One of the essential tasks of the Great Commission given by Christ is his command to disciple believers from all nations (Mt 28:19-20). Christian discipleship is helping others to follow Christ according to the instructions set forth in the Scriptures. It implies being an instrument in the hands of God who seeks to see the life of Christ reproduced—by the power of the Holy Spirit—in the life of another believer. Regarding the above, the apostle Paul wrote: “My children, for whom I travail again until Christ is formed in you” (Gal 4:19).
The apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians with a tone of concern and love as well as warning and indignation. This was because false teachers were persuading new Christians—converted under Paul’s ministry—to abandon the gospel of grace for a false message of salvation by faith plus works. As we will see, Paul has a genuine passion for the spiritual welfare of the Galatians as well as the goal of Christ being formed in them. Let’s look at four truths that this passage teaches us about discipleship.
1) Discipleship involves a spiritual upbringing
Paul begins by saying “sons” (Gal 4:19). He uses this word in another context, for example, to speak of his true child in the faith, Timothy, and also to describe the essential relationship he had in developing his disciple to maturity (1 Tim 1 : two). In the same way, the apostle took the gospel to the Galatians and they were converted through his preaching. They were his children from conversion (Gal 4:19).
God has designed the growth of other Christians to occur through His Word, both preached and modeled. The same love, care, concern, and intimacy that parents should have toward their children is the same that we should have toward those we seek to disciple. Paul felt the bodily weight of the spiritual well-being of all these believers.
God has designed the growth of other Christians to occur through His Word, both preached and modeled.
If you are a pastor, you have a call to train workers to help with the ministerial load (2 Tim 2:2). It is also true that we should weigh in on the health of all the believers that God has placed under our care, both the faithful and the difficult. But if you are not a pastor, you also have a responsibility that goes beyond a few, in whom you can invest more time with love, care and teaching, as you yourself received from another faithful disciple (He 3:12-13).
Biblical discipleship must not be divorced from the local church. Our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is personal, but it is neither private nor individual. My relationship with Christ is personal and corporal. There is no idea in the New Testament of a personal relationship with Jesus divorced from my relationship with his body (1 Jn 4:20). The local church is the place where the genuine fruits of that faith are manifested (or not) (1 Thes 5:14).
2) Discipleship involves personal stewardship
“My” is the second word we see in Galatians 4:19. I would like to start by saying what this No it means. The sheep are not ours but the Lord’s, who bought them. Beware of having a possessive and sinful attitude about those we serve in discipleship. When we disciple other people, we don’t look for them to admire us, but for them to admire Christ.
Just as in parenting our children copy both our virtues and our defects, the same can happen when we disciple others. From there comes the importance that our discipleship be in the context of the body and that we No let us be the only ones teaching them. There will lie the balance in discipleship.
Let us avoid using discipleship for our own benefit. Let us seek what is best for our disciples in the light of the Word and not what is “most convenient” for us. If Paul is not seeking in discipleship what is for one’s own benefit, what is he referring to when he says “my children”?
The same devotion, love, care and concern that parents have towards their children is what we must have towards those we seek to disciple.
We pastors must watch over the people that God has placed under our care: we teach them all the advice of God, we model the Christian life before them, we advise privately when the situation requires it. We also correct, love, spend time with them, seek to get to know them and where they are in their walk with the Lord. We rebuke, and we pray before, during, and after our efforts (Heb 13:17).
On the other hand, this task is so great that we must always pray and work to have a , if we don’t already have it. Such is God’s wise design for church leadership in the New Testament. The job of caring for souls is not just for pastors, but for all members of the body who must also do their part in discipling others. The privilege and responsibility of every believer is to reproduce in the life of another.
Reflect on these application questions:
Pastor, do you see your responsibility to the whole body? Are you closely discipling others so that one day they can lighten your load? Are you praying and working to have more pastors in your church to help you with the enormous task that God has entrusted to you?
The work of caring for souls is not only for pastors but for all members of the body who must also do their part in discipling others.
Christian, do you see your responsibility to be discipled and to disciple others in the context of the local church? Who are you discipling? Looking to learn up close with people who are a few steps ahead in their growth?
The format can be as simple as meeting with one or two Christians from your church with a good book that emphasizes biblical truths that contribute to our growth.
3) Discipleship involves great effort
Discipleship is not something passive or that comes automatically. God is the one who produces growth and changes in the human heart, but he does it through the means that he himself designated.
Paul describes an image that implies the pain and effort of a mother (Gal 4:19). The words “labor pains” translate from the Greek a single word meaning “to suffer terribly.” As he explains in Galatians, Paul is suffering terribly for them because they are being deceived and led astray from the gospel by false teachers. The apostle fears that his efforts have been in vain. As Paul expresses it in other letters (1 Thes 2:9). But all this effort has a beautiful goal and this brings me to my last point.
4) The goal of discipleship is for Christ to be formed in others
“May Christ be formed in you” (Gal 4:19), this is the goal in the Christian life, first of all for yourself. My primary goal should not simply be to be a better preacher, a better pastor, or a better husband or father. The supreme goal of every Christian is that the life of Christ be reproduced in his own life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The supreme goal of every Christian is that the life of Christ be reproduced in his own life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The goal in discipleship is not simply for believers to have more knowledge, serve in certain positions, have certain abilities, or study in seminary. With this I do not say that all these things are not important, but that they are not the ultimate goal. All these things can be important to reach the goal. But we must always bear in mind that the final goal of discipleship is that the person of the crucified and risen Christ be formed in us as revealed in the Scriptures.
The goal of spiritual nurture is to lead believers toward Christian maturity as defined by the Bible. All the particular responsibility that the Lord gives us over other lives is to bring them to maturity through the means that He has designated. The public and private ministry of the Word of God is for this. Private and public prayer is for this.
I end with some application questions: Do you care about the spiritual well-being of others in your local church? Do you have a passion to disciple others? Are you committed to asking the Lord and going after having spiritual children? Shepherd, do you feel the weight of the responsibility of caring for the sheep? Are you striving in the grace of God to make disciples starting in your home? Are you discipling in connection with and under the supervision of your church?
All of this is worth it because it honors God. May the Lord give us his passion to be and make disciples! May the Lord help us to be instruments in his hands so that Christ may be formed in others! There is no better goal!