The Goal of Discipleship... According to Jesus Luke 6.40 "Everyone who has been fully trained will be like his teacher."

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1 The Goal of Discipleship... According to Jesus Luke 6.40 "Everyone who has been fully trained will be like his teacher." Page 1 of 12! Recently much has been made of the importance of living with purpose through publications such as "The Purpose-Driven Life." Having a purpose or a goal is important for effective living. Without goals we wander about aimlessly, accomplishing little or nothing of eternal value.! However, many purposes have been suggested. This creates the necessity of prioritizing these multiple purposes in order to address them all. What criteria should we use in determining which of the suggested purposes is most important?! What do you think is Jesus' most basic purpose for you as a believer in him? What goal should you spend every minute of every day pursuing? Thankfully, there is no question about the answer to these questions for a follower of Jesus. Our Lord reduced His goal or purpose for every disciple down to one basic pursuit.! This one goal identifies the unifying purpose that allows us to obey every other command He has given us in a balanced, holistic way. This is why study of HIS teaching on THE goal/purpose of discipleship is so important. It is the key that unlocks the door to everything else.! Jesus stated the goal of discipleship three times, in the most important teaching sessions of his ministry. The first time was his Teaching on the Mount (MT 5-7), which he delivered to his newly selected band of Twelve apostles immediately after appointing them. In this session he laid out the basic principles of discipleship that all future disciples would follow, just as the original Twelve.! The second time Jesus repeated his goal was about six months later, when he was equipping to Twelve to go out on their first mission trip just before Jesus Third Tour of Galilee (MT 10). In this session Jesus reiterated the principles that he expected his apostles to multiply by passing them on to other faithful disciples on their mission trip.! The final time Jesus revisited his goal for discipleship was in his epic Farewell Discourse in his final hours with his disciples before his death (JN 13-16). In this teaching Jesus was deliberately looking forward to the kind of relationship that all future believers would have with him through the ministry of the indwelling Spirit after his return to heaven--the kind of relationship with him that we still enjoy today.

2 ! Thus, the fact that Jesus repeated his goal for discipleship three times in these major, crucial teaching sessions underscores the centrality and significance of this defining principle of discipleship. We will examine these three passages now, in the order Jesus spoke them..! Jesus began with a simple question and a clear statement. Every believer should memorize this critical dictum. Remember, Jesus made it in his first comprehensive discipleship training seminar, that occurred immediately after he selected the twelve apostles. "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Won't they both fall into a pit? A disciple (student) is not above his teacher, but everyone who has been completely, permanently trained will be like his teacher." Luke Page 2 of 12! No teacher can be effective without defining their learning goal from the beginning of their lesson planning and development. Their goal defines every aspect of their teaching, evaluation, and modification of the teaching/ learning process. As the Master Teacher of the ages, Jesus was always clear on his learning goal for his students. Our Lord assumed here that the Master/ apprentice relationship was the basic paradigm for a relationship with him.! In addition to Jesus' specific teaching on this point, his first-century disciples naturally assumed this goal as well. Likeness to the Master was the universal goal of training/apprenticeship relationships such as Rabbi/ disciple in 1st century Palestine. Every apprentice sought to become like their master in knowledge, skills, techniques, values, and character.! The "apprentice/master" experiential learning model has stood the test of time in every culture, throughout history. The goal has always been for the learner to acquire likeness to their "Master" in every way, over a long-term process of following them. Jesus deliberately chose this universally accepted model for His disciples.! Jesus laid it out clearly so that none of his disciples would miss it:... everyone who has been completely, permanently trained will be like his teacher."!! This goal of growing into the likeness of Christ was implied from the beginning of a discipleship relationship with Jesus, when He commanded

