DISCIPLESHIP 1

INTRODUCTION

The original plan and purpose of God on earth was to have man take
charge of the earth as the god of the earth to rule in proxy for Him. This
was why God made man in His image and likeness to “…. have dominion
over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over
all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”
(Gen. 1:26). However, He did not create human just to carry out orders;
He gave them the right to take decisions on whatever they want to do and
for whatever they decide to do, they must take responsibility. Man was
and still remains a free moral agent on the earth. The sovereignty of God
over the universe as the creator, the owner, and the possessor is
incontrovertible. However, He deliberately suspended this over man on his
decisions so that he (Man) can be free to take his decisions and of course
be ready to take responsibility for these decisions. The relationship
between God and man at the beginning was smooth and beautiful.
Everything God created was brought to the man to give name to it and
whatever name the man gave any creature was accepted by God (Gen.
2:19). This cordial relationship was broken when man violated the terms
of agreement between him and God by eating the forbidden fruit (Gen.
3:6-19). This catastrophic event is referred to as the fall of man and that
mark the entrance of Sin into the world.

After the fall, the plan of God concerning the earth remained unchanged.
He is still determined to leave the world in the hand of man but the man
to whom He will leave the earth to must be in His image and likeness. He
insisted on that and it was on this basis that He related with some
individuals in the Old Testament and directly trained them on how to
follow Him. Such people as Enoch, Noah, and Abraham were directly led
by God and could be called His direct disciples. As great as this may look,
however, it is not the perfect will of God because it is not easy for a
human being to follow God that is invisible and be discipled by Him
directly. The purpose of follow Him is to learn His life so as to conform to

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His image, because only those that carry His image can represent Him
here on earth. This He reaffirmed in Romans 8:29: “For whom He
foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,
and that He might be the first born among many brethren.”

The fall caused a serious damage to the life of man and to humanity in
general. Man became selfish and self-centred. He became corrupted and
an enemy to his Creator. He became an inventor of what is evil (Rom.
1:18-32). This was God’s reason for drawing up the plan of salvation. This
was brought to humanity in a remedial form in the Old Testament but was
fulfilled in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
salvation of man is a recreation, a new life is born out of the old one that
carries a new heart and can obey God. This salvation is an event that
takes place once a man is brought to the point of realization of his corrupt
and perverse life by the instrumentality of the word of God. He is then
required to own up to his sinfulness, and confess his helplessness to God
and makes up his mind to accept the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
While salvation is an event, to become conformed to His image is a
lifelong process of learning to be like Him. This is what makes discipleship
a necessity. This change of life is fundamental to discipleship, without it
the individual cannot become what discipleship is meant to achieve.

Except a man is born anew by the Spirit he has no potential to

become like Jesus. A baby lizard can never grow up to become a
crocodile no matter the training, feeding and exposures. Even if all
the principles of Discipleship are applied, a sinner cannot develop by
training to become a saint. He has to be born again. That which is
born of the Flesh is flesh and will always be flesh! The natural man
cannot “see” neither “enter” the Kingdom of God. It is mere
foolishness to him (Akanni. 2006. 12)

WHAT IS DISCIPLESHIP?

Discipleship is a process through which a learner, an apprentice or a

student becomes like the master. It involves both formal and informal
teachings from the master. It is a lifelong process which involves some
steps that the disciple must go through to become what God desires him
to be. It is a personal relationship between the disciple and the Lord Jesus
Christ (1 Pet. 2:21; Ps. 32:8; Isa. 28:9-10). The disciple does not learn only

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by verbal teaching but by everything done by the master: his manner of
talking, his dressing, his attitude to work, his behaviour to his family etc.

Discipleship is God’s family training curriculum that He takes His children

through. It involves discipline and chastisement (Heb. 12:5-8). Every
legitimate child must go through discipline from the parents. This
discipline is not pleasant, but the child that must enter into the
inheritance must have to go through it.

It is a yoking together of a believer to Jesus Christ to walk and work

together in the path of righteousness (Matt. 11:28-30). It is voluntary and
personal between the disciple, his discipler and Jesus Christ.

It is unique from person to person, because what God needed to deal with
in the life of individuals varies from person to person and the process of
achieving it varies also from person to person too.

Discipleship is the process of raising a babe in the Lord to maturity so that

he can enter into his inheritance (Gal. 4:1-7).

And the only means of transforming and getting us to conform into

His likeness is this means of discipleship. Though at new birth, all
the potentials of the divine nature is implanted within the soul of
every child of God, it is undeveloped and immature. It is the
discipleship process that brings these into maturity by exercise and
training (Akanni. 2017. 25).

Just as all that is required to make a baby a father or a mother is in him or

her at birth; it is growth and maturity that brings it to the fore, so also is
the spiritual birth. Without discipleship the new believer remains a babe
and all the potentials in him remain dormant.

While a programme can be arranged to teach discipleship, discipleship is

not a programme or course to obtain a certificate. It is a learning process
to become like the Master Jesus and it will not take place in one
experience, it takes series of experiences and encounters.

When discipleship is effective in the life of the disciple it manifest in every

area of his life: his dressing, speech, conduct etc. (Matt. 26:69-73; Acts
4:13-16; 11:26). Though Peter denied vehemently that he does not know
Jesus, he could not hide his identity because even the pattern of his
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talking was like that of Jesus. God has given humanity the pattern that He
wants to see, that pattern is Jesus Christ (Matt. 17:5; 2 Peter 1:16-17).

WHO IS A DISCIPLE?

A disciple is a follower, a learner, an apprentice, pupil or a student.

Raising disciples is not a new concept. It has been there from the
beginning of life. Moses had disciples, the Pharisees had disciples, and
John the Baptist had disciples too. When Jesus began His public ministry,
He too, looked for disciples so that, when His work was finished and He
left to be with the Father again, there would be others who would
faithfully carry on the work of the kingdom of God. All the apostles in like
manner raised disciples whom they commissioned to in turn raise
disciples.
The disciple therefore is someone who has voluntarily handed over his
spiritual pedagogical authority to another believer who is of higher
standing and experience to learn from him.
QUALIFICATIONS OF A DISCIPLE
i. He must have encountered the Lord Jesus Christ and is saved
from his sins.
ii. He must be eager to learn from the Lord and from brethren that
the Lord has placed around to help him.
iii. He must be determined to follow Jesus come what may.
iv. He must be a friend of the Bible.
v. He must be ready to submit to a human discipler for guidance.
vi. He must have only one focus and only one Master - Jesus(Luke
11:34)
THE NEED FOR DISCIPLESHIP
Discipleship is very important. It was the major charge given to the
disciples when the Lord was about the leave the Earth (Matt. 28:19-20).
The neglect of discipleship is the greatest omission of the Great
Commission. The following are the major reasons for discipleship:
1. It is the only process through which a man born again can become
like Jesus. While it takes just a moment for a man to be born again,
it takes time for such a man to become like Christ. It takes a

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 concerted training in discipleship for that to happen through the
hand of a human discipler.
2. It is through discipleship that a child of God is guaranteed the
Kingdom of God (Luke 9:23; Mark 10:21-22). If a man gets born
again and dies immediately he will make it to heaven, but if he lives
longer than that on earth after he is saved; he needs discipleship to
prepare him for heaven.
3. God uses this to tie the believer down for His use (Mark 3:7-8, 13-
15). It is God’s way of holding down the people that He intends to
use for His work among men. It is not usually comfortable for the
disciple that is so tied as he sees free-ranging believers going
around him. But it is a safeguard from eating poison, being stolen or
getting lost. The Lord, who ties a disciple down, is ever ready to
provide what he needs at the right time. Actually God’s major
requirement from the disciple is for the disciple to be with Him, as
for service or ministry it is optional.
4. It is God’s Method of Recruiting His Workers (Mark 11:1-9). The Colt
that is tied is tied to be trained, so as to be disciplined and to know
how to conduct itself when in service. When the Lord was riding on
the Colt it did not turn to the right or the left to seek for grass to eat
and even when leaves were laid on the ground for it to walk upon it
did not stop to eat them. It had been disciplined to eat at the
appointed time and not randomly. In discipleship the individual
Christian learn submission, it takes that to last in the anointing.
5. It gives the Disciple the opportunity to learn the secret things of the
Kingdom (Matt. 5:1-2; 10:1, 5). He will only expose Kingdom secret
to His disciples, the crowd can only get the healing and enjoy the
miracles but things of higher dispensation is only reserved for the
disciples.
6. Through discipleship He takes account of those in His army for the
battles that He has to fight (Luke 14:31-33). God has battles to fight
against His enemies (the Devil and his cohorts) and will not use just
any person but His trusted men that He has prepared through
discipleship. These are the men that He can rely upon. Until He finds

