What is a disciple?

There are several words and expressions used by Jesus, the gospel-writers and in the book of Acts to describe what we call “Christians” – believers, disciples, followers of The Way, the people, and Christians (‘Christian’ is in the Bible, but it is only used three times in the original Greek).

By far the most common word used of Christian believers is ‘disciple(s)’. This word is from the same root as the word ‘discipline’ and it means a pupil. The essence of being a disciple is that of being a learner – one who is not yet complete; one who recognises the need to continue to learn or to grow.

The essence of discipleship is the call to change. God calls us to continual change and transformation. Growth is not possible without changing. We are called to change in our attitude to God, to ourselves and to others.

For example, we are called to change our view of ourselves – to accept God’s verdict over us of ‘not guilty’ because our sins are forgiven in Christ. It means seeing ourselves as objects of God’s love, not his judgement. It means bringing our opinion of ourselves in line with God’s opinion – that we are adopted as sons and daughters and inheritors with Christ of his glory.

We are also called to forgive those who do wrong to us. That calls for a change of attitude. It means letting go of hurt, pain and bitterness and giving up the ‘right’ to seek retribution. It means trusting the God who knows everyone’s hearts - that he will deal with those who have hurt us with true justice, combined with appropriate mercy.

It also means a change of attitude towards money, possessions, and where our security lies. It means a change of priorities and motivation – what comes first: our careers, our families, our work, our community involvement, our hobbies, our worship, our church commitments?

When someone has been a Christian for a long time, they are inclined to think that they have done all the changing that they are going to do, that all that remains for them is to stay faithful. There is a temptation for an established Christian, when they read the Bible or hear a sermon, simply to add a new insight to their accumulation of Bible knowledge. Nevertheless, as a disciple, we are called to continual growth and change. I believe that God is challenging us to be ready to change our thinking –to face the fears and insecurities that remain in our minds and emotions, to grow in our experience of God’s love for us, to deal with unbelief, to grow in faith and be more expectant that God will work in miracles of healing and provision.