The Message of Discipleship: Authentic Followers Of Jesus In Today's World

By Peter Morden

Soon after Jesus began his public ministry, he called his first ‘disciples’. He would teach and train them and then, after his death and resurrection, commission and empower them to go to the nations to make more ‘followers’. 

The risen Jesus is still calling and sending people today. If we heed his call, the result can be just as transformative and as exciting as it was for the first disciples.

While there are no explicit occurrences of the term ‘disciple’ outside the Gospels and Acts, with only two further biblical references to ‘followers’ of Jesus, it is Peter Morden’s conviction that we need the entire Bible if we are going to be whole-life disciples. He reflects on Scripture and asks the primary question, ‘How do we live as committed disciples of Jesus today?’ He explores the foundations, resources and practice of discipleship in a range of Old and New Testament texts.

The result is a well-rounded and satisfying picture of Christian discipleship, one that is wonderfully attractive as well as deeply challenging.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IVP
• Release date: Nov 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781783594948

Peter Morden

Peter Morden is Senior Pastor at South Parade Baptist Church, Leeds, and Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Spurgeon’s College, London. He previously served as Vice Principal at Spurgeon's. A popular speaker and writer, his books include The Spirituality of C.H. Spurgeon, John Bunyan: The People's Pilgrim and The Life and Thought of Andrew Fuller.

Book preview

The Bible Speaks Today: Bible Themes series

The Message of the Living God

His glory, his people, his world

Peter Lewis

The Message of the Resurrection

Christ is risen!

Paul Beasley-Murray

The Message of the Cross

Wisdom unsearchable, love indestructible

Derek Tidball

The Message of Salvation

By God’s grace, for God’s glory

Philip Graham Ryken

The Message of Creation

Encountering the Lord of the universe

David Wilkinson

The Message of Heaven and Hell

Grace and destiny

Bruce Milne

The Message of Mission

The glory of Christ in all time and space

Howard Peskett and Vinoth Ramachandra

The Message of Prayer

Approaching the throne of grace

Tim Chester

The Message of the Trinity

Life in God

Brian Edgar

The Message of Evil and Suffering

Light into darkness

Peter Hicks

The Message of the Holy Spirit

The Spirit of encounter

Keith Warrington

The Message of Holiness

Restoring God’s masterpiece

Derek Tidball

The Message of Sonship

At home in God’s household

Trevor Burke

The Message of the Word of God

The glory of God made known

Tim Meadowcroft

The Message of Women

Creation, grace and gender

Derek and Dianne Tidball

The Message of the Church

Assemble the people before me

Chris Green

The Message of the Person of Christ

The Word made flesh

Robert Letham

The Message of Worship

Celebrating the glory of God in the whole of life

John Risbridger

The Message of Spiritual Warfare

The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name

Keith Ferdinando

The Message of Discipleship

Authentic followers of Jesus in today’s world

Peter Morden

TitlePage_ebk

INTER-VARSITY PRESS

36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4ST, England

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.ivpbooks.com

© Peter Morden 2018

Study Guide by Ian Macnair © Inter-Varsity Press 2018

Peter Morden has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicized. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘niv’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

First published 2018

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-78359-493-1

eBook ISBN: 978-1-78359-494-8

Set in Stempel Garamond

Typeset in Great Britain by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Inter-Varsity Press publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

IVP originated within the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk. That historic association is maintained, and all senior IVP staff and committee members subscribe to the UCCF Basis of Faith.

To Rachel and Joseph

Philippians 1:9–11

Contents

General preface

Author’s preface

Abbreviations

Select bibliography

Introduction: Discipleship in the Bible and today

Part 1. The foundations of discipleship

1. Following the crucified Lord (Mark 8:22–38)

2. Following the exalted Lord (Mark 9:1–13)

3. Following the missionary Lord (Mark 9:14–32)

4. The disciple’s call (Isaiah 6)

Part 2. Resources for discipleship

5. The disciple’s authority (Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5)

6. Discipleship and prayer (Matthew 6:9–15)

7. Discipleship and the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:15–20; 2 Timothy 1:6–7)

8. Discipleship and the church (Hebrews 10:11–25)

Part 3. The practice of discipleship

9. Discipleship and the resurrection (John 20:19–23)

10. Discipleship and holiness (Colossians 3:1–14)

11. Discipleship and a world of need (Micah 6:1–8)

12. Discipleship and daily work (Colossians 3:22–25; Genesis 37, 39, 41)

13. Discipleship and finance (Philippians 4:10–20)

14. Discipleship in the dark (Psalm 88)

15. Love: the hallmark of discipleship (John 13:31–38)

16. Making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16–20)

17. Finishing the course (Hebrews 12:1–3)

Study Guide

The Bible Speaks Today: Old Testament series

The Bible Speaks Today: New Testament series

Notes

BST The Bible Speaks Today

---

GENERAL PREFACE

The Bible Speaks Today describes three series of expositions, based on the books of the Old and New Testaments, and on Bible themes that run through the whole of Scripture. Each series is characterized by a threefold ideal:

to expound the biblical text with accuracy

to relate it to contemporary life, and

to be readable.

