A Culture of Discipleship

 The Spotless Agenda: 002

A Culture of Discipline

The word 'discipline' is from the Latin "discipulus" which means 'pupil'. It was derived through the Latin "discere" which means 'to learn'. The same are the roots from which we have the English word 'discipleship'.

Discipleship encompasses the state of being a disciple and the act of making disciples. Who then are disciples? They are not just followers of a person or a tradition. They are people who have mastered the disciplines of their leader, teacher or master. Hence they refer to themselves as pupils of the leader, teacher or master. 

Between the Gospels and the Book of Acts alone, the word 'disciple' appears over 250 times. It was the name used to refer to the Apostles as well as new believers until Acts 11:26 where the name 'Christians' was first introduced. 

Scripture doesn't unequivocally say that the unbelievers in Antioch gave the believers the name 'Christian'. This is merely an inference that people make from the text. 

Again Scripture doesn't unequivocally say that Paul introduced the name 'Christian'. Again this is merely an inference that people make from the text. 

What Bible says it that, "For one year, *Barnabas and Saul* met together with the believers at Antioch. And *they* taught a large group of believers all about Jesus. Antioch was the first place where the believers were called Christians" (Acts 11:26 EasyEnglish). 

This may as well mean that the name 'Christian' originated from the church at Antioch having well understood their call into union with Christ [1Corinthians 1:9]. But who was the first person to use it? Scripture doesn't say. It may as well be Barnabas since he was also a gifted teacher of the word, a prophet and an apostle, so we had better leave it as the Holy Spirit carefully and orderly wrote the text for us. 

But wait a minute. Paul never used the word 'Christian' in all his 13 epistles and his supposed letter to the Hebrews. The only New Testament writers who introduced the word 'Christian' in their writing were Luke, in Acts 26:28 [the word was used by King Agrippa II] and Peter, in 1Peter 4:16 [used by Apostle Peter himself]. Could it be that Paul introduced the word 'Christian' and yet, never used it in his own epistles? This is not a revelation. It is a supposition resulting from my enlightenment in the Scriptures as well as inquiry into contemporary interpretation of Scripture.  

Why did attention seem to shift from being a disciple to being a Christian in Christian formation? Perhaps, the early church understood that the best part of being a disciple of Christ was to be as disciplined as Christ. Maybe this is why the thrust seem to shift from being a disciple to being a Christian. After all, what is the point in understanding that you are called into union with Christ when you are not as disciplined as he? 

In another light, I am of the view that after the Book of Acts, the early church had truly grasped their calling to be children of God rather than merely followers of Christ. 

Whichever way you view a disciple and a Christian, the thrust is on being as disciplined as Christ since you are the child of God by spiritual birth. 

#TowardsASpotlessChurch

Comments

  1. Sage WordMay 1, 2022 at 3:08 AM

    The Spotless Agenda is a move towards a spotless church. Study, reason and question (srq) Scripture in order to find evidence of the truth. Remember, this is achievable only through the Holy Spirit.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE DOCTRINE OF SPIRITUAL COVERING: TRUTH OR INVENTION?

  " As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message" (Galatians 2:6 NIV).  Modern Christianity is orienting the Christian away from the belief that the Bible is the highest authority for faith and doctrine toward a belief that a spiritual father is the highest authority for faith and doctrine.  What is the basis for the belief that a father is a covering for the Christian? Is this belief based on the Bible or is it based on a doctrine that a father in the ministry advanced? Some fathers in the ministry have died from gory road accident. Others have died in a plane crush. Still others have lost biological children, sons and daughters in the ministry, in a most painful way. The popular televangelist and healing minister, A. A. Allen, is said to have died after a heavy drinking binge. Autopsy report showed that he died of kidney failure resulting from excessive alcohol intak...
Read more

LIVING BY THE SPIRIT (III)

 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit  Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV [11] So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God to those whom he loves. Why is the Holy Spirit a gift? A gift refers to a provision freely made, a person freely given, or an item freely supplied to meet another person's peculiar needs. Anything that is given to solve your peculiar need free of charge is a gift. Our talents are natural gifts given by God to enable us meet peculiar needs such as our need for a job. Our extraordinary or supernatural abilities are spiritual gifts given by God to enable us do extraordinary works on his behalf. A gift may be in the form of an arrangement made, a person given, or an item supplied to meet the peculiar needs of another person free of charge. From a giver, gift reaches a recipient. The Holy Spirit is God's comp...
Read more

PILLARS OF A GLORIOUS CHURCH

"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John." (Revelation 1:1 NIV) Every church, no matter the denomination or doctrine, must look so much the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head and the church is his body. The two parts must be identical in nature and behaviour.   Nature wise, the church is created in the image of Christ, but behaviour wise, the church must learn to live like Christ. Just as a newborn baby, fully possessing the genetic and systemic abilities of a human being, must learn to behave as a human being, so the Christian, created in the image of Christ, must learn to behave like Christ.  We ought to place much emphasis on the revelation of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelations. This is because, in the book, the glorified Christ reveals himself to the church in his full glory as Lord, so that we would see what his glory looks like, and eventually, ...
Read more