THE MAKING OF A LEADER. A STUDY ON DISCIPLESHIP IN THE CHURCH.

The Making of a Leader.

A Study on Discipleship in the Church.    

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. - Mt.7:24-

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said “Upon this rock I will build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Of course, the rock upon which Jesus said he would build his church was Peter’s confession stating “thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”. [see: The Kingdom of God or Denominational Religion] This was the first time that Jesus mentioned the church in his ministry and he only mentioned the church one other time after that (Mt.18:17). In fact, the word “church” is only used three times in all the Gospels, yet we will see later that the building of the church is the focal point of God’s attention on earth in this age. If the church was so important to Jesus, then why did he not mention it more often? The answer is simple, the church is built upon the principle of discipleship. As I pointed out, the word “church” is only used 3 times in the Gospels, but the word “disciple” is used 238 times. In the book of Acts, the word “church” is used 22 times and the word “disciple” is used 31 times. Finally, in the Epistles the word “church” is used 88 times and the word “disciple “ is not used. When Jesus was here on earth, his focus was to make disciples because it was the disciples who would build and become the church. The disciples began the Lord's work to build the church in the book of Acts and, as we can see in the Epistles, the disciples became the church. That is why after the book of Acts the word disciple is not used to refer to followers of Jesus Christ but instead the church. In other words, the multitude of individual entities called disciples were unified into one entity which is called, the Church. The Greek word used for “church” is eklesia, which means: the called out ones. The Church consists of those who have hearkened to the call of the Lord to come out of the world and become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Why is discipleship so important to Jesus and the building of the church? The Greek word translated as “disciple” is mathetes, which means: a student, a learner, a disciplined follower. When Jesus called out the disciples, he began to teach them about the kingdom of God (Mt.4:23, 9:35). The disciples had to learn the pattern, or the blueprint, of the tabernacle that God was going to use them to build. The disciples had to become students and learners of the word so that they could become disciplined followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and thereafter build the Church according to the pattern that he laid out. Every tabernacle built unto the Lord in the Old Testament was built according to a strict set of instructions supplied by God. For example, God provided Moses detailed instructions for building the Tent of the Tabernacle, directing him to build after the pattern which he was shown (Ex.24:40). When King David gave his son Solomon the charge to build the Temple in Jerusalem, he told him to build it according to the pattern which the Lord had showed him (1Chr.28:19). Likewise, Jesus gave his disciples a strict set of  instructions on how to build his church. As disciples, we must learn the word of God to find out what these instructions are.  

Unregenerate - Regenerate - Disciple - Servant - Leader

The purpose of discipleship is: to learn to obey. Only one who has learned to obey his master can ever assume a position of leadership in which he stands in representation of his master (Mt.10:24-25). When we declared that Jesus was our Lord, we began a life long commitment which we fulfill on a daily basis. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we begin learning the first principles of the doctrine of Christ (Heb.6:1-2) which provide us with a foundation upon which to build our relationship with God. We begin a cycle of development that takes us from unregenerate, where we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph.2:1-5, Col.2:13), to regenerate , where we are saved and renewed to a new life in God (Ro.6:4, Col.3:10), to disciple, where we learn to become disciplined followers of Jesus Christ (Heb.5:8-9). It is the disciple who becomes a servant of God (Ro.1:1, 2Pe.1:1), and it is the servant who becomes a leader in the kingdom of God (Mt.20:26-27).  

What step in this process is left out in most churches today? The process of discipleship! Although discipleship is a life-long process, the word tells us that it takes a minimum of three years to lay a basic foundation in disciples. It took Jesus three years to lay a basic doctrinal foundation in the apostles. Paul went through a process of discipleship for three years in Arabia, where Jesus revealed the doctrine to him (Acts 9:25-26, Gal.1:11-12, 17-18). When Paul taught the disciples of Ephesus, it was for a period of three years (Acts 19:9-10, 20:31). This demonstrates that your study of the foundational principles of the doctrine of Christ cannot be just a few days or a few months in duration. You cannot learn these foundations in a "six week discipleship seminar". If the foundational learning process took the apostles three years, and they were with him 24 hours a day, then how long do you think it should take you? Every church should have a "school of discipleship" where the members have the opportunity to taught by the elders and learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and how to live and apply these principles in their daily walk with the Lord.  