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 them He will allow the enemy to continue to hold sway wherever he
is.
7. It is the quarry site for shaping the stones to be used in His great
house so that there will be no noise at the building site (1 Kings
6:7). When men have been thoroughly discipled there will be no
rancor when they are working together, because the sharp edges
that could cause friction must have been smoothened out at the
quarry site.
Two things are very important in the life of a Christian, these are:
character formation and the acquisition of the gift of the Spirit (charisma).
The character formation is most important. This is the formation of the
character of Christ in the life of the believer; this is done through
discipleship, while charisma is bestowed on a believer for the work of
ministry by the Holy Spirit. Charisma without character will produce an
unbalanced believer who could be performing miracles, prophesying or
speaking in tongue while still committing sin. The two (Character and
charisma) must go together for effective ministry.
EXAMPLES OF DISCIPLESHIP RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BIBLE
The Lord’s instruction on discipleship goes thus; “If anyone desires to
come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow Me” (Luke 9:23 NKJV). This condition holds right from the Old
Testament to the New. What God required from the disciple remain the
same irrespective of the era or time in which they live.
The Bible records several discipleship relationships from the Old
Testament through to the New Testament as examples for believers to
follow. There are both direct relationship between God and Man and the
indirect relationship which is between man and man. It is obvious that
Adam had a walk with God from which his children learnt how to make
sacrifices to God. But there are no enough evidences for any serious study
to be done. Though the Bible recorded that Enoch had an unbroken walk
with God for a space of three hundred years it is not explicit enough to
take a study from it. Below are some of those relationships:
NOAH AND GOD
Noah was the great grandson of Enoch. Methuselah was his grandfather.
He was the direct son of Lamech. He was thought to be a son of comfort

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because he was named Noah, meaning “He will comfort us in our work,
which comes from the ground the Lord has cursed” (Gen. 5:29 NCV). He
was born into a generation of wickedness that God detested and said it
pained Him that He created man (Gen. 6:5-7).
In that terrible generation God found Noah and began a relationship with
him. God instructed Noah to build an ark because He had decided to end
that wicked generation through a flood that He will send in some time to
come. Noah obeyed God built the Ark and went on preaching to the
people of his generation of the coming catastrophe while walking with God
faithfully. He was only able to win his family to enter the Ark with him.
Eventually, the rains came and the ensuing flood destroyed all lives on
earth except animals that live in water. After the flood he became the
progenitor of all the people on earth.
His end was not that glorious because it was recorded that he planted a
vineyard from which he made wine and got drunk and was naked.
Consequently his son saw his nakedness and spoke to his brothers who
came to cover him with clothes. He eventually laid a curse on his son Ham
for this behaviour.
ABRAHAM AND GOD
Abraham was born in the Ur of Chaldean in today’s Iraq. His father’s name
was Terah. They moved at the instance of Terah and came to a place
called Haran. Here Terah died and it was here God again came to
Abraham (Gen. 12:1-5)
It is obvious that Abraham had an encounter with God before the
instruction to leave his father’s house. There is need to understand that
when God called Abraham he was not the only one called by Him, God
called several others; some accepted the call and followed while some
rejected the call. But the Bible is silent over several of such people
because they do not fall along the path of the Salvation line.
THE CONDITIONS (Gen. 12:1-3)
He was to get out of his country and go to the land chosen by God for him.
Obedience to that will bring blessings of all sorts and make him a blessing
and the blessing for the whole humanity. Abraham obeyed and left for the
place he has never been to nor known.
THE CHALLENGES

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Discipleship is always with its challenges whether it is directly by God or
through a discipler. It was so for Abraham.
i. The first challenge that came the way of Abraham was famine
(Gen. 12:10-20). Though God asked him to go to the land of
Canaan, he was greeted by famine when he got there. That the
hand of God is in a matter does not mean challenges will not be
encountered along the way. He took a journey down to Egypt
where he almost lost his wife.
ii. The Challenge of Barrenness (Gen. 15:1-21). Abraham was
disturbed by his inability to have a child despite the fact that the
Lord kept assuring him that his descendants will inheriting the
land He brought him to. God had to make a covenant with him,
despite this his mind never rested on the matter.
iii. The Fall Abraham (Gen. 16:1-16). After waiting for fifteen years in
the Promised Land Sarah the wife of Abraham suggested that he
go into Hagar her maid to raise a child for them. Abraham agreed
with his wife and Hagar had a male child that was named
Ishmael. A singular act that became blight on the life of Abraham
and for a space of thirteen years God never spoke to him.
iv. The Restoration of Abraham (Gen. 17:1-27). God came back to
Abraham introducing Himself to him and presenting to him afresh
with the terms of the covenant that He made with Abraham. Here
God instituted the circumcision as part of His covenant with
Abraham. Every male child born in the family or in the house of
Abraham must be circumcised on the eighth day of their birth.
THE FINAL TRIAL AND ABRAHAM’S VICTORY (Gen. 22:1-18)
After all the experiences that Abraham had in his walk with God, God
decided to try him again. He was to take Isaac his son and offer him as a
burnt offering unto God. Abraham never wasted any time to go and fulfill
what he was required to do. However, God intervened and gave him a
substitute for the offering. God reaffirm His promises to Abraham that his
descendants will possess the land of Canaan.
MOSES AND JOSHUA (Ex. 2:1-22; Num. 13:1-16)
Moses was born into the house of Israel of the tribe of Levi. His parents
were Amram and Jochebed (Ex. 6:20). His siblings include Miriam and

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Aaron. He was born in a time of crises, brought up in crises to become a
crises manager. When he was born there was an order of the king that
male children born by the Israelites should be killed. Their mother kept
him for a space of about three month. But when it was no longer
convenient for them to keep him the mother made a basket and make it
suitable to float and took him to the River Nile. She placed the basket
among the weeds on the Nile River for him to probably die, but within that
space of time the daughter of Pharaoh went to the river to bath and
discovered him in a basket and decided to adopt him as her son. The
mother got the job of taking care of him in his early life and Moses had the
privilege of learning and knowing his root first hand from his mother
though an adopted prince of Egypt. The mother made sure she did her
best to make him know that he was an Israelite and the reason of his birth
and preservation. The teachings of his mother never left his mind despite
the privilege of royalty.
HIS ENCOUNTER (Heb. 11:24-27; Ex. 2:11-15)
When he came of age he made the choice of committing himself to the
God of Israel. In his zeal to defend his people he killed an Egyptian, the
next time he was in the camp of the people of Israel he met two of them
quarreling when intervened the guilty party quarried his authority. He
asked who made him a ruler and a judge over them, a question that
Moses needed to find an answer to. Realizing that the news that he killed
an Egyptian has spread and to find the answer to the question posed to
him, he escape to the land of Midian. His journey took him to the house of
Jethro (Reuel) where he continued in his discipleship. Having lived in the
palace he needed to learn humility and patience to be able to do what
God intended him to do. He became a shepherd in the house of Jethro. He
got married to one of the daughters of Jethro called Zipporah and had
children. His training here moulded him into a very gentleman to which
the Bible attested (Num. 12:3)
HIS CALL (Ex. 3:1-22; 4:1-31)
Moses at the beginning took it upon himself to fight and liberate his
people but he came to a dead end when one of his people asked him the
question “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? (Ex. 2:14a). This
question he could not answer and he went out looking for the answer.

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Having met the Lord at Horeb he could go back and give the people the
answer that the God of their fathers made him.
In the palace he was trained as a prince but he needed the shepherd
training and discipline under Jethro for him to lead the people of God to
the Promised Land.

JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN (Ex. 17:8-14; 33:11)

Joshua was initially called Hoshea meaning “save” or “salvation” (Num.
13:16). Moses change his name to “Yehoshua” (Yeshua) which means
“Yahweh saves.” Joshua was called the son of Nun which means his
father’s name was Nun but nothing is known about his father and mother
in the Bible. However, he was an Israelite from the tribe of Ephraim, which
means he was a member of the family of God. He was among the very few
young men who escape the wrath of the Pharaoh of Egypt and survived
like Moses in an era in which boys were not supposed to live. Joshua
became the disciple and the servant of Moses when Moses returned from
Midian to Egypt. Joshua left his family, his comfort to follow Moses,
thereby fulfilling the requirement of discipleship. Little did he know that
the decision will lead him to becoming the leader of the people of God and
lead them to the Promised Land.
HIS COMMITMENT TO GOD
Joshua was a believer in the God of Israel. Sometimes even when Moses
leaves the Tabernacle of God Joshua remained behind, may be for further
communion with God (Ex. 33:11). He was not only committed to Moses his
leader and discipler he was committed to God.
On several occasions he was sent to the war front to lead the army of
Israel (Ex. 17:8-13). He was ready to jeopardize his life for the course of
the Lord.
HIS COMMITMENT TO MOSES (Ex. 24:12-18; 32:15-19)
God called Moses to the mountain to meet Him. Moses while going
decided to go along with Joshua his disciple though he was the only
person invited by God. It is obvious that God will not prevent a disciple
from coming to the mount with his discipler even if He did not call the
disciple and it is only the discipler that He has business with. Though
Joshua was not the one invited by God to the mountain for the meeting he

