I touched on it briefly some time ago in this post, but I felt the need to expand on it after some study of my own.

The premise of this post is that when we put meaning into a word or a verse, the ramifications can be severe. It is important to separate doctrine from methodology. Subtle changes to key words can bind things on Christians that were never intended (Matt 23:4). This is not to say that a specific methodology is wrong. I am saying that no one should impose a given methodology and expect obedience to it.

The problem of English

English, unlike Greek, doesn’t change the endings of words much to refine the meaning of a word. For example, the word effort is a noun. If we want to use this word as a verb, in English, we have to add the word ‘make’. If we want to be emphatic, we have to add the word ‘all’ or ‘every’. We can see this in Eph 4:3, “Make every effort”. In Greek, however, it is all one word. Greek can add endings and make small changes to the word to express more meaning. To be more literal in Eph 4:3, “… effort to guard the oneness of the Spirit”. However, using the word as a verb here doesn’t make much sense in English, thus the added words.

It is linguistically impossible to always make a one word for one word translation from one language to another. As shown above, difficulties can arrive in how the meaning of a word or phrase is different in one language from another. Just because it is one word in Greek, doesn’t mean you can force it to be one word in English. Disciple is a verb in Greek, it is not a verb in English. (The first usage of this word as a verb occurs once in the writings of Edmund Spenser in 1524.)

If it is valid to use as a verb, then we need to be consistent. We need to effort to maintain unity in our churches. In Mark 14:12, instead of make preparations, it should read, “Where do you want us to go and preparation you for Passover?” and Jesus’ answer in verse 15 should be, “prepare us there”. Jesus’ prayer in the garden in John 17:17 should be, “holy them by the truth.” Acts 26:2 gets really mangled as “I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I defense myself (defense me?) against all the accusations of the Jews.” The list goes on and on. I believe that God will make me holy by his Spirit, but I hope that I don’t ask him to ‘holy me’ or ask anyone else if God is ‘holying them’. I don’t want to ask my friends if they are ‘efforting to be unified’. Did Paul ‘much his ministry? (Rom 11:13) I think he muched his ministry as much as I much my point.

Forms of mathēteuō
This verb form is used four times in various ways in the NT. These Scriptures are Matt 13:52, Matt 27:57, Matt 28:19, Acts 14:21. Let’s look at Matt 28:19-20 and Acts 14:21 first. These two verses are looked at first, because the word translated as “make disciples” is used in the active voice.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch.

Make disciples of whom? In the Great Commision, it is the nations. In Acts 14:21, it is the city of Derbe. Nowhere are people that are already Christians being ‘discipled’. Making disciples is preaching the message to those that are lost. The same word is used in both cases, but there is no sign of ‘discipling’ in Derbe outside of conversion. They proclaimed the message, some responded, they returned to Lystra. It cannot mean anything else in Acts 14:21.

What of the Great Comission? He does say to make disciples and teach them to obey, isn’t that the same as discipling them? No, it is not. The word for disciple being used as a verb pertains to conversion. After they are converted, then they are to be taught. The word for teach in Matt 28:20 is not matheÌ„teuoÌ„ – it is not ‘discipling’. It is simply to teach or instruct. If we are going to call biblical things with accurate words, then we cannot say that we are ‘discipling’ a fellow Christian. We are teaching him or her. Technically, we can only say that we are ‘discipling’ someone when we are helping them become a Christian.

Before talking about mentoring, let’s briefly mention the other two verses.

Then He said to them, “For this reason, every scribe having been made a disciple in the kingdom of the heavens is like a person, a householder, who brings out from his treasury new and old things.

Now evening having come, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple to Jesus.

Basically, Joesph of Arimathea became a disciple (disciple used as a verb). In Matt 13:52, Jesus is talking about those that have become disciples. In conjuction with what is presented about the other two verses, it is simply pointing out those that have converted, nothing more. Saying that Joesph was ‘discipled to’ Jesus is making the mistake earlier mentioned in the Problem with English section. It simply doesn’t work that way in English.

Isn’t this just semantics?
Normally, I think it would be. After all, Jesus and the early church felt free to use different methodologies to obey the commands of Jesus. Having a person in your life to train and instruct you about God is fine. New Christians must learn the ‘elementary teachings’ alluded to in Hebrews somehow. Jesus and Paul asked others to imitate their lives in addition to provide straight teaching. It’s no wonder that Paul admonishes Timothy to “watch his life and doctrine closely.” As Gordon Ferguson once said,

As we look at these one-another commands, we would never argue that one-on-one discipling relationships are the only way to observe these instructions.

However, we have historically not allowed one-on-one partners to be an option. Even recently, it has been spoken from various speakers that purport to be leaders, that one-on-one discipling is essential and/or required. There has even been a call recently to return to ‘discipling’ because we have been known as a discipling movement. It’s not a matter of semantics when, based on an incomplete understanding of the Great Commission, we have invented this thing called ‘discipling’ and made it mandatory.

Even in these enlightened days where it is optional, we have to look at what this coined word ‘discipling’ really meant. Without looking to its practice and methods, it is a meaningles generic word. Some may say, “of course we need discipling”. But what does that mean? Does it mean we need to fulfill the ‘one another’ commands? Does it mean that we have to submit to God’s authority through another person in our lives? Does it mean I must obey my partner or at least minimize disagreements? Ask someone outside of the CoC about discipling and they will scratch their heads. Why? This word is meaningless to them because it is not a biblical word, even if it may represent a biblical concept. This word by itself means nothing – we must define it before we can know if we truly need it or not. After all, what one person thinks is discipling may be unbiblical, but what another person calls discipling may be bibilcal.

Discipling
Strictly speaking, to disciple the nations is to convert them to Christianity. However, it is used more frequently to mean other things. Sometimes it means ‘to mature’. Other times it means ‘to keep accountable’.

This will pick up in a new post called What is Discipling? – Part 2 Disciple as a Verb