The Great Commission is, no doubt, God’s heartbeat for every generation of Christians regardless of denomination, race, or culture. It is the last recorded personal instruction given by Jesus to His disciples and, by extension, to all His followers.
It is a special calling that demands urgent action from all followers of Christ. The Great Commission is “a command that the Church must obey.”
It is the basis on which our tasks on earth would be evaluated as believers, Local Churches, Associations, Conferences and Denominations. I pray that none of us would be found wanting on the last day in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
1. Recovering the vision for the Great Commission
The Great Commission is a popular theme in the body of Christ. Virtually all God’s people are in agreement that the Great Commission is the reason for the existence of the Church.
The Great Commission has been defined/described in different ways: “the marching order of the church;” “the Global plan of evangelization,” the last mandate of Jesus Christ, etc.
The Great Commission is so important to Christ that it was recorded in all four gospel accounts and also in Matthew. 28: 16-20; Mark 16: 15-17; Luke 24: 47-49; Jan. 20: 21-22; Acts 1: 4,5, 8. Permit me to share with you the following insights about the Great Commission:
2. Insights about Great Commission
First, the original recipients were the eleven disciples v. 16. Judas, by that time, the instruction was given, had committed suicide.
It was the remaining eleven disciples that had the privilege of meeting with Jesus Christ at Galilee, where He gave them the instruction. By extension, that instruction is for all believers in Jesus from one generation to another.
The scripture reveals that the eleven worshipped Christ “When they saw him.” It was in this atmosphere of worship that Jesus gave them this divine mandate, Acts 13: 1-3.
It is also important to note that the Great Commission was based on Christ’s Great Authority- v.18. This reveals the supernatural power that backs up the Great Commission. We must therefore never be afraid of pursuing this mandate.
3. Components of the Great Commission
A critical look at the Great Commission passage shows that it has at least five (5) major components. They are as follows:
The Going Component
This is the evangelism component. Every disciple is expected to be committed to evangelism. We all are to be Christ’s witnesses everywhere and every time. We are to do this as we “go” in our everyday life. Imagine what would happen if every Christian were intentional about winning at least one soul per year to Christ and was committed to making them disciples of Jesus Christ.
The evangelism methods
Amongst others, some of the evangelism methods are personal evangelism, corporate evangelism, lifestyle evangelism, door-to-door evangelism, church planting evangelism, etc. The church planting evangelism according to Elmer Towns is however mostly implied in the Great Commission for the following reasons.
The command to make disciples of all nations is best fulfilled by an indigenous church in every culture.” “Baptist identifies a new believer with Christ and with me, the church. The result of Baptist is to plant a church to carry on this process.
The best means of evangelizing a group of people is through a ministering assembly of saved people, the church. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you has to do with instructing believers to obey the words of Christ.
The early church obeyed this instruction by committing abundantly in the New Testament of believers going everywhere establishing churches, Acts 9:31.
The Discipleship Component
The second component of the Great Commission is the Disciple-making components. This is the chief of all components. This is what the Great Commission is about.
Our assignment is not just to go and evangelise and make concerts. We are to go and make disciples of all nations. Every other component in the Great Commission must have discipleship as its chief end.
The Teaching Components
The next important component in the Great Commission is teaching. This is one of the ways discipleship is done. Just like we cannot make men disciples of Jesus Christ without first of all winning them, so also, we cannot engage in a meaningful and effective discipleship process without teaching.
This explains why the early church gave serious priority to teaching as evidenced in Acts 2: 42. The result of this endeavor in the early church, especially at the church in Antioch, was profound – Acts 11: 26.
The Baptism Component
Another principal component of the Great Commission is baptism. Christ instructed that those who believed, should be taught, discipled and baptized. Baptism is what marks the disciples’ initiation into the family of believers called the church.
Baptism is the second requirement for church membership in a New Testament church – Acts 2: 37-38. The implication of this on biblical church membership is for reaching. It must neither be trivialised nor compromised.
The Divine Assurance Component
The last component of the Great Commission is the assurance of the divine presence. It is important to take note of what Christ gave His disciples to accomplish the Great Commission.
Despite the scope, the demands, the challenges and all that the Great Commission entails, what Christ gave the eleven disciples were not gadgets, silver, gold or any material thing. Our Lord gave them and by extension us, His presence! v 20b.
Every local church is expected to be a disciple making church, and must have unalloyed commitment to Christ. We must arise and recover the vision for the Great Commission and resolve to be committed to it. This is a major newness we must experience as a denomination, otherwise, God won’t be pleased with us.
