So Jesus comes as the Christ, announcing the Kingdom, and calling individuals to follow Him as disciples. How does this discipleship fit and what is involved?
Let’s begin with John’s statement that if we believe that Jesus is the Christ, we will have Life (John 20:30-31). And as we saw last week, when Jesus appeared as the Christ, He called individuals to follow as His disciples. Does that mean that we have to be His disciples in order to have Life?
Well, yes and no. This is a critical point to understand.
The answer is “no”, if we mean “Life” in the sense that it is often used in Gospel presentations. In this sense, “Life” would mean that I go to heaven when I die. And if that was all we were talking about, then the only thing that would matter is whether I had trusted Jesus to pay the penalty for my sins. If so, then I would go to heaven when I die, regardless of how well I lived the Christian life.
But that is not the primary meaning of “Life” in The Story, and that does not encompass all the Life that Christ offers to us.
To understand Life in this sense, we need to look at it in the context of The Story, which takes us all the way back to Genesis 2, to the last time that we had Life.
Having placed Adam in the Garden, God gave him his instructions, with a single prohibition – not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17). Attached to that prohibition was a consequence – “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Which means that, right up until they ate, they had Life. But in the decision to eat, they died – that is, they lost the Life they had.
What did it mean to die? Let me suggest at least 3 things:
- Separation from God – Before eating, they were naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25), but with their sin came the awareness of their shame, and the guilt out of which it flowed (Genesis 3:7). The immediate effect was separation from God.
- Loss of Meaning – In the Garden with God, Adam and Eve’s lives had meaning: They had identity – they were God’s representatives; they had significance – their role was to administer His agenda; they were fulfilled – they enjoyed all of the beauty, provision and unhindered relationships that made life in the Garden full. But their decision to eat was the decision to abandon all of that to pursue identity, significance and fulfillment according to their own agenda.
- Physical Death – In the Garden, they had access to the tree of life, which would have allowed them to live forever (Genesis 3:22), but with the curse came the assurance that they would return to the dust in death (Genesis 3:19).
So, if death is the loss of these things, Life is the recovery of them. All of them.
Let’s be clear. Separation from God is a critical issue in our pursuit of Life. And the only solution to this aspect of our problem is indeed, being justified through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-24), just as Abraham was justified by believing God (Romans 4:1-8).
But the Life that Jesus offers us as the Christ involves, not only this, but much more. It was never His intention to be the solution to only part of our problem. As the Christ, He came so that all that was lost in death might be recovered in Life.
So, in His resurrection, He assured our future resurrection at His return, and with it, victory over Physical Death (1 Corinthians 15).
Which brings us to the Loss of Meaning. At the heart of this aspect of our problem is the fact that we lost, not only the will, but also the capacity to represent God. We don’t even know how to make the decisions He would make. If we are to be restored to our role of ruling as His representatives, we must first be restored in our capacity to represent Him – to make the decisions He would make – to manifest His character.
This is where discipleship comes in. As we pointed out last week, discipleship is a process by which the student becomes like the teacher (cf. Luke 6:40). Given that Christ is the teacher, the longer the student follows as a disciple, the more he becomes Christ-like. And since Christ bears God’s image (John 1:18; 14:9; cf. Colossians 1:15), the more like Christ a disciple becomes, the more he is restored in his capacity as God’s image-bearer, and the more capable he is of ruling according to God’s agenda.
So, what does it take to be a disciple of Christ?
Throughout the course of His ministry, Jesus identified several key traits. They can be grouped under seven headings (from To Follow Him: Seven Marks of a Disciple, by Mark Bailey):
- Supreme Love for Jesus – Matthew 10:37-39; Luke 14:26
- Regularity in His Word – John 8:31-33
- Renunciation of My Agenda – “deny yourself” – Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23
- Submission & Sacrifice – “take up your cross” – Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23
- Pursue His Agenda – “follow me” – Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23
- Open-Handed Stewardship – Luke 14:33
- Love for One Another – John 13:34-35
This probably reflects both the order in which Christ first introduced these traits, and their logical flow. Given all that it means for Jesus to be the Christ, the beginning point has to be a Supreme Love for Him. And, if we love Him, we want to know Him better. So, we meet Him in His word regularly. There, we discover that our agenda is frequently at odds with His, and recognize the need to renounce our own agenda. But this is not easy. It requires us to submit to Him unconditionally, and to sacrifice, both our desires, and our comfort. Only then are we in a position to pursue His agenda exclusively. With no competing agendas, all of the resources entrusted to us are held with an open hand, available to fund His agenda in each of our lives. And, since His agenda is others-centered, and since all of our resources are available for His agenda, we are able to manifest the love for one another that marks us His disciples.
We should note that these characteristics begin with love for Christ and end with love for one another, mirroring the two greatest commandments.
And in the very middle, at their very core, lies the issue of agendas. Which takes us all the way back to the beginning of The Story, where we abandoned God’s agenda to pursue Life according to our own agenda. It was this decision that brought death. If we are going to recover the Life that was lost – the identity and significance for which we were created, we must renounce the decision to pursue life on our own terms, and regardless of the costs, begin to live life according to Christ’s agenda. That is what it means to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.
If you want all of the Life that He offers, this is the path.
But, if we can get to heaven just by trusting Jesus, how big a deal is it if we walk as a disciple?
We will answer that next week.