Discipleship, lesson #1: Discipleship is essential to fulfilling our life's purpose.
Thesis: Discipleship is how we fulfill our life's purpose because it is how we glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
If you would like the full text of this introductory lesson on discipleship and its relationship to our life's purpose, please download the PDF.
You may notice in the audio a bit of an informal atmosphere. For the time being, our English Bible study group is made mostly of friends, people I've known for years. So, we can joke around a little bit. I hope that doesn't offend anyone (simply keep in mind that as you hear us “razz” each other, we're friends and we love each other as brothers in Christ).
As the Lord permits, we are going to take some time to study discipleship. We are going to start with the “big picture” (general concepts) and move into the more “detailed picture” (of the practical “how-to” applications that will affect our daily lives). That means that we are going to look at discipleship in three different categories:
But first I believe we need to ask ourselves what is so important about discipleship.
What does it have to do with me, the individual Christian? Discipleship is the primary means by which we fulfill the purpose of our entire existence.If we are to finish the work God gave us to do, and thereby glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, we must understand what discipleship is and how we are expected to participate in it.
Through the process of discipleship we finish the work God gave us to do, and that glorifies God. Part of this work is being a disciple and growing in Christ ourselves (being conformed to His image). Part of this work is making disciples—helping others grow in Christ (an conform to His image).
Through this same process of discipleship, as we live each day to glorify God (by being disciples and making disciples), He responds by giving us unspeakable joy. Without participating in discipleship, we will never enjoy God on this earth. When we live to be disciples and to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we enjoy God now and will enjoy Him forever. We are robbed of that joy when we live in any other way (when we live according to our own desires and not God's).
Therefore, without discipleship we cannot glorify God, nor can we live with the unspeakable and complete joy of God in our lives.
Therefore, we need to understand discipleship and we need to understand it well in order to live it and pass it on to others through our teaching and example. There is no other higher calling than discipleship for us today, and there is no greater duty. Our life's purpose is fulfilled in the work of discipleship.
We need to be disciples who make disciples.
Everything else is secondary.