3 Page 3 of 12 people to "keep on following Me." The process of "following" implies submissive obedience through constant adjustment to the example and teachings of the Leader of the relationship. "Following" is the process Jesus commanded; His likeness is the result of faithfulness in doing so. Jesus fully trains each of us so that we can ultimately BE LIKE HIM in every way.! Our bodies will be transformed into conformity to his likeness in an instant by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the resurrection. We will be LIKE HIM in a glorified, resurrection body forever. Our human spirits became LIKE HIM in an instant when we were born again from above by the same power of the Holy Spirit, the moment we believed in Jesus as our LORD and Savior. The transformation of our souls and character into his likeness, however, is a lifetime journey that is the result of following him by adjusting everything to his perfect pattern.! This means that the christian life is inherently according to Jesus. He, himself, is the beginning, means, and end of everything we are and do. It has been said many times that Christianity is not a religion or an organization, it is a love-relationship with a living Person, Jesus. Whatever is not from him, through him, and for him is irrelevant and inconsequential to a committed disciple who understands Jesus goal for us. As Paul wrote: He (Jesus) is all, and in all. " Recall that Jesus began his discipleship goal statement in Luke 7 with our pre-existing blindness. "Can a blind man lead a blind man?" He assumed we are all blind in sin.! As much as knowledge and information has exploded in the last 100 years, everyone is born blind into this world regarding the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Yet, we are all born with a sinful nature that causes us to think, say and do the opposite of Jesus as our "default" mode. So, none of us are born like Him to begin with, and we are influenced throughout out lives by other blind people, who leave us less like Jesus by their impact upon us. Sadly, we all have a destructive influence on each other...we all fall into the pit. Christianity, the Church, or Bible information cannot deliver us from the blinding influence of our pervasive sinfulness. Only Jesus Himself can do that, for he said: Apart from me you can nothing. JN 15.5! As the light of the world, Jesus alone can see perfectly. Therefore Jesus is the Only One who can deliver us from our spiritual blindness. He is the Only One who can really see us the way we are, in light of what He first created us to be. So the only way to gain sight is by seeing Jesus, who is the Light. And when we see Him as He really is, the possibility of becoming like

4 Him opens up before our eyes. Seeing Jesus is the irreplaceable secret to becoming like Him Whom we see. The apostle Paul described our transformation like this: We all, with a permanently unveiled face, so that we are beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of the glory that we see, to the next level of glory, and all of this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. II Cor. 3.18! Conversely, it is impossible to become like a teacher or Master we do not see or even know, or rarely pay attention to. The only way to learn about Jesus us to give our full, priority-commitment to seeing Him in the only fully reliable source of information about Him on this earth: the four Gospels. Without seeing Him there, it is impossible to resemble Him "here," on the inside of our hearts and minds. " A disciple (student) is not above his teacher, but everyone who has been fully trained will be like his teacher." This is the essence of what He requires of each of us. A disciple is a "student" of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself is the curriculum, and the 4 Gospels are His primary textbooks. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher. The Church is the fellowship of students engaged in the process of seeing and following Jesus. The rest of the Scriptures prepare us to understand the life and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (the role of the Old Testament), and give us practical examples and directions on how to live out those teachings in the fellowship of other disciples (the role of the rest of the New Testament). This is it. Nothing more than this is possible for us. " Now let s look at Jesus second declaration of his goal for discipleship. Recall that Jesus included this re-statement of the goal of discipleship in His equipping instructions to the Twelve (MT 10), before He sent them out, two-by-two, for a village-to-village witnessing circuit of Galilee on his third tour of Galilee. About six months had passed since he first defined his goal for all disciples in his "Teaching on the Mount."! The context for Jesus' re-statement of his discipleship goal was critical. He had completed two thirds of his ministry. The sending of the Twelve was the first time he had sent anyone out to represent him in preaching and disciple-making. Just as these disciples needed to be clear on Jesus' goal for them if they would follow him, they must likewise be clear enough on Jesus' goal to be able to pass it on to others in their own disciple-making. Hence, Jesus took the time to re-affirm his goal for discipleship in his pre-mission training of the Twelve. "A disciple is not above His teacher, nor a servant above his master; Page 4 of 12