4. Commitment to the Great Commission
One major response that Christ expects from the church in all generations towards the Great Commission is unalloyed commitment. Without commitment, the Great Commission would continue to suffer delay in its implementation and may not be accomplished in our generation.
It is therefore important that we all wake up from slumbering, laziness, distractions and get committed to fulfilling our purpose as individuals, families, and the church.
5. Demands of the Great Commission
The commitment required to pursuing and completing the Great Commission would therefore demand the following:
Genuine love and perfect unity, v 17
This can be found in John 13: 34-35; Acts 13: 1-3; Eph. 4: 1-3; Phil. 2: 1-2. Genuine love and perfect unity are two major requirements for the church to fulfil and complete the Great Commission. We must resolve to love each other against all odds.
Similarly, we must commit ourselves to unity within our local congregations, associations and denominations. All denominational walls must be brought down. We must stop competing with each other, and rather come to complementing one another in this great work.
Team Spirit, v 16
Another vital requirement similar to the first point is team spirit. “Team work makes the dream work” is a popular saying. We would be able to do much more when we work as a team rather than in isolation.
Divine Envisioning, v 16
Christ deliberately invited His eleven disciples to “a mountain” in Galilee to envision them. Great visions are not birthed in the valley. They are imparted on the mountain. Many of us are yet to catch the vision for the Great Commission because we are valley dwellers!
This is the time to go up the mountain so we can personally receive this heavenly vision – Exodus 25:9, 40; Matthew 9: 36-38; 17: 1-2; John 4:31-38; Acts 26: 15-19.
Continuous Encounter with the Resurrected Christ v. 16
Commitment to the Great Commitment requires continuous encounter with the resurrected Christ. This was not the first time the eleven disciples were encountering Christ after His resurrection.
Our Lord Jesus continued to reveal Himself to the eleven severally after His resurrection. This, no doubt, helped to consolidate and concretise His previous dealings with them.
A Life of Worship v. 17a
It is important to note that the Great Commission was received in an atmosphere of worship, which is no doubt an atmosphere of deep reverence for the Lord. Interestingly, it was in such a similar atmosphere that Barnabas and Saul received this same commission – Acts 13: 1-4.
Consistently Hearing from the Lord v. 18b
Henry Blackaby said, “A believer who does not know how to hear from God is in trouble at the heart of his Christian experience.” It is sad that many believers, even ministers, are not exempted from this weakness. Most of our actions are not based on what God said but on presumption. May the Lord give all of us hearing ears, in Jesus’ name.
Proper Utilization of Christ’s Authority vv. 18: 19
Jesus Christ commissioned the eleven and gave them authority, just as He has received from the Lord. That authority covers both the heaven and the earth. This authority is meant to be used to pursue and accomplish Christ’s purpose and not for personal aggrandisement.
Resolution to Obey Christ and His Command v. 19
How slow and sluggish has our response to the Great Commission been! Our response is different from the disciples who promptly obeyed the instruction. They went to different parts of the world carrying out this mandate. The generations after them did the same. We also need to follow in this pattern of obedience.
Sound Biblical Teaching v. 20a
There seems to be a deficiency of sound biblical teaching in the church today. This is mainly due to the scarcity of men like Ezra who have “devoted themselves to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its degrees and Law” – Ezra 7: 10. It will be difficult to make correct biblical disciples without sound biblical teaching – Acts 11: 26. May God 7: 10.
Walking with the Assurance of Divine Presence –v. 20b
There is no other thing that we need to accomplish the Great Commission other than the divine presence. Once we are sure of His presence, we can go anywhere and at any time. With the divine presence, we can turn our world around and bring the needed transformation that the entire creation is groaning and longing for – Romans 8: 18-22.
With the presence of God, every other thing required will be attracted. It is impossible to lack anything required to fulfill our mandate when Christ is with us – Psalm 23: 1; let us seek above all else therefore, the divine presence and all will be well with us.
Mountains and hills will skip like rams before us – Psalm 114: 1-7. Satan will continue to fall before us like lightning and his demons would be subject to us as we do our Lord’s bidding. All we need is for Christ to abide with us – Luke 24: 29.
Conclusion
Beloved, we have all that it takes to do our part of the Great Commission. It is time to break the yoke of lethargy, escape the prison of inertia, shake off all thoughts of the impossibility, break down every known barrier that has hindered us from doing our Lord’s bidding and begin to pursue the mandate left for us by our king. You can read more similar posts on our mission and evangelism page of the site.
