The Four Parts of Discipleship
The purpose for this post is to begin a dialogue that involves understanding Christian discipleship and the role that recovery ministry plays in the process of discipling church leaders and servants. Many testify of the parity between recovery ministry and the discipleship process, some find the two equivalent. Consider the content of this post the starting point for bringing the two together and clarifying the similarities and differences.
To begin understanding Christian discipleship one must begin understanding the triune God. You will notice the inception point of the information below is God—the creator, redeemer, consummator of the new creation, from whom and to whom are all things (Col. 1:16; Heb. 2:10). To begin the walk of discipleship one must begin with knowing the holy Trinity—that God in his triune life is set apart from creation, eternally one, unique, and indivisible. The grammar used below to describe the holy and complete Trinity may be new to you and that is ok. Our ministry is here to help because it is important to understand the eternal oneness and threeness of God to gain the enjoyment of his fullness in discipling you as a Christian.
Below is a five-part discussion of our discipleship program. As stated above, it begins with God and presentation of the grammar that speaks well of his triune life. Once the position of the Trinity is clarified, this dialogue offers a concise outline of the four–part discipleship program our ministry supports. The outline below has been adapted from a lecture presented in a recant leadership training—consider it and introduction—where we can begin interacting to understand God, the direction needed, and where that direction originates, to become a disciple of Christ.
Please contact the recovery ministry office for conversation, clarification, and an appointment if you are interested in the discipleship program outlined here.
Chris
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The Holy Trinity (our Trinitarian Grammar)
The grammar of the Trinity includes—the Father is the uncreated first person of the Trinity who has life from himself. The Son is the second person of the Trinity and is eternally generated from the Father, who took human flesh in the form of a man (the Incarnation) to offer wisdom to creation and serve as a sacrifice for the sin of believers. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, eternally sent by the Father and Son in charity to point creation to the wisdom of God sourced in Jesus Christ.
God is One: God is simple meaning he is without parts. This refers to his essence, being, and/or nature. God is one pure (purely actualized) essence. If you think of humans, we are made up of parts. Think of anything else in creation and you will find it is made up of parts. God is one simple essence.
God is Three Persons: The Bible reveals God in three different “persons.” Other ways to understand person in a biblical sense are “fashion,” “style,” or “manner.” The one pure essence that is God is revealed in Scripture in the three persons—Father, Son, Spirit. Persons are established by “relationship of origin” (conciliar trinitarian theology), and some of the grammar used to describe them are ineffability, filiation, spiration. God the Father is uncreated (ineffability), God the Son is eternally generated from the Father (filiation), God the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son (spiration).
The Bible: The Bible is the only resource for understanding God as Trinity. It is through reading Scripture that we know God as Father, Son, and Spirit. “Our God reveals his triune nature in the Gospel.” –Matthew Barrett
We meet all of God—Father, Son, Spirit—in the Gospel. Another way of saying this is, “All of God (Father, Son, Spirit) comes to us in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.” –Fred Sanders
How to read the Bible for the Trinity (–Scott Swain)
1. Listen: God is one (Deut. 6:4). Very important—not “one of” anything—“One.” There is a difference, some would say, the difference.
2. Listen: God talks to God (Ps. 110)—those distinct speech agents (prosopa) do not divide the one God.
3. Listen: Prophets and apostles talk of God incarnate in two ways (Rom. 1:1-6)—as God’s Son and “according to the flesh.” Prophets talk about him in his to-become-incarnate presence in the OT. Apostles proclaim him in his incarnate presence in the NT But both speak in two ways.
4. Repeat steps 1-3. And I am not kidding about the listening part. You’ve got to be willing to have your mental furniture rearranged to read this book about this subject.
5. Enjoy!
“The triune God disciples his children in the Church.” – Chris Gibson
Christian Discipleship in Four Parts: Brokenness, Education, Spiritual Formation, Accountability.
Other words we use to help understand “disciple”—follower, adherent, pupil, apostle, supporter, believer, student, devotee, learner, apprentice…
A simple definition for a Christian Disciple— “the process of devoting oneself to a teacher to learn from and become more like them. For the Christian, this refers to the process of leaning the teachings of Jesus Christ and following after his example in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit. Discipleship not only involves the process of becoming a disciple ourselves, but of facilitating the discipleship of others through teaching and evangelism.”
Jesus Christ is the Son, the second person of the Trinity, who took human flesh (the Incarnation) to offer wisdom to God’s creation and serve as a sacrifice for the sin of believers. John 10:35 “…the Scriptures cannot be broken…”
1. Brokenness
The way to understand “Brokenness” is by way of the biblical teaching on “poor in Spirit.”
