Paul the Apostle An Unlikely Disciple of Jesus

What does a disciple of Jesus look like? Can a disciple of Jesus be any person, no matter what? Are there aspects of our past that disqualify us from discipleship? Can anyone be a disciple of Jesus? Can we disciple anyone to follow Jesus?

Discipleship is for every follower of Jesus, regardless of our past failures or life choices before we knew Jesus.

There are few greater examples of this “anyone can be a disciple” than the Apostle Paul. While Paul, formerly called Saul, maligned those of God’s household, God still called Saul and used him as Paul to grow his church, planting many churches throughout the Roman world, and to be a missionary to the Gentiles as he planted churches everywhere and made disciples of Jesus of every people and of all nations.

Jesus defined discipleship saying, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” (Matthew 10:24-25, ESV).

Paul had once been a persecutor of God’s church, and now he was obedient to Jesus’ call to build his church and to make disciples, just like Jesus did and taught us to do in his great commission.

This is the testimony that Paul himself shared with the church of Galatia, when he wrote: “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus” (Galatians 1:11-17, ESV).

The Apostle Paul was an unlikely disciple of Jesus who made unlikely disciples of Jesus as he planted churches and witnessed to the Gentiles. Like the Apostle Paul, we are also called to be disciples of Jesus, who make other disciples of Jesus, as unlikely as we think this might be for ourselves or the ones we are seeking to disciple.

May we be unlikely disciples of Jesus who make other unlikely disciples of Jesus for the glory of God and the growth of his church and for the expansion of God’s kingdom expression in the world.

A Collect for the Conversion of Paul the Apostle: “O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, we may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).

A Collect for the Third Sunday of Epiphany: “Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).

A new Flourish 365: A Daily Devotional is now available! Download #Flourish 365, a free #Devotional book, a devotional for each day of the year, by subscribing here: www.robbiepruitt.com #discipleship #BibleStudy #bibleverse #bibleverse