Discipleship Begins With Beholding
"we become what we behold"
The Knowledge Of God • Discipleship • The What, How And Why Of Beholding • All Spiritual Practices Can Be Beholding
Discipleship is often misunderstood as simply acquiring knowledge, practicing disciplines, or changing behavior. While these elements can be valuable, they fall short of the true essence of discipleship. A person can possess extensive information, live a disciplined life, and display admirable behavior, yet still not be fully submitted as a disciple of Christ.
At its heart, discipleship is about transformation—an ongoing process that occurs as we behold the beauty of God revealed in Jesus. If discipleship begins with anything other than beholding, it may produce worthwhile results but will ultimately miss its biblical purpose.
Our calling in life is to become more like Jesus. But how can we imitate someone we do not truly know? Beholding God’s beauty leads to fascination, and fascination is the most powerful catalyst for transformation. When we are captivated by Him, our hearts are naturally drawn to align with Him.
As we gaze on His beauty and become fascinated by His character, we start to love what He loves. This delight reshapes our desires, lifestyles, and choices. In turn, we joyfully reorient our lives to focus on Him more fully and participate in His community. Without beholding Him, we cannot become like Him. Transformation begins with fascination, and fascination leads to imitation. Through this cycle, we are shaped into His likeness.
The goal of discipleship is to guide people to behold the beauty, power, and glory of God. As we grow in fascination with Him—the greatest treasure and source of joy—our hearts are transformed, and the idols we once clung to lose their hold on us.
Beholding is where transformation begins. It is not a single, distinct practice but rather a supra-practice—a higher posture of the heart and mind that infuses and transforms a variety of spiritual practices into opportunities to encounter God. Beholding serves as a guiding intention, turning spiritual disciplines into sacred encounters.
Each practice—whether prayer, worship, Bible study, or acts of service—offers a unique way to experience God, deepen our understanding of Him, and delight in His presence. Beholding elevates these practices from routine activities to relational encounters, from rituals to transformative moments, and from mere acts of obedience to experiences of pure delight in God.
Over time, as we consistently behold Him, we are changed to reflect more of His character and love. Beholding leads to fascination, fascination inspires imitation, and imitation brings transformation—drawing us closer to the ultimate purpose of discipleship: becoming like Christ.
Life Transformation
happens gradually, over time, when we continually...
BEHOLD > REMEMBER & MEDITATE > APPLY > BECOME
1. BEHOLD the beauty, power, and glory of God
Every encounter with God, whether a profound moment of awe or a subtle touch in the everyday, holds the potential to reveal more of who He is. God’s nature is reflected in His actions, and when we take time to pause, observe, and make space for discovery, these moments become opportunities to experience His beauty and glory. Each encounter is like a treasure chest, offering revelation for those who choose to linger, reflect, and draw out its riches.
"One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple." Psalm 27:4 NASB2020
"I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory." - Psalm 63:2 NIV
"Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth." - Psalm 46:8 ESV
"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." - Job 42:5 NIV
"Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." - Psalm 119:18 NIV
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." - 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
2. REMEMBER & MEDITATE on His revelation-truth
The revelations we receive through encounters with God are gifts meant to transform us, but they require our stewardship. By actively remembering and meditating on what God has revealed, we allow His truth to take root in our hearts and minds. This process involves intentionally revisiting His words, His works, and His character. The Holy Spirit is our faithful Helper in this—guiding us, reminding us, and deepening our understanding so that the truth continues to shape us.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." - John 14:26 ESV
"Blessed is the man [whose]... delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." - Psalm 1:1-3 ESV
"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." - Joshua 1:8 NIV
"But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." - James 1:22-26 NIV
"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you... With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth." - Psalm 119:11,13 NIV
"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds." - Psalm 77:11-12 ESV
"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ESV
"You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you..." - Deuteronomy 6:17-18a ESV
3. APPLY His truth to your life
Revelation transforms us only when it moves beyond insight and into action. Consistently applying the truth of what God has revealed—allowing it to influence how we think, speak, and act—integrates it into every part of our lives. As we live out His truth, it reshapes our character (our inner life) and becomes evident in the way we engage with others (our outer life). Transformation comes through faithful and intentional application.
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." - James 1:22-26 NIV
"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." - Joshua 1:8 NIV
"Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long."Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. - Deuteronomy 6:1-3 ESV
"You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you..." - Deuteronomy 6:17-18a ESV
"And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day." - Deuteronomy 6:24 ESV
4. BECOME more like Christ
We become what we behold. As we fix our eyes on the beauty of Christ, dwell on His truths, and align ourselves with His ways, we are being transformed. This transformation is not instantaneous but occurs gradually throughout our life as we consistently behold Him. Over time, we are being conformed to His image more and more, reflecting His character, love, and glory more fully in our lives.
When we are captivated by Him, imitation naturally follows. His values, perspectives, and responses begin to shape our inner life, and as we immerse ourselves in His presence, His life permeates our being.
This is why beholding Him, with delight, leads to becoming like Him.
One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to BEHOLD the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple." - Psalm 27:4
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. " - 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified." - Romans 8:28-30
"My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." - Galatians 4:19
"But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." - Colossians 3:8-10
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure." - 1 John 3:2-3
"But we all, with unveiled face, BEHOLDING as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2nd Corinthians 3:18 NKJV
"Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is." - 1 John 3:2 NLT
No Transformation
In contrast to a life of beholding, neglecting to focus on God leads to a dull and calloused heart, unable to perceive His presence and activity. Even when God is actively working, such a person may feel as though nothing is happening, blind to His evident works all around them.
When we fail to recognize and value the beauty, power, and glory of God—when we make no effort to remember His deeds or meditate on His character—we open the door to replacing Him with lesser, fleshly idols. This neglect doesn’t just leave us unchanged; it leads to a darkening of our minds and lives, drawing us further away from the light and transformation found only in Him.
"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and FORGET what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t FORGET what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." - James 1:22-25 NLT
Romans 1:18-25 & 28-32
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who SUPPRESS the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They EXCHANGED the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen...
28 Furthermore, just as they did NOT think it worthwhile to RETAIN the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.