These books are, therefore, not ‘commentaries’, for the commentary seeks rather to elucidate the text than to apply it, and tends to be a work rather of reference than of literature. Nor, on the other hand, do they contain the kinds of ‘sermons’ that attempt to be contemporary and readable without taking Scripture seriously enough. The contributors to The Bible Speaks Today series are all united in their convictions that God still speaks through what he has spoken, and that nothing is more necessary for the life, health and growth of Christians than that they should hear what the Spirit is saying to them through his ancient – yet ever modern – Word.

Alec Motyer

John Stott

Derek Tidball

Series editors

Author’s preface

It is an immense privilege to write for The Bible Speaks Today series, especially on a theme – discipleship – that is so vital for the contemporary church and world. Nevertheless, it does seem very strange. This is partly because the BST volumes have been of huge benefit to me over many years (indeed, John Stott’s The Message of Ephesians was probably the first serious Christian book I ever read, apart from the Bible). But it is stranger still because I know I am not a model disciple. I stumble and struggle like many Christians and I feel unqualified to write this book. What I have tried to do – in accordance with the aims of the series – is open up what the Scriptures say, applying their message to daily life as clearly as I can. As I have done this, familiar passages have come alive in fresh ways. I have been deeply challenged and also wonderfully encouraged. My prayer is that readers will likewise be challenged and encouraged by the glorious God who graciously calls us to follow his Son in the power of the Spirit.

I am extremely grateful to Philip Duce at Inter-Varsity Press and series editor Derek Tidball, not only for their original invitation to write this volume but also for their kindness, guidance and patience. They have been on hand throughout the process of reflection and writing and have made many wise suggestions, as has the anonymous ‘reader’ who went through the manuscript in draft. In addition, Alison Walley has worked through the whole book with great efficiency. This is the final time she will copy-edit a BST volume before retiring. All who have appreciated the series owe her a significant debt. Thank you also to friends who have read and commented on draft chapters: Ruth Broomhall, Lindsay Caplen, Dave Horsfall, Anne Morden, Mark Powley and Zoltan Schwab. I have shared versions of some of the chapters in lectures and postgraduate seminars at Spurgeon’s College, London; in a discipleship symposium at St Hild College, Barnabas Teaching Centre, Sheffield; and in a session with UCCF and church student workers in Leeds. On all occasions I have received helpful feedback. I have especially benefited from preaching this material in different contexts over the years, for example, Spurgeon’s College Chapel, Streatham Baptist Church and – most recently – South Parade Baptist Church, Leeds.

It is appropriate to acknowledge some of those who have been particularly significant for me at different points on my own journey of discipleship: Petal and Peter Spriggs, the late Graham Vinall, David Earnshaw, Bernard and Rosie Palmer, the late John Murray, the late Val Tattersall, David Coffey, Ian Randall, Terry Green, Nigel Wright, Philip Robinson, Andrew and Lindsay Caplen, Andy Stockbridge, Charles Fletcher, Graham and Su Ensor, Alan Spicer. Some of these people might be surprised to be on this list. Yet in different ways they have all helped me to follow our Lord more closely than I would have managed to do otherwise. They have done this either by mentoring me, speaking into my life, or simply by walking alongside me in times of difficulty. They have all without exception shown me Jesus. Thank you.

Each year we were together my debt to my wife Anne grew and our relationship became more special. She fought a long and courageous battle with cancer, throughout which her trust in God and love for others shone like a beacon. She went to be with her Lord on 18 June 2018. This happened after the final draft of this book had been submitted but before the editing process had been completed. After some thought I have not rewritten references to Anne to reflect the fact she has now died. To have done so would have been very painful and I believe it would also have been inappropriate. She was at my side as I wrote: we discussed the chapters together and she read everything in draft. Her influence pervades the book. This is not just because her careful comments helped reshape some of the material but also because in this last year she exemplified to me yet again what it means to live as a missional, joyful and hopeful disciple in the midst of great suffering.

Shortly before her death, Anne and I agreed we would dedicate this volume to our two children, Rachel and Joseph. Seeing them make their own clear commitments to Christ and press forward in the life of discipleship gave us both immense joy and delight. Rachel and Joe – may you continue to engage wholeheartedly in the wonderful adventure that is following the Lord Jesus wherever he may lead.

Peter Morden

Abbreviations

ABC – Africa Bible Commentary, ed. T. Adeyemo (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

asv – American Standard Version

av – Authorized (King James’) Version

BECNT – Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

BST – The Bible Speaks Today

cev – Contemporary English Version

DJG – Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 1st edn eds. J. B. Green, S. McKnight and I. H. Marshall (Leicester: IVP, 1992); 2nd edn eds. J. B. Green, J. K. Brown and N. Perrin (Nottingham: IVP, 2013)

DPL – Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, eds. G. F. Hawthorne, R. P. Martin and D. G. Reid (Leicester: IVP, 1993)

EBC – The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. F. E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981–91)

esv – English Standard Version

nasb – New American Standard Bible

NIBC – New International Biblical Commentary

NICNT – New International Commentary on the New Testament

NICOT – New International Commentary on the Old Testament

niv – New International Version

nkjv – New King James Version

nlt – New Living Translation

nrsv – New Revised Standard Version

NT – New Testament

OT – Old Testament

Patterns – Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament, ed. R. N. Longenecker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996)

rsv – Revised Standard Version

PNTC – Pillar New Testament Commentary

TNTC – Tyndale New Testament Commentary

TOTC – Tyndale Old Testament Commentary

WBC – Word Biblical Commentary

Select bibliography

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Baldwin, J., The Message of Genesis 12–50, BST (Leicester: IVP, 1986).

