103 Bible Verses about discipleship, nature of

In the prophets it is written, 'And all men will be taught by God!' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him will come to me.

And another of his disciples said to him, "Let me first go, sir, and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead!"

They immediately dropped their nets and went with him.

They immediately abandoned their nets and followed him.

So follow God's example, like his dear children, and lead loving lives, just as Christ loved you and gave himself for you, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Have our people learn to make it their business to do good, so as to meet these pressing demands and not live unfruitful lives.

but like the holy Being who has called you, you must also prove holy in all your conduct, for the Scripture says, "You must be holy, Because I am holy."

And they immediately left the boat and their father, and went with him.

Let my yoke be put upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-minded, and your hearts will find rest,

He immediately called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after him.

For I have set you an example, in order that you may do what I have done to you.

And they brought the boats to land and left everything and followed him.

That is not the way you have been taught what Christ means, at least if you have really become acquainted with him and been instructed in him, and in union with him have been taught the truth as it is found in Jesus.

and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.

Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

None of us lives only to himself, and none of us dies only to himself; if we live, we are responsible to the Lord, and if we die, we are responsible to him; so whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

He said to them, "Come and follow me, and I will make you fish for men!"

That is the life to which you have been called, for Christ himself suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow his footsteps.

and no longer lives by what men desire, but for the rest of his earthly life by what God wills.

Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for men."

whoever says, "I am always in union with him" must live just as he lived.

When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes and taken his place, he said to them again, "Do you understand what I have been doing to you? You call me Teacher and Master, and you are right, for that is what I am. If I then, your Master and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet too.read more.
For I have set you an example, in order that you may do what I have done to you. I tell you, no slave is superior to his master, and no messenger is greater than the man who sends him. Now that you have this knowledge, you will be blessed if you act upon it.

And he went on a little farther and saw two other men who were brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother, John, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, putting their nets in order, and he called them.

but the Helper, the holy Spirit which the Father will send in my place, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you.

I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love. I have told you all this so that you may have the happiness that I have had, and your happiness may be complete.read more.
The command that I give you is to love one another just as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than by giving up his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do.

for at the very moment the holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say."

but when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into the full truth, for he will not speak for himself but will tell what he hears, and will announce to you the things that are to come.

No one who loves father or mother more than he loves me is worthy of me, and no one who loves son or daughter more than he loves me is worthy of me, and no one who will not take up his cross and follow me is worthy of me. Whoever gains his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it.

He said to another, "Follow me." But he said, "Let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; you must go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God!"

These disclosures we impart, not in the set phrases of human philosophy, but in words the Spirit teaches, giving spiritual truth a spiritual form.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself and take his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to preserve his own life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Afterward, as Jesus was passing along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tollhouse, and he said to him, "Follow me!" And he got up and followed him.

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, grant you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation through the knowledge of himself,

And he called the people and his disciples to him and said to them, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself, and take his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to preserve his own life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me and for the good news will preserve it.

And as he was passing along he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the tollhouse, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.

and beg him out of his wealth of glory to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature and through your faith to let Christ in his love make his home in your hearts. Your roots must be deep and your foundations strong, so that you and all God's people may be strong enough to grasp what breadth, length, height, and depth mean,read more.
and to understand Christ's love, so far beyond our understanding, so that you may be filled with the very fulness of God.

And he said to everyone, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself, and take his cross day after day and follow me. For whoever wants to preserve his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me will preserve it.

It was disclosed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in dealing with these things, which have now been told you by those who through the holy Spirit sent from heaven brought you the good news; things into which angels long to look!

After this he went out, and he saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting at the tollhouse, and he said to him, "Follow me!"

He forbade them to take anything for the journey except a staff??o bread, no bag, no small change even in their girdles;

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go! Sell your property and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come back and be a follower of mine."

Do the things that you learned, received, and heard from me, and that you saw me do. Then God who gives peace will be with you.

"If anyone comes to me without hating his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and his very life too, he cannot be a disciple of mine. For no one who does not take up his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

And Jesus looked at him and loved him, and he said to him, "There is one thing that you lack. Go, sell all you have, and give the money to the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come back and be a follower of mine."

Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is one thing that you still lack. Sell all that you have, and divide the money among the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come back and be a follower of mine."

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

You must lay aside with your former habits your old self which is going to ruin through its deceptive passions. You must adopt a new attitude of mind, and put on the new self which has been created in likeness to God, with all the uprightness and holiness that belong to the truth.

He said this to show the kind of death by which Peter was to honor God; and after he had said it he said to Peter, "Follow me!"

Now, brothers, for your benefit I have applied all this only to Apollos and myself, by using us as illustrations to teach you the old lesson, "Never go beyond the letter," and to keep any of you from boasting of one teacher at the expense of another.

So you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is.

and no one who will not take up his cross and follow me is worthy of me.

A pupil is not better than his teacher, but every pupil when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself and take his cross and follow me.

You must follow my example in this, as I am following Christ's.

For those whom he had marked out from the first he predestined to be made like his Son, so that he should be the eldest of many brothers;

Follow my example, brothers, all of you, and notice those who follow the pattern we have set you.

And he called the people and his disciples to him and said to them, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself, and take his cross and follow me.

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by this mercy of God, to offer your bodies in a living sacrifice that will be holy and acceptable to God; that is your rational worship. You must not adopt the customs of this world but by your new attitude of mind be transformed so that you can find out what God's will is??hat is good, pleasing, and perfect.

And he said to everyone, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself, and take his cross day after day and follow me.

For you know yourselves what you must do to follow my example, for I was not idle when I was with you;

For no one who does not take up his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about gratifying your physical cravings.

