STAGE ONE: MAKING APPRENTICES - Apprentices are those who have trusted Jesus with their whole life, so far as they understand it. They want to learn everything Jesus has to teach them about life in the kingdom of God and are constantly with him to learn to be like him.
First, they are learning to understand and do the things Jesus gave us specific commandments and teachings about. They study his words and deeds in the four Gospels. They explore what it means to give a cup of cold water to a little child in the name of Jesus (see Matthew 10:42), to not swear (see James 5:12), to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (see Matthew 5:44), and so forth. They are learning how to actually do these things.
The second aspect of discipleship concerns learning how Jesus would lead our lives if he were in our place. How would Jesus (living your life) get along with neighbors, participate in government, get an education, and engage in the cultural life of your society? How would he do those things if he were you? In these matters of ordinary human existence, Jesus is our constant teacher, and we are his constant apprentices. “He walks with me and he talks with me,” as the old hymn says. When setting out as his apprentices, we will sharply encounter all of the harmful things that are in us: false thoughts and feelings, self-will, bodily inclinations to evil, ungodly social relationships and patterns, and soul wounds and misconnections. Our Savior and Teacher will help us remove these a
s we strive forward through the many-sided ministries of himself, his kingdom, and his people. All will be bathed in the Holy Spirit. The process of spiritual formation in Christlikeness is a process through which all the dimensions of our lives are transformed as they increasingly take on the character of our Teacher.
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