Kingdom of God – Discipleship

12-13 mins read

If you’ve been a Christian for six months or more, you know what discipleship is, right? So, you might think you don’t want to read a blog about it. But read on a bit and see if I can hook you. I think I might have a few things to say that will stretch you in your discipleship journey…

What is Discipleship?

The term “disciple” represents the Greek word mathētḗs (μαθητής) which means “one who engages in learning through instruction from another; pupil, apprentice“ or in religious contexts such as the Bible “one who is associated with someone who has a particular set of views; disciple, adherent.” The word “disciple” comes from the Latin discipulus meaning a learner or follower. One of the earliest places the word ‘disciple’ appears is in the Bible, where it means “a follower of Jesus.”

As disciples of Jesus, we read our Bibles to see what He did and what He said, and we follow His example. We want to do what Jesus did, to live like Jesus lived. So far, so good.

“disciple” comes from the Latin discipulus meaning a learner or follower

What did Jesus come to do?

Jesus came to do three main things:

1. Reveal the true nature of God the Father and His Kingdom. He did this often through stories (parables) like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15.11ff) and the Mustard Seed (Mark 4.30-32).
2. Model life in the Father’s Kingdom. It was in stark contrast to the lives of the religious elite of His day (ie the teachers of the law, pharisees and saducees).
3. Enable us to gain entry into Father’s Kingdom. Jesus did this by defeating sin and death through His own death and resurrection. We share in the spoils of Jesus’ victory when we put our faith and trust in Him. Jesus in turn brings us to new birth and guarantees us everlasting life through sending His Spirit to reside in us (John 3.3,16).

…make disciples (followers) of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you

Jesus (Matthew 28.19,20)

Didn’t He do all those things as God?

The second of the three reasons for Jesus coming to earth is my focus in this blog – modelling life in the Father’s Kingdom. Now when it comes to certain discipleship issues, it is fairly uncontroversial. We look at what Jesus did and taught on prayer, giving or forgiving, His attitude to the scriptures (the list goes on) and we try to follow His example.

After His resurrection and before He returned to heaven, in what is commonly known as the Great Commission, Jesus said to His followers: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (won back from satan; see Luke 4.6). Go now therefore and make disciples (followers) of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28.18-20). Jesus is passing on the baton and authorizing His followers in the first and successive generations to do what He did. But what does ‘everything’ include?

When Jesus sends the twelve disciples out on mission, He says: “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near [or here, or at hand].’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10.8). When Jesus later sends the 72 out on mission, He tells them: “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you’” (Luke 10:9). I think that ‘teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you’ includes the activities mentioned here, ie healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing those with skin diseases and casting out demons. This is where we can begin to feel uncomfortable!

Mark’s version of the Great Commission is more explicit: “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation… And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; …they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”” (Mark 16:15-18).

Aaah! This is where many of us are less sure of our ground because we tend to think: ‘Jesus was God, right? So, of course He could do all those things. I’m impressed, but not really inspired. I’m not God and therefore I can’t do the things He did.’ Right? Mmmm… I think this is worth looking at a bit more. What we really need to know is this: did Jesus do what He did as God? Was His life just to be admired, or are we to be inspired (to live like Him)?

[Jesus] existed in the form of God, yet…He emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human!

Phlippians 2.6-7, TPT

A key passage is Philippians 2:6,7 (NLT) where it says: “Jesus…though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” The Message paraphrase puts it like this: ”He set aside the privileges of deity and… became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges”.

Let’s be clear. Jesus was both fully God and fully man here on earth. But as the Apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Philippians, Jesus chose to limit His divine power (He ’emptied Himself’) in order to live with the limitations of a human being. He was tempted in every way as we are (Hebrews 4.15). He experienced the whole range of human emotions: He wept, He was hungry and thirsty, He was troubled, angry, indignant, amazed, weary – the list goes on. Being fully human, He provided an example to us of how to live life in God’s Kingdom.

Jesus Himself said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself (John 5:19). “By myself, I can do nothing” (John 5:30).  “…I do nothing on my own” (John 8:28). In the Greek, ‘nothing’ means nothing!

So how did Jesus do all those amazing things, if not as God?

• Intimacy with God. There are plenty of examples, but here are a couple: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
• Filled with the Holy Spirit. At His baptism, John says “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him” (John 1:32). Luke also records this moment at the Jordan river (Luke 3.22) and then goes on to say: “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River” (Luke 4.1).

Jesus did what He did out of a close relationship with His Father and from Holy Spirit power, not out of His own divine power. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus saw and heard what His Father was doing and saying and joined in with it.

Perhaps therefore you need to take the gospel accounts a whole lot more seriously! Contained in those accounts is a blueprint for living in God’s Kingdom, exemplified by Jesus Himself, our supreme example.

If you remain in me and I remain in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing

Jesus (John 15.5)

How do we do it?

The same way Jesus did it:

• Intimacy with God. Jesus said: “If you remain in me and I remain in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15.5).
• Filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Stay in [Jerusalem] until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Then 10 days later, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). Paul adds, “Don’t you know that you… are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”(1 Corinthians 3:16). Paul again: “Go on being filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

Passing on the baton

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing”. Then, “He will do even greater things than these…” (John 14:12). It’s hard to top casting out demons and raising the dead! So what did Jesus mean? That you and I and millions of other Christians in successive generations can achieve more over our lifetimes than one man could achieve in three to four years. Jesus isn’t coming back again until the end – He’s passed on the baton. Now it’s down to us. But note it’s the Great Co-mission, not the Great Mission. We do it in partnership with the One who says, ‘surely I am with you always to the ends of the age’ (Matthew 28.20).