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives what is referred to as "the great commission" to the eleven disciples who were the Apostles. He said "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, unto the end of the world". When Jesus said "teach all nations", the Greek word translated as "teach" is matheteuo which means: make disciples. He further stated that they were to baptize or immerse the disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. " In the name of" is an expression that means "in the authority of ". Disciples of Jesus Christ are to be immersed into God's authority and taught to observe all things that the Lord has commanded. The foundation of the building of the Church is the making of disciples. That is why Jesus said to go and make disciples instead of, go and build my church, because the disciples are the Church. This commandment wasn't just given to the apostles, it is a continuing activity of those who minister the word of God. The Church is built through discipleship. In Acts 14:21 when Paul and Barnabas went to Derbe, it says they "preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many...". The Greek word translated as "taught" is "matheteuo" which we saw above means: make disciples. Therefore the commandment to make disciples continued as the gospel was preached to the Gentiles, showing that it is a charge given to all in the Church and it continues to this day.

Man's View of Discipleship vs. The Lord's View of Discipleship

In Luke 9:57-62 we see a contrast between the Lord's view of discipleship and man's view of discipleship:

In verses 57-58 it says, "And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head". The man's approach to discipleship was full of over confidence , not understanding what it would cost to follow Jesus. When Jesus replied to the man that the Son of man had no place to lay his head, he was indicating that the life of discipleship requires one to have a sacrificial spirit, that there must be a willingness to give up personal desires and worldly goods to accomplish the will of the Lord.

In verses 59-60 it says, "And he said unto another, Follow me, But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God". Here we see in the man's reply to the call of the Lord a lack of urgency to accomplish the bidding of his master. How many times is our attitude the same, in that we say in our heart, Lord let me first do this or that? Jesus' reply shows us that the attitude of a disciple must be one of instant obedience. As disciples we must not allow anything of the world to distract us from accomplishing any task that the Lord has called us to perform.

In verses 61-62 it says, "And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God". This man's approach to discipleship shows that he lacked a single mind, not focusing on God's purpose. The Lord's reply indicates that disciples must have determination to accomplish that which they have set their hand to and not allow the things of the world to distract us away from the work of the Lord. When a plowman looks back, he cannot see where the plow is going and he also cannot put his full energy to plowing a deep furrow. So also as disciples, when we are distracted by fleshly things, we cannot fullfill the things of the spirit. What Jesus said is that disciples who are not determined to accomplish the will of the Lord without the distractions of the flesh are not fit for the kingdom of God. That may be a hard saying to many, but it was a hard saying that Jesus brought forth in John 6:53-58, that caused many of the disciples to say "This is an hard saying, who can hear it?". We then see in John 6:66 that many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Isn't it interesting that in this verse we see the number 666 and it concerns those who turn from the Lord.

Meeting The Nine Requirements:

During the course of his earthly ministry, Jesus specified a set of requirements to those who desired to be his disciple. Although you can no doubt find more, we will concentrate on nine requirements that Jesus identified, beginning in Luke 14:25:

And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned , and said unto them, If any come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,

and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after

me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to

finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him. Or what king, going to make

war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with

twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever

he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:25-33

Jesus said you cannot be his disciple if:

1. IF  -  Anything or anyone comes FIRST:  vs.26, When Jesus used the word hate concerning father, mother, wife, etc, it was used as an idiom meaning, to prefer first. This is born out in Mt.10:37 where Jesus said "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me". As disciple's of the Lord, we must put him first above all things.

2. IF  -  You prefer your own life:  vs.26, The Greek word translated as "life" is psuche, which is most often translated as: soul. The soul consists of the mind, will, and emotions and is synonomous with self. As disciples of the Lord, we must put away our own wants, desires, perceptions, attitudes, and selfishness. We must partake of Gethsemane in the same way as our Lord Jesus did, putting to death our fleshly will to conform ourselves to the will of God. In Mt.16:24-25, Jesus said unto his disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life (psuche=soul) shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life (psuche) for my sake shall find it". When Jesus said one must deny himself, the word deny means: to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone; to forget one's self, lose sight of one's self and one's own interests. For whosoever attempts to hold on to his self-centered, selfish life shall lose his soul and whosoever will lose his self-centered, selfish life shall find his soul. The Greek word translated as "lose" means: to perish, to destroy, to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, ruin, render useless, to kill.  

Putting this all into perspective, when the word says that we are to destroy, kill, and abolish our soul, it is speaking of the selfish, fleshly, worldly part of our soul that does not want to do the will of God. It is not speaking of that part of our soul that makes us unique as individuals or in other words, our personality. As individual personalities, we must willingly choose to give up our will to fullfill the will of the Father.

3. IF  -  You do not bear your own cross:  vs.27, Notice that it says you must bear your own cross, not the cross that Jesus bore. God has a purpose for each one of us and that is the cross that we must each bear, to fullfill God's purpose in our life. Sometimes the cross that we must bear will be heavy upon us but we must labor and, if necessary, endure suffering to bear it to fulfillment (Acts 9:16, 2Cor.11:23-28, 1Pe.1:6-7, Jude 3).  

