Every so often, someone in my local church will ask me, “Who are you discipling?” or “Can I join your discipleship group?” I would feel an immediate internal pressure build up about what that meant. The reality is that we treat discipleship like a programme or activity.
But the biblical word behind “disciple” describes an identity, before it describes activity. A disciple is someone you are, not simply something done to you or something that you do. A disciple is someone who has first been loved, pursued, and rescued by Jesus. And a disciple is someone who follows Jesus because Jesus first came near to them (Mark 1:17). Before the disciples ever followed Jesus faithfully, they were first called by grace.
The responsibility for spiritual formation cannot be outsourced to a church programme because discipleship is ultimately relational: abiding in Jesus himself (John 15:4-5).
The Marks of a Disciple
In Luke 5:1–11, we see a vivid picture of Peter’s discipleship journey. I love Peter because he is so much like us—full of contradictions, bold yet fearful, willing yet weak. From his encounter with Jesus by the lake, we see three marks of a true disciple.
The gospel frees us from having to trust our own wisdom, experience, or righteousness.
1. Obedience to Jesus’s Word
Jesus says to Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch,” and Peter replies, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:4-5). Peter is the kind of guy who is hardworking, experienced, and pragmatic. He has fished his whole life in these seas. And yet, he is willing to set aside his experience to obey Jesus’s word.
Peter obeys not because he fully understands Jesus, but because Jesus’s word carries authority and grace. The gospel frees us from having to trust our own wisdom, experience, or righteousness. Like Peter, we lay down our self-reliance and trust the word of Jesus.
How often do we place our own instincts, experiences, and preferences above the words of Jesus? Scripture is not merely for knowledge, but for obedience (John 14:23). We consume sermons, podcasts, and Christian content, yet our lives remain largely untouched. The Sermon on the Mount frames this clearly: those who hear Jesus’s words and put them into practice build their lives upon the rock (Matt. 7:24–27).
Yet Christian obedience is never an attempt to earn God’s approval. We obey because Jesus has first loved us and called us by grace. The gospel calls us not just to admire Jesus’s teaching, but to build our lives on him.
2. Transformed in the Presence of Jesus
When Peter sees the miraculous haul, he falls at Jesus’s knees and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). This is such an odd response to the biggest catch of his life. He’s not celebrating and jumping with joy. Instead, he becomes deeply aware of his sinfulness.
This is what happens when people truly encounter Jesus. Many people imagine a Jesus who only comforts without confronting. But the gospels present a King who does not merely skim the surface of our lives but lovingly exposes the deeper realities of our hearts (Heb. 4:13). To follow him requires denying self, risking comfort, and taking costly steps of obedience (Matt. 16:24-25).
Yet the beauty of the gospel is that Jesus does not turn away from Peter.
Peter feels unworthy of Jesus’s presence, but Jesus responds with mercy and invitation (Luke 5:10). The gospel is not merely that Jesus exposes sin, but that he moves toward sinners and reveals our need for his saving grace (Luke 5:31-32).
Jesus is not simply there to bless our plans or help us achieve our ambitions.
If we are never challenged, corrected, or humbled by Jesus, we must ask ourselves whether we are worshipping the real Jesus or merely a domesticated version shaped by our preferences. True disciples are continually undone and remade in his presence. Pride collapses, repentance deepens, and transformation begins.
3. Movement into the Mission of Jesus
The story concludes with Jesus calling Peter into mission, and Luke tells us, “they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11). This is a remarkable scene. Never in his life had Peter experienced such success. Jesus could have become the perfect business partner. But Jesus did not come merely to improve Peter’s existing life. He came to give him an entirely new one (2 Cor. 5:17).
A disciple’s priorities are reordered by the gospel. Jesus is not simply there to bless our plans or help us achieve our ambitions. He becomes our highest treasure (Matt. 6:20-21).
This is only possible because Jesus first gave himself for us (Matt. 20:28). Through his death and resurrection, Jesus rescues us from sin, reconciles us to God, and brings us into his kingdom (Col. 1:13). Because we belong to him, we are now free to leave behind lesser allegiances and participate in his mission.
How Disciples Are Formed
If one word captures Christlike character, it is love. In John 13:35, Jesus says, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Knowledge and service are important, but the clearest evidence of maturity is growing love for God and neighbour.
But this love is not something we manufacture through sheer effort. Scripture reminds us, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Christian maturity is ultimately the Spirit shaping us into the likeness of Christ as we abide in him.
This requires three habitual practices.
The Secret Place
The secret place (Matt. 6:6) is where an intimate relationship with God the Father is cultivated through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not simply bringing a prayer list before God, but learning to receive his grace, hear his voice through Scripture, and enjoy communion with him.
Practices like meditating on God’s word, prayer, silence, confession, and worship shape our affections and sustain our obedience. We are not earning God’s love in the secret place; we are learning to live from it.
The Gathering Place
The gathering place (1 Cor. 14:26) is where disciples are shaped in the community of believers, the church. Jesus himself lived in close community with his disciples, and we are called to do the same.
Here we confess sin, bear burdens, encourage one another, and practice grace together. The church is not a gathering of perfect people, but a redeemed people learning to apply the gospel to one another daily.
The Public Place
The public place (Acts 2:46–47) is where we are sent to witness in the world as a renewed people filled with God’s word and Spirit. The private and communal life equips us to publicly bear witness to a crucified and risen Saviour (Acts 1:8).
We do not enter the world to display our moral superiority, but to point people to Jesus, who alone transforms sinners by grace.
We are formed in the secret place, shaped in the gathering place, and sent into the public place.
The gospels set before us a clear invitation: Jesus still calls ordinary, sinful, weary people to follow him (Matt. 11:28-30).
Discipleship is costly because grace changes everything. Yet discipleship is also glorious because we gain Jesus himself.