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also waited. They both remain on the mountain for forty days and night.
For the first seven days they were just there waiting for the Lord to come
to them. Joshua began learning how to walk with God through his
discipler. He might have spent some days out of the forty days also
fasting along with his discipler. He began to learn to patiently wait in the
presence of God until He comes to address his situation or concern. He
was dedicated to his discipler and to the Lord God of Israel. On their
journey back to the camp they heard noise in the camp, while Joshua
thought it was a noise of war the experienced discipler Moses correctly
discerned that it was a noise of celebration rather than that of war. This
was also another lesson in discipleship that he was learning directly from
his discipler by experience. Getting to the bottom of the mountain they
discovered that true to the discerning of Moses the people were
celebrating the creation of their new god.
HIS MISSION AS A SPY (Num. 13:1-16, 26-33; 14:1-9)
Joshua was among the twelve that were sent to the Promised Land to spy
the Land and to bring back the report to the leader Moses. While the other
ten people in the team said the journey was an impossible task, Joshua
and Caleb stood their ground that it was possible. He was buoyed by his
confidence in the Lord, having seen the Lord in action and having led the
army of the Lord to battles and was victorious.
HIS ASCENSION TO LEADERSHIP
Before the death of Moses, he sort the face of God to ask about his
successor and God told him that Joshua was His appointed choice that will
take over his position. God asked him to lay his hands on the young man
so that He can transfer the Spirit in him to Joshua (Num. 27:17-21; Josh.
1:1-13). Hence, He eventually took over the leadership of the nation of
Israel after the death of his discipler.
SOME DARK SPOTS IN THE LIFE OF JOSHUA
The transition between Moses to Joshua was so smooth because Joshua
was not new to the work. Unfortunately Joshua never raised a direct
disciple to replace him and the consequence was that the children of
Israel had to grope in darkness until God raised a Judge to lead them after
his death and the death of the elders that worked with him.

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Despite the fact that Joshua was so empowered by God to conquer the
Promised Land and settle the children of Israel permanently in the
inheritance they were promised; Joshua did not take them into the rest
(Heb. 4:8). He ended up sharing unconquered land for the children of
Israel for each tribe to go and struggle for themselves. The struggle
continues until date and the children of Israel could not take over the land
they were promised by God completely because of the failure of Joshua to
actually take them into their rest (Heb. 4:8 NKJV).
These dark spots notwithstanding the people of Israel served the Lord
throughout the days of Joshua and the elders who outlived Joshua. This of
course is not to denigrate Joshua or to malign his personality, he was a
great man by every standard; but this is to highlight the consequences of
lack of discipleship on the life of the following generation. This can be
seen in the life of the children of Israel in the book of Judges.
ELIJAH AND ELISHA
Elijah was an Israelite and was called the Tishbite; this must be referring
to where he came from. He lived in Gilead, at the earlier part of his life as
a prophet. Not much was known about him until his encounter with Ahab
where he declared that there will be no rain for three and a half year (1
Kings 17:1). He was an eccentric man who spent the greater part of his
life in the wilderness. He dresses in animal skin. He was a believer in the
God of Israel and served God in his capacity as a prophet in Israel.
He was used of God to call the children of Israel back to God in the days of
King Ahab. Because of the idolatrous life of the Israelites he pronounced
the heaven closed and there was no rain for a space of three years and six
month. The king sent several people out to search for him but to no avail
at the end of three and a half years he came to mount Carmel and
challenged the prophets of Baal to called down fire from heaven to
consume their sacrifice a practice that was not strange to them but on
this day they could not bring down the fire. However, Elijah called down
the fire to consume his sacrifice and eventually killed all the prophets of
Baal. This provoked Jezebel the Queen who vowed to kill Elijah. This threat
made Elijah the prophet of God to flee for his life and began to demand
that God should allow him to die. What is supposed to be the beginning of
his ministry and a revival move of God in the land became the climax of

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Elijah’s ministry. God then commanded him to anoint Hazael to be king
over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel and Elijah to be Prophet to replace
him (1 Kings 19:15-17). He eventually called Elisha to follow him but he
never anointed the other two.
Elisha too was an Israelite who also was worshipping the God of Israel, he
was from a place called Abel Meholah (Judges 7:22; 1 Kings 4:12; 19:16).
The location of this place cannot be ascertained today, but it is thought to
be close to Beth-shean in either the territory of Issachar or West
Manasseh.
THE CALL OF ELISHA (1 Kings 19:19-21)
Elisha was a big time farmer in his days because in his farm he employed
twelve yoke of oxen to plough his land (1 Kings 19:19). Elijah threw his
mantle upon Elisha which was a sign that the Prophet wants him to follow
him. Elisha promptly responded and followed Elijah. An accomplished man
became a servant following a Prophet. He threw a party for those working
with him by slaughtering the Oxen he was using to plough and used the
wood of the plough to cook the meat. This is a mild way of saying, “I am
not coming back this way again.” That marks the end of Elisha’s farming
and an entrance into the ministry of the prophet.
HIS DISCIPLESHIP (2 Kings 3:11; 2:1-13)
From the very day that Elijah cast his mantle on Elisha, Elisha followed
him learning from him and serving him. When Elijah was to be taken away
to heaven, he simply told Elisha to wait for him that the Lord has sent him
to Bethel without telling his disciple that he was on his way out of the
earth. But thank God that Elisha also knew what was in the offing and he
refused to wait and kept following until the crossed the Jordan. Along the
way people were coming to tell him that his master will be taken away
that day but his answer was to them was that he was aware. After cross
the Jordan Elijah turned to Elisha and asked him what he wanted from him
and Elijah who was very alert simply asked for a double portion of his
anointing. He got his heart desire and returned with the power of God. The
first challenge he met after this was that of Jericho, a city that its location
and topography was good but that the water was bad and the land barren.
He healed the land and moved on.
Elijah performed seven miracles and Elisha performed fourteen miracles.

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Like in every case of discipleship Elisha left all to follow Elijah and for a
space of fourteen years he left all to follow Elijah as a servant. And as it
was with Moses and Joshua when Elijah left, Elisha took over the office of
the Prophet of Israel and replaced his boss. Discipleship is the vehicle that
conveys a man into the purpose of God for his life.
Just as Elijah mercilessly called down fire on the centurions with their
army so also Elisha cursed the children insulting him in the name of the
Lord and they were devoured by two she bears.

ELISHA AND GEHAZI

ELISHA (2 Kings 4:8-37; 5:1-27; 8:1-8)
Elisha was a man from Abel Meholah, he was an Israelite. He was an
accomplished farmer who became the disciple of Elijah. He followed Elijah
until he was taken away from the earth by the Lord across the Jordan. At
this point he was rewarded by God with double the anointing of Elijah.
GEHAZI
Gehazi was also an Israelite who again had the privilege of knowing the
true God: the Judeo-Christian God. He enrolled in discipleship voluntarily
under the tutelage of Elisha the prophet. He followed Elisha all around like
other disciples follow their masters. He had the opportunity of receiving
the double portion of Elisha’s anointing if he had followed well like his
master
HIS DISCIPLESHIP
Gehazi had the privilege of following the prophet wherever he went. He
was the one that suggested to the prophet of the need of the Sunammite
woman who took care of them (2 Kings 4:14-17). He was asked by the
prophet to bare his rod and lay it upon the dead child of the woman and
bring him back to life but did not succeed.
THE FALL OF GEHAZI
Gehazi eventually fell out of discipleship when he decided to lie and to
collect money and clothes from Naaman the captain of Syria who was
healed of his leprosy. Elisha asked him if it was time to collect money and
dresses. When an unbeliever has received grace from the Lord and he
wants to give because of that motivation, it is not the time to collect.
Instead of ending with the double portion of Elijah’s anointing, he ended

