Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

The process of discipling was not new to the Jewish world of Jesus. Jewish rabbis had been followed by disciples for quite some time before Jesus' arrival. But the manner by which Jesus discipled was radically different. The rabbis bound their disciples to the Torah, the Jewish Bible, and to the instruction of previous rabbis. Jesus bound his disciples to Himself. Jesus required His disciples to surrender without reservation to Him and to the Kingdom of God that he was inaugurating. The relationship between Jesus and the Twelve had no parallel in the Hebrew religion. The Twelve were not official brass following their governor. Being a disciple of Jesus meant nothing less than complete personal commitment to Jesus. And being committed to Jesus included being committed to His message of the Kingdom of God and His method of bringing in the Kingdom.

THE MASTER'S MESSAGE

Mark in his gospel summarizes in one short verse the entire message of Jesus. Mark records that after John the Baptist was imprisoned and prior to Jesus calling His first disciples, that Jesus was preaching, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15.

Jesus came declaring that God's Kingdom was now present and active among His people. This Kingdom was not geographical, but refers to God's rule and reign in the earth. And Jesus had come from God to establish God's reign. There were three primary evidences in Jesus' ministry which exposed God's rule. First, the good news that in following Jesus the relationship with God could now be one of child to Father. Second, the evil spirits which held people in bondage were cast out. And lastly, the sick were healed. These evidences demonstrated the integrity of Jesus' message. Jesus further stated that the Kingdom of God is expressed in two great moments: the fulfillment within history in the person of Jesus, and the consummation at the end of history which Jesus ushers in at His second return.

This is how the parables are to be understood. In the parable of the four soils, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom is working quietly, even secretly among men. It is not forced upon anyone, however it must be received willingly. But wherever it is received, it brings forth much fruit. For now, the emphasis is not on the harvest but upon the central act of sowing.

From the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus instructs His disciples that the reign of God will one day be like a great tree and rule the whole world, but until then it appears small and insignificant but it grows quietly. The parables of the treasure and pearl remind us that the Kingdom of God is of inestimable value tobe sought beyond all other possessions. Ifitcostsa man everything he has, that is too small a price to pay in return for gaining the Kingdom.

Thus, Jesus taught us that discipleship is not merely following a messiah, but to be a disciple one must participate fully in the life of the Kingdom of God. Discipleship is not just learning. It goes beyond that to experience and involvement. It is personal, it is real, it is now, it is ours to receive. A disciple does not merely recite the teachings of Jesus and thus become mature. A disciple lives out the truth of Jesus' teaching and thus becomes effective with an imperishable agenda to accomplish.

So much more could be said of Jesus' message. And it regularly is being said Sunday after Sunday in the local church. Rightly so, believers have focussed on the words of Jesus, for truly they are "words of life". But does the strength of the church highlight at the same time its weakness? We so want t&believe as Jesus taught, and we must. But do we with equal zeal desire to live as Jesus lived? Do we desire to do the works of the Kingdom as well? Is there as much to learn by following Jesus' method for world conquest?

The answer to this last question is central to understanding the discipling process. Jesus lived with purpose. The way Jesus lived is just as instructive as His words. Jesus expected his hand picked disciples to do as He did.

THE MASTER'S METHOD

Since it was first published in 1963, Robert E. Coleman's short book, The Master Plan of Evangelism has become a classic in its own time. Be careful when you read it! It is easy to understand, but its message is demanding. It demands a life altering response. He describes Jesus' ultimate purpose as world evangelism and His method for accomplishing such was through discipleship. Please hear Coleman state the objective of the Messiah in this somewhat lengthy quotation:

The days of His flesh were but the unfolding in time of the plan of God from the beginning. It was always before His mind. He intended to save out of the world a people for Himself and to build a church of the Spirit which would never perish. He had His sights on the day His Kingdom would come in glory and in power. This world was His by creation, but He did not seek to make it His permanent abiding place. His mansions were in the sky. He was going to prepare a place for His people that had foundations eternal in the heavens. No one was excluded from His gracious purpose. His love was universal. Make no mistake about it. He was "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). God wanted all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. To that end Jesus gave Himself to provide a salvation from all sin for all men. In that He died for one, He died for all. Contrary to our superficial thinking, there never was a distinction in His mind between home and foreign missions. To Jesus it was all world evangelism. His life was ordered by His objective. Everything He did and said was a part of the whole pattern. It had significance because it contributed to the ultimate purpose of His life in redeeming the world for God. This was the motivating vision governing His behavior. His steps were ordered by it. Mark it well. Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of His goal. That is why it is so important to observe the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve His objective. The Master disclosed God's strategy of world conquest. He had confidence in the future precisely because He lived according to that plan in the present. There was nothing haphazard about His life - no wasted energy, not an idle word. He was on business for God (Luke 2:49). He lived, He died, and He rose again according to schedule. Like a general plotting His course of battle, the Son of God calculated to win. He could not afford to take a chance. Weighing every alternative and variable factor in human experience, He conceived a plan that would not fail. (The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert E. Coleman, Revell:Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1963. Pages 17-18.)

It was the purpose of Jesus to reach the world with the good news that God loves, forgives and reigns. Jesus cares about each individual. He provided a salvation for "whosoever will". But His method was not in mass evangelism. Men were His method. The world is not changed by bigger and better ideologies or through highly efficient programs. Jesus set out to change the world by changing men and that in small handfuls of them at a time.

