The Great Commission - Disciple

A disciple of Christ is a person who accepts Jesus as their Lord and is a follower and learner of Jesus. Matthew 9:9, “As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.” Follow is a verb and means to come after move or travel. To go after someone, follow behind them and observe and monitor. A disciple is called to deny themself and put on the characteristics of Christ. Mark 8:34, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Galatians 3:26-27, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” A disciple of Christ gives their life to the Lord and they are reborn spiritually which is a miracle. Because of Jesus death for our sins, those who accept this truth are filled with the Holy Spirit and their relationship with the Lord is restored as if they have never sinned. Ephesians 1:4, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” I like a quote from Henry Blackaby, “Truth is a person” Jesus Christ. When you receive the Holy Spirit He leads you to all truth a relationship with the Lord and eternal life. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” The Holy Spirit placed in us gives us the power and desire to follow Jesus, study the word of God and learn to apply these truths to our lives to become like Christ. God can teach us in many different ways also through experiences. When I was a boy my dad used to hunt raccoons and he was very good at this. I would go with him sometimes all through the night. He was well known for how he trained his dogs. The dog was trained to never track another scent only the raccoon and to always stay on the trail faithfully until the raccoon was caught or went up a tree. Sometimes they would track for hours and miles even end up in another county what ever it took and would fight to the death. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who is God. Even though we are weak and frail human beings the Holy Spirit trains and teaches us and gives us the desire to want to pursue this relationship we have with Jesus and learn to become more like Him. Or maybe it should be like this, Jesus pursues us and gives us the ability to follow Him and sometimes He even has to carry us. Philippians 2:13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

A disciple of Christ in God’s word was called a ‘Christian’ Acts 11:26, or ‘the followers of the way’ Acts 9:2, or ‘church’.  Church is an assembly of people or called ekklesia which in Greek means to be called out or set apart. 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people.” Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

A disciple of Christ is a son of God and every truth in God’s word becomes part of their life. They become one with Christ and receive a new identity in Christ, they become a new creation. 1 Corinthians 5:17,  ^“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Romans 6:3-4, “Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” A disciple is also baptized into the body of Christ which Christ is the head of all who believe in Him. The body of Christ is compared to a body of a person in God’s word. Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you  all.”

1 Corinthians 12:12  ^“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.” The body of Christ is an amazing powerful creation of God. A holy, sacred temple for the Lord. A body is defined as a living organism. An organism is defined as an individual form of life or living thing. So the body of Christ is not an organization, structure, building, business, corporation, or to be compared to a worldly structure. Jesus didn’t come and die on the cross to start a worldly system or government. It is a group of individuals that believe in Christ that form one body that Jesus is the head of and lives through. It is a body of believers unified and filled with God’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit to glorify God. A holy, living temple of God.  I Corinthians 3:16-17, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?  God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”  Ephesians 2:19-21 “A Temple for the Lord.  So, now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.  Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.   We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.”

I like to think of it this way, every member is connected together and Jesus the Head our master is called living water in God’s word. Jesus living water lives and flows through and from each members heart and into each other. Jesus set us free to be yoked to and clothed in Him worshiping the creator not things man has created. Living water from Jesus and the Holy Spirit flows and brings healing, cleansing, restores, revives, refreshes, renews and transforms. A pond is stagnant and produces leaven.  John 4:14, “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 7:38, “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.”  Ephesians 4:16, “For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.”

The great Commission

Matthew 28:16-18 “Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.   When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!  Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,  baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Before Jesus was crucified He told his disciples what would happen. That they would desert Him but after He is raised from the dead to meet Him in Galilee. Mark 14:27-29 “On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike  the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.” Jesus came to save and whoever accepts Him as there Lord and savior He will never leave them and they will have eternal life through Him. The timing of this is not stated but according to all of Jesus appearances to people and the time to travel to Galilee it would have been after eight days after His resurrection and before His ascension into heaven. The disciples where in Judea up to eight days after- John 20:26 “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

The great commission is a command not choice to all who believe in Him. Jesus says I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth and I command you to do the following. Go and make disciples in every nation. Each believer is to take Jesus and the good news to the world. Where ever you go or travel make disciples. I will talk about a disciple later. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we are baptized we are united with God the father, Son and Holy Spirit. We become one with Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. We are reborn spiritually and become a new creation and receive a new identity in Jesus. Jesus comes alive in us and he lives through us. We are baptized into the Body of Christ, Jesus is the head of the church and we are unified by the Holy Spirit. Teach the disciples to obey all my commands. Being a disciple of Jesus is to obey His commands. Discipleship is helping, teaching, and encouraging each other in the body of Christ to obey His commands. Speak truth in love Ephesians 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. Jesus promises to be with us while each of us do our part of the great commission till the end when he comes back for His church.

The great commission is about taking the truth about Jesus and the good news to the world. I don’t think it is always about numbers. I am amazed at the sacrifice and love I see from people to do this. Some we will never hear from in this life but God knows. Making disciples and reaching the lost can be done in many different ways. Reading about the great commission in a meeting with mature believers for 30 years over and over is not making disciples, reaching the lost and doing the great commission. It is about Jesus living through you and stepping out and living a life of faith to do this. As far as I can tell this has very little to do with our personality, speaking or how we look. Gifting, abilities or resources, position, degrees, power or money. It has to do with Jesus and power, love, and faith in His name. It’s not a competition and I’m sure not an all star at it but maybe it’s more about the heart, attitude and helping others to do their part. I think we will be all called to a different part of this and all of us will have challenges when we set out to accomplish this. I just think it is important to be humble and help others. I think we can all have a struggle at times finding our place in this command.

I think this command is a blessing from the Lord and when we disciples of Jesus attempt to do the great commission we step into a different arena and battle. Satan the enemy sure doesn’t want you to be in this arena. He will come in very deceptive ways. I will just mention one that I have been a part of in my own life and in the life of many others. Satan doesn’t care how busy you are just as long as your not doing this command. If a person has their plate full of activity and none of it is the great commission then we may want to examine the activity. I think it is easy to get snared into this. I think we can have a tendency to take all the gifts, abilities and resources given to us and create a way or system that takes us away from the example or way Jesus done in His word. When you read the book of Acts when the church first started what did the church get started with. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and a small group of believers. They passed on Jesus death, burial and resurrection  to each other. 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.  He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.  After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.”

In Jesus command we have everything we need. God the father Son and Holy Spirit, His word, and each other the body of Christ. We can use gifts, talents, abilities, resources, positions, degrees, and etc but I think when we look to these it may lead us away from the example Jesus set. The main thing is our faith in Jesus and allowing Him to work through us as he wills. I think when we do the great commission with the same Faith, hope, love and grace that Jesus gives us and the with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Teach, nurture, love and build up others just like the example did with the twelve. I think this will lead to a more healthy church full of disciples with deeper relationships which takes a lot of time instead of perfection, performance, comparing gifts and abilities, huge numbers, a report card, back biting, and doing it for all the wrong motives.