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up with leprosy. He became a story teller in the palace of the king instead
of being the one spoken about as carrying the double portion of Elisha’s
anointed. He was only talking about the achievements of Elisha; instead of
people speaking of his exploit with the power of God (2 Kings 8:4-6).
NAOMI AND RUTH (Ruth 1:1-4:22)
Naomi was an Israelite from Bethlehem Judah. So, she belongs to the
people of God and serving the God of Israel. She got married to Elimelech
and had two sons: Mahlon and Kilion. This was in the days when the
Judges ruled, Elimelech migrated with his family to the land of Moab. After
a while he died and his sons later got married to Moabite ladies: Ruth and
Orpah. The two sons also died after some times. As God will have it,
information came to Naomi that God has shown kindness to His people
and visited them. Naomi decided to return home. Her daughters-in-law
that had remained with her despite losing their husbands decided to
follow her back to Israel. She said to them, “Go back to your mothers’
homes. May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage. And
may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me”
(Ruth 1:8 NLT). The two young ladies were not willing to go, then she
began to tell them the realities of what they will have to face following
her. Orpah counted the cost and felt it was too high a price to pay and
kissed her mother-in-law for the last time and went her way “back to her
people and to her gods” (Ruth 1:15b NLT).
However, Ruth refused to go back despite the near hopeless condition laid
before her. She declared,
Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go;
wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and
your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I
will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything
but death to separate us! (Ruth 1:16-17 NLT).
Naomi had no choice than to allow Ruth to follow her back to Bethlehem.
RUTH’S DISCIPLESHIP
Ruth was a Moabite lady but who got converted to the God of Israel and
did not see any reason to remain with her people any longer; so, when her
mother-in-law was going back she chose to go with her. She actually
fulfilled the condition of discipleship by leaving her people and following
the God of Israel to be separated from her people and make the people of

15
Israel her people. For her there was no going back, she had found the
truth and was ready to pay whatever price for it.
She learnt about the Almighty God from her mother-in-law cum discipler
and decided to follow Him come what may. When they got to Bethlehem
she knew that to survive she must braze up to look for what they will have
to eat and the mother-in-law told her the culture of gleaning. She went to
the farms where people were harvesting their crops and was following
behind picking all that dropped on the ground and the left overs. After the
first day work she brought home her report and the discipler discovered
that she was rightly guided by God to the farm of her husband’s family
member. The man was Boaz a close relative of Elimelech. Naomi guided
her on what to do to be settled in a husband house.
Ruth was obedient to her discipler to the end. Discipleship will settle the
disciple in the will of God for him or for her. Through discipleship she did
not only enroll for the kingdom of God she became the great grandmother
of King David and thereby becoming the progenitor of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES (Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 9:9; Mark 3:13-19)
The Lord Jesus began His ministry on earth by calling people to follow
Him. Among those that followed Him, He chose those that were to be with
Him. These set of people He called the apostles. They lived with Him, ate
with Him journeyed with Him and went with Him to almost everywhere He
went while He was physical on earth. His life rubbed off on them that even
their accent, dressing and their way of life were affected.
SELECTION OF THE DISCIPLES (Luke 9:23, 57-62; Matt. 8:19-22)
While the Lord desired to see people follow Him and He desired that every
man be saved, however, the standard cannot be compromised. He laid
down this standard before everyone that intends to be a disciple and the
fact that the standard cannot be lowered for any man. Jesus picked men
who were teachable, though not popular; who were willing and obedient,
though not recognized as religious leaders in the society. The Sanhedrin
referred to them as “…uneducated, common men” (Acts 4:13a) Robert
Coleman writes;
What is more revealing about these men is that at first they do not
impress us as being key men. None of them occupied prominent places
in the synagogue, nor did any of them belong to the Levitical
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priesthood. For the most part they were common laboring men,
probably having no professional training beyond the rudiments of
knowledge necessary for their vocation. Perhaps a few of them came
from families of some considerable means, such as the sons of
Zebedee, but none of them could have been considered wealthy. They
had no academic degrees in the arts and philosophies of their day. Like
their Master, their formal education likely consisted only of the
synagogue schools (Coleman. 2010. 2).
i. They all have to believe Him as the Lord and Saviour.
ii. They must be willing to leave all to follow Him.
iii. They must be ready to put devotion and love for Him above
family ties and culture.
iv. They must be ready to hear His words and obey them (John
8:31).
v. They must be ready to face persecution (Matt. 13:21; Mark
10:29-30; Acts 8:1; 2 Tim. 3:12).
THE TRAINING
After selecting the disciples He took time to train them and equip them
for the assignment of world evangelization.
1. SELECTION: The Lord picked the apostles among those following
Him so that they can be closer to Him. They were to be very close to
Him to learn His ways of life at a close range not from afar. His
criteria for selection are not clear. He picked two sets brothers who
were fishermen: Peter and Andrew from the same parents and
James and John too from the same parents. The call was of course
demanding; they have to leave all that they had to go to be with
Him. The Bible says; “And He went up on the mountain and
summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.
And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that
He could send them out to preach (Mark 3:13-14 NASB).
2. ASSOCIATION: The Lord’s curriculum for training His followers was
His life. He taught them by His life. Whatever He wants them to do,
He simply does it. He taught them to pray by praying, He taught
them to love by loving, He taught them to show kindness by being
kind. Watching Him they learned what they ought to do. When He
wanted to teach them humility He got a bowl of water and a towel

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 and began to wash their feet and clean them with the towel, an
assignment that is normally done by servants (John 13:1-15).
3. CONCENTRATION: The Lord took time to concentrate on the
disciples; He committed Himself to them, gave time to teach them
and devoted His attention to them. In the sermon on the mountain
(Matt. 5:1-7:29) He spent all the time teaching the disciples alone.
He further concentrated on three: Peter, James and John. He went
almost everywhere with them for more impact.
4. IMPARTATION: (Matt.10:1; Luke 9:1-2; 24:49; John 20:22; Acts 1:8)
The Lord will not allow them to go out without empowering them. He
understood the fact that following Him will always attract a fierce
battle with the kingdom of Satan, as such; He will always equip His
disciples before sending them to go out. In addition to that He knew
the place of sign and wonders when people go out to propagate the
Gospel, hence He gave them the power for signs and wonders. He
also gave them the power to heal the sick, deliver the oppressed
and save the sinners. In like manner we must preach the Gospel
accompanied with sign, wonder, healing and Salvation.
5. DEMONSTRATION: What he wanted them to do He took time to do
before their eyes to show them how it is to be done. Jesus will not
teach what He has not done.
6. DELEGATION: (Mark 6:7). After showing them what to do He began
sending them to go on His behalf to do the work. He will send them
out two by two to preach, heal the sick and to deliver the oppressed.
Initially He will send them to places where He will still visit. That will
give Him the opportunity of evaluating what they did where He has
sent them.
7. SUPERVISION: When He started delegating them to go out, He will
go over to those places to check how they were fairing. He will ask
for report when they returned from their evangelistic trips.
8. REPRODUCTION: They were to raise their type as they go on
evangelizing the people. They were to make disciples of the people
they evangelized.
By the time the Lord was going to the cross He has concluded all that He
intended to do on earth. What He began in that remote village of Galilee is

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what has spread all over the world today with over 2.4 billion professing
Christians. His own discipleship work was that thorough.
BARNABAS AND SAUL
Barnabas was an Israelite. He was a Levite and from the country of Cyprus
(Acts 4:36). His real name was Joseph but the apostles nicknamed him
Barnabas meaning the “son of encouragement or consolation.” He must
have been one of those who got converted to Christianity on the day of
Pentecost. He was a great teacher and discipler. He became the first
discipler that Paul had. He was discipled by the early apostles, most likely
Peter. He was so committed that the Church leaders found him qualified
to be sent to confirm the young believers in Antioch (Acts 11:24). He was
the one that introduced Paul then Saul to the early Church after his return
from Damascus to Jerusalem (Acts 9:27).
PAUL
Paul encountered the Lord on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:1-22). He was
a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin born and brought up in the roman
territory of Tarsus. He came over to Israel to be trained as a Lawyer and a
Pharisee under the great teacher of his days called Gamaliel. He came in
contact with Barnabas in the shortly after his conversion. It was Barnabas
that introduced to the Church in Jerusalem. Due to so much persecution
against him he left Jerusalem and for a period of time he was sent by the
Lord to wilderness for meditation and learning through the Holy Spirit.
Paul eventually returned to Tarsus where he was born after a while.
Following his absence around the disciples Barnabas went searching for
him and found him in his place of birth and brought him back to Antioch.
They were together in Antioch until the Holy Spirit commissioned them to
go into missions (Acts 13:2). The more experience Barnabas was the one
that led the team initially. They took John Mark along at the initial stage of
their missionary journeys but at a time young Mark ran back to Jerusalem,
probably due to hardship. On another journey Paul vehemently refused
the inclusion of Mark on the team and the argument became so strong
that the two companions had to part ways. Barnabas took John Mark and
went on a different route and Paul picked Silas and went in a different
direction. Later in life Paul requested for John Mark to join him, the two of
them were more mature by then: both Paul and Mark.

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The parting of ways did not turn them into opponents or enemies they
continued to relate with each other after the incident.
PAUL AND TIMOTHY

Paul continued with his missionary works even after he parted ways with
Barnabas his first Discipler. He met a young disciple Lystra that he picked
and went on discipling him and enrolled him into his evangelistic team.

TIMOTHY (Acts 16:1-3)

Timothy was born of a Jewish mother and a Greek father. He was from
Lystra, and was already a convert and a disciple before he met Paul. He
was a third generation Christian, his mother and grandmother (Eunice and
Lois 2 Tim. 1:5) were Christians.