“Discipleship of Jesus begins with the poor, with being poor, with recognizing one’s own poverty. The First Beatitude…describes the first characteristic of discipleship. Those who are not poor, who have not recognized their poverty before God, like those who cling to the illusion of their adult independence and control of their own destiny, have still to make a beginning on the pathway of discipleship. The Kingdom of God is for the poor. Only the poor enjoy its blessing. Only those who have given up trying to find their significance in what lies within their own power and have learned to live out of the resources of God’s Spirit have discovered the blessing of God’s rule.” – J. D. G. Dunn
We can begin to understand brokenness by studying the first Beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:3 (CSB)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
The broken (spiritually poor) are rescuable. The reason is that the spiritually poor are rescuable is because they have relinquished their perception of control. People who have power, or perceive they have power, will often use it to guard themselves, control their lives on their own terms, and seek more power. They are people who live their lives on their own terms rather than willingly receive divine wisdom and applying it to their way of life. The physically and spiritually poor have nothing to fall back on. They are limited and therefore willing to take what is offered. The people who are poor in spirit understand their own best efforts have not helped improve their life circumstances and they are open to willingly receive wisdom from a power greater than themselves, Jesus Christ.
2. Education (or Knowing God)
An equivalent term to “education” that our discipleship ministry will use is “Knowing God.” Christian disciples have a growing knowledge of the triune God, therefore there must be a component in our ministry structure that emphasizes education.
“…the quality and extent of our knowledge of other people depends more on them than on us. Our knowing them is more directly the result of their allowing us to know them than of our attempting to get to know them. When we meet, our part is to give them our attention and interest, to show them good will and to open up in a friendly way from our side. From that point, however, it is they, not we, who decide whether we are going to know them or not.”
– J. I. Packer
John 10:27 (CSB)
27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.
John 14:6 (CSB)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Knowing God is a matter of building a personal relationship with him. It is more than knowing about him, it is about dealing with him as he opens up his eternal life to you. Doctrine is a good way to know God, however, personal involvement with him and absorbing him is more important. Any personal relationship includes committing to that person’s company, interests, and concerns.
“Knowing God is a matter of grace” (–J. I. Packer). Understanding that the Creator creature relationship is initiated by God is the beginning of a relationship with him. We come to know God when we are uncomfortable—when we are in a “learning environment” and we do not have all the answers. When we are pushing ourselves past our perceived abilities, we come to know God’s grace. There is a difference between being reckless and being uncomfortable. Recklessness is when we attempt something we know we have no business attempting. Uncomfortable is when we are encouraged to attempt something that is in our ability range, and we possibly have not attempted it before. The ways we come to know God are: leading and being led. testimony, step studies, school/studying Christian doctrine, prayer, and reading the Bible.
3. Spiritual Formation
“All discipline, of whatever variety, is purposeful and never an end in itself. Discipline is always directed at some purpose, aim, or goal. The very title of this volume (Biblical Spirituality), indicates the purpose for spiritual and embodied disciplines: the promotion of spirituality.” – G. R. Allison
The Bible teaches us about progress in sanctification, or holiness (1 Thess. 5:23).
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (CSB)
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul the Apostle teaches the rewards of completing the marathon of Christian ministry (1 Cor. 9:22-23).
1 Corinthians 9:22–23 (CSB)
22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.
The Christian progresses in spiritual formation while living life in community and by way of service to other people, both Christian and non-Christian alike. Community by way of Church attendance and recovery meeting attendance is where Bible study and Step Study occur. Structured service activities is the resource for progressing in Christian leadership, understanding brokenness in ourselves and others, and contributing to the expansion of God’s Kingdom on earth by way of evangelism.
4. Accountability
“A close personal relationship and a voluntary commitment to learn from God and one another.” –C. J. Gibson
Romans 14:12 (CSB)
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Accountability is included in the system of a healthy church and is crucial to Christian life and our recovery. Building a relationship with individuals having equal or greater experience in life and recovery is the way to become accountable for our time and activities and it is important for success in being discipled. The word “disciple” has a relationship to the word “discipline.” Receiving training that improves strength and self–control is the purpose of discipline. The Christian can find accountability in a one-on-one relationship with another Christian. Examples of this relationship are mentors, teachers, sponsors, and accountability partners. and in a small group setting. Accountability is also the product of small group participation in church community groups, open share groups, and step studies.
Conclusion
The goal of the discipleship format outlined above is to build a community of Christian believers who know and follow God and are capable of discipling other Christians. Most of the components of this system are sufficiently operating in a God fearing, Bible teaching church environment. The elements outlined in the grammar above provide a pathway for those seeking discipleship, freedom in Christ, and serving other individuals with interest in accomplishing the same. Our ministry encourages you to attend your church regularly, ask us questions about the information here, and become a Christian who consistently seeks the wisdom of God in all of life. We are praying for you.