A continual move towards more intimacy with the master.

Jesus calls our attention to the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The life of a disciple is characterized by continually seeking more intimacy with the master. It is a life of learning to live with him on a daily consistent basis. Jesus says in John 15:4 “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” The life of a disciple is then a daily life-long process of learning to live with, abide in, and remain with Jesus in more and more intimacy each day.

To neglect our own flesh, to instead reflect the Master.

This requires a daily denial, or death of self. As humans our natures are not prone to this laying down of our lives but in the moments that we are willing to lay down our “self” to glorify the master, we turn away from our flesh and instead move toward becoming more like him. James 4:10, tells us to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” This is an act of our own will, and only in an intimate open relationship with the master, through His Holy Spirit, can we ever discover the steps that we need to take. So that our lives can echo the words of Paul in Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me!”

A life lived to reflect the love of the master to others.

We are also asked as disciples to reflect the love of the master for his creation. This is important for us in two areas:
▪ Fellow disciples- We are asked to love one another John 13:35 as disciples so that we can be an example to those who have not chosen to be followers of Christ. This love comes through an intimate relationship with the master and a true denial of self which allows us to love each other in truth and humility.
▪ The world- The second commandment calls us not to love only those that are fellow disciples but also to love our “neighbor.” Jesus defines our neighbor as our fellowmen in his parable of the Good Samaritan.

Therefore VidaNet believes that a disciple is someone who has considered the cost (Luke 14:28-32) and has decided to follow Jesus Christ with everything that is in them.

“A disciple is a pupil or learner. It was one who attached himself to another to gain some practical or theoretical knowledge, whether by instruction or by experience. The word came to be used both of apprentices who were learning a trade and of adherents of various philosophical schools. The concept of discipleship was most popular in the Judaism of Jesus’ day. Rabbis had disciples who studied with them in a well-defined and special relationship. Several aspects of the rabbi-disciple relationship in first-century Judaism are significant. The disciple left his home and moved in with his teacher. He served the teacher in the most servile ways, treating him as an absolute authority. The disciple was expected not only to learn all that his rabbi knew but also to become like him in character and piety (Mt 10:24; Lk 6:40). The rabbi in return provided food and lodging and saw his own distinctive interpretations transmitted through his disciples to future generations. So when Mark says that Jesus chose twelve men “that they might be with him” (Mk 3:14), he accurately reflects contemporary understanding of how future leaders should be trained. “
NIV expository dictionary