HIS ENROLMENT

He began as an onlooker later he became a participant later a collaborator

and later a delegate. He was later committed to head the Church in
Corinth and some other territories where Paul went to. Before the
departure of Paul, he instructed Timothy on the need to reproduce (2 Tim.
2:1-2). Timothy went on to become a mighty pillar in the Church of his
generation.

HIS CONSECRATION AND COMMITMENT

He became a disciple of Paul and for the sake of the Jewish people
because some of them were aware that his father was a Greek, he has to
be circumcised by Paul. He accepted that in order to follow his discipler
Paul. He had to go through the painful experience just for him to follow his
discipler.

CONCLUSION

There are various other examples of discipleship relationships in the Bible,

but these were taken as samples for study. It is for us to learn from them
what discipleship really is. Discipleship is far beyond mentorship because
the relationship in mentorship may be one sided. The mentee may not
even have any contact with the person he chose as his mentor and the
mentor may not even know him at all. But in discipleship, the disciple

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must make contact with the person he is choosing as his discipler and
voluntarily submit to him to be discipled. Usually the first discipler to a
woman is her husband if he is a disciple himself. She may also have an
auxiliary discipler who should be a woman.

It is obvious that this is what has been missing in the Church that has
delayed the Great Commission from reaching the whole world as required
by the Lord. Though discipleship may looks slow because it is individuals
that must be dealt with, yet it is the best and most fulfilling means of
reaching all nations as commanded by the Lord.

DISCIPLESHIP 2
CONDITIONS FOR DISCIPLESHIP

For everything in life there is a price to be paid. Whenever the price is

paid no one will stop the payer from receiving what he has paid for. Naomi
laid bare the conditions to be met for her two daughters-in-law; those
were the things that they were to prepare their minds for if they followed
her to Bethlehem. She painted a gloomy picture and the near hopeless
situation that awaits them if they followed her. Elijah was not courteous
while calling Elisha. He was so eccentric in relating with the man but share
determination and readiness to pay the price of following helped Elisha to
obtain the double portion of the spirit of Elijah as he desired. Jesus on the
other hand did not just call people to follow Him without giving them the
conditions. He made it clear to them that He will make them more than
what they were “Fishers or men” rather than just “fishers of fish”.
However, He gave His own conditions too as follows: “If anyone wants to
become My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and

21
follow Me” (Luke 9:23 NET). The conditions can be summarized under the
following:

i. Deny himself
ii. Take up his cross daily
iii. Follow Me

Though these three conditions are to be fulfilled simultaneously, for

convenience of study it will be considered one after the other. For further
clarity the Amplified Version of the Bible will be considered. It goes thus:

And He said to all, if any person wills to come after Me, let him deny
himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his
interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily
and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My
example in living and, if need be, in dying also] (Luke 9:23 AMPC).

The conditions that the Lord presents in the verse above will be taken
clause by clause for a clear understanding.

TO DENY HIMSELF

To understand what it means to deny oneself there is need to understand

what self really means. Self is also called the Flesh. When the last letter of
flesh which is “h” is cancelled and it is spelt backward it gives “Self.” So,
“self” is the same as flesh. There are two Greek words that are translated
into English Language as “Flesh” in the New Testament. The first word is
“Soma” which means the human body, while the second word is “Sarx”
which refers to the nature of man from where all that he does originates.
It is the nature that took over the container called the human body after
the fall of man, it is the nature that replaced the image of God in man on
the day he ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It is referred to in
the Bible as Flesh, Old man, Sinful self, Old nature, Human nature, Adamic
nature etc. This nature has to die before anyone can become what God
design him to be. Even after the death of the Self it will still want to
suggest, influence or control man. Hence, to get a grasp what Jesus meant
by “Deny himself a study of the word from an expanded source will be
taken.

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The Amplified Version of the Bible gave some other possible clauses that
could also explain what this means as seen in the verse quoted above and
is analyzed below:

i. Disown himself: it means to exempt someone from benefiting

from the inheritance by a parent or parents. It could also mean to
cast off something and refuse being the owner. This means that
every disciple must be ready to refuse ownership of flesh or the
Old Man.
ii. Forget: Not to remember one’s status, position or cling to one’s
achievements.
iii. Lose sight of: Not to keep seeing what one is from the worldly
point of view and from the human assessment and to wave aside
every personal interest for the surpassing will of God.
iv. Refuse: To reject what the flesh has and it can offer through all
that it has acquired or possess.
v. Give up himself: Never claiming what the flesh has done or have
to show.

Hence, to “Deny himself” means to put off all that the flesh may want to
glory upon and all that it has been able to achieve. It is to become of no
reputation even as the Lord Jesus became when He came to the earth to
die for humanity (Phil. 2:5-8).

TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY

The matter of the cross has been misunderstood by many. People have
referred to the cross as problems they are facing in life or challenges
confronting them. People with marital problems see it and sometimes call
it their cross; sometimes some individuals call their sicknesses cross.
However, the cross does not mean any of these. The cross is a symbol of
death; in the days of the Roman Empire it was the means of putting to
death those who committed very grievous offense against the state.
Offences that attract such capital punishment include: treason, murder,
insurrection or any heinous crime that leads to loss of human life. Any
man carrying the cross is considered a dead man during that era. The
Lord was alluding to that when He said whoever will follow Him should

23
carry his cross; such a person should reckon that he is dead to world and
its principles (Gal. 6:14). When going to the Cross Jesus took upon Him the
sin of the whole world and the Sinful nature that had held humanity
captive and by dying He put the Sinful nature to death. Having done that
everyone that believes in His atoning death is delivered from the flesh. So,
the Cross is the constant reminder of the death of the Old man (Mr. Flesh)
on the Cross. Carrying the cross daily means living in consciousness of
this historic event that brought liberty to humanity from the torment and
tyranny of Sin and the fallen nature.

The believer in Christ must not forget that the Old man (Mr. Flesh) is dead
and that he is not obligated to obey him again. When the friends of the
Old man (Mr. Flesh) come knocking it is this consciousness that will bring
victory and it is up to the believer to answer them appropriately “Why are
you looking for the dead among the living.” “You friend is dead and is no
longer living here.” The Christian must not forget this Landmark event, he
should sing about it, talk about it; write it on surfaces and place where he
can continue to see it and remember.

FOLLOWING JESUS

Following means to come behind a person, to imitate a person, to do

things or act like a person. The word “Follow” can be divided into “fall”
and “low”. It means the follower makes himself lower that the person he is
following. It means he accepts that the person is superior to him in terms
maturity in following the Lord. He accepts and submits to the leadership of
that individual. Though the disciple of Christ is expected following the Lord
(Heb. 12:2) in all things.

i. FOLLOWING JESUS BY HIS EXAMPLE

His Prayer Life (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16)

Jesus set an example for the disciples in prayers. He prayed so much that
the disciples at a time pleaded with Him to teach them to pray when they
saw how effective His prayers were. They did not ask Him to teach them
how to pray but to teach them to pray. This means He should work on
them such that when He finishes with them they will just enter into the

24
realm of praying. He prayed as if His life depended on it. He never took
any vital decision without praying. Before He appointed His apostles the
Bible says, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray,
and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He called His
disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated
apostles” (Luke 6:12-13 NIV). He spent more time praying in the secret
than in the public, He understood that praying is not for show.

How He Handled Fame/Success (Mark 10:17-18; John 6:14)

When the rich young ruler met Him calling Him good master, He will not
accept that. He asked him why he was calling Him good and that no one is
good except God the Father. Though He knew He was good He was not
ready for such an accolade. He escaped to a solitary place when He
discovered that they wanted to make Him king by force. When the news
began to fly that He was baptizing more people than John the Baptist He
decided to move away from Judea to Galilee. He does not want people to
start comparing His work to that of John and for them to start saying He
had achieved more.

After any successful evangelistic campaign where several miracles

happened instead of seating and basking in the euphoria of the success
He will quickly go to meet with the Father in a solitary place in prayers.

His Worship Life

Jesus was the first ever to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth (John
4:23-24). He showed the disciples what it means to worship in the Spirit
and in truth. His worship is not the outward show or display of piety as the
Pharisees were known to do. He made it clear by His life style that living
by the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees was not enough, the
heart too must be in compliance with the will of God.

His Warfare (Matt. 5:43-44; 6:10)

Jesus understood that correct warfare was to take back all that the Devil
has usurped and restores them to God; as such He never at any time
directed His warfare Prayer to human beings. He understood that “Our
fight is not with people. It is against the leaders and the powers and the
25
spirits of darkness in the world. It is against the demon world that works in
the heavens” (Eph. 4:12 NLV).

