“Discipleship” can sound like a church program: a class, a curriculum, a set of weeks to complete. Programs can help, but the word means something bigger and far more personal.
Discipleship is the lifelong process of following Jesus: learning from Him, being shaped by Him into His likeness, and helping others do the same.
Here’s what that means, where it comes from in Scripture, and what it looks like in an ordinary life.
A Biblical Definition of Discipleship
A disciple is a learner who follows Jesus to become like Him. (For more on the word itself, see What Is a Disciple? (opens in a new tab)) Discipleship is the life that follows from that choice.
Scripture shows us three parts to it:
1. Following Jesus. Discipleship begins with a relationship with Him, not with information about Him.
2. Being formed into His likeness. God’s purpose is that His people would become like His Son:
“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29 NLT
3. Passing it on. Disciples help others follow Jesus too.
What Jesus Said About Discipleship
Jesus set the terms Himself:
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
Luke 9:23 NLT
Notice the word daily. Discipleship isn’t a decision made once and then filed away. It’s a choice renewed every day: His way over ours.
And before He returned to the Father, Jesus made discipleship the mission of His church:
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19–20 NLT
Look at what Jesus asked them to teach: not simply His commands, but to obey His commands. Discipleship has always been about living what we learn, not only knowing it.
How Discipleship Happens: God’s Part and Ours
If discipleship means becoming like Jesus, who does the changing? Scripture holds two truths together. Paul tells believers to work out their salvation with reverence, and then explains why that’s possible:
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 NLT
God does the transforming. We take part on purpose: by trusting Him, attending to His Word, obeying what He shows us, and walking with other believers. Our part rests on His power at work in us. Transformation is His work; our part is to respond to what He is doing, actively, through faith and obedience.
For years I tried to grow by my own willpower. Here’s how I’d say it now:
“Before, I was trying to change myself. Now I follow His lead with everything I’ve got, and He does the changing.”
What Discipleship Looks Like in Everyday Life
Discipleship happens less in special moments than in ordinary ones. It looks like:
- Time in God’s Word. Reading it, thinking about it, and asking how to live it. (If you’re starting out, see How to Read the Bible (opens in a new tab).)
- Prayer. Talking with God through the day, not only at set times.
- Obedience in small things. Patience in traffic, honesty at work, kindness at home.
- Life together. Learning alongside other believers, encouraging them, and being encouraged.
- Time. Growth that shows over seasons and years rather than days.
Most of us know more of God’s Word than we live. That distance between knowing truth and living it consistently in real life has a name in our ministry: The Gap (opens in a new tab). Discipleship is the lifelong work of closing it, by God’s grace.
Discipleship Is Grace, Not a Program
Courses, studies and small groups can be wonderful tools for discipleship. But no program makes a disciple. Growth comes by God’s grace, as the Holy Spirit works through His Word and His people over a lifetime. Peter’s closing words point the way:
“Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:18 NLT
That’s freeing. You don’t need to master a system. You need to keep following Jesus, keep coming to His Word, and keep walking with others who are doing the same.
Discipleship Is Meant to Be Passed On
Paul described discipleship as a relay across generations:
“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”
2 Timothy 2:2 NLT
Paul to Timothy, Timothy to trustworthy people, and those people to others. Every disciple is both learning from someone and, in time, helping someone else follow Jesus.
Grow in Discipleship With Others
At Renewing Your Mind Discipleship Ministry, we help believers take part in this lifelong work together: engaging God’s Word and applying it to everyday life. Our courses are tools in service of that walk: Milestones for groups in the local church, and DeepDive for a smaller, guided group.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
