From Discipleship to Larger Questions

For many years, I thought I was trying to better understand discipleship. I wanted to know how Jesus made disciples, what true spiritual maturity looks like, and why so much of modern discipleship often produces knowledgeable Christians without consistently producing Christlike people. As I continued studying Scripture, however, I realized I was asking increasingly larger questions.

At first, I asked, What is discipleship?   That question drove me for more than three decades. Over time, it took on many related forms: What does spiritual maturity look like? What is God seeking to form in people? How does genuine transformation happen?  Yet each new question kept bringing me back to the original one, while also deepening and expanding it.

I read, prayed, observed the state of the Church, and returned again and again to Scripture. Over time, fresh understanding kept reshaping not only where I looked for answers, but what I was looking for.

Then I began asking, What kind of person was Jesus trying to form?   That question moved me beyond methods and programs into the deeper issue of formation: the shaping of the whole person into the likeness of Christ.

Soon after, another question emerged: What kind of human life did the Father reveal and bring to its fullness in Jesus, the true and faithful human being?  This question expanded my vision even further. Jesus was not only forming disciples; He was Himself the perfect revelation of the life God intends for humanity. His communion with the Father, His character, and His obedience revealed the inner life God desires to form in us. His motives, relationships, and mission showed how that inner life is meant to be expressed in the world. 

In a previous article, I argued that Jesus Christ is the highest governing center of Christian theology because He is the fullest revelation of God, the fulfillment of Scripture, and the One in whom all things hold together. But theology never exists for its own sake. It exists to lead us into life with God. That naturally raises a second question: If Jesus is the governing center of theology, should He not also be the governing center of discipleship?   I believe the answer is yes. Just as every doctrine finds its proper meaning in Christ, every aspect of discipleship finds its proper place in Christ.

From Formation to Theology

Eventually, I realized I was no longer asking only about discipleship. I was asking about theology. Not merely individual doctrines, but the whole of Christian theology. This includes Scripture, salvation, and humanity. It also includes the Church, the Spirit, and mission. It reaches further to the Kingdom and the purpose of God in history.

I began to see that every doctrine ultimately finds its meaning within God’s greater purpose in Christ. The question is not merely whether a doctrine is true — though truth is essential — but how that truth reveals Christ, participates in His work, and serves the Father’s purpose of conforming humanity to the image of His Son. That realization changed everything.

Jesus as the Organizing Center

Instead of beginning with isolated doctrines and attempting to connect them together, I found myself beginning with Jesus Himself. Not simply Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy. Not simply Jesus as Savior. Not simply Jesus as King. But Jesus as the fullest revelation of God, the fullest revelation of true humanity, and the perfect model of the life the Father intends to reproduce in His people. In other words, Jesus is not merely the subject of theology. He is the organizing center of theology.

The New Testament repeatedly presents Christ this way. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3). He is the One in whom “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). He is the One to whom the Law, the Prophets, and the Scriptures bear witness (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39). He is the One into whose image believers are being transformed (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

This means that theology is not simply about collecting true statements concerning God. Theology is about understanding God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ and His purpose of conforming humanity to the image of His Son.

The Questions That Reoriented My Reading

That conviction has gradually become the lens through which I now read the whole of Scripture.

• When I study salvation, I ask: How does this bring people into the likeness of Christ?

• When I study the Church, I ask: How does the Church participate in forming people into the likeness of Christ?

• When I study spiritual disciplines, I ask: How do these cultivate deeper communion with Christ so that His life is formed within us?

• When I study mission, I ask: How does the mission of the Church extend the life, character, and ministry of Christ into the world?

• Even when I study history, leadership, worship, community, suffering, or spiritual gifts, the same question remains: How does this reveal Christ, participate in His work, and contribute to God’s purpose of conforming people to His image?

Scripture as the Unified Testimony to Christ

This does not diminish the authority of Scripture. Quite the opposite. Scripture becomes even more central because its primary purpose is to reveal Christ. Jesus Himself taught that the Scriptures testify about Him (John 5:39; Luke 24:27, 44). The apostles proclaimed Him as the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan (Acts 2:22–36; Acts 13:32–39). Every major movement of the biblical story finds its fulfillment in Him (Matthew 5:17; Ephesians 1:9–10; Colossians 1:19–20).

Therefore, the Bible is not merely a collection of doctrines, commands, and stories. It is God’s unified revelation of Jesus Christ. It shows us who He is, what He has accomplished, and the kind of people He is forming. 

Every Doctrine Finds Its Place in Christ

Likewise, this vision does not diminish theology. It gives theology its proper center. Every doctrine retains its importance, but no doctrine exists independently. Each finds its meaning within the larger purpose of God’s revelation in Christ.

• Creation reveals the world Christ entered.

• Humanity explains those made in His image.

• Sin explains why His coming was necessary.

• The gospel proclaims His saving work.

• The Holy Spirit forms His life within us.

• The Church becomes His visible body.

• Mission continues His ministry.

• The Kingdom announces His reign.

• The new creation completes His work.

Everything belongs because everything belongs to Christ.

Discipleship Reframed

This also reshapes how I understand discipleship. Discipleship is no longer merely learning biblical information, adopting Christian behaviors, or participating in church activities. Nor is it simply becoming more moral, more knowledgeable, or more active in ministry. Discipleship is participating in God’s lifelong work of conforming us to the image of His Son.

Jesus did not merely teach people what to believe. He formed people by inviting them to be with Him, to become like Him, and to continue His work. That pattern remains the Church’s calling today.      

A Theology Through the Lens of Jesus Christ

For this reason, I increasingly describe my vision as a theology through the lens of Jesus Christ. It is not an attempt to replace systematic theology. It is an attempt to organize every part of theology around its proper center.  Jesus is not merely one doctrine among many. He is the One through whom every doctrine is understood:

• He is the revelation of the Father. 

• He is the fulfillment of Scripture.

• He is the perfect image of redeemed humanity.

• He is the model of discipleship.

• He is the Head of the Church.

• He is the center of the Kingdom.

• He is the goal toward which the Holy Spirit is forming God’s people.

Ultimately, I believe this is the Father’s great purpose throughout history: to reveal His Son and to conform a people into His likeness.

When that becomes the organizing vision of theology, the Christian faith is no longer experienced as a collection of disconnected beliefs and practices. Instead, every doctrine, discipline, and ministry finds its coherence in one Person. Every act of worship and expression of mission also finds its meaning in Him.

Everything begins with Christ. Everything points to Christ. Everything is fulfilled in Christ. And everything God is doing in His people is to make them increasingly like Christ.