4. IF -  You do not follow Jesus:  vs.27,  Let us look to the response of the original disciples to the call to follow Jesus.

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea:

for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightaway left their nets, and

followed him . And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with

Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him .

- Mt.4:19-22

And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me .

And he left all, rose up, and followed him. - Lk.5:27-28

When Jesus called unto Peter and Andrew to follow him, it says they immediately left their nets. They were fisherman and this was their sole means of support for themselves and their families, yet they left all to follow Jesus. Matthew Levi was a tax collector who was in the process of taking in taxes when Jesus said to him "follow me". He immediately left all, turning his back on money and position in the the world system. When the Lord calls, our response is to be immediate, not considering the things of the world. 2Tim.2:4 provides another good example of this when it says, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of life; they he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier". Isn't a soldier an excellent representation of what a disciple is to be: a disciplined follower, one who immediately obeys the orders of his commander. He does not allow the affairs of the world to interfere in the performance of his duties.  

In addition, following Jesus is not contingent on what other Christians are doing or called to do. For example, in Jn.21:18-22 Jesus signifies to Peter by what death he should glorify God. He immediately turns and calls for John to follow him. Peter's reaction to all of this was to say to the Lord, "And what about John, what shall he do? Jesus turned to Peter and said, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me". In other words, Jesus said, it doesn't matter what John is called to do, you do what you are called to do and follow me. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are all to follow the same example: Do what the Lord has called YOU to do and don't compare yourself to what others are doing. Follow Jesus!  

5. IF  -  You don't count the cost (not assets):  vs.28, The Greek word translated as "count" means: to compute, calculate, reckon, to decide by voting. In other words, you are not counting to see if you have the assets to complete your project, you are deciding that you are willing to put in all that you have to finish the task. Jesus used this example in verse 28, "what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?" The phrase "to make" is one Greek word which means: to ponder, to bring together in one's mind, confer with one's self. The Greek word for "consulteth" means: to consider, determine, to deliberate with one's self, to take counsel. In other word's, what Jesus asked is: What king who is pondering war with another king, doesn't sit down first and determine whether this war is so important that he is willing to put his entire army and his kingdom into the fight to win, even at the risk of destruction against a numerically superior foe. Jesus went on to say, "Or else (the king), while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace". The Greek word for "desireth" means: to request, entreat, beg, beseech. The Greek word for "conditions" means: for, to, towards, with, with regard to. In other words, the king, while the other is approaching, compromises and sends a message begging for peace, even at the risk of becoming a vassal or worse, a slave.

As a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, the question you must ask yourself is this: Are you willing to give all that you have and all that you are to complete your calling in the Lord? Or will you compromise and take  the risk of becoming a servant to the Devil and Sin. Joshua laid it out in plain terms in Josh.24:15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD".

Remember, when you count the cost, you are deciding whether you are willing to commit your all to serving the Lord.

6. IF  -  You do not forsake all:  vs.33, Jesus said, "whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple". The Greek word for "forsake" means: bid farewell, to set apart, separate, to renounce, to separate one's self. The Greek word for the phrase "that he hath" means: personal possessions, goods, wealth, property. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you must be willing to separate from ALL you have, not just worldly possessions, but YOUR abilities, YOUR aspirations, YOUR talent, YOUR plans. When you confessed Jesus as your Lord, you acknowledged him as your King, Master, and Owner. That means that you voluntarily gave everything that you are or possess to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord himself set the example for this attitude where it says of him in Ph.2:5-8,  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross". The Lord gave up reputation, personal desires, all that he had to obey the Father, even unto death. That may be a hard saying to many, but that is that attitude we must conform to if we want to be disciples of the Lord Jesus.

7. IF  -  You do not continue in the word:  Jn.8:31, "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free". The Greek word translated as "continue in" is emmeno, which means: abide in, stand by, dwell, remain. In Jn.17:17, Jesus said "Thy word is truth". Therefore, we can say that the word of God and truth are synonymous. When Jesus said we shall know the truth, the Greek word for "know" is ginosko, which means: to know, perceive, understand, and is also used in describing the intimacy between a husband and wife. Wrapping this altogether, when you abide, dwell, and remain in the word of God, you will grow into an intimate relationship and understanding of truth. The resulting effect will set you at liberty from the dominion of sin and, as Jesus said, you will be his disciple indeed (truly, in reality, most certainly).