His Attitude to Enemies (Luke 9:52-56; 23:34)

Jesus never fought back at the enemies all through His earthly live. When
He wanted to pass the night in Samaria but because the people observed
that He was determined to go to Jerusalem they refused Him a place;
James and John seem to make jest of Him by telling Him that if it were
Elijah He would have sent fire on them. He simply told them that they do
not know the Spirit that is living in them. Despite the fact that He was
feeling the pains of both beating and hanging on the cross He still prayed
against His tormentors He rather prayed “Father forgive them.”

His Relationship with His earthly Parents (Luke 2:51; John 2:3-8)

Jesus related well with His earthly parents. Despite the fact that He could
see so many weaknesses in them as God from heaven yet He never
despised them at all through His sojourn on earth. When they came to
Jerusalem for the feast of Passover and He stayed behind which cause
them to return to look for Him in Jerusalem, the Bible says, “Then He went
down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them …” (Luke 2:51
NIV).

His Attitude towards the Kingdom of God (Matt. 12:47-50)

For Jesus the Kingdom of God takes top priority in whatever He does. It is
those who hears the word of God and keep it that He regarded as His
brothers, sisters and Mother. This does not mean He had not regard for
His family members on earth, but those who listen to the word of God and
observe to do it are more important to Him.

His Attitude to Sleep

Like every human being Jesus found time to sleep when He was in human
body. However, He sleeps when it was necessary. He does not allow sleep
to hinder Him from doing the work that He came to the world to do,
neither will He allow sleep to prevent Him from praying at His hours of

26
prayer. The Bible is full of passages stating that He went out early to pray
as His custom was.

His Life of Gentleness and Humility (Isaiah 42:1-3; Matt. 11:29; Phil.
2:5-8)

One great attribute of Christ is His humility, He never sees Himself as

higher than any man. Despite the fact that He is God He came into the
world in the most humble manner. He came to a poor and lowly family in
a remote village that has no reputation for anything really great, that was
why Nathaniel queried if anything good can come from Nazareth. He was
born in a manger where animals were feed not in a five-star hospital or
hotel. He never spoke highly of Himself nor behaves as such. These He
asked every disciple of His to learn. He does not despise even little
children (Mark 10:13-15).

He was so down to earth that people could not differentiate Him from His
apostles. It is quite unbelievable that a person who went all around
performing classical miracles that cannot be doubted or debated for a
space of more than three years cannot be differentiated from His
disciples. This was the reason why the Sanhedrin council needed an
insider to reveal Him to them. This was unprecedented in the annals of
human history. This was the reason why the Sanhedrin council engaged
Judas to reveal Him to them.

He lived a life of service all through.

Though He is God, all His life he served people. Coming back one evening
He getting water in a bowl and a towel He decided to wash the feet of the
disciples and cleaned them with the towel a duty that is meant for
servants in His days. He made it clear and demonstrated that He came to
the world to serve and not to be served (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45).

His Relationship with the Opposite Sex

Jesus lived a stainless life, having no issue that could taint His integrity
even with the opposite sex. When His apostles went to look for food for
Him and for themselves and came back to meet Him by the well in Sychar
discussing with a woman and He paid no attention to the food they
27
brought, that did not cause them any reason to raise their eye brow. They
could vouch for His integrity at all times when He was with them. Among
His team were ladies that followed and were ministering to Him of their
substances (Matt. 27:55). Jesus was never found in any unclean
relationship with any of them. If He had any dent in His life the devil would
have queried it and the Bible would not have said that

His Eating Habit (Mark 6:11; Matt. 4:4; John 4:31-34; Eccl. 10:17)

Jesus understood the value of food to the body but He never allowed
Himself to be controlled by it. He put His appetite under control. Any man
that intends to serve God must not be a man that is given to food. Jesus
knew when He ought to fast and when to eat and He does not select who
to eat with. He ate in the house of a Pharisee one of the people that
opposed Him most. He ate in the house of Levi a tax collector that was
among the most hated people in Israel in His days. He ate with the poor
and the rich, with the have and the have not. That was how free He was
with people. He used every opportunity to feast with anyone as an avenue
to preach (1 Cor. 10:31-33).

His Relationship with His Bride (Eph. 5:23-27)

Like every suitor, the Lord Jesus sort for His bride, when He found her He
proposed to her. He taught her about His Father’s kingdom and how to
conduct herself in that Kingdom. He taught her how to get the best from
the Kingdom and that was by putting the Kingdom ahead of every other
thing and all other things will be added to her (Matt. 6:33).

He came down from heaven to seek for His bride; He left all to cleave to
her. To sanctify her He sanctified Himself and laid down His life to save
her. He identified with His bride in the public, goes everywhere with her,
ate with her and defended her. He shielded her from the storm and the
turbulence of life.

His Attitude Towards money: Jesus knew that money was important as
a means of exchange, but like He treated everything the world system
presents, He put money behind Him. Knowing the imperfections of His
28
bride yet He committed the purse to her to keep. He never allowed issues
of money to cause any problem between Him and anyone all through His
sojourn on earth.

ii. FOLLOWING JESUS THROUGH A DISCIPLER (Ex. 3:1-8; 24:13;

Ruth 1:14-18; 1 Kings 19:19-21; 2 Kings 2:1-15)

While God lead and train people by Himself directly as He did with men
like Enoch, Noah and Abraham, He prefers using a human being to train
and disciple others. This is the divine pattern that God used to raise
people through the ages. Moses was discipled by Jethro the priest of
Midian; he learnt several things from this man that was also his father-in-
law. Ruth followed Naomi until she was settled into the family of the Lord
Jesus; Elisha followed Elijah to be rightly place in the office of the Prophet
that God called him into. When the Lord Jesus came in His first coming He
followed the same trend. He was raised in the carpentry workshop under
the tutelage of Joseph His earthly father and when He began His ministry
He raise a team of disciples who were very close to Him to understudy
Him in all things.

It is much easier to follow a human being that we can see than to follow
God that is invisible. When we follow a correct discipler we will see how he
behaves in his house to his wife, his children, how he eats, how he prays
etc. these we cannot see God doing. So, to be discipled by a human being
is the best way. It is arrogance to think that I do not need a human
discipler in this age because there are sufficient hands to help mould my
lives today among men. However, while following a man; our eye must
also be on Jesus so that we do not follow our human discipler into error.

The Bible abounds with several examples of human discipler – disciple

relationships (Peter/Mark; Barnabas/Paul; Paul/Silas; Paul/Timothy; Aquila
and Pricilla/Apollos).

iii. FOLLOWING JESUS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT (Matt. 4:1; John

14:15-17; 16:7-15; Acts 8:26-40; 13:1-2; Rom. 8:5-9)

Jesus personally introduced the Holy Spirit to the Church before His
crucifixion, death and resurrection. He made it clear that the Holy Spirit is

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from the Father. He is the comforter who will live in the believers and will
remind them of all that He taught them. He will be there to advocate for
them and help them to pray. He is the strengthener that will give them
power and strengthen them when the goings get tough.

The Holy Spirit is a gentle Spirit He does not impose things on the
believer; He may just apply a gentle pressure on him to respond. He is
patient as such; he will not rush to believer to respond. Whenever it
appears a spirit is pushing hard on us to do something without giving us a
breathing space we will need to check it might not be the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit directs the people who believe in God in following Jesus. He
does not speak of Himself, He speaks only of Jesus. In following Jesus we
can follow Him by the Holy Spirit because the Bible calls Him the Spirit of
Jesus. He will always advance what the Lord Jesus has been saying to us in
the same line because His desire is not to show Himself but to glorify
Jesus. The Holy Spirit leads us to follow Jesus in any of the following ways:

a. Through His still small voice (1 Kings 19:9-13; Acts. 17:16). The
voice comes to us in the heart cool and calm, sometimes it comes
as a prompting in our hearts or as a thought.
b. Through Vision and Dream (Job 33:14-16; Dan. 2:1-3, 29; 4:4-5;
7:1; 8:1-2; Acts 10:9-16; 16:6-9). Dreams and visions normally come
in a pictorial manner. Sometimes they come in a caricature manner
using symbolic things like trees or animals. While dreams come
when a man is asleep, vision may come even when a man has his
eyes wide open. The Holy Spirit speaks through this to several of His
prophet of old and even in contemporary time.
c. Trend of Events. Sometime by events that are divinely arranged,
the Holy Spirit He directs us to follow Jesus. The events are so linked
that as the person enters one it leads to the other. A brother once
travelled through a city where he once attended a University, he
was forced to stop in that city by the driver of the vehicle he
boarded and has to pass the night there. At the breaking of the day,
he wanted to leave but he had a prompting to go to the Institution
for just a visit. On arrival someone told him that they have been
waiting for him in their department to come and resume because he
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 had been offer admission for further study without him knowing.
There and then he registered and began his study. The events that
culminated in him visiting the University were divinely arranged.
The Holy Spirit arranges such events to lead the believers in Christ
sometime.
d. He speaks through the counsel of Elderly and experience
believers (Ex. 18:19-23). Jethro was used of God in this passage to
guide Moses to employ management strategy to ease his work and
to develop leads among the people of God. He was advised by his
father-in-law to involve others in the leadership process thereby
freeing him for other important assignment and also developing
others. However, he did not impose his idea on Moses; he said if
God permits him to do so.
iv. FOLLOWING JESUS BY HIS WORD (John 1:1-3; 8:30-31; Matt.
7:24-27)