5 Page 5 of 12 it is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a slave to be like his master." MT 10.24! Jesus repeated the same core truth: the goal of discipleship is "to be like His Teacher/Master." Likeness to Christ in all things is the unwavering goal of discipleship. Matthew added two critical explanatory phrases to the core statement that Luke had recorded earlier in the Teaching On the Mount.! First, note that Matthew adds the slave/master dimension to Luke's disciple/teacher relationship. This is consistent with Matthew's emphasis on the absolute authority of Jesus Christ over all creation, as the Divine King that God promised David.! Let s think further about this. Matthew selected the "Great Commission" saying of Jesus as the climax to his gospel. Here Jesus stated: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me." " This is a claim to Omnipotent, Divine authority. Due to that authority Jesus next commanded them: "Make disciples of all the nations." Discipleship is predicated upon the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ. Therefore it is as a slave of Jesus Christ that we follow Him into His likeness as our Lord and Master. A learner is submissive to His authority in all things.! Secondly, in this setting Jesus said: "It is enough for a disciple to be like his Teacher..." Anything less that Christ-likeness is not "enough"--it falls short of Jesus' primary purpose for us. Matthew reminds us that any goal other than total conformity to Jesus Christ, in all things, is simply not worthy of His Majestic Authority as God Almighty, the "King of Kings and LORD of Lords."! So, the authority, and worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ are the twin engines propelling a life of passionate discipleship. We seek to be like Him because He alone is LORD. And, we want to be like Him because HE alone is worthy of that kind of absolute devotion.! Any lesser purpose than pursuit of His likeness will fail us, both in this life, and in eternity. It will not be "enough." Only becoming like our Lord will suffice.! Now, consider the third time Jesus spoke of his goal for discipleship. Jesus reminded His disciples of this teaching through the shocking example of washing their feet, in his final hours with them before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. This shows us that Jesus' goal for discipleship remain unchanged,

6 Page 6 of 12 until the very end. He re-affirmed it with his last words. "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, that a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than the one who sent him."! Note that Jesus repeated the Master/servant relationship recorded by Matthew to describe discipleship. Because we are the servants/sent ones in our relationship to our LORD and Sender Jesus, we should "be like Him." (MT/LK) The person we become should be an expression of Who HE is, because HE is LORD.! We also see that Jesus used a different phrase ("do as I have done to you") to express His goal: a disciple is to become like Him in all things-- following his example in every aspect of what we say and do.! 'Doing what Jesus does' by His grace is the essence of how we acquire His likeness. It is the disciple's life. Mary stated it early in John's Gospel: "Whatever He says to you, do it." Or, whatever I have done to you, do it. " John restated the same truth in his first letter: "If we say that we abide in Him, we ought to walk just as He walked." I John 2.6 Everything about the Life of Jesus recorded in the Gospel is an Example that disciples need to see and emulate, as the primary way in which we grow into His likeness.! Finally, we see that Jesus added the "Sender/sent" relationship to the "Teacher/student" (LK) and "Master/Servant" (MT) motifs in this Goalstatement.! In Jewish culture, a "sent" person represented their "sender" as their personally commissioned agent, like an Ambassador speaks in the name and authority of their sending government. Sent people do not represent themselves--only their sender.! Jesus used this concept to summarize His relationship with the Father, and therefore the intimacy and union between them. He could say "if you have seen Me you have seen the Father" because He was "sent" from the Father. It is incredible that Jesus used this precious term for His relationship with His disciples, too. After his resurrection he would declare: "Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." (JN 20.21)! Like Jesus, our "sent-ness" means we are called to represent Him in all things, not ourselves. This means we must become "like Him" in order to represent him. Likeness to the sender in word, deed, and attitude is the responsibility of anyone sent to be the agent of their Teacher and Lord.

7 Page 7 of 12! Therefore, Jesus' discipleship goal equips us to serve Him in ministry and outreach to all the nations. On the other hand, if we are not "like him" we will only misrepresent him in the world. "Sent-ness" and "likeness" to Jesus go hand in hand.! We are heavily influenced by the people we see and hear the most in our lives. A disciple must make an intentional choice to make the life and Example of Jesus the Person they hear and see more than anyone else. There is no other way to be transformed by His influence.! That means reading and meditating upon ALL of His life and teachings in a focused, intensive way. This is the purpose of the Gospels--to allow us to see and hear Jesus constantly, until we become like Him in all things. This is also the purpose of our ATJ Ministries "composite harmony" of the life of Jesus: "The Saga of Jesus Christ. Reading every day from the gospels, or the SAGA" (or a different harmony of Jesus' life) is the only sure way to get to know Jesus and his example well enough to become like him in all things.! The Apostle Paul is a great example of Jesus' discipleship goal. He experienced the same kind of discipleship relationship with Jesus that we do...by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the identical gospelcontent that we have in the four Gospels. His profound experience of knowing the resurrected Jesus, and being transformed into His likeness, is the primary New Testament example of Jesus' discipleship method and goal in action. Paul testified: "God continually works all things together for good for those who love God, for all those who are called according to HIS purpose. For whom He foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might become the first-born among many brethren." Rom ! Since Jesus was able to save and transform the greatest persecutor and enemy of the gospel of the 1st Century, we know He can do the same in everyone who believes and follows Him in the same way, including you and me.! Paul reminded his readers that along with the Example of Jesus' Life and teachings, God uses every experience of our life as a laboratory for accomplishing His discipleship goal in us. After experiencing this same kind of comprehensive discipleship training in the Word and Spirit that we do, the

