Read: 2 Timothy 3.10-11
Before Jesus ascended back to the Father, he gave his church its commission:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matt 28:19-20).
The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ through the proclamation of the gospel. Discipleship, therefore, is the name of the game.
And as we can readily see in the Great Commission, discipleship is not just a one-time event. It starts in a moment, with the new believer coming to faith in Christ and declaring their union and love of Christ through baptism, but it discipleship doesn’t end there.
A massive part of discipleship is teaching your disciple to observe everything that Christ has commanded. That takes time.
Over the course of a believer’s life, they will have many people disciple them and, hopefully, disciple many others themselves. This task to teach all that Christ has commanded, therefore, is not just on the shoulders of one discipler, but on the church as a whole, especially the church’s pastors, teachers, and leaders.
This necessity in discipleship to teach and to learn reflects the priority local churches should have in their discipleship ministries. True discipleship cannot happen apart from the sound teaching of the Scriptures. Teaching should rightly be the central act in discipleship.
But how is this teaching conducted?
As we think of teaching, our mind probably goes to Bible studies, sermons, and other forms of verbal teaching. Planned or spontaneous times where the Word is shared and expounded upon.
This form of teaching is the church’s bread and butter. These forums provide foundational teaching that is needed for true discipleship.
But it isn’t the only form of teaching. There is also the teaching and learning that comes from example.
For that kind of teaching to occur between the discipler to the disciplee, life must be lived together.
Paul and Timothy: Life and Ministry Together
Paul reminded Timothy that he has not only followed Paul’s teaching but also Paul’s conduct, his aim in life, his faith, his patience, his love, his steadfastness, and even his persecutions. Discipleship for Paul did not end with the Bible studies that he had with Timothy: Paul and Timothy spent life together.
Over the course of a few years, these men traveled together, ate together, and were imprisoned together. They did everything together. Timothy saw Paul in every imaginable situation, from times of abundance and joy to times of need and danger.
Timothy needed more than just instruction; he needed to see real faith lived out.
What Disciples Need to See
He needed the witness God’s power and grace magnified in Paul’s weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). He needed to see firsthand, through Paul’s sufferings, how much more valuable Christ is than life itself. Timothy needed that example of how to keep going by faith even when it seems like the whole world is against you and others are falling away to chase after false teaching (2 Tim. 3:1-9). In this way, Paul was simply following Christ’s discipleship model, which he provided for His disciples over their three-year training period.
As we seek to disciple and to be discipled by others, we can’t forget our need for living examples. We’re not just to learn all that Christ commanded, but to obey it as well. Indeed, Christ’s command is not merely to teach them all that he’s commanded, but to teach them to observe all that he has commanded.
As people who were formerly alienated from God and hostile in mind (Col 1:21-22), we need obedience and faith modeled to us. Those we’re discipling need that as well. They don’t just need us to tell them about Christ; they need us to show them Christ from the Word and from our lives.
More Than Just Formal Instruction
We’re probably not going to have the same type of discipleship relationship that Paul had with Timothy or that Jesus had with his disciples, where we are with each other 24/7. But if our discipleship ends when our lesson ends, we’re depriving our disciple of vital times of modeled teaching they need for their spiritual growth and good.
And not only them, but those that they eventually disciple as well, because whatever they learn and see modeled in us, they’re going to teach and model to the next generation.
