104 Bible Verses about discipleship, nature of

In the prophets it is written, and they will be all instructed by God; everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him, comes to me.

Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first of all"; Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

And they dropped their nets at once and followed him.

At once they dropped their nets and went after him.

Copy God, then, as his beloved children, and lead lives of love, just as Christ loved you and gave himself up for you to be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Our people must really learn to profess honest occupations, so as to be able to meet such special occasions; they must not be idle.

as He who called you is holy, so you must be holy too in all your conduct ??16 for it is written, You shall be holy because I am holy.

and they left the boat and their father at once, and went after him.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find your souls refreshed;

he called them at once, and they left their father Zebedaeus in the boat with the crew and went to follow him.

for I have been setting you an example, that you should do what I have done to you.

Then they brought the boats to land, and leaving all they followed him.

That is not how you have understood the meaning of Christ (for it is Christ whom you have been taught, it is in Christ that you have been instructed ??the real Christ who is in Jesus);

and that he died for all in order to have the living live no longer for themselves but for him who died and rose for them.

Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus.

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself; if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Thus we are the Lord's whether we live or die;

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

It is your vocation; for when Christ suffered for you, he left you an example, and you must follow his footsteps.

nerve you to spend the rest of your time in the flesh for the will of God and no longer for human passions.

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

he who says he 'remains in him' ought to live as he lived.

Then, after washing their feet and putting on his robe, he lay down again. "Do you know," he said to them, "what I have been doing to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right: that is what I am. Well, if I have washed your feet, I who am your Lord and Teacher, you are bound to wash one another's feet;read more.
for I have been setting you an example, that you should do what I have done to you. Truly, truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than he who sent him. If you know all this, blessed are you if you really do it.

Then going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedaeus and his brother John, mending their nets in the boat beside their father Zebedaeus. He called them,

but the Helper, the holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and recall to you everything I have said.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain within my love. If you keep my commands you will remain within my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain within his love. I have told you this, that my joy may be within you and your joy complete.read more.
This is my command: you are to love one another as I have loved you. To lay life down for his friends, man has no greater love than that. You are my friends ??if you do what I command you;

for the holy Spirit will teach you at that hour what you should say."

However, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all the truth; for he will not speak of his own accord, he will say whatever he is told, and he will disclose to you what is to come.

He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me: he who will not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

He said to another man, "Follow me"; but he said, "Let me go and bury my father first of all." Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; you go and spread the news of the Reign of God."

And this is what we discuss, using language taught by no human wisdom but by the Spirit. We interpret what is spiritual in spiritual language.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me; for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

As Jesus passed along from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-office; he said to him, "Follow me"; and he rose and followed him.

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

Then he called the crowd to him with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and so follow me; for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

As he passed along he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-office; he said to him, "Follow me," and he rose and followed him.

praying Him out of the wealth of his glory to grant you a mighty increase of strength by his Spirit in the inner man. May Christ dwell in your hearts as you have faith! May you be so fixed and founded in love that you can grasp with all the saints what is the meaning of 'the Breadth,' 'the Length,' 'the Depth' and 'the Height,'read more.
by knowing the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge! May you be filled with the entire fulness of God!

He said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross day after day, and so follow me; for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.

to them it was revealed that they got this intelligence not for themselves but for you, regarding all that has now been disclosed to you by those who preached the gospel to you through the holy Spirit sent from heaven. The very angels long to get a glimpse of this!

On going outside after this he noticed a taxgatherer called Levi sitting at the tax-office and said to him, "Follow me";

and ordered them to take nothing but a stick for the journey, no bread, no wallet, no coppers in their girdle;

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell your property, give the money to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me."

Practise also what you have learned and received from me, what you heard me say and what you saw me do; then the God of peace will be with you.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, aye and his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine; whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "There is one thing you want," he said; "go and sell all you have; give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, take up the cross, and follow me."

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

When Jesus heard this he said to him, "You lack one thing more; sell all you have, distribute the money among the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me."

He who loves his life loses it, and he who cares not for his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

Next day Jesus determined to leave for Galilee; there he met Philip and told him, "Follow me."

you must lay aside the old nature which belonged to your former course of life, that nature which crumbles to ruin under the passions of moral deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, putting on the new nature, that divine pattern which has been created in the upright and pious character of the Truth.

(he said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God); then he added, "Follow me."

Now I have applied what has been said above to myself and Apollos, to teach you ... that you are not to be puffed up with rivalry over one teacher as against another.

You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

he who will not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

A scholar is not above his teacher: but if he is perfectly trained he will be like his teacher.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me;

Copy me, as I copy Christ.

For he decreed of old that those whom he predestined should share the likeness of his Son ??that he might be the firstborn of a great brotherhood.

Copy me, brothers, one and all of you, and notice those who live by the example you get from me.

Then he called the crowd to him with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and so follow me;

Well then, my brothers, I appeal to you by all the mercy of God to dedicate your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated and acceptable to God; that is your cult, a spiritual rite. Instead of being moulded to this world, have your mind renewed, and so be transformed in nature, able to make out what the will of God is, namely, what is good and acceptable to him and perfect.

He said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross day after day, and so follow me;

For you know quite well how to copy us; we did not loaf in your midst,

whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

No, put on the character of the Lord Jesus Christ, and never think how to gratify the cravings of the flesh.

A woman must listen quietly in church and be perfectly submissive;

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

But we all mirror the glory of the Lord with face unveiled, and so we are being transformed into the same likeness as himself, passing from one glory to another ??for this comes of the Lord the Spirit.