8 Page 8 of 12 Apostle testified: "God continually works all things together for good for those who love God, for all those who are called according to HIS purpose. " Paul defines "good" as "being conformed to the image of His Son." That does not mean "good" as we define it, but rather as HE defines it. In a few minutes we will consider some of the ways in which becoming like Jesus is the highest "good" it is possible to experience. It is sufficient for now to say that Christ's likeness is the BEST thing that an Omniscient, Omnipotent, Loving God can possible conceive and give to any person. This is the ultimate prize in the universe. It makes every thing we have to endure and suffer in order to obtain it like exchanging our household garbage for gold and diamonds at the bank.! Because Christ's likeness is our highest possible good, every Person of the Trinity is constantly at work, in each experience of our life, to enable us to respond to it in a Christ-like manner. The promises, teachings, commands, and examples of Jesus in the Gospels show us His way to respond to every life situation. Then the Trinity uses every event and moment of our lives as His laboratory, to mix our intentional response toward Him together with His presence, love, power, and grace to accomplish His purpose in us. Nothing is wasted. Is He amazing, or what? "God continually works all things together for good..." " God working together in EVERYTHING we experience to make us more like Jesus makes His goal eminently attainable for every disciple who chooses to pursue Him with all their heart.! So many "normal" attitudes and values in ourselves and others are actually an expression of spiritual blindness. Kingdom living is in juxtaposition with typical sinful behavior. The Holy Spirit, examples and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, and our every life experience are God's means of grace in shining the Light of His truth into our hearts. Prayer and faith in Jesus' Word are our intentional responses to God's limitless power and grace. Our action plans for becoming like Jesus must include daily time in prayer, and seeing Jesus in His Word for us to receive His light and be transformed by it.! Are you committed to following Jesus as your unquestioned Number One life-goal? If not, God is first working to use your life experiences to get your attention focused on Him. This often means we encounter trials, testing, suffering, and difficulty on every level. Our loving Lord applies the pressure and raises the heat to purify and refine us of every lesser desire. This is His love at work in giving us His best, in spite of how tough it is in the short

9 Page 9 of 12 term.! We conclude this study of Jesus goal for discipleship by considering the two major results of Jesus' goal for us. We begin with the most important result: God's GLORY realized in us!! Christ-likeness is the greatest glory God obtains for Himself in us. All things exist for the glory of God, which is revealed in different ways through all His creation. Humans have been created in a special way to radiate God's glory through revealing His likeness in a miniaturized way. As a fully Divine human, Jesus could say: "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." JN 14.9 That statement can be made about no other part of creation in the same way it can be made about Jesus. He is "the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature" (Heb. 1.3) in the utterly unique way that characterizes each member of the Trinity. Jesus is "the visible Image of the invisible God." Col. 1.15! The fact that Jesus could remain Divine, and enter into full and real humanity at the same time, shows us the potential for human nature in God's original and primary intention for us: to share His Divine nature and likeness. "Then God (Jesus) said: 'Let us make humanity in our image, in our likeness..." Gen Jesus' discipleship goal then is not a "new" thing--it is His original intention for creating us in the first place.! Of course, our sin has decisively marred the Divine image in us, and there is nothing we can do in ourselves to escape its corruption. So Jesus came to set us free from the power and effects of sin completely, and restore the Glory of His Likeness and Image to us through changing us, from the inside out, into His own likeness.! Paul said it like this: "the new self...is being renewed to a true knowledge, according to the image of the One who created him--a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman--but Christ is all, and in all." Col We are being renewed through the true knowledge of Christ (found in the Gospels) into His Image, a learning process in which HE is all, and in all. As Jesus said: "A disciple who has been fully trained will be like His Teacher." " Here's the important thing. When Jesus is through transforming us into His likeness, inwardly and outwardly, we will "be glorified." Out of everything that exists in this universe, glorified disciples will resemble and therefore glorify God in a unique way. God will be able to look at you and say: "When you look at this son or daughter of mine, you are looking at Me," in the

