In our Last Bible Study that we did on the podcast, we went over part 2 of Chapter 1 of John. It was about who the first disciples of Jesus Christ were and I gave the definition of a disciple in that episode. Today, I wanted to dive deeper into what it means to be a disciple. As believers of Jesus Christ, we are all his disciples, but a lot of people may not know what it actually means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and the difference from just knowing Jesus and believing in him, and actually following Jesus and living your life for Christ.
So who is a disciple? "someone who believes in Jesus and seeks to follow him in his or her daily life."
As disciples, we also want to seek to live the way that Christ wants us to live with God’s help.
When we are disciples we:
• Are baptized
• know that Jesus walked on the earth and died on the cross to forgive us of our sins so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life
• Seek to follow Jesus and learn his ways
• Spread the gospel and let everyone know about Jesus Christ
Now I’m going to put some verses here from John chapter 15. These verses are perfect to really know what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." -John 15: 1-8
So these verses here are a great demonstration of just how Jesus Christ and God is to us. Jesus Christ is the vine, we are his branches, and God the Father is the gardener. In order for us to bear fruit and to have the fruits of the spirit that is given to us once we are saved and we have the Holy Spirit within us, we have to remain in Jesus and him in us and we will bear much fruit. Apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing, because he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can come to the Father except through him.
We have to remain in Jesus Christ; we have to follow him, worship him, learn from him, seek to know his ways, and have a mind and a heart like Jesus. If we remain in Jesus and his words remain in us, then whatever we ask from the Father will be given to us. If we remain in him and his words remain in us, we’re not going to have those worldly desires. The only things we are going to want is whatever pleases God, so whatever we ask for is going to be given to us. If we remain in Jesus, we will be his disciples.
Now in the verses above, Jesus said this to his disciples, which we will get into further in our Bible studies. This is still relevant to today, because if we believe in Jesus Christ, we are saved, and have the Holy Spirit within us; we are disciples of Jesus. We are branches from his true vine and to able to bear that fruit and have all the goodness in this world, we have to remain in Christ and learn from him. We have to seek the truth of God’s word through scripture, prayer, asking for knowledge and wisdom from God and the Holy Spirit within us, and really dedicating our lives to Jesus Christ and to living the way that God wants us to live.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28: 18-20
In order to know what Jesus Christ has commanded of us, we really have to study our Bibles and seek the truth of God’s word through asking God for the truth of his word, asking for that knowledge and wisdom, and seeking it from the Holy Spirit that we have it inside of us as believers of Jesus Christ.
So what should we be doing as disciples of Jesus Christ?
1. Praying and seeking knowledge and wisdom
2. Reading the Bible and learning the truth of God’s words
3. Following Jesus and his ways
4. Seeking to have a heart and mind like Jesus
5. Building a close relationship with Jesus Christ
6. Worshipping Jesus
7. Living your life for Jesus Christ
8. Spreading the gospel to others so that they may know who Jesus Christ is and how amazing he is so that they may believe in him and be saved and become a disciple of Jesus also
Spreading the gospel is so important. You can know all about Jesus, follow him, and seek to have a heart and mind like him, but if you're not spreading the gospel to others you are doing a disservice for every single person that you know and love.
I’m going to say a quick prayer before I let you guys go... Lord, I pray that you are with every single person reading this right now. I pray that you wrap your arms around them and let them know how amazing you are and to feel your love. I pray that in every single thing that they do that they seek to have a heart and mind like Jesus Christ and that they follow him, obey him, do what’s commanded of them, and seek the truth of your word through scripture and pray. I pray that they spread the gospel and let other people know how amazing you are and the truth of your words. I love you so much, Lord. In your name, Amen.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, business, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes every week.
For weekly Bible Studies, tune in every week to my podcast. Every week I go over a new chapter/s of the Book of John.
You can also follow me on Instagram (_lorenacamille_) I'll be posting frequently and doing daily stories.
For past Bible Studies on the book of Jeremiah, join our Facebook Community