Women must listen quietly in church and be perfectly submissive.

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them and they follow me,

And all of us, reflecting the splendor of the Lord in our unveiled faces, are being changed into likeness to him, from one degree of splendor to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety in the treatment of their own families, and to return the care of those who brought them up, for that is what God approves.

But you must stand by what you have learned and been convinced of, and remember from whom you learned it,

So since we have promises like these, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves of everything that can defile body or spirit, and by reverence for God make our consecration complete.

If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and wherever I am found, my servant must be also. If anyone serves me, my Father will show him honor.

Through him he chose us out before the creation of the world, to be consecrated and above reproach in his sight in love.

They are the men who have not been defiled by relations with women; they are celibates. It is they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed from among men as the first-fruits for God and the Lamb,

And in spreading the news of him, we warn everyone and teach everyone all our wisdom, in order to bring everyone to Christian perfection.

for you know that it is from him that you are to receive that inheritance which is to be your reward. Think of Christ as the master you are working for.

As persons chosen by God, then, consecrated and dearly loved, you must clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindness, humility, gentleness, forbearance.

But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the heathen lord it over them, and their great men tyrannize over them. It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to hold the first place among you must be your slave,read more.
just as the Son of Man has come not to be waited on, but to wait on other people, and to give his life to ransom many others."

so that the man of God will be adequate, and equipped for any good work.

And Jesus called them to him, and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule the heathen lord it over them, and their great men tyrannize over them; but it is not to be so among you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to hold the first place among you must be everybody's slave.read more.
For the Son of Man himself has not come to be waited on, but to wait on other people, and to give his life to free many others."

Like obedient children, do not adapt yourselves to the cravings you used to follow when you were ignorant, but like the holy Being who has called you, you must also prove holy in all your conduct,

not wanting in devotion, but on fire with the Spirit. Serve the Lord.

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with steadfastness, steadfastness with piety, piety with a spirit of brotherhood, and the spirit of brotherhood with love.

For when people speak of us, they tell what a welcome you gave us, and how you turned from idols to God, to serve a true and living God,

Dear friends, we are God's children now; it has not yet been disclosed what we are to be. We know that if he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who possesses this hope in him tries to make himself as pure as he is.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide by what I teach, you are really disciples of mine,

Among the Pharisees there was a man named Nicodemus, a leader among the Jews. This man went to Jesus one night, and said to him, "Master, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can show the signs that you do, unless God is with him."

It is he who has my commands and observes them that really loves me, and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and show myself to him."

One of them, Nicodemus, who had previously gone to Jesus, said to them,

If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love.

This is how we can be sure that we know him??y obeying his commands.

and we obtain from him whatever we ask for, because we are obeying his commands and doing the things that please him.

For loving God means obeying his commands, and his commands are not burdensome,

And Jesus came up to them and said, "Full authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all the heathen, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands that I have given you. I will always be with you, to the very close of the age."

You are the light of the world! A city that is built upon a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure; they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. Your light must burn in that way among men so that they will see the good you do, and praise your Father in heaven.

The things you learned from me before many witnesses you must commit to trustworthy men who will be capable of teaching others.

And he has given us some men as apostles, some as prophets, some as missionaries, some as pastors and teachers, in order to fit his people for the work of service, for building the body of Christ, until we all attain unity in faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and reach mature manhood, and that full measure of development found in Christ.read more.
We must not be babies any longer, blown about and swung around by every wind of doctrine through the trickery of men with their ingenuity in inventing error. We must lovingly hold to the truth and grow up into perfect union with him who is the head??hrist himself. For it is under his control that the whole system, adjusted and united by each ligament of its equipment, develops in proportion to the functioning of each particular part, and so builds itself up through love. So what I mean and insist upon in the Lord's name is this: You must no longer live like the heathen, with their frivolity of mind and darkened understanding.

And they devoted themselves to the teaching and the society of the apostles, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide by what I teach, you are really disciples of mine, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. Any branch of mine that does not bear fruit he trims away, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more. You are pruned already because of the teaching that I have given you.read more.
You must remain united to me and I will remain united to you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, you cannot unless you remain united to me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who remains united to me, with me united to him, will be very fruitful, for you cannot do anything apart from me. Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them. If you remain united to me and my words remain in your hearts, ask for whatever you please and you shall have it. When you are very fruitful and show yourselves to be disciples of mine, my Father is honored. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love. I have told you all this so that you may have the happiness that I have had, and your happiness may be complete. The command that I give you is to love one another just as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than by giving up his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it is I that have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit??ruit that shall be lasting, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask him for as my followers. "What I command you to do is to love one another.

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must love one another. By this they will all know that you are my disciples??y your love for one another."

"If anyone comes to me without hating his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and his very life too, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

In just that way, no one of you who does not say goodbye to all he has can be a disciple of mine.

But you must teach people the things that properly belong to wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to be temperate, serious, and sensible??en of vigorous faith, love, and steadfastness. Teach the older women, too, to be reverent in their behavior, and not to gossip or be slaves of drink, but to be teachers of what is right,read more.
so as to train the younger women to be loving wives and mothers, and to be sensible, pure-minded, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so as not to bring reproach on God's message. Urge the younger men, too, to be sensible. In every way set them an example of good conduct yourself. Teach with sincerity and seriousness, and present a wholesome, unobjectionable message, so that your opponent may be put to shame at finding nothing bad to say about us.

As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and wild birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head!" He said to another, "Follow me." But he said, "Let me first go and bury my father."read more.
Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; you must go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God!" Yet another man said to him, "Master, I am going to follow you, but let me first say goodbye to my people at home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough, and then looks back, is fitted for the Kingdom of God."