Disciples of the
Lord Jesus Christ
“Then Jesus said to His
disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me.’” (Mt. 16:24)
The crucifixion is a Roman form of execution
in which the criminals carried their crosses through the streets to the
execution site. Denying oneself and
taking up the cross means the disciple who follows the Lord Jesus Christ has to
be fully committed to Him, even taking the risk of death, and there is no
turning back.
Jesus
Christ and His
Twelve Disciples
“And when it was day, He
called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also
named apostles:” (Lk.
6:13)
The Lord Jesus Christ first called
many disciples and He chose twelve apostles from amongst them.
"For many are
called, but few are chosen." (Mt. 22:14)
“And when He had called
His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Mt. 10:1)
These twelve chosen disciples who
are also called apostles have special power of healing and also authority over
the devil.
Difference
between Apostles and
Disciples
The word “Apostle”
means one who is sent. The word “Disciple” means one who learns.
Jesus called many disciples that composed of men and women. Jesus chose twelve apostles who are all men.
There are no women apostles in
the New Testament Church.
Disciples are followers of the Lord Jesus
Christ (Acts 6:7).
“Disciples were first
called Christians in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26)
Apostles have “great power” and are “witnesses
of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 4:33; 2 Cor. 12:11-12)
Difference
between Disciples and
Church Members
“For as the body is one
and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many are one
body, so also is Christ.” (1 Cor. 12:12)
A church member is one who believes
in the Lord Jesus Christ, repents of his sins and is baptized into Him. He may even have received the baptism of the
Holy Spirit, attends church services regularly and even serves on the Church
Council.
“A disciple is not above
his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant
like his master. . .” (Mt. 10:24-25)
A disciple has all the
characteristics of a church member but he is striving to be like the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Marks
of a Disciple
1 Imitation
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
The apostle Paul wrote: “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” (1
Cor. 11:1)
“Him we preach, warning every
man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus. To this end I also
labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” (Col. 1:28-29)
A minister’s aim is teach every
church member to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Abiding
in the words
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
“Then Jesus said to those
Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” (Jn. 8:31)
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (Jn. 15:14).
3 Bearing
much fruit.
“By this My Father is
glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be My disciple.” (Jn. 15:8).
“But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23)
4
Loving the brethren
just as Jesus
Christ loves us.
“A new commandment I give
to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for
one another." (Jn. 13:34-35)
How do
we love the
Brethren ?
“By this we know love, because
He laid down His life for us. And we
also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees
his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God
abide in him? My little children, let us
not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 Jn. 3:16-18).
The
Cost of being
a Disciple of
Jesus Christ
1.
The Disciple must first deny himself and
surrender his life completely to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Then He said to them
all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up the
cross daily, and follow Me.” (Lk. 9:23) “So likewise, whoever of you does not
forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Lk. 14:33)
From the statements of the
Lord Jesus Christ we can see that a disciple is not only a person who follows
Him wherever He goes but also one who is willing to give up everything in order to follow Him (Lk. 9:57-58).
57 Now it happened as they
journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You
wherever You go."
58 And Jesus said to him,
"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay His head."
2. The
Lord Jesus Christ takes priority over the family.
“He who loves father or
mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mt. 10:37)
A disciple is not only a
person who follows Jesus wherever He goes but also one who is willing to put the family aside to follow Him (Lk. 9:59-62).
59 Then He said to another,
"Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my
father."
60 Jesus said
to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the
kingdom of God."
61 And another also said,
"Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who
are at my house."
62 But Jesus said to him,
"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the
3 The Disciple must be willing to suffer as a
Christian
The Lord Jesus Christ
said,
“And whoever does not bear his cross cannot be My disciple.” (Lk. 14:27)
“Yes, and all who desire
to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12)
Rewards
of the Disciples
1 Honor given by our heavenly Father
The Lord Jesus Christ
said: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me;
and where I am, there My servant will be also.
If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” (Jn. 12:26)
2.
Have the Light of Life
“Then Jesus spoke to them
again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life.” (Jn 8:12)
3
Rewards are great in heaven (John 14:2-3)
2 “In My Father’s house are
many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am,
there you may be also.”
Revelation 7:14-17
14 “. . . These are the ones
who come out of the Great Tribulation, and washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.
15
Therefore they are before the throne of
God, and serve Him day and night in His temple.
And He who sits on the throne
will dwell among them.
16 “They shall neither
hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any
heat;
17
For the Lamb who is in the midst of the
throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
|
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
 |
|
|
|
