- God has given man (men and women) a primary objective to accomplish while he lives on earth. Man is to represent God (act as God’s visible stand-in) through rulership and reflection. Rulership means God has chosen man to be His agent and authority on earth. Reflection means that man should be a mirror so that creation can see God. Therefore, man should demonstrate and mirror by his thoughts, by his priorities, and by his actions God’s character (what God is like – divine attributes), God’s greatness (positive superiority), and God’s authority (kingship and ownership) to angelic and human creation (Genesis 1:26-28; Job 1:6-2:10; Psalm 8:3-6; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 3:10; Colossians 1:16; 1 Peter 4:11).
- Matthew 28:19-20 is the record of a command briefing that Christ gave His disciples (soon to become apostles to the church). It took place on a mountain in Galilee. The purpose was to instruct them about the strategic objectives of ministry for the entire interadvent period. Believers carry out the strategic objectives in order to accomplish God’s primary objective for man on earth. This instruction applied to their ministry and to the ministry of all those down through the years that would follow them.
- By the time that Christ gave this mandate to His disciples God had already postponed the kingdom that He had promised to Israel because Israel had rejected the King and His message (Matthew 21:43-46).
- When Christ gave this mandate He was anticipating the historical period that would fall between His ascension and the beginning of the earthly millennial kingdom in the future. He had planned that the church age would take up most of this coming historical interlude.
- The disciples were told to go from this briefing out into the world of man.
- The strategic objectives of those disciples listening to Christ and of those that would follow were to make disciples by evangelism and edification.
- Make disciples is the main verb (a word that indicates action or being) of verses 19 and 20. The verb indicates that this is a command from Christ to His disciples and that they are to take an active part in making disciples. Therefore, Christ is giving a commission or mandate to His staff. This commission calls for action in response to Him.
- A disciple is a believer, a learning pupil, and a faithful follower of Christ (Matthew 10:24-25; Luke 14:27; John 8:31; 15:8; Acts 11:26; 19:8-10). Make disciples begins with the witnessing process, moves to the initial faith in Christ for salvation, and continues with progressive growth in learning and commitment to Christ.
- The recipient or target of this ministry is all the nations, which refers to all ethnic, national, and racial groups.
- The command to disciple all the nations requires believers to do two things. The first is evangelism. The second is teaching or edification.
- Baptizing and teaching are both used in this context to support the main verb make disciples. They explain the method or means or way to make disciples of all nations. God works through baptizing and teaching to make disciples.
- Baptizing in this context means the identification with Christ in death and resurrection to new life by ritual immersion in water. The word baptizing is used here instead of evangelizing because in the public ministry of John (Matthew 3:1-7; 11:16; Acts 13:24; 18:25), of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17), and the life of the first century church (Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12, 13, 16, 36, 38; 16:15, 33; 1 Corinthians 1:13-17), baptism was linked with a faith response to the message. It was a clear indication of this fact of evangelism and faith acceptance of that message. Therefore, baptizing refers to witnessing followed by faith response to Christ and water baptism (which outwardly indicates the new relationship with Christ). The total concept referred to means evangelization or evangelism.
- Teaching refers to the communication of content from one who knows to one who listens in order to learn. The Biblical meaning is that the person who knows (the teacher) communicates the Word of God to other people who have placed themselves under the teacher’s authority in order to listen and to learn the Word of God (Bible doctrine). Teaching results in an agreeable understanding or true knowledge of the Word of God by the learner. The function of teaching is carried out by gifted communicators, pastor/teachers, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:28-31; 1 Timothy 4:11; 2 Timothy 2:2; 4:2; Romans 12:7), but all believers are to communicate doctrine to other believers with whom they come into contact (Hebrews 5:11-14).
- Christ promises that He will be with them (and all believers that accept His mandate). This refers to His personal presence, support, and authority as detailed in John 13-17.
- Until the end of the age indicates that this ministry is to continue from the time Christ gave the mandate until He returns to establish the promised millennial kingdom on earth for Israel. This period of time includes the present church age.
- The commission was not fulfilled, nor could it have been finally accomplished by the eleven disciples. Christ was speaking to the eleven disciples and to all believers that would follow throughout the interadvent period.
- Therefore, God’s ministry for the church is to make disciples (learning, growing, obedient, committed believers) through a strong, aggressive, intensive ministry on two fronts. These two fronts are evangelism or witnessing for Christ (from an individual local church’s point of view this is the direction of the external ministry which goes to the unbeliever) and edification or learning Bible doctrine (the internal ministry of an individual local church and the external ministry to other believers).
- The epistles recognize and expand the doctrine of evangelism and edification. They stress evangelism as the normal and expected life of believers that are being taught (Romans 1:14-17; 10:13-17; 1 Corinthians 4:14-17; 5:14-21; Ephesians 4:11; 6:15, 19; Philippians 1:12-18; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 1:23; 3:15; Jude 3). The epistles also emphasize teaching or edification as the only way to gain knowledge of the Word of God (spiritual food so necessary for spiritual health, growth, and living) (Romans 1:8-12; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; 12-14; Ephesians 1:16-19; 2:19-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-11; 2:1-7; 1 Timothy 1:3-5; 4:13-16; 2 Timothy 2:2; 3:14-17; 4:2-5; Hebrews 5:11-14; 6:1; James 1:21-25; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 John 1-6; 3 John 3-4).
- In order to fulfill their God-given potential for evangelism and edification, believers need to continually take into account and adjust to God’s primary objective for man, to God and His nature, to God’s grace policy, to God’s strategic objectives, to God’s protocol for the Christian Way of Life, and to God’s spiritual resources for believers.