Transforming Discipleship

In the previous post, we discussed the process of transforming discipleship based on the five pillars of ministry in Ephesian 4:11. What does life look like if I engage this process? Well, Paul continues in Ephesians chapter 4 to paint the picture. Not just any picture, but one of those masterpieces that you’ll come back to over and over because the depth, nuance, and detail of the artist continue to communicate enlarged meaning. Listen to how Paul describes the results of the five pillars of ministry in our lives. The transformed disciple will:

• Stand prepared for the great privilege and work of service (Eph. 4:12)
• Contribute to the potential of the body of Christ to build itself up (Eph. 4:12)
• Press forward toward unity of faith with other believers (Eph. 4:13)
• Reach maturity in the knowledge of the Son of God (Eph. 4:13)
• Attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13)
• Grow up intellectually, refusing to remain undeveloped in thought (Eph. 4:14)
• Gain confidence in Christianity as a worldview and withstand the strong wind and heavy waves of false worldviews (Eph. 4:14)
• Speak the truth in love (and as a prerequisite, know the truth) (Eph. 4:15)
• Grow up into Jesus in every aspect of life (Eph. 4:15)
• Find her place in the body of Christ and participate in its growth, in building it up (Eph. 4:16)
• Engage a mode of thinking that banishes futility and results in prosperous living (Eph. 4:17)
• Acquire an enlightened understanding of how the world works (Eph. 4:18)
• Become literate in the ways of Jesus (Eph. 4:18)
• Obtain a softened heart that is attuned to the word and touch of God (Eph. 4:18)
• Put off the old self, the former way of life (Eph. 4:22)
• Experience newness in the attitudes of his mind, in his heart (Eph. 4:23)
• Put on the new self that God created to be like Himself, full of true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24)
• Become an imitator of God in the way a small child puts on his father’s hat and shoes (Eph. 5:1)
• Live a life of love, an imitation of Jesus, becoming a fragrant sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2)

Does this sound enticing? Did you feel a flutter of excitement as you read it?
If you desire such a transformed life, I urge you to participate with two or three others in a long-term covenant discipleship group. Certainly, you can work growth in your relationship with Jesus on your own. But, if you intend walk away from the frustration of Romans chapter 7 (“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do”) to the full life of Romans chapter 8 (“through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death”), you need to engage engage Jesus in the context of several transparent relationships. Only then will the deep transformation we long for become ours.