as an infant has come into the world and is living and breathing, they
are incapable of sustaining life on their own. When someone is in the spiritual infant stage, they
are lacking in the knowledge of Jesus and to be fully nourished they must be taught. There is
utmost importance on the introduction to the Holy Spirit in the infancy stage. Through prayer
and study of God’s Word, the spiritual infant can progress to becoming more self-sustaining.
1 Jim Putnam & Bobby Harrington, Discipleshift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make
Disciples. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 2016)
2 Ibid.
2
They may have a lot of questions and confusion based on their upbringing and way of life before
being born again. The authors of Discipleshift explain the importance of truth in this stage, “At
this stage, they need the truths of the Christian faith taught and modeled for them.” 3 As the
infant grows, the enemy will continue to prey on their lack of understanding and recent
conversion. They are in need of teaching and instruction through the power of the Holy Spirit
and discipleship.
The child stage of discipleship can be a new Christian or even someone who may have
been a Christian for many years. The apostle Paul regularly addressed those under his
discipleship as children. Just as Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12, “You are witnesses, and
God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you
know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and
changed you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and
glory.” Spiritual Children require the teaching of who they are in Christ. Just as a child needs
instruction and guidance from a parent, a spiritual child needs guidance and instruction. This will
come in the form of guidance, but also obedience towards God the Father. Spiritual children need
to learn what is right and wrong in regards to being a Christ followers. They will also need to be
instructed on maturity in the spiritual realm as well. That is becoming a servant and loving
others, no longer being selfish and self-centered.
When a spiritual child begins to shift from being self-centered to focusing on God and
others, they become a spiritually young adult. This is seen when a believer begins to focus more
deeply on God’s Word and His people. Discipleshift describes it as, “They are starting to
understand that God has called them to give to the body of Christ, rather than simply take.”4 The
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
3
shift may be noticed when a person is becoming more involved in ministering to others, and
putting others above themselves. Young adults will be more interested in serving God, showing
an interest in following in the Spirit on how they can help the body of Christ. While young adults
may have more understanding and knowledge of God, they will need more instruction on how to
serve God. Serving in a church can be a very challenging environment. They will need
encouragement, instruction on setting boundaries as well as accountability to ensure they are
continually growing as well.
In Discipleshift, we read that the final stage is a spiritual parent. This is not to be
compared to God the Father who is actually birthing and leading spiritual development. The
spiritual parent is the disciple of Jesus, who is acting like the apostle Paul did in encouraging and
mentoring other disciples. In 2 Timothy 2:1-2, the apostle Paul writes, “You then, my child, be
strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 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.” Paul
is writing to those under his guidance like an encouraging parent. He is encouraging those
disciples that they continue to grow in their spiritual development. A spiritual parent is a mature
Christ follower, however, they still need to intentionally build an impactful relationship with
Christ. To truly be able to guide and mentor other disciples, they need first a mature and deep
relationship with Christ. They need to surround themselves with other strong believers, ensuring
they are being ministered to as well throughout their spiritual journey.
The Four Spheres of Life
While the stages of spirituality are a means of identifying a person’s level of maturity in
Christ, the spheres outline how one needs to grow in different areas of their life. It can be seen as
a means of identifying how one should be disciple appropriately to needs in a particular sphere of
4
their life. It can be compared to the stages of life as one grows up. When a child is born, they
want to always be with their parents. Growing and developing through instruction and
nourishment from the parents along the way. Late on in life, they will become an adult and they
will transition to seeing the bigger picture, identifying ways to make an impact and to someday
have their own children. Throughout these different transitions, they will need to be led and
guided differently.
The center of the sphere or Venn diagram is the relationship with Jesus. As Rod Dempsey
describes a disciple in Disciple Making is…, “A disciple is a person who has trusted Christ for
salvation and has surrendered completely to Him. He or she is committed to practicing the
spiritual disciplines in community and developing to their full potential for Christ and His
mission.”5 The first and center of the sphere is the core or the foundation that greatly affects all
the other spheres directly. In John 15: 1-2 Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the
vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” This emphasizes the importance of the
core of the sphere and one’s personal relationship with Jesus. It is through the core of the circle
that direction will come on how to have a greater impact on the other spheres.
The second sphere is the relationships within the family of God, the Church. It is where
disciples can grow within the body of Christ. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:4, “there is one body
and one Spirit just as you were called to the one home that belongs to your call”. The family
sphere should be working together to encourage, challenge and love one another as brothers and
sisters in Christ. It is through the core of the sphere that we gain the wisdom to grow and develop
5 Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence. (B&H
Academic, Nashville, TN, 2013).
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in the family of the Church. We receive our instruction from the vine, and the fruit will be seen
throughout our Church family.
The third sphere is the relationships at home, or within our family. It is how Paul
describes in Ephesians 5 and 6 show a husband being the head of the household should lead their
wife. The wife seeing that her husband is following Christ will follow her husband and come
under him. Together they will mentor, grow, love, and encourage their children to become
followers of Christ as well. One of the most important and impactful areas in which a believer
came to make a difference is in their home. Again, we see the importance of the core to influence
how we have a relationship with our family in the home.
