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Ephesians 4:11-16

 

“11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” 

 

Discipleship is the Master’s strategy. It was Jesus himself who instituted it. Jesus chose twelve disciples who He trained before He sent them out to work for the kingdom of God. A true disciple possesses the spiritual maturity and knowledge needed to reach out and teach babes in Christ and bring them to maturity. This does not mean that a disciple reaches a level in which he stops being a disciple because we all need to continue to grow and strive to reach “the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

 

When reading Ephesians 4:11-16, this strategy is laid out and its importance highlighted.  Discipleship will equip the believer in Christ to work as a fruitful member of the body of Christ. This fruitfulness in the believer’s life will help edify others and help them to walk in truth, united in faith (in other words believing one same doctrine) and getting to know the one true God.

 

Discipleship is paramount to safeguard many believers from being driven away by error. It will give them the knowledge to speak truth and make more disciples under the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.  It will also help believers understand with clarity who they are in Christ,  while uncovering the spiritual weapons that have been given to the church by our heavenly father in order to help us overcome evil and remain joined to Christ and the rest of the body of believers.