Another important way by which to follow Jesus is by His words (The Holy
Bible). The Bible refers to Jesus as the word of God and that the Bible in
every place speaks about Him (John 5:39-40). Following through the word
of God is all about us obeying the word of the Bible and following the
instructions there for us. Jesus referred to obeying the word of God as
building on a solid foundation and following something else as building on
sand. Building on the word of God is a security against the storm of life
and the destructive flood of the world that sweeps. Whatever anyone says
that contradicts what Christ says anywhere, even in the Bible must be put
aside; such must not be followed. The word of God is the sword of the
Spirit, if a man has the Spirit of God in him without the word he is like
depriving the Spirit the tools with which to work. Some individuals have
fallen into the error of claiming that they were instructed by the Spirit of
God when what they claim is from God is contrary to the word of God. This
is not possible because the Spirit will never speak something different
from what the word of God says. The Spirit without the word makes men
puff up and produce false prophets. The word without the Spirit the makes
people dry up, they become legalistic; merely following rules and
regulation.

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The word is the lamp to our feet and the light unto our way (Psalm
119:105). The word gives direction as we follow Jesus. Through the word
we can clearly see the face of Jesus and as we consistently continue to
look at His face we shall be changing into His image gradually. We
become what we fix our eyes on.

The word gives the check and balance for every other means of following
Jesus. It is possible to misjudge the example of His life but the word will
always come to the rescue if we check. We may even misunderstand the
Spirit and be led astray by our spirit receiving something contrary thinking
it is from the Spirit of God, but the word is ever there to keep us in line if
we thoroughly observe it. The human discipler may derail, the word of
God remain unchanging.

Nobody has risen to a level where God will adjust His word for him, it is
the final arbiter when it come to the matter of faith and it is the most
reliable means of following Jesus apart from His examples. Even some of
His examples need clarification from the word because they may not be
directly applicable.

CONCLUSION

These are the conditions for becoming and remaining a disciple of Jesus
Christ. These conditions cannot be lowered for anyone, whoever wants to
follow must obey them. Incidentally the conditions remain the same from
the Old Testament through to the New Testament and will remain the
same till Christ will come. It is important that everyone who intends to
relate with God appropriately must not compromise them. However,
meeting the conditions for discipleship does not equate to discipleship it is
only meeting the requirement to enroll. Any man that intends to be enroll
must deliberately go to Him and enroll and ask Him where to go and to
ask Him about who he will be assigned to as the human discipler.

DISCIPLEHIP 3
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THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

Introduction

For everything in life there is a price to pay. That is how life is. Once a
person is able to pay the price of an item there is nothing again that will
hinder him from owning that item. Irrespective of age, level of education
or qualification, once the price is paid the ownership is transferred to the
person who paid the price. In the same manner discipleship also required
a price that must be paid.

(Matt. 19:16-22; Luke 9:57-62; 14:33)

Jesus did not leave the disciples in the dark as regards what discipleship
will be demanding from them.
THE PRICE TO PAY (Luke 9:24-26, 57-62; 14:25-33)

The Lord Jesus made it clear that following Him will not be cheap. Seeing
the crowd following Him he took time to explain what will be required of
them to pay as the price of following Him.

a. Selling all to purchase Eternal life: For the rich young ruler he
scale through every requirement except the last one in which the
Lord demanded that he should sell off all that he has and give the
money to the poor and follow Him. It was at this point that he parted
ways with the Lord. The Bible say; “But when the young man heard
that saying, he went away sorrowfully: for he had great
possessions” (Matt. 19:22 KJV). The apostles left their all to follow;
“Look we have left everything and followed You. So what will we
have? (Matt. 19:27 NCV) was Peter’s response. He saw the rich
young ruler walked away and he felt he needed to ascertain what
will be their reward for following. Persecution is one other thing that
the disciple must also be ready for as part of what he will be
required to face (Mark 10:30; Matt. 24:9).
b. Leaving all that is very important and all attachment: The
disciple is required to leave his kindred, his culture and tradition to
follow. This requirement was the demand in the Old Testament and
remains the demand today in the New Testament.
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c. Sacrificing all convenience and identity: Jesus met a set of
people on His way. The first person came and asked Jesus that he
wanted to follow but “Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds
of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His
head’” (Luke 9:58 NKJV). The man came as if he was determined to
go with Jesus but Jesus who understood the heart desires of men
saw that he was look for convenience and when He put forward
what the price was this man never looked back, he went his way.
There are several who want to follow Jesus in their own term and
that Jesus should accept them in that manner. He will not lower His
standard. Whoever wants to follow Him must sacrifice his
convenience. Houses and properties are what people are identified
with. This also must be sacrificed for discipleship hanging only to His
will.
d. Turning Culture and Traditions over to Him: While someone
asked to follow and Jesus obviously does not believe he could follow,
here was another that Jesus called to follow Him. His answer was
“Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59b NKJV). This is
a very hard thing to do. It is obvious that this man’s father was not
dead, he only wanted to go and stay with his father and be taking
care of him in his old age. This again is a case of exalting the culture
of men over and above the word of God. To want to settle the needs
of one’s family and siblings before accepting to go with God is an
endless wait. Nobody has the capacity to bury every need of his
family. This must be place behind following the Lord.
e. Close friends and Associates must be sacrificed: The stake
here is high in the sense that going back to collaborators or
relatives to ask for permission to leave them will not always be easy
because no one wants someone useful to him to go. They will use
every possible means to hold the person back. Christ must be
placed ahead of any relationship.
f. Sacrificing both Ishmael and Isaac: The Lord will not accept
rivalry, He wants to possess the disciple completely. Nothing must
compete for both attention and devotion ahead of Him in his life.
Abraham left his family and his inheritance in Ur of the Chaldean

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 and followed the Lord, but was not satisfied that he loved Him until
he sacrificed both Ishmael and Isaac who were so dear to him. When
God first raised the matter of Ishmael he pleaded with God that He
should allow Ishmael to live before Him (Gen. 17:18-19).
After the matter of Ishmael was settled and Abraham was about
settling down God came with the demand for a greater sacrifice:
Isaac must be sacrificed (Gen. 22:1-18). Though God did not accept
the sacrifice of Isaac eventually, yet the decision of Abraham remain
on record that he offered Isaac by faith (Heb. 11:17-19). This made
it abundantly clear that Abraham placed God ahead of everything
and everyone that he had. The demand on contemporary believers
is not less.

THE BENEFITS OF THE FOLLOWING

“And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men’”
(Matt. 4:19 ESV)

Following Him is not for nothing, this gentle invitation is a call to

transformation. It is a call for the making of the one who accepts it. To
make him better than what he could ever have become. The fishermen
who accept the invitation to follow became the celebrities that are being
spoken of today in every Christian circle. The best someone like Peter
could have become was probably the Chairman of the Fishermen
Association of Galilee or the National President of the Association and he
would have been dead and long forgotten. But he became someone that
hardly will Christians gather through the ages without mentioning his
name. Some other benefits of accepting the call includes:

1. Becoming a member of a global family that transcends nations,

tribal and racial inclination (Mark 10:29-30). A disciple cannot be
stranded anywhere in the world because in a matter of minutes he
will discover at least a member of his family around.
2. Material provision in hundred folds in place of what they left behind
to follow (Matt. 6:33; Mark 10:30).

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 3. A consistent life of victory till the believer meets the Lord. Because
He will always be there to fight his battles for him (Rom. 8:37;
12:19-21)
4. Persecution for His name sake from time to time. Persecution is
often thought of as being suffering and seen as being negative but
the Bible made it clear that it is part of Believer’s gains and every
correct Christian will face it one time or the other; in one way or the
other.
5. Unprecedented power and authority that he could not have dreamt
of (Matt. 10:1; Luke 10:1-24)
6. In heaven, eternal life and sumptuous reward awaits him.

CONCLUSION

Jesus made it abundantly clear that the disciple must give Him the first
place in his life. He should be the first point of call not the last when other
things have failed. He must be given the prime time of our lives and not
the remnants of it. To satisfy God should come first in our thoughts and
every other thing no matter how important it may look in our views must
be given the second place at most. Anything less than that is simply an
indication that we have an idol we are serving.

He gave His all to purchase us we must be ready to lay down our all for
His sake, nothing less will be accepted. If He is not Lord of all He is not
Lord at all. He must be the Lord over everything, we have no right to
decide what or how much to give to Him, He decides what He wants.

