THE MEANING OF THE MANDATE
God’s people are familiar with Matthew 28:18-20,
better known as the Great Commission. Behind this
commission given to the Church is the authority of the
Lord Jesus; in fact, all authority in heaven and on earth is
given to Him. Accompanying this Commission is the
promise that the Lord Jesus Himself will be with His
people always, to the very end of the age, as they carry
out this mandate.
(A) THE IMPERATIVE: MAKE DISCIPLES
The imperative in this mandate is surely to “make
disciples of all nations”. It is not simply urging people to
accept Christ or being contented in having people
baptized. Although these are very important, making
disciples is essentially helping people to grow in an
ongoing, intimate relationship with the triune God.
Discipleship implies a definite commitment to God,
which endures throughout the ups and downs as well as
the changing and challenging circumstances of life.
(B) IT INVOLVES TRANSFORMATION AND
RELATIONSHIP
It involves helping people to be transformed by the
thorough and comprehensive teachings of Christ and
being conformed to the image of the Master through the
ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is a long-term life-long
process.
The mandate embraces community life,
relationship with God and with other people, the shaping
of attitudes, values, character and deeds for the whole of
life and beyond.
(C) IT INVOLVES LIVING OUT THE
TEACHING
It includes not just teaching by word, but teaching
lived out and demonstrated personally and in the context
of Church-life and the community. It implies that the
ones who disciple and teach must themselves be
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(D) IT IS THE WORK OF GOD
Salvation is not just about conversion; it includes
sanctification (spiritual formation and transformation) in
the process of discipleship personally and corporately,
realized through the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives
of believers.
There can be no mistaken idea that we have the
ability to seek God apart from God’s initial movement of
grace in our lives. Divine action takes priority over
human action and it is God’s gift that makes possible the
task of disciple-making. Recognizing this, we cannot
depend on human strategy, methods and means to fulfill
the Great Commission; we need to depend solely on God
to do His work in His ways and by His Spirit. All of
God’s work in our lives is a work of grace.
But, as we shall discover later, divine grace is not
opposed to moral effort and cooperation with God. It is
opposed to earning divine favor and establishing our
own merit in the outworking of our faith.
As we consider the extent and meaning of making
disciples, we need to ask what the current state of the
Church and mission is, in relation to fulfilling the Great
Commission.