christ-in-discipleship-17-18.docx

Introduction...................................................................................................................................1

Christ as the Center in Christian Discipleship...........................................................................2

The Obedient and Submissive Life of a Disciple........................................................................3

Three Stages of Discipleship........................................................................................................4

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................6

Bibliography…..............................................................................................................................8

has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

musician, a prayer warrior, or even a preacher, not every Christian can identify with being a

disciple for Christ. Somewhere and somehow, as we have traveled along this Christian journey,

the ball has been dropped where discipleship is concerned. Many Christians have the idea that

Jesus’ twelve were the only disciples, therefore discipleship passed with the twelve.

Unfortunately, because of that type of mindset, many individuals get saved, but not all of them

operate as a disciple of Jesus, the one who saved them. In The Complete Book of Discipleship,

Bill Hull said, “Discipleship involves saving people from themselves and eternal oblivion,

permitting the transforming power of God to change them from the inside out.”2 Disciples are to

move forward with purpose, as the end of this ages draws neigh. Spiritually, if a disciple is to

scripture passage to summarize the centrality of Christ in every aspect of a Christian’s journey

through this life can be found in Colossians 3: 1-11. Those verses can be summarized in this

manner:

Yes, Christ is everything a Christian disciple needs to fulfill the command as outlined in the

Great Commission, but the disciple must keep Christ as the center and focal point of every

thought and deed. The disciple must focus on who he is now in Christ, not on what he should no

longer be involved in. Christ has once and for all set the disciple free to be all he is called to

become. An individual becomes a Christina disciple once he is born again and experiences what

means a student or learner.”3 To further simplify the definition, Eric Geiger, Michael Kelley and

Philip Nation said, “Every person who has ever lived is a disciple to include every person in the

church, neighborhood, and community, because disciple means learner, student, pupil, or

apprentice.”4As a disciple learns from Christ, he must also follow Christ’s instructions on how

His followers should behave and think. The bible clearly teaches that a man’s thoughts dictate

his actions. When Christ is the center of a disciple’s thoughts, the disciple is granted peace, even

in the midst of his storms. A disciple who walks in that level of peace has opportunities to tell

others about the goodness of his Savior, therefore he fulfills the command of the Great

Commission.

adherence to Christ, and because Christ is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of

discipleship.”5 Adherence to Christ as the center of discipleship means a disciple must be totally

obedient and submitted to Christ as Lord of everything. Just as Christ submitted to the Father,

even to the point of giving His life on the cross, so must a disciple become if Christ is the center.

According to Earley and Dempsey, “Discipleship involves taking steps because it is a

commandments. Obedience to Christ also include laying aside personal wants and desires, and

committing to do what Jesus desires. In John 14:15 Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My

commandments.” The word commandments is plural which means anyone who says they love

Jesus must keep and be submitted to all of the commands Jesus gives us in the Word. A

disciple’s thoughts, actions, prayers, praises, worship, bible time, church attendance, and any

and everything involvement must have Jesus are the center, and everything should be done as

unto the Father in the spirit of love. Anything less moves Jesus to the sidelines, and He is no

longer the focus. To grow in Christ to the point that He remains the center of our very existence

is a process, and Dempsey and Early provides an excellent explanation of the three stages of

discipleship development.

steps in place to take them from one level of growth to the next level of growth. Strategic steps,

when combined, constitutes what are known as stages of development. Thom S. Rainer and Eric

Geiger in their book, Simple Church, said, “A Simple process for reaching and maturing people

expands the kingdom because a simple biblical process that makes disciples are effective and are

declaration, development and deployment becomes nonexistent. The declaration stage, through

investigation, results in repentance of sins and the acceptance Christ as Savior and Lord. During

the investigation phase, an individual finally comes to a realization of how desperately they need

Jesus, and the desire to know more about Him increases. Earley and Dempsey said, “When a

person gives Jesus an honest hearing, they end up turning from their previous life and following

Him.”8 The individual turns to God putting their total trust in Christ as Savior. Earley and

Dempsey further explain this stage and said:

Stage one involves a deep and serious look at the person and work of Jesus, but it results in a life

truly changed, and that change is eternal.

and apprenticeship into ministry. Immersion into a deeper relationship with Jesus means a

disciple becomes deeply and completely involved in the relationship being developing with

Jesus. At this point, all other relationships are abandoned. The relationship deepens as the

disciple spends time in prayer and in studying the Word. The disciple will also demonstrates his

love for Jesus by communicating with others and helping others within and outside the Christian

community. He becomes immersed in ministry as an apprentice who is training to be a fisher of

men. The development stage is where the disciple learns to become a disciple maker.

By the time a disciple reaches stage three, he is well versed in the Word of God and is totally

committed to living according to Jesus’ standards. The disciple’s relationship with Jesus is sure

and solid, and he can readily tell his conversion story to anyone who will listen. Because the

disciple knows what Jesus has truly done for him, he intentionally disciples others by telling his

story about the saving grace and goodness of Jesus. The disciple does not need to be a bible

expert, he just needs to be able to tell others how Jesus has changed his life. His story is the one

thing no one can refute. By the time a disciple reaches this stage, he has also learned various

evangelistic approaches to ministry. Earley and Wheeler said, “Evangelism is giving your

testimony, sharing your salvation story and being a witness.”10 Although the disciple has

bearing fruit by abiding in Christ11.” Once the call to follow Jesus has been answered, the

individual becomes a disciple in training, and is then responsibility to become actively involved

in the developmental stages of discipleship. The disciple accepts the role of an evangelist as well