Study Companion
Ask
Browse
Listen
＋
Install
←
Back
Podcast
Christians Discipling One Another In The First Century Church
Open original on relationalconcepts.org ↗
Your browser does not support audio.
↺ Start from beginning
0% listened
Transcript
0:00
Hi, I'm Dave DeWitt, and today I'd like to consider what the Bible says about Christians
0:10
discipling one another in the first century church.
0:14
First a definition.
0:17
Biblical discipleship is the act of one person intentionally impacting the life of another
0:22
person in the direction of Christ's likeness, with the thought that they'll teach others
0:28
also.
0:29
Now, I want to make 20 brief observations.
0:33
Rather than read the biblical passages, I'll only list the scripture that supports the
0:40
observation.
0:41
So, let's get started.
0:43
In the first century, number one, discipleship was cross-cultural, Romans 10, 12, Galatians
0:52
3, 28, and Christianity was unique in that it was not tied to any culture.
1:01
It was not identified with any country, nationality, or people group.
1:06
For example, the first Christians were Jews, but Christianity was quickly separated from
1:12
Judaism.
1:14
The other world religions are culturally, racially, and nationally tied.
1:21
Number two, discipleship was theological conversion, not biological reproduction, 2 Timothy 2.2.
1:31
Christianity was not spread biologically.
1:34
Actually, celibacy was recommended.
1:39
Most religions grew primarily by biological reproduction.
1:44
Christianity grew by discipling people theologically.
1:48
Three, discipleship was disconnected from any worship structure or worship center.
1:58
For example, what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4, 21-24.
2:05
Christianity was not connected to any temple or mosque or sanctuary.
2:09
It was not associated with any liturgy, priesthood, religious calendar.
2:15
Christianity was a fellowship of believers.
2:19
Number four, discipleship was a unique strategy commanded by a unique savior for a unique
2:29
religion, Matthew 28, 18-20.
2:33
As a mode of operation, discipleship was not commanded or even possible until the church
2:40
age where all believers were priests.
2:45
Number five, the training of disciples was not to run the kingdom of Israel or any other
3:08
kingdom or organization, but rather to launch the church.
3:13
Matthew 23, 8-12.
3:18
Jesus did not train his disciples in politics, government, organizational operation, or administration.
3:25
He trained them in theology, morality, evangelism, discipleship, and sacrificial service to an
3:32
equal brotherhood where the more mature served the less mature.
3:37
Number six, the disciples were to represent Christ to the world, not reach the world for
3:44
Christ, Matthew 28, 18-20, Acts 1-8 and 2-39.
3:53
The apostles were to be Christ's witnesses to the world, but they were not to reach,
4:00
win, convert, or serve disciples of the masses.
4:07
To reach the world, they'd have to change the Word of God because the world hates the
4:12
Word of God, John 17, 14.
4:18
Number seven, the focus of Christ and his disciples was on those who wanted to grow
4:23
to maturity, Hebrews 5-14.
4:29
For example, if we represented all of those who consider themselves Christians on a graph
4:35
where up is a desire for discipleship, it would look something like a triangle.
4:43
The further up you go, the less people there are.
4:47
The focus of Christ and the disciples was on those at the top of the triangle.
4:55
By the way, it seems that most of our Christian organizations today focus on the large group
5:00
at the bottom.
5:03
Number eight, discipleship was all about the individual, not the community, Romans 12, 4-1.
5:13
The church was seen as individual members of a body, not people assembled into a community.
5:21
The word community never occurs in the New Testament.
5:25
A body encourages each individual to develop excellence.
5:31
A community takes from the motivated individual and distributes to the unmotivated masses.
5:38
Number nine, discipleship was incarnational, people with people in the flesh, 1 Thessalonians 2, 7 and 8.
5:49
Discipleship, one-on-one or in small groups, was a person focusing on another person personally.
5:58
Number 10, discipleship was reproductive, 2 Timothy 2, 2 would be a good reference.
6:07
Discipleship was not about adding to a particular group, meeting, or organization.
6:14
Neither Christ nor the apostles ever organized a large meeting.
6:19
Christianity spread like the growth of the mustard seed.
6:23
Number 11, discipleship was rational and factual, several good references in the book of Acts, Acts 17, 2-4, for example.
6:35
Discipleship was a rational discussion based on real historical events and factual evidence,
6:43
not mysticism, leaps of faith, or private unsubstantiated spiritual experiences.
6:50
Number 12, discipleship included winning the right to be heard, 1 Thessalonians 2, 1-12.
7:00
The apostles spoke in synagogues, public places, and then moved on.
7:06
But with those who responded to the gospel, they won the right to be heard by investing
7:12
themselves into lifelong relationships.
7:17
Number 13, disciples came from a network of lifelong relationships, Romans 16, 3-16.
7:27
Most of Jesus' disciples were already believers in the Old Testament sense before they followed him.
7:35
His first five disciples were recruited through a network of relationships, which began with
7:41
two disciples of John the Baptist, Andrew and John.
7:46
Discipleship for the apostles came from a fellowship structure which could be within
7:51
the same city or across the Roman Empire.
7:55
Number 14, discipleship sharpened the discernment of the disciples, Matthew 10, 16.
8:05
One of the most significant aspects of discipleship was to increase the believer's discernment.
8:12
Every New Testament book except Philemon warns about false teachers or false prophets.
8:19
Discipleship was morally and theologically judgmental and intolerant of false teaching.
8:27
15, discipleship included some who stayed and some who left, Matthew 13, 10-13, John 6, 65, and 66.
8:41
Jews and the apostles focused on those who wanted to strive for excellence.
8:47
Those became their lifelong friends.
8:51
Number 16, discipleship meant counting the cost, Matthew 10, 35-37.
9:01
Discipleship meant putting Christ's likeness above the things of the world, including family relationships.
9:09
Number 17, the disciples had different backgrounds and personalities, but the one thing they
9:17
had in common was that none of them were part of an established religious system.
9:24
Very few established religious leaders were disciples, like Nicodemus in John 3, 1.
9:31
Some disciples were secular people like Levi, John 5, 37-39, and the woman at the well in John 4.
9:42
Most disciples were people who already knew something about God and were seeking a closer
9:47
relationship with him.
9:50
For example, this was the case with Stephen and Philip in the Ethiopian eunuch, and Paul
9:55
and Barnabas and Timothy and Titus and John, Mark and Apollos, and the uninformed disciples
10:01
of Acts 19, Purcell and Aquila, and most of the converts from the synagogues.
10:09
Number 18, disciples were kept from worldly behavior, not from worldly people, John 17, 11-17.
10:18
The goal of discipleship was not to make believers into monks, it was to keep them in the world
10:25
while being able to discern and navigate the pitfalls of the world.
10:30
Number 19, discipleship meant understanding and teaching the Word of God, like the good
10:37
seed of Matthew 13, 23.
10:41
Reproductive disciples were not just those who attended gatherings or were involved in
10:47
Christian activities, but those who understood the things of the Word of God.
10:53
And number 20, being discipled meant imitating the life of the discipler, but only to the
11:01
extent that he or she imitated the life of Jesus Christ.
11:07
First Corinthians 11, 1 and 2, Ephesians 5, 1 and 2.
11:12
No one doing discipleship is perfect, so discipleship was always about following Christ.
11:20
But the reality is those being disciples were also looking at the life of their discipler,
11:26
so the apostles told people to follow them as they followed Christ.
11:32
Thank you for listening.
11:33
A longer paper on this subject with footnotes and the scriptures is available on our website
11:39
relationshipandconcepts.org.