DISCIPLESHIP 4
THE PRACTICE DISCIPLE MAKING

Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Tim. 2:1-3; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4

The Lord Jesus never told His disciple to plant Churches, what He told
them to do was to raise disciples. However, when the disciples are made
and they gather a Church is established. They were to multiply disciples
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and not just to make converts. While converts are good and important in
the course of the Great Commission nobody should be satisfied with only
that. Until they are discipled and anchored to Jesus, they are still not
reliable and Jesus will not commit Himself to them. Hence, disciple making
is most important in the command of Jesus and there is no alternative to
it; if the Great Commission will achieve its purpose that is the way to go.

The process of disciple making involves the following:

1. RECRUITMENT

In Jesus ministry it will be observed that Jesus went around recruiting His
disciples personally. The first set of disciples He selected were fishermen
and brothers. Peter and his elder brother Andrew, and John and his elder
brother James were the first to be recruited and appointed to become
apostles. The recruitment went through the processes of selling His idea
to them and when they were interested He drew them closer for more
concentration.

In like manner every believer in Christ is expected to recruit those that

they will raise for the Kingdom. Recruitment could be done through the
following means:

i. Evangelism: it important to go out to preach the gospel of

salvation to bring souls to the Kingdom those who are won in this
manner becomes our responsibility to train and make them our
disciples and that of Christ.
ii. Picking from the Church: Sometimes God could point us to some
individuals in the Church that are not actually doing well that He
wants us to follow up and disciple for Him; in such a case too, the
process is the same. We are to pick them and deliberately enroll
them for discipleship.
iii. Picking children or young people who do not have good care by
permission from those who have authority over them. There are
several young people around who are begging for care such
people can be recruited for the purpose of raising them for God.

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 Like we observed with Jesus Christ our Lord the recruitment requires
serious and concerted prayers. Because just picking people arbitrarily may
lead to wasted efforts and precious time. Jesus at the beginning had a
crowd following Him but He did not commit Himself to the crowd because
cannot be trusted. He chose some and eventually narrowed to twelve and
even among the twelve He concentrated more on three: Peter, James and
John.

The objective of what we are doing must be clear from beginning that we
want to ensure that the recruited believers become like Jesus. We ensure
that we lead our disciples into their inheritance with God.

CONDITIONS FOR SELECTION

1. Those that must be selected must be born again. Even if they were
our convert we must be careful to see that they have received
Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. These are the kind of
people we can disciple.
2. They must be willing on their own to follow. Disciples is no by force,
it is voluntary, there is no need to force anyone to follow if they are
not ready; if we do they will keep complaining at every point of
challenge in their journey.
3. They must be available for teaching and learning. We cannot be
chasing a person who is not available all around to be discipled; if
he is willing he must make himself available to learn.
4. The person must be teachable. He should not be an arrogant person
who is full of himself and believes he does not need anything but
rather who believe that he is to be given the space to teach others.

MONITORING THE DISCIPLE FOR PROGRESS AND PLACEMENT

1. They must be examined for their leadership quality and begin to

commit work into their hands.
2. They should be observed for their desire to learn and give them
attention as needed.
3. We should watch out for areas of their lives that needed greater
concentration.

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 4. Their lives should be watched for area of strength in their lives that
needed to encouraged and strengthened and area of weakness that
needed to be worked upon.
5. The disciple-making requires care for the disciple both physical,
spiritual and morally. The spiritual growth of the disciple must be of
concern to the discipler and the welfare must also be looked into
(John 21:15-18).
6. Feeding of the disciples: the discipler must realize that the disciples
are in various levels of spiritual growth and as such design the
curriculum of study in such a manner as to reach everyone.
i. There are those who are babes in the Lord, they are to be fed
with milk of the word (1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 6:1-3). New converts
must be treated as babes and be given the milk of the word of
God. These include:
 Teachings on repentance from dead works
 Teachings on faith towards God
 The doctrine of baptism, and of laying on of hands
 Resurrection of the death
 The teachings on eternal judgment.
ii. There is also the strong food in the word of God that is meant
for the adult in the Lord (Heb. 5:14; 1 Cor. 2:6).
iii. Teaching for responsibility (2 Tim. 2:2). The disciples must be
taught to take responsibility for others. They are to become
disciplers too and help raise others who will in-turn raise other
disciples; by this “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of
the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9b NIV).

THE CURRICULUM OF STUDY

The main curriculum of study in discipleship is Jesus Christ. All that

discipleship is about is about is learning Jesus to become like Him, all that
we must emphasis to the disciples is Jesus and Him crucified, He is the
pattern Son that God has given to humanity to learn and pattern their
lives with.

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Whatever we shall be doing should be to make the disciples conform to
His image, because the only image that God desire to see in heaven is the
image of His beloved Son Jesus Christ. No other image will be accepted
into heaven.

We must insist on what the apostles did to produce the kind of men and
women that the world saw in the first century. The apostles said, “It would
not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to
wait on tables… we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of
the word (Acts 6:2-4). This they did and were able to produce men and
women of “Good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (Acts
6:3b). These were people who carried the image of Christ everywhere
they went in their days.

THE TRAINING OF THE DISCIPLES

In training the disciples to make them conform to the image of Christ the
following are very important:

1. The disciples needed to be taught the apostles’ doctrines. They

must be taught continuously and consistently. They should be
taught in group and from house to house.
2. They were to be shown examples.
a. They needed to see the example of love in practical terms
b. They needed to see the example of godliness through their
disciplers or leaders.
c. They must be made to see faith in action in the life of their
disciplers and leaders. Disciplers must teach the disciples
through their actions how to live by faith and depend on God
completely.
d. Let the disciples meet purity in the life of the disciplers; they
should not see mixture but purity in clear terms.
e. In patience the disciples must see a good example in the
disciplers. They must not just speak of patience they must be
seen to be living it in every way. They must be patient with
people and with the short comings of the disciples.

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 3. The disciple must be taught to evangelize and raise disciples too
and teach them to do likewise.

ATTITUDE OF THE DISCIPLER

A discipler is also a disciple but only more experience than the people he
is discipling. He is also expected to have a discipler from who he is also
learning. He must be a Christian who by reason of longer years of walk
with God has gathered some measure of experience from which he can
draw resources to help a younger believer. The discipler must have the
following:

1. A LARGE HEART

The disciple is younger believer with little or no experience, the discipler

hence, must have a large heart to be able to contain him and his short
comings. The disciple must be adopted by the discipler as his child and
must pay attention to him as he does with a child.

2. TRANSPARENCY

The discipler must be transparent to the disciple such that nothing about
his life that he ought to learn from is kept from him. The discipler should
not live a coded life, he must be plain in all things for the disciple to see
and follow him. He must be careful the words he uses so that he does not
make Christianity look like mysticism.

3. HIS INNER LIFE (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2)

The discipler must watch his inner life, because whatever he is, is what he
will produce. He must not be a hypocrite who say one thing and practice
another. Jesus will not teach a thing except He has practiced it (Acts 1:1).
The inner life of a believer is very important because out of it flows
whatever work of ministry we want to do.

a. He must take heed to his life and to his teachings

b. He must have a clear and single eye (Luke 6:39-42). There is a
measure of blindness to a certain degree in all disciples and as such
God has directed that disciplers must be able to see to lead the
disciples in the path of righteousness. He must be a man of one
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 focus and the focus must be on Christ the author and the finisher of
our faith. The single and clear eye refers to the ability to discern. A
spec in the eye of a leader is like a plank in the eye of the follower.
Hence the need for the discipler to watch his life and his conduct.
c. He must have a regular altar with the Lord. He must be a man who
have a standing with the Lord and who can stand for God at all
times.
d. He must be Spirit filled and Spirit led (Rom. 8:14).
e. The discipler must not just be full of the Holy Spirit he must be
controlled by the Holy Spirit.
4. GROWTH MONITORING:

The disciplers must from time to time check the lives of the disciples
whether they are making progress in their discipleship and Christian
growth. He must be able to see ahead for the disciples and guide them
into their inheritance.

CONCLUSION

Discipleship is God’s divine process of making His men on earth. It is the

process by which God make people to conform to the image of Christ
which was His original intention at creation. When He made the
declaration; “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let
them have dominion…” (Gen. 1:26 RSV). He was saying that such is the
kind of person that will be useable for the Kingdom work. Since the fall the
only way to restore this is through discipleship. Whenever discipleship is
neglected, the following generation faces serious challenges of unruly and
uncultured young people. Lack of discipleship is the greatest omission in
the Great Commission. Whenever discipleship is fully engaged there is
always a seamless transition from one generation to the other and from
one leader to another.

The need for discipleship cannot be over emphasized. The Church cannot
afford to treat the matter discipleship with levity. It has been God’s way of
raising His men. The Church must return to this process to ensure that
revival is brought back to the earth again.

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