THE RIB THAT BECAME A DISCIPLE: Understanding God’s Pattern of Formation (PART 1)

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” Genesis 2:21-22

Have you ever wondered why God chose a rib to form Eve?

Have you ever paused to consider why the Creator, who formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed life into his nostrils, did not simply form Eve the same way? Why did He not speak her into existence as He did the stars, the seas, and the sun? Why did He not mold her from clay, shape her from the earth, or call her forth from nothing? Why, instead, did He choose to put Adam into a deep sleep, open his side, remove a rib – a single, specific bone from his body – and from that rib, fashion the woman who would stand beside him?

This was not a matter of convenience. This was not God running short on raw materials or deciding to recycle what He already had. This was a deliberate, intentional, profoundly significant act that carries within it one of the deepest revelations of how God forms, prepares, and disciples those He calls.

The rib was not random. The process was not accidental. And the woman who emerged from that rib was not just a companion for Adam; she was a picture, a prototype, a prophetic illustration of what it means to be formed by the hand of God, shaped in the context of another, and brought forth as a disciple who carries the essence, the DNA, and the mission of the one from whom she came.

When Jesus walked the earth and called twelve men to follow Him, He was not simply recruiting volunteers for a religious movement. Rather, He was enacting the same divine pattern that began in the garden. He took ordinary men – fishermen, tax collectors, zealots – and He brought them close. So close that they walked with Him, ate with Him, slept near Him, heard His private prayers, witnessed His public miracles, and absorbed His teaching, His character, and His heartbeat.

They were, in essence, ribs being drawn from the body of Christ, shaped by proximity, formed by relationship, and prepared to carry His mission into the world after He ascended. “Follow me,” He said, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Not I will teach you. Not I will train you. But I will make you. Just as God made the woman from the rib, Jesus makes disciples from those who are willing to be drawn from their old lives, shaped by His presence, and brought forth as vessels of His purpose.

This is the heart of true discipleship. It is not a program. It is not a curriculum. It is not a class you attend or a book you read. It is a process of being taken from where you are, brought into intimate proximity with the One who is making you, and emerging as someone who carries His essence, reflects His image, and fulfills His mission. But the process is not comfortable. It requires deep sleep, divine surgery, and the willingness to be taken from the familiar and fashioned into something new. And if we do not understand the pattern God established in Genesis 2, we will miss the profound truth of what it means to be a disciple and what it means to make disciples.

The Rib: Why God Chose Proximity over Distance

“And he took one of his RIBS…”

Of all the bones God could have chosen, He chose a rib. Not the skull, which sits at the highest point of the body and governs thought and perception. Not the femur, the largest and strongest bone, capable of bearing the greatest weight. Not a finger or a toe, expendable and easily replaced. But a rib. A bone that sits close to the heart, that protects the vital organs, that moves with every breath, that is connected to the core of who Adam was. This was not a peripheral bone. This was not something Adam could lose without feeling it. This was a bone that had been near his heart, that had guarded his life, that had shared in the rhythm of his breathing. And from that intimate, central place, God formed the woman.

This is the foundation of all true discipleship: PROXIMITY. You cannot make a disciple from a distance. You cannot form someone into the image of Christ by sending them a manual, giving them a five-step plan, or telling them to figure it out on their own. Discipleship happens in the context of closeness, of shared life, of intimate observation and interaction. It happens when the disciple is close enough to the master to see not just what he does in public, but who he is in private. Close enough to hear not just his sermons, but his prayers. Close enough to witness not just his victories, but his struggles. Close enough to absorb not just his teaching, but his character.

When Jesus called His disciples, He did not say, “Go read the Torah and come back when you have it memorized.” He said, “Follow me.” Come with me. Walk with me. Eat with me. Stay close. Watch how I handle the Pharisees. Watch how I respond to the crowds. Watch how I treat the lepers, the tax collectors, the sinners. Watch how I pray when everyone else is asleep. Watch how I carry the weight of the mission even when my body is exhausted. Watch how I love the Father even when the Father’s will leads me to the cross.

The disciples were ribs in the sense that they were brought into proximity with Jesus. They were positioned close to His heart. They moved with the rhythm of His life. They shared in His mission. They absorbed His essence. And it was from that place of closeness that they were formed, shaped, and made into something they could never have become on their own.

This is why so many modern attempts at discipleship fail. We have reduced discipleship to information transfer. We have turned it into a class, a seminar, a weekend conference, a twelve-week video series. We have tried to mass-produce disciples by giving people content without giving them proximity. We have tried to make disciples by downloading information into their heads without drawing them close to our hearts.

But information without proximity produces knowledge without transformation. It produces people who know the right answers but do not carry the right spirit. It produces believers who can quote Scripture but cannot reflect the character of Christ.

Listen, true discipleship, the kind that produces ribs that become fully formed sons and daughters, requires proximity. It requires time. It requires the willingness to let someone be close enough to see your life, not just hear your words.

Paul understood this. He told the Corinthians, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He was not being arrogant, but being accurate. He was saying, “If you want to learn how to follow Christ, you need to be close enough to me to see how I follow Him. Watch my life. Observe my choices. See how I handle suffering, how I respond to opposition, how I love the church, how I carry the gospel, how I live out what I preach.” Paul made disciples by bringing people close. Timothy, Titus, Silas, Luke – these were not just students who attended Paul’s lectures. They were ribs, drawn from his life, shaped by his example, and sent out carrying his DNA.

Discipleship requires proximity. Spiritual formation demands closeness to the Master and the life He has ordained for your shaping. And if you are trying to make disciples without giving them access to your life, you are not making disciples. You are making admirers. And admirers do not carry your essence. They do not reproduce your mission. They applaud from a distance, but they do not become what you are.

Written by: Sunday Adeoye