Discipleship And What Your All In All Meaning Is

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Did you know that if you decide to go all in all for and in Christ, it means you are also inclined in making Him the all in all meaning to discipleship? Here’s why – once you follow, obey, and live by the Word of God and accept His Love, you are automatically responsible for taking your journey with God towards the path of discipleship. And yes, it is a big, exciting chapter for you as you travel through life with the Lord. It is safe to say that amazing things and experiences are going to unfold! But of course, you’ll have to learn about discipleship and how to make God be your all in all first.

What Is Discipleship?

If we were to directly define “discipleship”, it means to follow a person in their teachings and examples. During the time New Testament, being a disciple means being a follower of a teacher. And in the case of Christianity and the bible, disciples are people who dedicated their lives to follow Jesus. This can be seen in the four Gospels and in the Book of Acts.

Discipleship is also accepting and spreading a certain form of knowledge or wisdom to other people. In this definition alone, we cannot find a deep meaning behind this word. But it’s the opposite in the Bible. Discipleship is an order from Jesus after He was resurrected (Matthew 28:18-20). To those who believe in Him and follow Him, the word “discipleship pertains to the duty we have. We are to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). “Disciples” are people who follow, pray over, and live by the Word of God. Its definition is simple but living as a disciple of Jesus, a Christ-like life, includes guidelines we have to remember.

Elaborating more, discipleship is the act of accepting and assisting God’s Words into the lives of other people. Let’s look at the Bible; the twelve disciples of Jesus are people who followed Him and was given the blessing to spread God’s works. Today, our mission is to make more of these disciples as we become one ourselves.

Aside from Jesus commanding us to do so, the world needs more disciples for more people to accept God. Discipleship, in a way, is also our chance to introduce the goodness of God to those who need it the most. Through discipleship, we can save people by encouraging them to seek salvation only God can give. But here’s the challenge; no one can make disciples without being one first.

“All in All” Meaning in Discipleship

It is now time to pop the big question; “what is a disciple supposed to do?” The answer to that is making God our all in all in everything. We are disciples by name because we follow God. But, we need to act and live like a disciple of Jesus for us to grasp its true meaning. With this in mind, here are the ways we can specifically make Him the all in all meaning in our journey of being His disciples.

Discipleship comes from worship

1 Peter 3:15 tells us that we must worship Jesus and prepare ourselves to answer if anyone asks the reason why we have hope. Like everything, discipleship needs to grow from something and for Christians, this is found by worshipping God first. Again, the meaning of living as a disciple is God. So, it is fair that our discipleship must come only from Him.

As a Christian, discipleship is about making yourself an instrument for God to use so that other people can see His work within you. People cannot serve a master they do not know. So this means that discipleship involves knowing God by praying and spending time alone with Him. He is the only source we can rely on to get the strength needed to preach, inspire, pray over, and live righteously with God. He is the reason, the all in all meaning, and the answer!

Discipleship comes from Jesus Christ

Jesus tells us in Luke 14:27 that those who do not carry their own cross and come before Him can’t be His disciple. This statement tells us that to truly become one, we have to live like Jesus Christ. For example, people who become professional athletes live like one. They eat well, exercise daily, and take specific vitamins to physically strengthen their bodies. So, if we choose to become disciples of Jesus, we have to live like Him as well!

Luke 6:40 clearly tells us that a disciple is not above his teacher but, when this disciple is trained, he becomes like his teacher. With this being said, living like Jesus means being obedient, kind, loving, forgiving, honest, and faithful just as He is when He came down from Heaven. But do you know why we ask God for strength the moment we become disciples?

If we live like Jesus, we do not carry only His teachings but also the sorrow, mockery, and anger the unbelievers inflicted against Him. We have to expect the world to hate us when we become like Jesus. As a matter of fact, this was stated in John 15:18-19. This Bible verse is important because it predicts that the world will hate us because it hated Jesus first. But do not worry, if the Lord is within a person, nothing can harm them.

Discipleship means bearing fruits

Did you know that “fruit” or similar words pertaining to “fruit” has been mentioned over 66 times in the Bible? Obviously, bearing fruits is important. Jesus tells us in John 15:16 that we did not choose Him. Instead, He appointed us so we must bear fruits so that whatever we ask from the Father will be granted to us. This is a beautiful blessing and perks from God. But it comes with a condition – No one can bear fruits without receiving the Holy Spirit.

Bearing fruit means living with productivity, hope, righteousness, and God. Luckily for us, the Holy Spirit comes with believing and offering our lives to Him. So, we cannot be fruitful without the Lord which again proves that being a fruitful disciple means making Him our all in all.

After receiving Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit just as His Apostles did during the Pentecost. The effect of the Holy Spirit in discipleship is massive! Take for instance Galatians 5:19-23 where the works of the flesh are evident enough to disable us in inheriting God’s kingdom. This is happening because we are sinners but through the fruit of the Spirit, there is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law“.

