Discipleship to Jesus of Nazareth
“‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me'” (Luke 9:23).
Jesus has called us to follow him. In faith, we seek to obey his voice by submitting ourselves to his teachings, imitating his example, and pursuing transformation into his image. Like the first disciples, we follow Jesus in community. Despite our failings, our common obedience to the will of God revealed in Jesus constitutes us as a spiritual family (Mark 3:35). Together, we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matt 6:33) by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Discipleship by the Power of the Spirit
“‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you'” (John 14:25–26).
We submit ourselves to the Spirit of Christ in eager anticipation of his guidance and provision as we walk the way of Jesus. By God’s grace, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in Jesus’s disciples through his Spirit (Eph 1:19–20; 3:16). Consequently, our life together as followers of Jesus is characterized by diverse manifestations of the Spirit’s power. We humbly receive the gifts of the Spirit and commit to exercise them according to the love of Christ (1 Cor 12–14). We humbly cultivate the fruit of the Spirit by seeking to be led by the Spirit (Gal 5:22–26; Rom 8:1–17). So we follow Jesus into the kingdom of God, which is “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17).
Discipleship toward the Kingdom of God
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news'” (Mark 1:14–15).
Jesus inaugurated the coming of the kingdom and called his followers to enter it. Because the kingdom both has come in the ministry of Jesus and will come to fulfillment with his return, discipleship is life between the now and the not yet of the kingdom. We pray as Jesus taught us: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). And we participate in the manifestation of the kingdom through the Holy Spirit’s ongoing ministry. In Christ, our discipleship bears witness to the Spirit’s reconciling, sanctifying, liberating work in the world.