The fourth sphere that is discussed was the relationship with the world. When looking at
this relationship sphere it is important to remember that we are judged by our fruit. When having
a relationship with the Lord, we are not just simply working for the world, we are working for
the Lord in the world. This sphere is seen through how the fruit that a believer brings into the
world glorifies God. The core shines through in this relationship as the light from the goodness
within. It is the love that we receive from Jesus and the core relationship we have with him that
will grow the most fruit into the world. As Steve Miller wrote about the absolute necessity of
Love in his textbook titled, D.L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership, “We can have extraordinary
ministry abilities and make the greatest sacrifices ever witnessed by the world, but if we don’t
have love, our efforts are futile, and we are nothing.”6 We can go out into the world and
volunteer our time and show the world the church, but without the love of Christ flowing through
us our actions will be just noise. Our deeds and actions should be a direct image of Christ and
bring glory to God.
Current Stage of Discipleship
6 Steve Miller, D.L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership. (Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, 2004).39
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I would place myself into the young adult stage of my discipleship journey. My
relationship with the Lord has become a core value and I have matured enough in my journey to
begin to mentor and disciple others. For many years, my wife and I lead the youth ministry in our
church. Throughout this process, it gave me the opportunity to lead youth to Jesus as their Lord
and Savior, as well as mentor others to grow in their existing relationships. One of the core
messages we had for the program was that everyone has a seat at the table. Our message was that
we have been blessed with love and nourishment from the food we received from Chris, and we
wanted to share that with everyone who would take a seat with us at the table. I have since
stepped down from leading the youth program, however, I look for other ways to meet with men,
both young and old walking through their spiritual journey with them.
Current Sphere of Discipleship
While my core relationship with Christ is still of the utmost importance to me, one
relationship sphere that I have begun to place a significant amount of focus on is my family. With
our growing family, it is important to my wife and I to raise up children that know and are
willing to follow the Lord. We also believe it is important to emulate what a Biblical marriage
looks like. That is clearly showing them that the husband as the head of the house is following
Christ and has a meaningful spiritual relationship with Him. That we lead our children through
love, discipline, and encouragement through God’s Word. The core relationship sphere is always
communicated to them that it is through the love of Jesus that we are loving them. Daily I look
for guidance and direction from the Holy Spirit on how to mentor and raise my children to
become impactful and bring glory to God’s Kingdom on earth.
7
When reading Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he gives the reader a simple
explanation of what it means to follow Jesus. As I read Bonhoeffer’s quote in regards to the
surrender of the heart that a disciple must have to follow Christ, I find it very convicting.
Bonhoeffer wrote, “It is neither a goal nor an ideal to be sought. It is not even a matter for which,
according to human inclination, it would be worth investing anything at all, much less oneself.” 7
I personally find myself struggling with my spiritual journey at times as a goal. My heart is
sometimes more concerned with my own well-being, rather than simply following Jesus. I find
my inner desire of trying to follow Jesus to ensure that I may one day go to heaven. Unlike how
Bonhoeffer explains, “They do it simply for the sake of the call itself.” 8 It is all too easy to fall
into the idealistic and legalistic trap of doing what the world considers right and not just simply
seeking and following Jesus. It is a good reminder to be aware of the Holy Spirit and to
communicate and seek out instruction and wisdom on what it is to be a follower of Jesus, not
only out of fear; but to live in the grace and love and follow to follow.
Submission to Christ
The submission to Christ begins within the heart of the believer. There must be a
surrender of the heart to seek out its own personal well-being. Trusting in the Lord that what He
wills for one’s life is out of true love for the betterment of the believer. It is a commitment that
no matter how it may feel or how hard the times may be perceived, you must be willing to
follow.
Jesus says in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for
the kingdom of God.” The believer cannot be concerned with why they are following Jesus, they
must willing to continue to follow and work in the kingdom of God. It is not a choice that the
7 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship. (Fortress Press. Minneapolis, MN. 2003).75
8 Ibid. 75
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believer makes themselves to do for their own sake, they must surrender their heart to follow
Jesus simply because He has called us to follow.
We can see what flawless submission looks like from Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
the night before His crucifixion. Jesus is recounted in Mathew’s gospel praying out to the Father
in the garden before His captures came. Matthew 26:39 says, “And going a little farther he fell
on his face and prayed saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus is processing the severity of what He is about
to endure. He finds the strength to continue on in His calling by going into communion with His
Father. Christ willingly prays out in agony for the strength to obey the call. He is giving an
example that the believer must lay down and take up the cross of surrender. Seek out the Father
when troubled, never turning back to see if there is an alternative path that can be taken. Always
plowing forward and trusting in the will of the Father.
As Christians, we must continue to give thanks out of love for the salvation that has been
given to all that willing to submit to Christ. That is willingly lay down our own way, thoughts,
and desires on how our lives should be. All must trust in Christ that because of what He has
done, we can follow Him. Christ laid down His life for us, so we must lay down our lives to
Him.
Bibliography
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Discipleship. Minneapolis, MN; Fortress Press. 2003.
9
Dempsey, Rod & Earley, Dave. Disciple Making Is... How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN; B&H Academics. 2013.
Earley, Dave & Dempsey, Rod. Spiritual Formation Is… How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville, TN; B&H Academics. 2018
Miller, Steve. D.L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership. Chicago, IL; Moody Publishers. 2004.
Putman, Jim & Harrington, Bobby. Discipleshift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make
Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids, MI; Zondervan. 2013
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