10 Page 10 of 12 same way that Jesus said, "If you have seen Me you have seen the Father." WOW! " I want to glorify God like that! I want all creation to look at me and see the Glory and Majesty and Praise of the Lord Jesus Christ on full display, so that HE is adored and worshipped for His own glory revealed in me. This is the greatest glory that an omniscient, all-powerful God has designed for Himself in terms of my life and yours, and THAT is why understanding and pursuing His purpose for discipleship on this earth is so important. God's eternal Glory in heaven begins with learning of Him on earth. And that depends on our intentional choices in constantly pursuing His likeness, in everything.! Finally, we end our study by affirming that Christ's Discipleship Goal is the BEST possible thing for us. When Jesus says He wants to change us into His own likeness, He is graciously giving us Perfection! There is nothing Higher or Greater or More Perfect than becoming like the Perfect One Himself. This is why He said: "I have come so that they may have the highest quality of God's life, and that they might have it in abundance." John 10.10B! Becoming like Jesus is the ultimate pinnacle of abundance that any created being can attain, and it is God's gracious purpose for every believer. Jesus' discipleship goal and plan literally gives you God, world, and universe in Himself.! What can compare with becoming like Christ in all things? Can temporary fame, wealth or artistry compare to God's eternal beauty and perfection? There is no greater love than His, no comparable joy, nor peace to rival Him. There is no greater friendship than his. There is no greater fellowship than the Trinity. There is no greater art or music, nor beauty than exists in Him Who Created the Concept of Beauty in the first place! My friend, there is nothing you can imagine that is good and desirable that can begin to compare with the reality that is God! And that God has given Himself to you.! Jesus' discipleship goal is the ultimate expression of His love, for love gives the very best, regardless of the cost, in unconditional grace. Love cannot give less than the very best to those we love, and remain love. Likeness to His own Perfection is the very best that an omniscient, omnipotent God can lovingly provide you. This is His purpose for you. " Sometimes we believers are hesitant to submit to God's will because we are afraid that we will have to give up our own desires. The truth is that if we are in God's perfect will, our own desires will match His, and we will actually

11 have the desires of our heart. We give up nothing, and gain everything! While there may be difficulties, we can press on because we know that our loving God will not only sustain us, but also bless us.! We can trust the goodness of God, because as our perfect Father, His will is ultimately the best thing for us. As we become more like Jesus through faithful obedience, we become ever more joyful, hopeful and thankful for His goodness.! The bottom line is that Jesus caused his goal for discipleship to be written in the Scriptures so that we can act on it every day. Goals are not made and reached by accident. Real goals are intentionally chosen first, then reviewed daily and acted upon, one small step at a time. As disciples, we must each understand Jesus' specific goal for us and move in action to accomplish it. Take action today! Food for Thought, Mediation and Application Jesus has already caused HIS goal for you to be written in His Word: "to become like him." Have you identified HIS goal for you as YOUR own goal and written it down yet? What is "enough" for you to accomplish in this life? How does that relate to Jesus' goal for you? Goals require action plans in order to accomplish them. Which action plan are you working on now? What adjustments do you need to make in order to complete that action? Who are the people who have influenced you the most through their example? How much does their example reflect Jesus? Are there any ways you need to change in order to follow His Example? What is your action plan for reading the Gospels every day? Page 11 of 12 What Example of Jesus is the most difficult for you follow? What can you do to overcome that obstacle today?

12 Page 12 of 12 What are some of the things you consider to be "good" in your life? How do these compare with God's "good" intention for you? Do they last as long? Do they give the same degree of joy? How has God been working in you to get your attention, and cause you to seek after Him with all your heart? Most people discover that the times of difficulty, trial, and pain are seasons of our greatest growth. Can you think of some of those times in your life? How can you use the lessons you have already learned in God's lab to give you a positive attitude in present or future times of trial?