The Great Commission
Matthew 28:16-20
16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (ESV)
We commonly refer to Jesus' command here as the Great Commission.
We commonly use it as an impetus to sending missionaries, evangelism and Church planting.
We refer to it when we baptize "in the name of The Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
And I believe these are valid references.
But--how often do we use it reference to discipling others?
After all, Jesus commands us to "make disciples." So if we make disciples--whould we also not disciple them?
While we can rightly point to this passage to send missionaries, sharing the gospel, and planting churches-let's make sure that impetus doesn't run over those who are already believers. We need to disciple those already in our churches.
Jesus told us to do that.
16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (ESV)
We commonly refer to Jesus' command here as the Great Commission.
We commonly use it as an impetus to sending missionaries, evangelism and Church planting.
We refer to it when we baptize "in the name of The Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
And I believe these are valid references.
But--how often do we use it reference to discipling others?
After all, Jesus commands us to "make disciples." So if we make disciples--whould we also not disciple them?
While we can rightly point to this passage to send missionaries, sharing the gospel, and planting churches-let's make sure that impetus doesn't run over those who are already believers. We need to disciple those already in our churches.
Jesus told us to do that.
posted by pilgrim at 11:45 PM
4 Comments:
what the difference between a disciple and a christian? Are you a Christian for a certain amount of time, or need a certain amount of knowledge then, a bell rings you are promoted to the title disciple?
I would say that to be a Christian automatically makes you a disciple of Christ.
In that verse disciple and Chrisitan are interchangeable.
Just something to think about
Well not all disciples are disciples of Christ, but being a Christian can not be separated from being a disciple of Christ.
that is the point i was trying to make
Well then we agree on this point.
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