INTRODUCTION

Becoming a Christian isn’t the end of a journey. It’s the beginning. In one sense, the Christian life is walking with God, heading toward the destination of eternal life with him in the Age to Come. In another sense, the Christian life is living eternal life with God right here in the Present Age.

Something better is coming: the New Creation—a world where all things will be restored, where sin, suffering, and death will be no more, and where we will enjoy unending life in the glorious presence of God! And yet, eternal life is not only something we will have in the future. It's something we have right now in Christ. One of Jesus’ disciples, John, recorded these words that Jesus said:

JOHN 10:10, 17:3

10 I came that they (disciples of Jesus) may have life and have it abundantly. … 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

The Christian life is an apprenticeship under our Master, Jesus, who is training us how to live eternal life in this Present Age. Each day we live as apprentices of Jesus, we're learning how to experience partially the eternal life we will one day experience fully. This process of learning from and following Jesus is called discipleship. In the ancient world Jesus lived in, disciples were those who strove to be with, become like, and eventually join in the work of their teacher. However, Jesus Christ is more than just a teacher—he is God incarnate, the Truly Human One, and the King of God's kingdom. Following Jesus as his disciple can be summarized by three lifelong pursuits: to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to join him in his work. 1

Eternity has entered into our lives through Jesus. Our life as his disciples is now connected to eternity with God in the new creation. In this way, the Age to Come will be more "earthly" than we might assume, and this Present Age in Christ is more "heavenly" than we may realize. The chart below illustrates God's original design in Creation, the way it will be perfectly realized in the New Creation, and how our discipleship to Jesus is training us to live this way right now.

Next Steps is a guide for following Jesus as his disciple. It is divided into three parts corresponding to the three goals of a disciple. Each of these parts has a brief introduction and several chapters (or “steps”) for how to practically and tangibly pursue each goal. These steps are not intended to be one-time tasks that we finish and move on from. Rather, each of these steps represents what it looks like in our daily lives to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and join him in his work.

1 The author would like to give credit to several Bible teachers for these Biblical categories of discipleship: John Mark Comer (https://www.practicingtheway.org), Dallas Willard (The Divine Conspiracy, HarperCollins EPUB Edition 2009, especially page 302), Jeremy R. Treat (Seek First, Zondervan 2019, especially chapter 5), and others.