The company of disciples

So, a disciple is described by following Jesus, faith in Jesus and ongoing faithfulness to Jesus that results in fruit that honors Jesus. This is living the gospel and being a disciple.

QUOTES:
“Following Jesus as a disciple means the unconditional sacrifice of his whole life for the whole of his life.”1

“A disciple’s duty does not consist in maintaining and passing on particular teaching about Jesus. The essence of discipleship lies in the disciple’s fulfillment of his duty to be a witness to his Lord in his entire life.”2

Therefore the whole of the disciple’s life (her/his words included) is witness to Jesus’ redemption and transformation of that life.

DISCIPLES
Now we’ll keep going in our study of the word “disciple,” moving to the plural, “disciples.”

It is interesting that in John’s writings “any word for the church, such as ekklesia, is entirely lacking, the word mathetai “disciples” comes to stand for the gathered community.”3

"congregation gathered"

public-domain.zorger.com

Many view the farewell discourses in John chapters 13-17 as by-laws for Jesus’ Church, yet John never uses the word “church.” This especially intrigues me in light of the fact that he wrote near the end of the first century when the Synoptics were already in existence, and the words “Christian” and “church” were in circulation, according to Acts.

In Acts, Luke uses disciple (mathetes) “almost exclusively to denote the members of the new religious community, so that it almost = Christian (Acts 6:1,7; 9:1,19; 11:26,29; 13:52; 15:10; 21:16).4 And he “uses the term disciple to describe the post-Easter community of faith” (Acts 6:1,2,7; 11:26).5

Note that Acts 5:11 is the first use of ekklesia “church” in Acts. Does this mean, for example, that the gathering that Luke describes in Acts 2:42-47 was not “church” simply because he does not attach that label to it?

Luke's focus is on essence. The disciples gathered and they focused on: apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer. Then he recounts what that looked like (descriptive not prescriptive):

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."6

And in Acts 6:2 we also see the disciples gathered; Luke calls them “the congregation of the disciples” (to plethos ton matheton). Plethos here means “a full meeting” of disciples.7 The lexicon says that plethos is, “in the usage of religious communities,… a technical term for the whole body of their members, fellowship, community, church… group” (Lk 19:37; Ac 4:32; 6:2, 5; 15:12; 15:30.6).8 F.F. Bruce adds “congregation” and “Christian company” to increase the breadth of meaning. And he notes that in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the O.T.) plethos usually means “multitude”; twice it is rendered ekklesia.9

I.H. Marshall comments on this company of disciples in Acts 4:32:

“Two facts characterized the life of Christian community. The choice of word (company) reflects the growth in size of the Christian group. Despite its size it had a common mind and purpose; in other words it was united in its devotion to the Lord.”

Everyone “was prepared to regard [property] as for the use of the community as a whole.”

“The two characteristics correspond broadly to the two great commandments of love (or devotion) to God and love to one’s neighbour.”10

What does a focus on “making disciples of all nations” mean for a “church planting” mission like mine? Does it lead to a neglect of evangelism or the planting of churches? Absolutely not.

As we have seen, "making disciples" involves the entire spectrum of activity from pre-evangelism through conversion through gathering through maturation through multiplication (of both disciples and "companies" of disciples = churches).
RECAPITULATION
A disciple is described by following Jesus, faith in Jesus and ongoing faithfulness to Jesus that results in fruit that honors Jesus.

This is living the gospel which results being a disciple.

Disciples together help others to become what they should be.

This is living and sharing the gospel together which results in church (whether one uses the word or not).

Disciples together continue Jesus’ mission in community which is a free sample of Jesus’ kingdom offered to the world.

This is living and sharing the gospel missionally which results in multiplying disciples and churches.

1. NIDNTT vol.1, 488.
2. NIDNTT vol.1, 490.
3. NIDNTT vol.1, 490.
4. BAGD, 486.
5. ISBE vol.1, 948.
6. Acts 2:44-47 NLT.
7. Zerwick in loc.
8. BAGD, 668.
9. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles, 159 (see Ex. 12:6; 2Chr. 31:18).
10. Marshall, Acts, 108.
SUNDRY THOT
Is it therefore possible to be a disciple and to live ekklesia even if one does not use current nomenclature? John was comfortable talking about essence without mentioning labels. He uses neither “Christian” nor “Church,” but successfully explains the essence of both.

Our prime directive

So if our prime directive is “make disciples of all nations.” What does that mean?

Charis Europe—European Grace Brethren Churches, Charis Partners and the GBIM Europe Team—are in negotiations on how we might partner together across Europe around the mandate to “make disciples.”

We are currently having Regional Team Talks—the Isles, Germany/Czech Republic, Iberian Peninsula and France—to discuss this important topic.
Team Talks (Birmingham, November 1, 2010)

During these talks we are looking at the breadth of Jesus’ command to make disciples. Here is the first part of a recapitulation of our word study, biblical theological study:

Luke and John both begin their gospels with a loose meaning for the word “disciple” (mathetes in greek), essentially someone who was following Jesus.



Luke 6:17 “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon” (see also Lk 19:37).

John 6:60-66 "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, 'This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?'… But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?… As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore."

Here disciple = followers of Jesus. But some stop following because they do not have faith in Jesus.

Followers of the Beatles (1963)

Then there is a shift in John and Luke’s usage of the word; following alone is no longer the only condition for being a “disciple.” Luke stops using the word “disciple” at Gethsemane and doesn’t pick it back up until Acts 6:1. He seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach.

John’s change of the meaning of the word occurs between chapters 6 and 8 when Jesus says (John 8:31) “to the Jews who had believed him… ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

So after John 8 and Acts 6 “disciple” means someone who follows Jesus, has faith in Jesus, and remains faithful to Jesus.

Some things (and people) are faithful

Other data:

• Unconditional obedience to Christ is ongoing, from the beginning and constantly throughout; there can be no renegotiation of the disciple-master contract in order to add exception clauses (à la Matthew 8:21). Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must… take up his cross daily and follow me.” Therefore readiness for suffering and death are perpetual norms.

• The Shepherd promises safety (not necessarily physical) in suffering (John 10:28) and disciples will participate in his glory (John 17:22). [I believe that glory is adoption, we are loved by the Father—see Frederic Godet.]

• Learning to put the Word into practice in all circumstances is a goal, therefore a disciple’s duty does not consist solely in passing on particular teaching about Jesus. Matthew 28:20 “teach them to obey… everything I have commanded you.”

• Service is normative, an identifying mark of the disciple and where fellowship (with Christ and others) finds expression.

• Love, not works or words, for other believers is the mark by which unbelievers will identify a true disciple (John 13:35).

• Fruit is the proof that one is a true disciple (John 15:8).

To be continued… because if, as Neil Cole says, there is no command in Scripture to plant churches (and he is right), what is a church planting mission like mine to do?

Stay tuned…