[To see an organizational outline of these lessons, click here]

According to Acts 13:52 and Acts 20:7, what were the members of the church called? _______________________ The word "disciple" means "one who learns, a learner." In Matthew 11:29 the Lord Jesus invites us to become His disciples (learners): "Take my yoke upon you, and __________________ of (from) Me." Have you accepted this invitation?  Those who have accepted this invitation are called "D__________________ (LEARNERS)  of the L_______" (Acts 9:1).

Read Matthew 10:24. Just as a servant (slave) must have a _________________ (master), so also a disciple (learner) must have a __________________ (teacher). A disciple must learn from a teacher. Are there learners and teachers in your school? Do you have learners and teachers in your Sunday School? Who is your Sunday School teacher? ____________________ Therefore you can say, "I am a disciple of ___________________________ because he/she teaches me and I learn from him/her!"

In Bible times, the teacher/disciple relationship was much more than classroom instruction.  Often the disciple would work with his teacher, walk and travel with his teacher, eat with his teacher and spend much time with his teacher.  The disciple learned not just by what his teacher said to him (verbal instruction), but he also learned by observing his teacher.  The teacher was an example to the student by the way he lived.  The disciple would learn from his teacher's lips but also from his teacher's life.

According to John 3:2 who is the Teacher who has come from God? ____________________ Read Matthew 5:1. Who came to this teacher?   ______      ___________________ (His learners). And thus He opened His mouth and ________________ them (Matthew 5:2).  Disciples must be taught by a teacher!

As we study the New Testament we discover that disciples can also be teachers. In Matthew 28:18-20 the Lord Jesus spoke to whom? (The answer is found in verse 16) _______________________________  He told these disciples to "GO, therefore, and __________________ all nations" (v. 19). The word "teach" in this verse means "make disciples of." The Lord told His disciples to make disciples (learners) of all nations! And the only way to make disciples is to teach them:   "_____________________ them to observe _______ things" (v. 20). This is explained by the diagram.

MAKE DISCIPLES!!

This is exactly what the early church did.  They made disciples.  In Acts 14:21 we read, "And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had ______________       __________." The expression "taught many" means that Paul and Barnabas "made many disciples" as shown on the diagram below:

MAKE DISCIPLES!!

This same disciple making program is described in 2 Timothy 2:2. In this verse the pronoun "me" refers to what person (see 2 Timothy 1:1)? ____________________ The pronoun "thou" refers to what person (see 2 Timothy 1:2)? __________________ With this in mind we can illustrate 2 Timothy 2:2 as follows:

MAKE DISCIPLES!!
(MAKE LEARNERS WHO WILL THEN BE TEACHERS OF OTHERS!!)

The above diagram shows us that disciples can also be teachers.  For example, the Apostle Paul was a disciple of the Lord Jesus, but he was also a teacher of Timothy. The following matching problem will help you to understand the teacher/disciple relationship. The diagram above will help you as you answer the following matching problem.

MATCHING PROBLEM:

Correctly identify the following:

Therefore we can think of the local church (the local assembly) as a schoolhouse where there are teachers and learners and where disciples are being made.

True or False:  Every believer must be a disciple of God (John 6:45). ___________   Does every single member of the church need to be taught (Col. 1:28)? _________ The Pastor must be a teacher (Eph. 4:11), but should he be a learner also (see 2 Timothy 2:7 and 2:15)? ______ Who is the only Person who does not need a teacher (Isaiah 40:13-14; Romans 11:33-36; 1 Cor. 2:16)? ___________________

When you assemble together in God’s Schoolhouse, the church, do you come with a desire to learn? Do you pray and ask God to teach you? Are you learning so that you will be able to teach others also or are you still a "baby disciple" who needs someone to teach you the ABC’s of God’s Word (see Hebrews 5:12-13)? If a person walks and lives just as the unsaved do (see Ephesians 4:17-19), then has that person really learned his lesson (see Ephesians 4:20-21)?  ________

Answer the following TRUE (T) or FALSE (F):

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