You must understand that this is far more than introducing a person to God the Father, having them confess their sins, and requiring them to attend church. Jesus' method of discipleship presupposes that His followers live in communities of committed relationship with one another. Pivotal to Jesus' discipling is the establishment of community. We have come to commonly call it the church-the gathering. Jesus committed Himself to building the first Christian community. He carefully selected the first members. Community is not something that is created when people gather together, however. Community is a way of life which transcends mere association.

People gather together all the time. They join lodges, neighborhood associations, charitable organizations, unions and so on. But the community of God is very different. It is more than Christians associating together -much more. The discipling method of Jesus demonstrates how Christians are to live with one another. Rather than joining a Christian organization which has programs designed for the public welfare, the challenge for today's church is to live with one another in dynamic relationship sharing the Lord and initiating Jesus. Community is costly, often today's church life is not.

Before Jesus ever perforirrd His first miracle, Jesus picked men. And then He stayed with them. In fact, as the time of the cross loomed closer and closer, Jesus increased His time with the Twelve. The way to reach the multitudes was not by exclusive ministry to the multitudes, but in building men who could reach the multitudes. These men Jesus chose learned to reach the multitudes after Jesus example-a handful at a time. They were select men. They were to disciple men just as they had been discipled by Jesus. And they were only successful when their disciples were discipling others.

Being a disciple of Jesus meant carrying your own cross. It meant total commitment to Jesus and His mission. Being Jesus' disciple meant giving yourself away unselfishly, loving as Jesus had loved them. Jesus showed them how to understand the Word of God. He taught them how to pray. He gave them assignments in ministry and then reviewed their ministry upon completion. He held them accountable for what they were learning and the responsibilities He had given them. Jesus worked with them until they began to produce fruit in keeping with their ministry. And then even after they had been discipled, He promised that He would never leave them as they carried out the Father's will.

Community is the foundation for growing in the love and life of God. This foundation is the essential core of Chi Alpha's philosophy of ministry on the secular campus. Our philosophy statement says it well: Our primary strategy is to work toward the building of a group or community of people who share the ideals of becoming a community of worship, a community of fellowship, a community of discipleship, a community of witness, and a community of prayer. We believe the most fertile atmosphere for people to come to faith and maturity in Christ is warm exposure to a group of people fervently committed to the God of the Bible, to one another, and to the task of evangelizing the campus. As a worshipping, loving, discipling, witnessing, praying community, they demonstrate the Kingdom of God and most effectively enculturate others in it.

For effective use of this manual and the class notes that follow, it is necessary that you carefully read Coleman's book. It is used as the background material for lessons 14 in the class notes, as well as being the required reading for the class. It carefully explains in 125 pages what can only be highlighted in a few paragraphs here. It illustrates Christian lifestyle and deprograms our church life. Take great care in understanding the various components in Jesus' discipling method described there. Let it speak to your heart and then to your life. It may call for some changes in your philosophy of ministry. Test it against the Word of God, and then determine to live under the authority of the Word.

DISCIPLESHIP AND THE GREAT COMMISSION

Listen closely to Jesus' final instructions as recorded by Matthew. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely lam with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

When this is read in English, the primary impact Jesus intended is often missed. But the intent is quite clear in the original language of the New Testament. Greek is a language of action. In the primary sentence that begins with "Therefore so....", you will find one main verb and several other verb forms. The main verb is amplified by the other verb forms, but the main verb dearly identifies the action to be taken. The main verb is, "make disciples". "Disciples" is actually a part of the verb itself.

In Matthew's account he places these words of Jesus as the final conclusion. They are the final instructions from the Lord to His disciples. Like a final will and testament, they are intended by their placement to carry great significance. After all that Jesus had taught them and done among them for over three years, these were His parting words, His Great Commission.

Often it has been said that the focus of Jesus' final words were to "go"-that fulfilling the will of God is primarily involved in going. Others have focussed on "teaching", while still others on "obedience to everything Jesus commanded". The main verb of the sentence, however, is "make disciples". All the other verb forrns augment or amplify the process of making disciples. To enlarge upon the Commission sounds like this: In your going make disciples-make disciples by baptizing and by sound teaching which leads to obedience to Jesus' commands. The passage seems to indicate that the going, the baptizing, and the teaching should all leads to the goal of discipleship.

We often think of the will of God as having to do with where we are. We assume that some place is more suited for us to serve God over all other places. But the impact of the Great Commission seems to emphasize that God's will is more concerned with what we do than where we live. You cannot serve Christ everywhere at once, but wherever you are you can make disciples. True, God does call us at times to specific places, but that is only the beginning of fulfilling His will. Jesus would ask, "Are you making disciples where I placed you?"

Discipleship then is central to Jesus' great purpose for His church. The doing of our lives must revolve around the discipling process-being discipled and discipling others. It is to be our investment fora lifetime. How are we to invest the talents that the Master entrusts into our care until He returns? We know that we are surely not to hide them, but the investment that brings the greatest returns in the Kingdom of God is to use these talents to disciple. This is truly treasure that can be laid up in heaven. Discipleship is a ministry given to us by Jesus that has eternal impact.