Who is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?

I wanted to title this post as 'Who is a Christian?', but felt that the term 'Christian' is so passe. Yet, the Scriptures still has this term in it. But Christ Jesus appeared to be more interested in 'disciples'. In fact, in His final words to His disciples, just before His ascension which is recorded by Luke in chapter one of the book of Acts, Jesus is also recorded by the evangelist Matthew to have given this charge to the eleven who He met at the mount of ascension, "(ASV)  Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (EMTV)  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (KJV)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

It is only just these few days when I noticed how the word disciple is almost interchangeably, as far as these Scripture versions are concerned, used with to teach. Discipleship is essentially about teaching others about Christ, His person and work, in particular, the core of His work at the Cross and Resurrection.

And so, 'Who is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?'

1. John chapter 3 - A disciple is one who is 'born again'. As John 1:13 says. 'who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God.' 

Note that the analogy of birth is used by the Lord to show the absolute sovereignty of God in the work of salvation. We are never given the choice of when, or to whom, what race or nationality or heredity we are born into. We are just born! Similarly, there is an absolute mystery in the awesome work of salvation, that takes it out of man's hands and solely left in His. So what is man's role in salvation? As God grants an individual grace when that individual encounters the Gospel message in varied media, especially through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, that individual is moved by God's grace to repent. The grace of God continues within that individual's heart, enabling and empowering the will to be renewed and regenerated by the power of God's Spirit working in and through God's Word, to effect a genuine conversion within that individual (Eph 2:1-10).

The apostle James explains the above truth this way, Jam 1:18 'Of His own will He brought us forth with the Word of truth, for us to be a certain firstfruit of His creatures.'

The apostle Peter put it this way, 1Pet 1:23 'having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living Word of God, and abiding forever.'

2. John chapter 15 - Jesus spoke about discipleship this way, John 15:8 'In this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you shall be My disciples.'

Point one and two above are connected through this saying of our Lord, John 15:16 'You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.'

What is the tell-tale sign of a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?

'that you should go and bring fruit, and that your fruit should remain'.

What then is this fruit?

Let's take a look at Luke 3:8, with three different versions, quoting John the baptist:

(ASV)  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 

(EMTV)  Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of these stones. 

(KJV)  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 

Let's also hear what the Lord has to say about fruit. In Mat 7:16, He said, 'Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 

The analogy of the fruit of the vine, or thistle. Fruit is determined by root. Where is the root of a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?

In the words of the apostle Paul who is constantly praying that believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Paul's terminology, 'saints' - the holy ones, are to be, according to his saying in Col 2:6 'As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Col 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.'

So finally, the essence of being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be part of the first-fruits of a new order of being, created in the image of Christ, for good works, ordained before the foundations of the world were laid.

Authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ exhibit Him. They exhibit His life, His character, His conduct, His grace, His mercy, His truth and His power. All for the sake of His glory, carrying out His mission, in bringing many others into His glory, for His great Name's sake.

Amen, amen, and amen.