Discipleship According to the Letter to the Ephesians

This is being written with the intention to study discipleship, through the letter to the Ephesians. One must first begin by asking, what is a disciple? What is the need for discipleship? Are we as Christians called to be disciples?

Let’s start with the dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines a disciple as:

Disciple-

1. a. One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.

b.An active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy.

2.oftenDisciple One of the original followers of Jesus.

AlsoDisciple comes from the Latin word discipulus meaning "learner".

If you look in the history of the Bible, prophets from Elijah to John the Baptist had their own disciples. In the four gospels, the Pharisees were also reported to have disciples. The disciples helped spread the message. They would write or do whatever tasks were necessary to free up the hands of their teacher. So are we to be disciples? Matthew 28: 18-20 makes it very clear, the great commission is for every believer and each gospel account has verses to support this. For simplicity sake, look at verse 20 which states, “teaching them (us)to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded...” Mark writes we are”to preach the gospel to every creature”(16:15).  That said let us look to the letter to the Ephesians, written by Paul. Let us learn how to become disciples.

Chapter 1

“Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

This opening statement gives a few thoughts to start with. Paul was not a disciple of Jesus but was probably discipled under a Pharisee. The twelve disciples who became apostles were with Jesus through His ministry. All the apostles were anointed by Jesus and started out disciples, according to the will of God. This, the will of God, is what we should be searching in all things. We should learn not only who Jesus is, but who we arein Him. The next thing to point out is this; Paul didn’t address the church at Ephesus generally, but wrote specifically to the saints, the faithful. This implies something that is still true today, everyone in a church is neither saved nor faithful. The word saint (hagios) means one redeemed, blameless, or sacred.  While the word faithful (pistos, derived from pisteuo) means believer, but more closely translated, one who trusts and commits. This says a lot toward our goal of discipleship. As a natural man we cannot keep the law and therefore we could never, within ourselves, attain sainthood. However, through trusting in the redemptive power of Jesus and committing to His way, we press toward the mark as Paul writes in another letter and through His righteousness, we are given the title of saint.  Jesus said strive to enter the strait gate.

               
Read, if you will, verses three and four. One of the foundations of discipleship that one sees is praise.  Praise God in all things, he knew from the beginning what would need to be done. This is something our finite mind cannot comprehend, which brings us back to trust.  Still, God in His glory has opened the eyes of the believer to see the spiritual blessings and even the kingdom of God. He proves to us that he has chosen us. This does not mean he’s rejected others.  Therefore, this does not allow us to look down on others, but it should compel us to live clean lives.  The word Holy means we belong to God.  No man can feel God’s presence and not be changed. Even when that change causes suffering it comes back to praise.  All the original disciples suffered various things throughout their life. Peter said it best, when Jesus asked if they would leave too as others left, he answered, “Lord to where shall we go? Thou hast eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68-69)  
Discipleship begins with faith that God is able to open our eyes to His perfect will; which produces both praise and the ability for longsuffering.