Discipleship

Make Disciples

The first thing we notice in this command of our Lord is that He told His disciples to go and make disciples. Have we considered what it means to make a disciple? What is a disciple? "It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher" (Matthew 10:25). "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (I John 2:6). "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). "...that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27). The thought in all of these scriptures is that every person who names the name of the Lord should be brought to a place of maturity, in which he is walking in all aspects of life just as Jesus did. God's purpose is full-grown, mature, responsible sons--not babies. We all begin as babes, but a baby that remains a baby is no joy to anyone.

What does this mean to us? It means that our revelation of God's purpose must include His plan for bringing every son to maturity. Do parents rest when a baby is born into this world? The labor has only begun! And if we use the natural as an example, we can say that the labor of bringing a son to maturity far exceeds that of producing a baby. Of course we cannot ignore the beginning, because if a person has not been born of the Spirit, he is not a son. God is training sons, and we must first know that we have been born into the family of God. Jesus said that we cannot even see what God is doing unless we have been born of the Spirit (John 3). But to be born of the Spirit and partake of the life of God is only the beginning, not the end.

When we are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ, we are made alive to God so that we can be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). Apart from this baptism into God to which Matthew 28:19 refers, we are not even in the kingdom of God, or His family. If you are not yet sure that you are a son or daughter, you need to settle this question with God. The Holy Spirit is faithful, and he will show you where you need to respond to God.

Training is demanding, and if we are to benefit to the fullest extent from God's training in our lives, our relationship with God must be right from the very beginning. We cannot begin the race halfheartedly, not knowing for sure that we have submitted completely to His authority. A natural example from the military may help to illustrate this. When a man enlists in military service, he is taken to basic training which is often very rigorous and seemingly unreasonable at times. The purpose of this is to find out quickly whether he really wants to be in the military, and whether he is able to take the instruction and training that will be necessary to make him able to bear responsibility. Many fail at this point, and turn back. It one sense, it seems cruel and heartless.

Why do those who are doing the training do this? Because they know what is ahead. They know from experience that if a man is not able to stand this initial discipline, he will not be willing to bear the greater discipline that is soon to come. More importantly, the discipline reveals character flaws in a man which could eventually cost his or another man's life in a time of crisis. Commanders must know that their men are willing to take instruction. They want men who are fully committed. They want men that see a goal and are willing to sell all to obtain it. War, to the natural man, is ultimate commitment, even to death. There can be no flaw in the foundation.

If this is true in the natural, how much more it is true in the spiritual. The cost of halfhearted commitment in the natural is physical death, but the cost of halfhearted commitment in the spiritual is spiritual death. This is why Jesus said that if a man is not willing to forsake all, even his own life, he cannot be a disciple (Luke 14:33). It seems so hard, but Jesus is for us, not against us. Anything less than 100 percent commitment will leave a place of weakness where the enemy can touch us. Jesus never tried to trick men into following Him by hiding the cost. He laid it out in full force and told men to think it over carefully before they said yes. He told the rich young ruler to sell all, and when the man went away, He did not go after him and soften the demand.

What is the pure relationship that we must have at the beginning? It is very simple. Jesus must be Lord. We must be willing to come under His authority. I must lay down my will and any rights that I think I have, and do His will. It must be complete, willing submission to my head, Christ. Anything less than this is not salvation. There is no such thing as being saved without Christ being Lord. He cannot save us if He is not our Lord. Religious men try to divide these to their own destruction. Being a disciple and being a Christian are one and the same. The disciples were first called Christians because men recognized that they were like Christ. If we have submitted to Christ as Lord, He will conform us to His image. If we are not walking as He walked, then we are not under His authority, and we are not disciples.

If you find yourself lacking at this point, there is only one answer, and that is repentance. Turn from self-will and independence, and yield yourself to Christ. Secure the foundational relationship with unreserved abandonment to Christ as Lord. Lay every right you thought you had at His feet, and do His will. He is there to receive each one of us and bring us into His family and under His training. With this wonderful, eternal relationship established, we can begin as disciples. We are ready for our training to begin.

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