Garry spoke this morning on discipleship as he continued looking at Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-14. Discipleship is a form of apprenticeship, where an inexperienced person works alongside one who is more experienced in a trade. Knowledge and experience are both imparted in this form of learning, which Jesus modelled for us with His disciples, who watched Him, followed Him, learned from Him and were then sent out by themselves (see Mark 6:1-13)
The model for Christian discipleship is thus:
1. come and listen
2. work alongside
3. go and do
We must not simply do things because we have been told to, but must be able to adapt what we know to different situations. We must learn principles so that we can adapt to new circumstances (e.g. how to cope with ‘modern’ problems of Islam and immigration, neither situation being ones we find in the Bible.) We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will teach and remind us of all truth (John 14:26). Often, we need reminding or to have memorials (see Josh 4:4-7) so that we do not forget what we have learned (Gal 3:1-4).If we do not remain rooted in truth, we will drift from the truth.
People can be a great encouragement to us in our discipleship, with an older Christian often mentoring a younger one (see Paul and Timothy.) As we continue with Christ, we grow in our discipleship and know God’s will through godly wisdom and understanding, journeying together and helping each other on the way.
