Many people claim to be disciples of Christ, but are they truly His disciples? Are we? This is a legitimate and important question. Notice what Jesus said:
“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free’” (John 8:31-32).
When Jesus said, “then you are truly disciples of Mine,” He implied that some are not truly His disciples. So the question under consideration is vitally important: Are we truly disciples of Christ? We must be sure we can correctly answer this question for ourselves. We must also be prepared to try and help others to be able to correctly answer this question for themselves. The context of the above passage shows us what it means to be disciples of Christ.
The Foundation of Discipleship
When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He told His apostles to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). But how would this be done? Notice two accounts of the Great Commission:
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…’” (Matthew 28:18-20).
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned’” (Mark 16:15-16).
How would Jesus’ apostles “make disciples”? It would be done through preaching (Mark 16:15), baptizing (Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:19), and teaching the need for continued obedience (Matthew 28:20). But the foundation for all of this was the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:18). Without this, there would be no reason for people to listen to or obey the gospel.
Jesus made the same point in the context of our original passage. But rather than specifying authority as the foundation of discipleship, He discussed His deity. Deity necessarily implies authority. Just a little bit earlier, Jesus taught that believing in His deity was essential for salvation.
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
The word “He” in that verse was added by the translators. Your Bible may have the word in italics to indicate this. What Jesus was actually saying was this: “Unless you believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.” This is a clear reference to the name of God – the “I AM” – as He called Moses to lead the people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:14). By calling Himself, “I Am,” Jesus was claiming to be God. The Jews understood this and wanted to stone Him to death for saying it (John 8:56-59). But this is the foundation for discipleship. We must believe that Jesus was not just a man, but that He was God in the flesh (Colossians 2:9).
Many people in the religious world believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Does this make them truly His disciples? Not necessarily. It is the starting point, but not the end.
How to Truly Be a Disciple
When Jesus taught on this occasion, John recorded that “many came to believe in Him” (John 8:30). His comments about discipleship were directed to “those Jews who had believed Him” (John 8:31).
Jesus explained that true discipleship was conditional. He indicated the conditional nature of discipleship by making an “if/then” statement: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31). The condition for discipleship was continuing in His word.
This condition makes sense. After all, a disciple is a learner. Therefore, it is apparent that if we are to be disciples of Christ, we must learn and continue in His word. Remember the Great Commission to “make disciples.” How would one become and remain a disciple?
- One would be taught the gospel (Mark 16:15).
- One would believe the gospel (Mark 16:16).
- One would obey the gospel – namely in baptism (Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:19).
- One would continue in obedience (Matthew 28:20).
One might believe in what he has been told about Christ or what he thinks about Christ. But if he does not hear, believe, and obey the gospel, he is not a disciple.
The Blessings of Discipleship
Jesus, because of who He is (God – John 8:24; Colossians 2:9), could simply demand man’s obedience without any positive incentive. But He blesses those who follow Him. The Hebrew writer said, “He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). There are three blessings of discipleship taught in this text – two explicitly and one implicitly.
- “You will know the truth” (John 8:32) – This might be expected to us. A disciple continues in His word; His word is truth (John 17:17). But this would not have been the immediate conclusion to Jesus’ original audience. In this statement, He made it clear to them that He was speaking the truth from God (John 8:26, 28). By continuing in His word, they would “know the truth.” The same is true for us today.
- “The truth will make you free” (John 8:32) – In what sense does the truth make us free? It makes us free from sin. In responding to His audience’s objection to the idea that they needed to be freed from anything, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). We must give up sin, not continue to live in it (Romans 6:1-7). After being “freed from sin,” we must become “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).
- Those who are truly the Lord’s disciples will be saved – This is not explicitly stated in the text, but it is implied in Jesus’ statement. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Being freed from sin, we can be reconciled to God (Ephesians 2:16). Salvation is for “all those who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). Punishment is for those who do not (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Conclusion
Belief alone in Christ will not save us (James 2:24). We must “continue in [His] word” through faithful obedience so that we will truly be His disciples and be able to look forward to a home with Him in heaven.
Spelling out truth so others can see the actions of a believe helps them to come to terms that there is a request of Jesus to seek a deeper meaning so you grow more like Him.
There is no way to know what Jesus is like without reading his word. May all who seek, want to be like Jesus.