Apologetics Courses

Discipleship and the Corporate Church

In the last lesson, we considered some of the areas in which the Church can unite together. In this lesson we will be continuing this theme, however we will be looking at those areas in the Church that should help us in our discipleship.

The term “disciple” literally means learner or follower. Therefore when we talk about Christian discipleship, we are referring to those who are following the will and commands of the Lord Jesus Christ. Often it has been suggested that the Christian should be spreading the good news about Jesus in the hope that others will believe in Him. Yet this is only part of the work that the Christian Church is instructed to do.

In the closing verses of Matthew chapter 28 we read Jesus words, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) In a sense then Jesus was instructing his disciples to go and make others like themselves. People who not only believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but also who would follow him and grow spiritually with him. So how can the church collectively encourage that growing with the Lord Jesus Christ, which we call discipleship, to occur? To answer this question let us consider what God says through His Word in Ephesians chapter 4 which says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:11 – 13)

There are several points that can be made using these verses. However, there are three particular points that demonstrate how the church can be involved together in discipleship. The first point is that the church will include some who are to be evangelists. The work of an evangelist involves telling those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ or believe in him, who the Lord is, and why they need to come to know him personally in their lives. We may refer to the evangelists work in several different ways. For example, we may call it evangelism, preaching, outreach or mission. However, whichever term we use, we need to note that the first part of discipleship is becoming a Christian, by believing in, and personally accepting the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second point to note is that in the same way as there will be evangelists to help lead people to the Lord, there will also be those such as pastors and teachers that will help Christians develop with God. This may not be as simple as it sounds, since those within a church will often be at different points in their walk with God. For example, as Paul points out, there might be those who have either recently become Christians, or who are spiritually immature. Christians in this position will need more basic teaching, which Paul describes as milk. (1 Corinthians 3:2) On the other hand there might be those within the church who are more spiritually mature, who need more depth in the teaching they receive.

Church leaders and those with teaching responsibilities within the Church, need to be sensitive not only to the level of depth that Bible teaching is delivered at, but also to the nature of that teaching. The apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Whilst this verse may refer to giving people an answer as to why we are Christians, it can also be taken to mean why we as Christians believe what we do. Since the world often tries to contest what the Bible says, we need to know what we believe, and why we believe it. Therefore the church needs to help train and teach those within the church, not only in the foundation teachings of the Christian faith, but also in responding to those issues which some might ask to challenge Christianity.

The third point that the verses in Ephesians 4 makes, is that God equips people with different gifts to serve Him. The list mentions those who are evangelists, pastors, teachers and prophets. However, there are many other gifts or abilities that God provides us with in order to do His work. God has given these gifts as it says in the Ephesians 4:19, so that the body of Christ, which as we saw earlier is the church, may be built up. This of course will only happen if those who have been given these gifts actually use them. The church then should recognise each other’s God given gifts and abilities, and both encourage and allow these to be used in a manner that will build up the church.