The Great Commission

By

Shelby G. Floyd

December 21, 2006

 

 

 

The greatest challenge ever committed to mortal men was couched in the words of the great commission. This commission was given by Jesus Christ to the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee. It is great be­cause of the great authority which empowers it and sus­tains it. Jesus said, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18.) One of the many pursuits of man has been power and authority, but no one man has ever been able to achieve all the power and authority that there is in the earth; but Jesus has all power and authority not only in the earth, but also in heaven. Therefore, he is preeminently qualified to give a commission that relates both to heaven and to earth, to this life and to the life to come.

 

Isaiah Prophesied of Christ’s Authority

 

The power, all of which Jesus claimed to have, both in heaven and earth, is the power of rule or government and is generally translated authority. It is the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed. The power, or rule of government, which Jesus claims on this particular occasion is that which Isaiah predicted seven centuries before Christ claimed it. Speaking of Christ, Isaiah said that the government would be upon his shoulder, and, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.” (Isaiah 9: 7.)

 

The Father Delegated All Authority To Christ

 

There are only two kinds of power or authority, primary or delegated authority. Jesus states that all power and authority which he has, had been given to him. Therefore, Jesus received his power from some­one else. God, the Father, delegated all power in heaven and earth to his son Jesus Christ when he sent him into the world to be the savior of mankind. Near the end of his life, in his great high priestly prayer, Jesus said to his Father, “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. (John 17: 2.) The Father then gave Christ power over all flesh. Jesus exercised this kingly power through his kingdom or church after he had ascended to the right hand of God; angels, authorities and powers being made sub­ject unto him. (1 Peter 3: 22.) The power then which Christ has transcends all earthly and heavenly power, might, principalities and dominions. (cf. Daniel 7: 13-l4; Ephesians 1:19-21.)

 

The Apostles Charged To Make Disciples of All Nations

 

In view of the great authority which Jesus has, he said to the apostles, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28: 19.) The antecedent of the pronoun ye refers to the eleven apostles. The charge was originally given to them in order that the word of God might be put on record. They were challenged to teach all nations. The word teach is a transitive verb which takes a direct object to complete the meaning. The object of their teaching was to be all nations. Therefore, the great commission is un­limited in its nature. It is to be a universal teaching program throughout the whole earth. It is not to be exclusive as to class or race as was the Old Testa­ment system of religion. It is to be world wide in na­ture.

 

All Nations Are To Be Taught of God

 

            The word, teach, means to make a disciple, to in­struct, to make scholars out of all nations. While it is not stated in this particular account of the commission what they were to teach, it is implied from what they were told to do. In Mark’s account of this same charge, Jesus said, “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15.) Therefore, the subject matter was to be the gospel be­cause it is the power of God unto salvation to every­one that keeps on believing. (Romans 1:16-17.) This implies that no one can enter into the kingdom of God without first being instructed in the kingdom. (Matthew 13: 52.) That this is the case can be seen by Jesus’ own words: “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” (John 6:45.)

 

The reason the apostles were charged with teaching the gospel to all the nations is because men must be instructed and taught before entering the kingdom of God. (cf. Hebrews 8:10-11.) After the church was established this is exactly what the apostles did. We have an example in the fourteenth chapter of Acts of Apostles, of Paul and Barnabas preaching the gospel and making disciples out of many in the city of Derbe. (Acts 14: 21.) The action then which Jesus commands is teaching or making scholars and learners and the object of that action is to be all nations.

 

Those Taught Are To Be Baptized

 

Jesus not only charged his apostles to teach all nations, but also to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The ob­ject of the baptizing was to be them. The pronoun them, refers to all nations, but in the context it is under­stood that they should baptize only those who had been taught or made disciples out of all the nations. Therefore, first they were to teach them, then baptize those who had been taught and were willing to submit to that command.

 

Baptism Is By Immersion for the Remission of Sins

 

The term baptizing is a present active participle, which completes the idea of the leading verb in the sen­tence which is teach. A participle has the qualities of both a verb and an adjective, clearly implying that the baptizing was to be done to those who had been taught and who had learned the gospel of Jesus Christ out of all the nations. The word baptizing comes from the root verb which means to dip, plunge or immerse. The element in which they were baptized is not stated in this passage but can be inferred from reading the scriptures concerning this subject elsewhere. They were to be baptized in water for the remission of sins. (Acts 2: 38.)  Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved