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A disciple of Jesus is a believer of the Triune God.  He faithfully follows the Lord Jesus Christ.  He becomes a disciple of Jesus when he accepts the gospel message which spells out man’s depraved spiritual conditions and shows how he can be restored back to fellowship with God.  He accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour and is willing to obey His commands.  He becomes a member of the body of Christ, the Church, with Christ as Head.  He is called to fulfil the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19, 20) which involves the making of new disciples to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He is to do all that Jesus commands and is assured that his Lord will be with him always.

Jesus’ all consuming passion is to do His Father’s will expressed in God’s Word.  The Bible is the source of all instructions and service to God.  Jesus is Lord and the disciple is the servant. This Lord-servant relationship places a duty on the disciple to obey the Bible.  God’s love draws people to Jesus.  This love resulted in the Father making a plan of salvation.  Jesus carried out this plan to make salvation possible for people.  The Holy Spirit convicts people to receive God’s salvation.  The Bible (Word of God) plays a key part in this conviction.  Responding to God salvation, a sinner is saved from sin and eternal death.  He repents and becomes a disciple of Jesus.

Why God even bothered to save anyone to make him a disciple of Jesus is a mystery.  It was God’s own plan and pleasure according to His eternal wisdom and counsel.  Nothing that the disciple does in terms of obedience or bearing fruits of righteousness as a result of obedience adds any benefits to God’s worth.  God is Self Sufficient.  Whatever the disciple achieves, he is only an “unprofitable servant” in God’s sight.  However, the disciple stands to personally benefit by obeying God.  He enjoys fellowship with God and receives God’s favour in his dealings with others.  God will use him to make people realise their need of salvation to find a Saviour in Jesus.

Jesus loves the Father and obeys Him wholeheartedly.  He taught His disciples to do the same.  The purpose of Jesus’ Great Commission is for the disciples to obey the Great Commandment (Lk. 10:27) which is the foundation of all of God’s commandments. A disciple’s obedience to the Bible (Word of God) brings him great freedom and reward.