Barnett, P., Mark: The Servant King (Sydney: Aquilla, 2006 [1991]).

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___, ‘Matthew’, in EBC, vol. 8 (1984).

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Chester, T., The Message of Prayer, BST (Leicester: IVP, 2003).

___ (ed.), Justice, Mercy and Humility: Integral Mission and the Poor (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2002).

Clifford, R. J., Psalms 73–150 (Nashville: Abingdon, 2003).

Cohen, A., The Psalms (London: Socino Press, 1985).

Cole, V. B., ‘Mark’, in ABC.

Coleman, R. E., The Master Plan of Evangelism, rev. edn (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1993).

Coggan, D., Paul: Portrait of a Revolutionary (London: Hodder, 1984).

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Craigie, P. C., Twelve Prophets, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: St Andrew, 1985).

Cranfield, C. E. B., The Gospel According to Saint Mark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974).

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Donaldson, T. L., ‘Guiding Readers – Making Disciples: Matthew’, in Patterns.

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Dunn, J. D. G., Jesus’ Call to Discipleship (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992).

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___, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4th edn (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014).

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Fowl, S. E., ‘Imitation of Christ/of Paul’, in DPL.

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___, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007).

___, Matthew, TNTC (Leicester: IVP, 1985).

Geiger, E., M. Kelley and P. Nation, Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow (Nashville: B&H, 2012).

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___, Old Testament Theology: Volume 3, Israel’s Life (Downers Grove: IVP, 2009).

___, Psalms for Everyone: Part II, Psalms 73–150 (London: SPCK, 2014).

Goulder, M. D., The Psalms of the Sons of Korah (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1982).

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___, ‘Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven’, in DJG, 2nd edn.

Greene, M., Fruitfulness on the Frontline (Nottingham: IVP, 2014).

___, The One About . . . : 8 Stories About God in Our Everyday (London: LICC, 2018).

___, Thank God It’s Monday, 2nd edn (Bletchley: Scripture Union, 1997).

Grogan, G. W., ‘Isaiah’, in EBC, vol. 6 (1986).

Gross, E. N., Are You a Christian or a Disciple? (Maitland: Xulon, 2014).

Grudem, W., Systematic Theology (Leicester: IVP, 1994).

Hagner, D. A., Hebrews, NIBC 14 (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1990).

___, Matthew 1–13, WBC 33A (Waco: Word, 1993).

___, Matthew 14–28, WBC 33B (Dallas: Word, 1995).

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___, Philippians, WBC 43 (Dallas: Word, 1991).

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___, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, vol. 2 (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2003).

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Introduction: Discipleship in the Bible and today BST_SG

Soon after Jesus began his public ministry, he called his first ‘disciples’. Matthew 4:18–22 describes it this way:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

The call is clear, the response immediate and the overall effect electrifying. What is more, what had just happened in the insignificant outpost of the Roman Empire that was first-century Palestine would prove to be a pivotal moment in world history. The four fishermen could not have known it at the time, but Jesus would take them and a handful of other ordinary people and do something quite extraordinary. He would teach and train them and then, after his death and resurrection, commission and empower them to go to the nations to make more disciples of him.

¹

The risen Jesus is still calling and sending disciples today. In fact, he wants everyone reading this book to respond to his gracious invitation to ‘follow him’. If we heed his call the result can be just as transformative and just as exciting as it was for the first disciples.

However, something has gone wrong. What we are faced with in contemporary Christianity is a ‘discipleship deficiency’.

²

This is certainly true in Europe and North America, where the church is shrinking. With the church pushed to the margins of society in many places, dynamic discipleship is often replaced by an insipid, watered-down version of the real thing, characterized by weariness and even cynicism. We seem to have lost confidence in God and the gospel, doubting its power to transform either us or others. Yet deficient discipleship is a problem the world over, not just in the West. In his last book, the global evangelical leader John Stott lamented, BST_SG

There is superficiality of discipleship everywhere, and church leaders bemoan this situation. A leader from South Asia wrote to me recently that although the church in his country is growing, ‘there is a huge problem with lack of godliness and integrity’. And similarly an African leader has written that although he is well aware of the rapid growth of the African church, ‘this growth is largely numerical . . . the church is without a strong biblical or theological foundation of her own’.

³

Church leaders do ‘bemoan this situation’, and rightly too. But it has to be said that those of us who lead God’s people are sometimes part of the problem. Overall, however the lack of faithful discipleship shows itself, the situation is undoubtedly serious. It is also tragic. For Jesus’ call to discipleship is wonderfully liberating. Christians who are mired in superficial discipleship are wasting their lives and missing out on the great adventure that is following