Chapter 8 Summary: The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

On Being a Disciple, or Student, of Jesus

We have all had teachers in our lives. These are those who have impacted our lives in one way or another. They range from the obvious—parents, professors, pastors, coaches, to the not so obvious—peers, musicians, books, movies. When we look at the kind of person we have become these “teachers” play a huge roll in our formation; this is true whether we like it or not.

As we grow older we are afforded the opportunity to select our teachers. The plainest illustration of this is a high school senior chooses which college they will attend the following year, or a person deciding which armed service to join (if they have any sense they would select the Marine Corps). This point of choosing is very important in ones life. Because it places you in control of the direction of your life.

This choosing who to follow, is the topic of chapter 8 in The Divine Conspiracy.* So far we have heard Jesus answer 3 of the 4 great questions:

What is reality?
A: God and his kingdom

Who is well off?
A: Anyone alive in the kingdom.

Who is a good person?
A: Those who are saturated with agape love.

How do I become a good person?
The answer to this question should be apparent at this point.

I, you, become truly good by becoming disciples/students/apprentices of Jesus. It is important, then, to define what Dallas means when he says disciple.

A disciple is someone who is continuously “learning from Jesus how to live my life as he would lead my life if he were I.” Note, a disciple is “not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but [they are] learning how to do everything [they] do in the manner that he did all he did.”

This view of “whole life discipleship” is foreign to many modern Christians. As we saw in chapter 2, the gospels that are typically preached and heard exclude Jesus from the day to day existence of a person. They simply manage sin of one sort or another. They portray a God who is uninterested with our daily lives when the contrary is true; the specific life we live is really important to God.

But how does one begin a disciple? Clearly it is not something you can simply stumble into accidentally; to think this is to devalue discipleship. Discipleship, on the other hand, must be entered into intentionally. One’s soul would need to be inclined towards discipleship more than any other thing. They would need to see the offer to become a student of Jesus as the best offer they will ever receive in their entire life—like a treasure in a field, or a pearl of great choice (Matt. 13:44-46).

We are accustomed to looking at the things we lose when we become disciples. There is even a fantastic book called The Cost of Discipleship.* To be sure, there is a cost of discipleship but it pales in comparison to the cost of non-discipleship. The one who is ready to become a student of Jesus can identify both; but their chief concern is not what they have that they will lose, but that they might lose out on the opportunity. Thus they eagerly seeks apprenticeship with him.

So then, when one chooses that they would like to be a disciple what do they do?

Just ask him. This is the rule of the kingdom. 

Willard suggests, “We should make our expression of desire a solemn occasion, giving at least a number of quiet hours or a day to it. It will also be good to write down our prayer for his help in seeing him. We should do this privately, of course, but then we should share what we have done with a knowledgeable minister or friend who could pray with us and talk with us about what we are doing.”

After asking and praying we should begin abiding in his word. For he said, “If you dwell in my word, you are really my apprentices. And you will know the truth, and the truth will liberate you” (John 8:31-32).

Side note: Often people read this as, “The truth will set you free.” But the truth, alone, will not see a person free. Indeed, by itself the truth might very well destroy a person. But the person who continues in the word of Jesus will be liberated by the truth. That is, they will become the kind of person whose life conforms to, and is freed by, the truth.

So how does one “abide” in his word? By centering your life upon his words. “We fill our souls with the written Gospels. We will devote our attention to these teachings, in private study and inquiry as well as public instruction. And, negatively, we will refuse to devote our mental space and energy to the fruitless stuff that constantly clamors for our attention. We will attend to it only enough to avoid it.”

That is how we dwell in his word; but that is not all. We also do so by putting into practice the things we learned from his word. After all, this is the basis with which we get to know people (remember, Jesus is a person, not a theory). We meet with them, interact with them, and even try out what they are suggesting. This is how all meaningful relationships are born.

After asking, praying, and living in his word, we must decide. “When we have achieved clarity on ‘the costs’—on what is gained and what is lost by becoming or failing to become his apprentice—an effective decision is then possible. But still it must be made. It will not just happen. We do not drift into discipleship.”

This seems overly simplistic or obvious, but it is often overlooked. Many people decide to believe in Jesus cognitively—they believe in things about him, but few actually decide to be his students.

But without ever deciding to be a disciple a person will never become one. Think of how important decision is in other areas of life. Buying a house, choosing a college, switching careers, all of these are useless without the moment of decision that makes action happen. The same is true of following Jesus.

“Do we really intend to do and be all of the high things we profess to believe in? Have we decided to do them? When did we decide it? And how did we implement that decision?” These are questions for all Christians to seriously consider.

When we answer these questions we may have to acknowledge the fact that we do not really believe what we say we believe. Some will see that what they actually believe is what they have been doing, and not what they profess.

A person who comes to this realization should not fret, though. Remember, God can only work with a person who presents their true self to him, no matter how bad that self is. It is encouraging to see how Jesus responded to Peter in John 21. Peter essentially acknowledged to Jesus that he did not have agape (all-encompassing) love for him, only phileo (friendship) love. Instead of casting him away Jesus accepted him on that basis. He accepted Peter as his student, and we see that eventually Peter’s life shone with agape love for Christ as he firmly decided to follow him.

Let Peter be an example for you. If you want to be a disciple but find yourself fearful, don't worry; that is a good beginning. Learn to trust in Jesus by telling him your fears, abiding in his word, practicing what he says. You will begin to actually experience that life with him is better than the alternative. When you arrive at this point make a decision.

A prayer that anyone who is struggling might want to use is, "I believe; Lord help my unbelief."

He will.

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