(When a widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn that the first duty of religion is to their own household, and that they should make some return to those who have brought them up. In God's sight this is an acceptable thing.)

but hold you to what you have been taught, hold to your convictions, remember who your teachers were,

As these great promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates either flesh or spirit; let us be fully consecrated by reverence for God].

If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall my servant be also: if anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.

He chose us in him ere the world was founded, to be consecrated and unblemished in his sight,

They have not been defiled by intercourse with women ??they are celibates; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among men, as the first to be reaped for God and the Lamb.

This is the Christ we proclaim; we train everyone and teach everyone the full scope of this knowledge, in order to set everyone before God mature in Christ;

remember, you will receive from the Lord the inheritance which is your due; serve Christ your Lord and Master,

As God's own chosen, then, as consecrated and beloved, be clothed with compassion, kindliness, humility, gentleness, and good temper ??13 forbear and forgive each other in any case of complaint; as Christ forgave you, so must you forgive.

but Jesus called them and said, "You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men overbear them: not so with you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;read more.
just as the Son of man has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

to make the man of God proficient and equip him for good work of every kind.

so Jesus called them and said, "You know the so-called rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men overbear them: not so with you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever of you wants to be first must be your slave;read more.
for the Son of man himself has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Be obedient children, instead of moulding yourselves to the passions that once ruled the days of your ignorance; as He who called you is holy, so you must be holy too in all your conduct ??16 for it is written, You shall be holy because I am holy.

never let your zeal flag; maintain the spiritual glow; serve the Lord;

intelligence with self-control, self-control with stedfastness, stedfastness with piety, piety with brotherliness, brotherliness with Christian love.

People tell us of their own accord about the visit we paid to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and a real God

We are children of God now, beloved; what we are to be is not apparent yet, but we do know that when he appears, we are to be like him ??for we are to see him as he is. And everyone who rests this hope on him, purifies himself as he is pure.

So Jesus addressed the Jews who had believed him, saying, "If you abide by what I say, you are really disciples of mine:

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who belonged to the Jewish authorities; he came one night to Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we know you have come from God to teach us, for no one could perform these Signs of yours unless God were with him."

He who possesses my commands and obeys them is he who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and appear to him."

Nicodemus, one of their number (the same who had come to him before), said to them,

If you keep my commands you will remain within my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain within his love.

This is how we may be sure we know him, by obeying his commands.

and we get from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight.

(for love to God means keeping his commands). And his commands are not irksome,

Then Jesus came forward to them and said, "Full authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth; go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the holy Spirit, and teach them to obey all the commands I have laid on you. And I will be with you all the time, to the very end of the world."

You are the light of the world. A town on the top of a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp to put it under a bowl; they put it on a stand and it shines for all in the house. So your light is to shine before men, that they may see the good you do and glorify your Father in heaven.

and transmit the instructions I gave you in presence of many witnesses to trustworthy men, that they may be competent to teach others.

he granted some men to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to shepherd and teach, for the equipment of the saints, for the business of the ministry, for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ, till we should all attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of God's Son, reaching maturity, reaching the full measure of development which belongs to the fulness of Christ ??14 instead of remaining immature, blown from our course and swayed by every passing wind of doctrine, by the adroitness of men who are dexterous in devising error;read more.
we are to hold by the truth, and by our love to grow up wholly into Him. For He, Christ, is the head, and under him, as the entire Body is welded together and compacted by every joint with which it is supplied, the due activity of each part enables the Body to grow and build itself up in love. Now in the Lord I insist and protest that you must give up living like pagans; for their purposes are futile,

They devoted themselves to the instruction given by the apostles and to fellowship, breaking bread and praying together.

So Jesus addressed the Jews who had believed him, saying, "If you abide by what I say, you are really disciples of mine: you will understand the truth, and the truth will set you free."

[Chapters he cuts away any branch on me which is not bearing fruit, and cleans every branch which does bear fruit, to make it bear richer fruit. You are already clean, by the word I have spoken to you.read more.
Remain in me, as I remain in you: just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, without remaining on the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains in me, as I in him, bears rich fruit (because apart from me you can do nothing). If anyone does not remain in me he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers up; then the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire to be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then ask whatever you like and you shall have it. As you bear rich fruit and prove yourselves my disciples, my Father is glorified. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain within my love. If you keep my commands you will remain within my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain within his love. I have told you this, that my joy may be within you and your joy complete. This is my command: you are to love one another as I have loved you. To lay life down for his friends, man has no greater love than that. You are my friends ??if you do what I command you; & are placed in the middle of verse 13:31] "I am the real Vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser; This is what I command you, to love one another.

I give you a new command, to love one another ??as I have loved you, you are to love one another. By this everyone will recognize that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another."

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, aye and his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine;

So with everyone of you who will not part with all his goods he cannot be a disciple of mine.

You must instruct people in what is due to sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, masters of themselves, sound in faith, in love, and in stedfastness. Tell the older women also to be reverent in their demeanour and not to be slanderers or slaves to drink;read more.
they must give good counsel, so that the young women may be trained to love their husbands and children, to be mistress of themselves, chaste, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands ??otherwise it will be a scandal to the gospel. Tell the young men also to be masters of themselves at all points; set them an example of good conduct; be sincere and serious in your teaching, let your words be sound and such that no exception can be taken to them, so that the opposite side may be confounded by finding nothing that they can say to our discredit.

And as they journeyed along the road a man said to him, "I will follow you anywhere." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me"; but he said, "Let me go and bury my father first of all."read more.
Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; you go and spread the news of the Reign of God." Another man also said to him, "I will follow you, Lord. But let me first say good-bye to my people at home." Jesus said to him, "No one is any use to the Reign of God who puts his hand to the plough and then looks behind him."