8. IF  -  You do not love one another:  Jn.13:35 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Jesus clarified this further in Jn.15:12 when he said, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". The Greek word translated as "life" is psuche which also means: the soul: the seat of the mind, will, and emotions. The act of love requires that one is willing to give up personal wants and desires to serve and make provisions for the needs of fellow disciples in the Lord. Jesus said that there is no greater demonstration of love than the giving of self. In Eph.4:1-3, Paul speaks of a love that keeps unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, saying that we are to walk with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. The Greek word translated as "forbearing" is anechomai, which means: to suffer, endure, or to put up with. In other words we are to suffer and put up with the shortcomings of others IN LOVE to maintain unity and peace within the Church. That kind of love requires the willingness to give of self.  

Again in Col.3:12-14 Paul says, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness". We can see the continuing attitude that is required of disciples in the Lord is humbleness, lowliness of mind, putting up with one another, forgiving. Paul ends the verse by stating that we are to put on "charity" (same Greek word as used for love) which is the "bond of perfectness".  This term means: That which binds together into a state of moral and spiritual perfection. And how do we as disciples in the Church manifest this spiritual walk? We follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ as Paul states in Eph.5:1-2, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour". To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ truly does require a giving and loving heart, particularly one that loves without condition, without expectation of return, and without respect of persons.

Finally, we can look at what John, the disciple that the Lord loved, says about love in 1Jn.4:20, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also".  

9. IF  -  You do not bear fruit:  Jn.15:7-8, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples ". 1Pe.1:23 tells us that we are born of incorruptible seed, which is the word of God. When seed is planted the end result is that the seed would grow and bear fruit. So it is with God, in that, he planted his son in us with the intent that we would bear holy fruit.

Backing up a few steps, Jn.1:1 tells us that the word was God and Jn.1:14 tells us that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The word made flesh was named Jesus. Therefore, the word of God is synonomous with Jesus. Gal.3:16 says that the seed promised to Abraham in Gen.15:1-6 was Jesus Christ. Gen.1:11-12 states that every seed produces fruit after his kind. In other words, God has taken the promised seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, and planted him in our heart that he should grow and bring forth fruit after his own kind. As Jesus grows in our heart, our life should be a continually maturing representation of the Lord Jesus (Eph.4:13, Col.1:26-28).

Father God expects us to produce fruits in our life that represents the seed of his son, Jesus Christ. The primary fruit he is looking for is obedience to his will. In Mt.3:8, when John the Baptist began preaching repentance in the wilderness he stated, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" or in other words, bring forth fruits worthy of a change of heart. In Mt.7:17-21 Jesus said, "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven". Again in Lk.6:44-46 the Lord said, "For every tree is known by his own fruit . For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

As we can see, when the Lord looks for fruit in our lives, his basis of measure is obedience to his word. If there is no obedience to God, then we cannot possibly produce good fruit unto God. That is why, as we saw earlier in Mt.28:19, Jesus told the disciples to disciple all nations...and teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. The Greek word translated as "observe" is tereo which means: to attend to carefully, take care of, to guard, to observe. This tells us that disciples are to be taught to attend to carefully ALL that Jesus has commanded us. To be specific, the purpose of discipleship is: to learn to obey. The fruit we produce that glorifies God is founded upon obedience to his word.

When we look at the requirements to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can see that it is not something we can accomplish by our own strength and ability. In Jn.15:5 Jesus said, "without me ye can do nothing". John the Baptist stated in Jn.3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease". Paul summed it up in Acts 17:28 when he said, "In him we live, and move, and have our being". Our whole life must be IN CHRIST. As disciples, our purpose in life is not to promote our desires, our agendas, or our ministries. Our purpose is to fullfill God's will in our life.

That is why discipleship is a life-long process and not something we can learn in a six week discipleship seminar. Proverbs 16:1 tells us that "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD".  The Hebrew word translated as "preparations" means: an arrangement, i.e. mental disposition; to set in a row, to put in order. That means that the arranging of our mental dispostion and the ordering of our heart and the response of our tongue is the result of the Lord's work in us.

Titus 3:5 tells us that we were saved by the washing of regeneration (palin genesia=new birth) and renewing of the Holy Ghost. The Greek word for "renewing" means: to make new; the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thnking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon your life. Ro.12:2 says you are to be transformed by the renewing (same word as above) of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. The transformation process infers a growing process, in that, as we mature in the word of God, we will come to know the good (useful, agreeable) will of God, then the acceptable (well pleasing) will of God, and finally the perfect (fully mature, wanting nothing necessary to completeness) will of God.

The process of discipleship begins upon our salvation through confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The path of discipleship is not easy for it involves putting to death the wants and desires of the natural man to accomplish the will of God. In this study, we have seen the purpose of discipleship for the building and maturing of the Church that Jesus is building. Revelation of the word of God demands application of it to your life.