Discipleship

This booklet is not intended to be a contribution to theology, nor is it addressed to theologians as such. Not that they or their work is undervalued. They — of varied schools — have placed the writer under a debt to them that he is unable to discharge.

It is intended to be, along practical lines, an aid to the disciples of Jesus, and that, by endeavoring to show in some measure, the eminent practicability of being a Christian, in the power of the life communicated by and sustained in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

It is further intended to reveal the

actual effect on this present life, for

ennobling it in all its relations, and

filling it with all joy and beauty, of Author’s Note

the ultimate intention of the Master for all His disciples.

To the glory of God, and the help of fellow-disciples it is therefore prayer* fully sent forth on its mission.

At the feet of Jesus

Is the place for me,
There, a humble learner,

Would I choose to be.

—P. P. Bliss.

“Disciples” is the term consistentlyused in the four Gospels to mark the relationship existing between Christ and His followers. Jesus used it Himself in speaking of them, and they in speaking of each other. Neither did it pass out of use in the new days of Pentecostal power. It runs right through the Acts of the Apostles. It is interesting also to remember that it was on this wise that the angels thought and spoke of these men; the use of the word in the days of the Incarnation is linked to the 11 use of the word in the apostolic age by the angelic message to the women, “Go,

tell His JJisciples and Peter”

(Mark xvi. 7).

It is somewhat remarkable that the word is not to be found in the Epistles. This is to be accounted for by the fact that the Epistles were addressed to Christians in their corporate capacity as churches, and so spoke of them as members of such, and as the “saints” or separated ones of God. The term disciple marks an individual relationship, and though it has largely fallen out of use, it is of the utmost value still in marking that relationship, existing between Christ and each single soul, and suggesting our consequent position in all the varied circumstances of everyday living. It is to that study we desire to come in this series of papers.

1. The word itself {^.ad-qriji) signifies a taught or trained one, and gives us the ideal of relationship. Jesus is the Teacher. He has all knowledge of the ultimate purposes of God for man, of the will of God concerning man, of the

12 laws of God that mark for man the path of his progress and final crowning.

Disciples are those who gather around this Teacher and are trained by Him. Seekers after truth, not merely in the abstract, but as a life force, come to Him and join the circle of those to whom He reveals these great secrets of all true life. Sitting at His feet, they learn from the unfolding of His lessons the will and ways of God for them; and obeying each successive word, they realize within themselves, the renewing force and uplifting power thereof. The true and perpetual condition of discipleship, and its ultimate issue, were clearly declared by the Lord Himself “to those Jews which believed on Him.” “If ye abide in My word, then are ye truly My disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John viii. 31).

Before considering the glorious enduement the Teacher confers on every disciple, and the stern requirements that guard the entrance to discipleship, it is very important that we should have clearly outlined in our minds the true

13 meaning of this phase of the relationship, which Jesus bears to His people.

It is not that of a lecturer, from whose messages men may or may not deduce applications for themselves. It is not that of a prophet merely, making a Divine pronouncement, and leaving the issues of the same. It certainly is not that of a specialist on a given subject, declaring his knowledge, to the interest of a few, the amazement of more, and the bewilderment of most. It is none of these.

It is that of a teacher — Himself possessing full knowledge, — bending over a pupil, and for a set purpose, with an end in view, imparting knowledge step by step, point by point, ever working on toward a definite end. That conception includes also the true ideal of our position. We are not casual listeners, neither are we merely interested hearers desiring information, we are disciples, looking toward and desiring the same end as the Master, and therefore listening to every word, marking every inflection of voice that carries meaning, and applying all our energy to realizing 14 the Teacher’s purpose for us. Such is the ideal.

2. Now let us consider the privileges that the Teacher confers upon those who become His disciples.

I. The first is the establishment of those relations which make it possible for Him to teach and for us to be taught. The question of sin must be dealt with, and that which results from sin — our inability to understand the teaching. Christ never becomes a teacher to those who are living in sin. Sin as actual transgression in the past, must be pardoned, and sin as a principle of revolution within must be cleansed. So before He unfolds one word of the Divine law of life, or reveals in any particular the line of progress. He deals with this twofold aspect of sin. To the soul judging past sin, by confessing it and turning from it. He dispenses forgiveness, pronouncing His priestly absolution by virtue of His own atonement on the Cross. To the soul yielded to Him absolutely and unreservedly, consenting to the death of self. He gives the blessing of cleansing from sin. 15

This statement of His dealing with us is not intended to mark an order of procedure from pardon to cleansing. It is rather the declaration of the twofold aspect of the first work of Christ for His disciples, the bestowment of the initial blessing. In practical experience, men constantly, though not invariably, and not necessarily, realize the first-named first in order. That is the result of the overwhelming and largely selfish desire of personal safety, a desire which is the natural and proper outcome of the divinely imparted instinct of self-preservation. Nevertheless they ought at once, for the higher reason of God’s glory, to seek to realize the deeper side of the one blessing, that of cleansing. But His patience is manifested in our folly. He forgives and graciously waits. When we look at Him again and say “Master, there is more in Thy cress than pardon,” then He makes us conscious of His power to cleanse. Certain it is, that there can be no real discipleship apart from the realization of the twofold blessing. Beyond this there lies the dullness of our understanding, 16 our inability to comprehend the truths He declares. This He overcomes by the gift of the Holy Spirit, who makes clear to us the teaching of the Master. What a priceless gift this is. The dullest natural intellect may be, and is, rendered keen and receptive Gbdward, by the incoming of the Holy Spirit.

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