Discipleship is a commitment to God

Truthfully, we cannot carry out the genuine “all in all” meaning of discipleship if we don’t give everything. Walking with God as His disciple means abandoning things that make us less of a disciple. Since a disciple is similar to being a student, we have to eliminate the things that we cannot offer to our Teacher or Master. In this context, discipleship requires offering great obedience to the Word.

Jesus clarifies that we cannot be His disciple if we fail to renounce all (Luke 14:33). This points out to the sins we make and our submissiveness to our flesh. If we choose to be a disciple, we must only serve God (Matthew 6:24). The other aspects like sharing His goodness and helping others will come after we submit to the Lord. Before we can ever lead our lives as disciples, we have to be great followers first.

Discipleship shares the Word

Being a disciple means living by the Word. Discipleship is basing one’s life according to the values, lessons, and laws written in the Bible. Once a person succeeds in doing so, he or she will experience the fulfilling task of sharing the Word of God with his or her neighbors. Throughout the Bible, Jesus preaches and lives by His Father’s Words. He battled Satan, He healed, taught, and shared His love through the Word.

The 12 disciples that were always with Jesus, must whilst he was on earth must have had Jesus as their standard for acting and speaking. So if Jesus shared the Word of God, His disciples should do the same too. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 describes the Word as a tool for “training in righteousness”. Additionally, Matthew 5:14-16  also tells us to shine with goodness and give glory to God. Both of these verses direct people to God through the Scripture is a core responsibility discipleship emphasizes.

“Why should we share the Word of God?” Think of it like this; a “disciple” is a synonym for “student” and God is the teacher. In this world, there are “students” (people) that are suffering navigating through the extremely hard tests of life because they chose to not listen to their teacher (God). As fellow students (disciples), we cannot change the way they live because we are all mere students with sins. However, we can help them by directing them to the only One who can save them which is the teacher or God. Sharing God’s Word is like helping them to schedule an appointment for one-on-one tutoring with God. We are here to help them make a good, loving relationship with God Isn’t that a great thing to accomplish?

Discipleship means loving

As disciples, we represent Jesus and should aim to live like Him. Among all the immeasurable, exceptional traits Jesus has, one of His characteristics prevails the most, and that’s love. Jesus loves people. He loves those who follow, praise, and worship Him. He even loves those who hate Him! Truly, His love is beyond vast and He wants us to do the same – love.

We can master everything about righteousness but the foundation that trumps it all is the love that flows only from the Lord. John 13:34-35 is where Jesus offers the new commandment that expresses how people will know that we are His disciples. As we love and show love to all around us, the world does become a better place. Love is like God’s “trademark” because it can only come from Him alone!

Aside from this, when Jesus teaches us that we need to love to prove our discipleship, it also includes ourselves. God cares about us so much that the Bible is there to guide us in this flawed and sinful world. And everything connects with love – If we love God, we serve Him by living like Him. His love should be seen through us by those who don’t know God as their personal savior yet. Because we do this, we can keep ourselves away from the sins that corrupt our bodies and souls. As a result, we see our identity in God more. We can appreciate the details of His love as we see ourselves. This is why Jesus speaks of love many times; it is very powerful because it grows only from the Most Powerful.

Discipleship is a purpose in itself

Here’s something beautiful about discipleship; everyone has a purpose. The world today is harsh. Oftentimes, many people struggle with finding their space and “what they’re made for”. But being God’s disciple is different; if He is our all in all meaning to life, He will use us for an amazing and unexpected cause. Discipleship is more than a mission, it is a reason to live. God knows us more than we know ourselves. He sees our sins just as much as we want to hide them from Him. But, He sees us as His very important creations made for goodness and a purpose.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

In whatever we do or whatever we love doing, we should use it to glorify the Name of God. We should trust God wholeheartedly. This is what discipleship is. Just like the twelve disciples of Jesus, who each went on different paths after the ascension of Jesus, accomplished different things but honored the same God. Wherever we are and whoever we are, God is using us every day because He does not see us as people with no purpose. He Himself made us for a purpose. Thus, today we are called to become disciples and to make disciples.

Why Do We Become Disciples?

Let’s say someone is following a friend they recently met on a social media site, can this person follow his friend’s account without knowing them or asking their name first? Not really. In the same way, we cannot become disciples if we don’t know the reason why we are one. See, people do not become disciples to teach minds or whatsoever. We only have one reason and that’s God.

Discipleship has no room for other reasons than our great honor for the goodness God has. We automatically become His disciple the moment we accept Him. For comparison, if a person chooses to not consume any animal or dairy product, without a doubt, they instantly become vegans. If we follow God, we become disciples simply because its very definition is “anyone who follows and lives by God”.

Consequently, if we live for God, we live by Him through discipleship. How we are going to be used as disciples, however, is up to God because He created us with a cause. It’s a two-in-one system; loving God means being a believer and a disciple. These things cannot separate. Discipleship is our life’s purpose, blessing, and responsibility. He should be our everything, our all in all always. Let’s continue showing to ourselves and our neighbors the goodness of God!