Reference

Glossary

The terms that recur across the book and the course. Once defined here, every lesson uses them the same way.

Core Greek words (transliterated)

mathētēs — disciple: Lit. learner. A disciple is one who learns by walking with a rabbi. Not a convert who stops at the door, but one under instruction. cf. Matt 28:19; the word “disciple(s)” occurs ~269× in the NT.
akoloutheō — follow: Lit. come behind, walk in my steps, join the journey. The Chair 2 challenge. Pictures becoming like the one followed. Related: Paul’s mimētēs (mimic/imitate) in 1 Cor 11:1. John 1:43; Matt 9:9; 10:38; John 10:27; 21:19.
katartizō — equip / mend: Double meaning: to repair and to prepare. Used of fishermen mending their nets (Matt 4:21) and of God equipping the saints (Eph 4:12). Also in Luke 6:40 — the “fully trained” disciple. Ministry both fixes and readies. Matt 4:21; Eph 4:12; Luke 6:40; Heb 13:21.
airō — lift up (NOT “cut off”): Used 100+× in the NT, almost always lift / take up / move. Only in John 15:2 is it often mistranslated “cuts off.” Vineyard practice: a branch fallen into the dirt is lifted, cleaned, put back in the sunlight. This reframes the Chair 1→2 barrier as rescue, not amputation. John 15:2; Matt 9:6.
menō — abide / remain / dwell: The Chair 3→4 breakthrough word. Used 8× in John 15. Not a feeling but making Jesus one’s permanent dwelling place (cf. Ps 91:1). Much fruit flows from abiding, not striving. John 15:4–10; 1 John 2:6 (“walk as He walked”).
diatribō — spend time: Lit. to rub off on / get under the skin. John 3:22 — Jesus “spent time” with His disciples. Disciple-making is inherently time-saturated and relational. John 3:22.
kathexēs — orderly account: Luke’s stated method (Luke 1:3): a successive / chronological record. The warrant for studying Jesus’s life in order, which unlocks the 18-month / 2.5-year markers. Luke 1:3.
idou — “be sure of this!”: The second imperative buried in the Great Commission. Often translated “surely” or “lo,” it is a command: claim my presence as you go. Matt 28:20 (cf. NLT).
morphē — nature / form: Used twice in Phil 2:6–7: Jesus shares the morphē of God and the morphē of a servant. Not outward appearance but essential nature. The grammar that lets the chapter affirm He is fully God and fully man without dissolving either. Phil 2:6–7.
kenosis — self-emptying: From ekenōsen ("emptied himself") in Phil 2:7. The Son veiled the independent exercise of His deity so His humanity could find full expression. Not subtraction of deity (He remained fully God); a chosen refusal to "use the God card." The hinge on which "you can do what Jesus did" turns. Phil 2:7; cf. John 5:19; Heb 4:15.
nēpios — infant (the dependency word): The New Testament's word for a new believer that stresses total dependence. An immature child who cannot yet feed himself. Carries the weight of need. Pair with teknion (affection) to treat a Chair 2 believer both realistically and warmly. Heb 5:13; 1 Cor 3:1.
teknion — little child (the affection word): The New Testament's word for a new believer that stresses endearment and belonging. John's favorite term of warmth in 1 John. Carries the security of family. Pair with nēpios (dependency). 1 John 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21.

Framework vocabulary

4 Chair Discipling: Spader’s transferable model: four challenges Jesus issued map to four stages of a disciple’s development. Not a curriculum; a pathway metaphor. Ch. 4.
Disciple-making vs. discipleship: Disciple-making = the whole arc (unbeliever → reproducing disciple-maker); the Matt 28 mandate. Discipleship = a term coined ~1850 (Charles Adams) that split the task into “evangelism” + “discipleship” and started turf wars. Spader tries to retire the word. Ch. 4; Ch. 8.
Spiritual CPR: Chair 1 outreach process from Isaiah 28:23–29: Cultivate (break hard ground) → Plant (sow at the right time/depth) → Reap (share the gospel, call for response). Not everyone reaps. Ch. 5.
The Six Fishing Trips: Right after the Chair 3 challenge (Mark 1:21–2:17), Jesus led disciples through six evangelistic encounters — synagogue demon, Peter’s mother-in-law, Capernaum crowds, the leper, the paralytic through the roof, Matthew/tax-collector party. He was teaching them to fish by doing it in front of them. Ch. 4; Ch. 7.
Fully trained (Luke 6:40): “Everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” The endpoint of the pathway: Christlikeness that reproduces. katartizō. Ch. 8.
Friend of God: The Chair 4 identity. John tracks an intimacy progression: seekers (Jn 1) → disciples (Jn 2:11) → servants (Jn 13:13) → friends (Jn 15:15). Echoes Moses & Abraham. Ch. 8; Ex 33:11; James 2:23.
Three barriers (John 15): Sin (no fruit → fruit), pruning / good things removed (fruit → more fruit), satisfaction with “more” (more fruit → much fruit). Ch. 10.
Three sticking-point soils (Mark 4): Hardened path (seed stolen), rocky ground (no root), thorns (worries / wealth / wants). Spader reads the parable as: 75% who begin never reach Chair 3–4 fruitfulness. Ch. 9.
Stringing pearls: A rabbinic method of chaining key verses from across the OT to convey one truth. The Father Himself does it at Jesus's baptism (Matt 3:17), weaving Ps 2:7 (King) + Gen 22:2 (Son) + Isa 42:1 (Servant) into one sentence: identity announced before ministry begins. Ch. 6.
Spiritual breathing: The Chair 2 habit of a cleansed life: exhale = confess the known sin; inhale = claim God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9). The "potty-training" step of the five-fold child-development map. Ch. 6.
Pruning: The Father’s act on every fruit-bearing branch to make it more fruitful. What gets pruned is good things, not bad — which is what makes it painful. Bitterness (Heb 12:15) is the #1 destroyer at this stage. Ch. 10.
Multiplication vs. growth: Addition grows a 100-person church to ~1,600 in 30 years; multiplication (each disciple reproducing in ~3 years) grows it past 100,000. Jesus chose multiplication, not crowd-growth. Ch. 8.

People & placenames worth knowing

The “ministry team of five”: James, John, Simon, Andrew, Matthew — the inner investment Jesus made at the Chair 3 challenge, before the Twelve were chosen. Not yet apostles; a faithful few taken deeper. Ch. 7.
Capernaum: The “evangelical triangle” (with Bethsaida & Korazin) on the Via Maris trade route. Jesus relocated His ministry there ~18 months in — a strategic, not remote, base. Ch. 7.

← Master Reference · Lesson 1 →