The apostles got things off to a good start. “Peter said to the crippled beggar near the temple, “I don’t have money, but I’ll give you this—by the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”” (Acts 3.6). Later it says, “The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people” (Acts 5:12). Paul said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4,5).

And we can read of instances of healing and miracles throughout the history of the church. Now it’s our turn. We have the baton in this generation. How will we do?

Pray for healing like it depends on you; pray to God like it depends on Him!

It takes courage to step out in prayer for healing (see my last blog, ‘Courage’) but if we are truly disciples of Jesus, we should be doing it. Be encouraged by this: “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end” (Isaiah 9:6,7). His government and peace [presence of His Kingdom] are always increasing – there is no end to the increase! More is available to us today than yesterday.

You will undoubtedly have questions around perseverance in prayer (don’t expect instant results!) and disappointment when prayers for healing seem to go unanswered. There is the question of the ‘now and not yet’ of God’s Kingdom as we live between Jesus’ first and second coming. These are for future blogs. But for now remember, we are called to be obedient, not successful. Pray for healing like it depends on you; pray to God like it depends on Him!

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L reports: “On 7 March 2017, I suffered a blunt force trauma to my sternum (breastbone). At the time there was a loud crack, I collapsed to the floor and nearly passed out with the intense pain. I knew it was broken. I saw my GP the next day who also agreed I must have broken my sternum and he arranged an X-ray for two days later. I came to church just before my hospital appointment two days later and asked for prayer. S prayed for healing and, although I was still in pain, it was less intense and I did feel more peaceful about the whole situation. I then went on to the hospital and had an X-ray. They said everything was okay, there was no need to go to Accident & Emergency unless I needed pain killers and that I could go home. I was bewildered, but went home. The pain has been steadily easing ever since.

Two weeks later I was at a routine hospital appointment for something else. At the end of the session, I asked my consultant if she could put my X-ray from two weeks ago on screen. “Oh yes”, she said, “When did you break your sternum?” I replied, “Oh I thought they said it was okay. I assumed that meant it wasn’t broken?” The consultant then said, “According to the X-ray report, you have an old healed fracture of your sternum. You must have done this previously”. I said, “No, I’ve never broken it before. I thought I had two weeks ago”. I looked at the X-ray and saw a nicely healed fracture. (I’ve had Radiology training, so I know a healed fracture when I see one). “That’s strange”, we both said! Bewildered, I left. Then suddenly, I realised there was only one explanation. I obviously had broken my sternum two weeks ago and, two days later when I was prayed for, the Holy Spirit healed me. I have an X-ray taken two days after the incident which shows a perfectly healed fracture! It would normally take six weeks for a fracture to heal. Praise the Lord for He is such a good, good Father. Thank you Lord for healing me…”

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Majoring on the Majors

We don’t hear much about Jesus feeding the hungry (two accounts of him feeding crowds), and giving water to the thirsty and visiting those in prison. Please hear me right, we need to do those things – and through our social transformation programmes, we will – but we the church are in danger of ‘majoring on the minors’, instead of majoring on the majors. You can feed someone for a day, but if they experience a miracle of God in their lives, it often changes their perception of God forever.

Don’t allow your experience (of healing) to shape your theology. Rather, allow your theology to shape your experience

Can we risk a Powerless Gospel?

It’s important that you don’t allow your experience (of healing) to shape your theology. Rather, allow your theology to shape your experience. The danger is that if our experience shapes our theology (and we haven’t seen healing), we are tempted to ignore the difficult scriptures and proclaim a watered down, powerless gospel that does not have much evidence of ‘good news’! But if we allow good theology to shape our experience, we know there is more than we have experienced so far and we go after it (even if it is scary)! 

A few practical tips about going after the miraculous:

• Read more about healing the sick, etc. See recommended reading below.
• Read and listen to more accounts of God healing today from churches that pursue healing (eg HTB, London; Bethel church, Redding, CA).
• Identify others who are pursuing prayer for healing and discuss with them.
• Go out to pray with someone who already has experience of praying for the sick.

What does this mean for you?

• In what area(s) of your discipleship journey do you feel you are doing well in following Jesus’ example?
• How do you feel about praying for healing for the sick? You might like to read my earlier blog on ‘authority’, to see how to pray.
• What will you now commit to do, to advance in this area of your discipleship?

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L came into the church with her husband. She completed the visitor survey. When asked whether she had any pain in her body that she would like God to take away, she said, “Yes. My knackered spine”. She explained that she had scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and that the symptoms of it had been acute for the past nine years. She said she always had background pain. We prayed for her healing. We got her to try it out by walking up and down the aisle of the church. She said it was about 50% better and the pain had reduced. We prayed twice. Both she and her husband said independently of one another that they sensed tremendous peace as we prayed. After trying it out the second time, Liz said that now all the pain had gone and that she was able to walk with her feet flat on the floor for the first time in over nine years! Normally, she walked on the outside of her feet. Her husband observed that her shoulders were more level than before and her gait was greatly improved. L agreed.” 

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Prayer. Father, give me the desire to go after EVERYTHING that you commanded your first followers to imitate in your life. Help me to be a ‘no compromise’ disciple. In particular, give me courage to pursue the miraculous and to demonstrate as well as proclaim the good news of Jesus. Amen.

Recommended reading:

Do What Jesus Did – Robby Dawkins (published by Chosen Books)