“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
― Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Preface
Perhaps one of the often-overlooked titles of Jesus from Nazareth was the Son of Man. This name divinely and prophetically links Him to the earth and His supernatural mission as it relates to the Kingdom of Heaven. Today’s blog post attempts to communicate the very unique manners in which the Master implemented His calling, selection, and disciplines of chosen disciples.
One of the objectives of this study is to suggest that the actual calling into discipleship requires much more than “just believing in Christ.” The calling and commissioning of discipleship required an intentional life-long discipline with the motive of one’s heart spiritually transformed into Christlikeness. This post hopes to encourage each believer to seek out and commit to a deeper level of spirituality during the darkest time of human history.
The opening Scriptures selected in this post [Matt. 8:19-22; Luke 9:57-62] clearly records Jesus’s reactions and rejection of would-be-disciples and the rationales for their heart conditions that disqualified them. The goodness about their rejection into discipleship was in many ways, not an admission that they were unworthy of redemption or excluded from the salvation that Christ offered, but the calling invitation of discipleship that they heard from the Master, they were unable to receive.
Following the Sage
In the Synoptic Gospels, the term [akolouthein] is defined as ‘to follow’ whether as an offer in the mouth of a candidate for discipleship or as a command from the mouth of the Master. Throughout the writings of the Gospels, ‘to follow’ in the simplest sense of walking behind someone or following an itinerating sage as one of His disciples.
While there were many other sages and Rabbis in the first century, there has never been in human history one Jesus as the Son of Man! This role and mission was and still is supernaturally transformational. No other sage was qualified but Him to not only select His disciples but to instruct past, present, and future disciples on God’s detailed plan of the Kingdom lifestyle, which is within and not of this world. [see Matthew 28:18-20]
Biblical discipleship quite literally involved following a sage from place to place to observe a sage’s conduct in a variety of contexts and circumstances in the world. [Jack Dean Kingsbury, The verb [akolouthein], (To follow) Journal of Biblical Literature 97.1 (1978). 56-73.
It would be misleading to refer to this sense of “following” as figurative or metaphorical, which give the false impression that to “follow” could be equated with the mental or emotional response of “just believing” in or adhering to a philosophical, intellectual, or moral way without physically becoming attached or yoked with the Master’s spiritual and physical journey.
Many people were open to Jesus’ message and put His teachings into practice, but only by physically following Jesus’ literal steps from place to place could they become His disciples. As was common during the first century, the Master called disciples or a would-be-disciple sought out a sage.
During Jesus’ interactions, He often spoke in riddles to those who desired to follow Him. Perhaps reading about these interactions may appear to dishearten them yet the Master’s motive was directed at their heart is a necessary spiritual discernment to measure commitment to His unique mission. He required His followers who would not grow faint when food, challenges, hardships, and dangers of the world would naturally come along. [Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple, Bivin, and Tilton, Jerusalem Perspective Magazine]
The mystery of the Kingdom of God and the calling of discipleship that Jesus required was based upon the following:
- Supreme trust that God would tend to their every daily provisions, having left behind their trade, property in order to travel with the Master, while believing that God would care for their family members while they were with Jesus.
- Not all were fit for discipleship, thus Jesus looked at the hearts of those in an effort to know if they were suited with what it required to become a life-long learner of Kingdom of God disciplines.
- Those who lacked the appropriate charater to become a full-time disciple in no way were not unworthy of redemption or exclueded from the salvation that was found in Christ alone.
Further exploring the word ‘Disciple!“
In the Biblical context, a disciple of the Master is more than someone who believes, for a called disciple puts actions to his/her inner convictions and allows their lives to become transformed according to the teaching and patterns of their Master.
The calling to the “Stright and Narrow” path of Biblical discipleship is not easy, but neither is it impossible. The sole purpose if not delight of the calling of discipleship by Christ is to bring freedom and reformation to the image of the Master to the life-longer learner.
The mortal enemy of godly discipleship is the self-life that refuses to die by subjecting to the cross that is given to the disciple. The willful act of refusal of remaining yoked to Christ [which means remaining accountable to the covenant relationship, lawlessness is abated], any follower of Christ will live a defeated life of faith.
As is the nature of the “world” encourages an independent spirit, self-life, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance all work against the goal of soul transformation. Discipleship is only possible via the death of self-life, ongoing allegiance to the Master and His disciplines, and our worship of God throughout our short journey on this earth. [The content of this subsection was gleaned from my study of [The Messianic Life: Discipleship Series: Being a Disciple, Kevin Geoffrey].
We might Come to Share in God’s Nature
What the now Gloried Son of Man wishes to offer the modern-day seeker, is that this journey of discipleship is essentially within, it is the spiritual transformation of the self-life of being lost to God, to that of being found and reborn into Christ-likeness of one’s soul now.
This gift of new life is the very miracle of spiritual transformation into Christ-likeness, which is for each of us to develop, and maintain this new life of grace of God, now and forevermore. As chosen disciples of the Master, the imparted new life is due to God’s effective will-which is and always has been for us to partake in His divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4
God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to His own glory and goodness. By these, He has given us valuable and superlatively great promises so that through them you might come to share in God’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world.
through our knowing the One who called us to His own glory and goodness. The glory of human beings is spoken or reference to several external manifestations and conditions, aspects of internal character, and the inherent condition of human nature.
His own glory within us is seen by the Gifts of the Spirit, Gal.6:22, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things, there is no law.
In addition to the fruit of the Spirit, we also have the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. 1Cor. 12:8-11, But to each one is given the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, the spirit of discernment of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. But the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
His Goodness within us is better understood in this manner. The thought of God through Christ as good is distinctive throughout the Bible. Goodness is one of the fruits of God’s indwelling Spirit, and it is described as being, along with righteousness, and truth, the fruit of the light which defines a disciple of Christ.
The inner life of the Spirit is only possible as it can reflect the likeness of God within our character as disciples of Christ. It is God who is the very source and perfection of all good! Mark 10:18, why do you call me good? No one but My Father is good.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you that our God makes you worthy of His calling and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deep prompted by faith.
The vision and the willful intention to obey Christ will naturally lead any of us to seek out and apply the means to that end. Spiritual transformation via Grace Looks just like this: the replacement of the inner character of us being lost with the inner character of Christ: This includes His vision, understanding, feelings, decisions, and His character.
The Path toward inner Spiritual life of the Kingdom
In a wonderful book by Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, he lists the classical Biblical disciplines for any life-long learner of the Kingdom of God.
Inward Disciplines:
Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study.
Outward Disciplines:
Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service.
Corporate Disciplines:
·Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration.
These spiritual disciplines open the door toward gaining inner transformation. Yet, we must all be reminded that any form or level of inner righteousness is a gift from God that we are to graciously receive in partnership with Him through Christ.
The needed change within us is God’s work and not ours. This miracle is an inside job, and only God can work from the inside of each of us. We can never attain or earn this righteousness of the Kingdom of God; for as we have learned, it is a grace that is given.
Romans 5:17…, those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness [shall] reign in life through the one man Christ Jesus.
In closing
God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving His Grace. These Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that He may transform us. Paul says, they who sow to their own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but they who sow to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Gal.6:8
The Disciplines are God’s way of getting us into a status of “Death to self-life” as a seed that is place into the soil of Christ; they put us where in death, God can resurrect New Spirituality within us thus transforming us. These Disciplines in and of themselves are nothing for they can only get us to the place where something “Supernaturally can be done within us by God’s grace.
The inner righteousness and miracles that we all seek are not something that is poured on our heads. God has ordained these Disciplines of the inner spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where He can as He promised, bless us.
Grace and Peace
Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo