Our prayer as our Discipleship Groups embark on the study of the Design for Discipleship Book 1 is that we may deepen our appreciation of the work of salvation by each person in the Godhead in our lives. This is because ours is a Trinitarian faith. Our discipleship involves working out what it means to be baptized in the Name of our Triune God—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We now bear His name as He makes Himself known to us.
The four weeks of study in January and February will cover how God the Father created us, loved us, chose us, and sent us His Son to include us into His family. This is possible because Jesus who is fully divine became fully human to be the mediator between God and us. He came, lived, died, was buried, and rose for us. We are saved by Him alone, through His work on our behalf.
And when we have Jesus in us, the Holy Spirit will take Jesus’ accomplished work and apply all its benefits to our lives. The Holy Spirit indwells us, seals us as belonging to Christ, and begins changing our hearts so that we will live for Christ. So Book 1 in the series covers the most foundational truths in the Gospel that all believers must know. It helps us appreciate more deeply how we are saved by the combined work of each person in the Triune Godhead.
And as we thank God for how He has saved us, we are also called to walk with Him. As 1 John 1:3 explains, “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his SonJesus Christ.” So discipleship is entering into a relationship with the Triune God who has made us His family.
So we are not alone. Our walk with God is also a walk with one another. This is what it means to be baptised into the Body of Christ, the Church. One key way to live out this truth is to journey with a Discipleship Group. For it is together that we can build this faith community and reap the blessings of following Jesus with one another.