Word Study Wednesday: Disciple Part 2

Today we continue studying discipleship, with a focus on John 15. In John 15:8, Jesus proclaims "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." The definition for "disciples" is "student, follower." We are students and followers of Christ.

How do we produce fruit? We, on our own, can't. In John 15:4, Jesus says "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." This makes sense, since a branch on its own cannot live without the vine. We must abide or live in Christ and He must live in us to bear fruit.

Jesus states that God, as the Gardener, will cut "off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:2). It's inevitable, we will be pruned so that we will grow stronger and bear more fruit. To reiterate what Jesus said, bearing fruit not only shows ourselves as His disciples, but it also brings glory to God.

I know I've been pruned, usually through some sort of a life change - a move to another city, a death of a loved one, a change of habit, and so on. Yes, the pruning may have been painful, but whenever I look back at where I was before and after the pruning, I see growth. I also notice myself growing stronger in Jesus - my vine. I would rather be pruned than to be completely cut off from the vine. To be completely cut off from the vine leads to death.

What kind of fruit will we bear? Jesus answers this as well. Answered prayers (vs. 7, 16), obedience to His commands (v. 9), completed joy (v. 11), and love (vs. 9, 12, 13, 17). Once again, Jesus commands us to love another (see last week's post), even to the point of death. Let it also be noted that obedience to His commands is a result of living in love (v. 9). Love is crucial to being a disciple of Christ.

What kind of fruit are you bearing? Are you willing to be pruned in order to grow stronger and to bear more fruit? Are you living in love? More importantly, are you abiding in Christ? These are not just questions for you, but for me as well.

Word Study Wednesday: Disciple

Today (and for the next one or two Word study posts), I would like to focus on what it means to be a disciple of Christ. I'm not only sharing this information with you, but I'm also learning it myself. I am not coming from a place of "expert," but rather as a friend sharing what I've learned. I want to hear your opinion as well. That's the point of this blog.

Being a disciple is more than accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior. The definition of disciple is "a learner; a pupil* (which is why the twelve men who followed Jesus were called "disciples"). They were learning from the Master on how to live a Christ-like life. Notice the definition does not say "one who has been taught" or "graduate." The definition implies a current existence. As a disciple, we are continually learning how to be like Jesus.

So, how can we be like Christ? One way is to love each other. Jesus says in John 13:34 - 35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Let's look at how he loved us. In John 3:16, Jesus says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." He came to die for us so that we may gain eternal life. I cannot think of a better example of love. Jesus showed love to everyone, the leper, the adulteress, the tax collector, and those who wanted to kill Him. Even as the soldiers nailed Him to the cross, He prayed for them (Luke 23:34).

I am by no means perfect in this area. I too quickly speak words of hatred (it shames me to write that) towards those I may dislike (politicians come to mind - just as an example). If I want to be like Christ, I need to exhibit love towards those people. How? I can pray for them and pray for myself that God will show me how to love them. I can also keep my mouth shut.

What about you? What can you do to love others, even those who seem unlovable?

Next week: Abiding in Him

*Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: Greek Dictionary (3101 mathetes (pronounced math-ay-tes))