The word “disciple” appears 77 times in the Book of John. This book, written to give a reason to believe (20:30-31), also teaches that there is a life to be lived if we are His disciples. A disciple is a taught or trained one, a learner, more than a pupil, an adherent. The importance of this lesson can be seen when we see what Jesus offers those who follow Him.

He gives light (John 8:12). The world we live in is engulfed in moral darkness (Eph. 4:17-19). The choice: follow light or walk in darkness (I John 1:5-6). He gives liberty (John 8:31-32). The world is enslaved to sin and Satan (John 8:34; Rom. 6:16). The world only imagines that it has freedom (II Pet. 2:18-19. Real freedom is found only in Jesus Christ. He gives life (John 8:51; John 6:66-68). Faithful disciples shall never die! Of course, Jesus is speaking of spiritual death (John 5:24-25). If these blessings are only available to disciples, we need to know what is involved in being a disciple

Disciples have the right relationship to the word of Christ (John 8:31-32). One becomes a disciple by knowing and doing the will of Christ (I Pet. 1:22-23). Discipleship is not obtained by inheritance (Matt. 3:9; John 3:3-5), direct operation of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:16; John 6:44-45; Rom. 10:13-17), information provided by human testimonials, nor by relating some strange religious experience. We remain disciples by following Christ’s word (Col. 3:16). We are protected from a life of sin by allowing the word to control our lives (I John 3:9; Psalm 119:11).

Disciples of Christ must love the brethren (John 13:34-35). The world will not know that we are disciples of the Lord by worldly political clout, miraculous powers, beautiful church buildings, or by the amount of publicity the church gets. The world will know by the love we have. In this verse, “love” is in the present tense, meaning that we are to “keep on loving.” We are taught that we are to love sacrificially, unconditionally, and completely. This love is active good will, and can even be manifested toward our enemies (Matt. 5:43-48).
Christ’s disciples are fruitful (John 15:8). We must produce fruit to be His disciples. Some have argued, “The only fruit of a Christian is another Christian.” But this is not so. “Fruit” in John 4:35-36 clearly refers to converts; but the apostles were told to gather, not bear, fruit. The fruit of Paul’s labors included conversion and also spiritual growth of the Gentiles (Phil. 1:22; Rom. 1:13). The two things wrong with applying “fruit” exclusively to converts are that it ignores God’s part in conversion and it ignores the role and responsibility of the hearers. There is a “fruit” of righteousness (Phil. 1:11), a “fruit” of supporting gospel preaching (Phil. 4:15-17), a “fruit” of sanctification (Rom. 6:22), a “fruit” of praise (Heb. 13:15), and the “fruit” of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). As a disciple, are you bearing fruit?

The world has its own standard for success. It measures success by money, power, popularity, and even by physical beauty. Not all can succeed by the world’s standards. But all can succeed as disciples of the Lord; all can follow the Lord. We can be faithful to Christ’s word; we can love as He loved; we can produce fruit as He did.

Our challenge then is to follow Christ (I Pet. 2:21), let Christ dwell in us (Col. 1:27) and imitate Christ (I Cor. 11:1).

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?

– Paul Wilmoth, January 18,1944 – April 5, 2021