Problem 16 - That the Great Commission in Mt and Mark is for the Body of Christ

PROBLEM NO. 16 --THAT THE COMMISSION THE LORD JESUS GAVE TO THE DISCIPLES IN
MARK 16:15-18 AND IN MATT. 28:18-20 IS FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST

Acts 2 theologians (and Reformed theologians) call this 'The Great Commission.' Three other passages of Scripture are also included in this commission - Luke 24:46-49; John 20:23; and Acts 1:8.

THE TRUTH

Much has been written on this theme by Christian writers. A good way to study this subject is to break it down into its various parts and comment on them.

1. The WORLD of Mark 16:15, in the phrase 'Go into all the world' refers to the Gentiles according to the ' Abrahamic Covenant. But before they could go to the Gentiles, they had to begin in Jerusalem and then go to Judea and Samaria (Acts 1:8). The phrase in Acts 1:8 'the end of the earth' is the same area as the 'world' in Mark 16:15. The order as given in Acts 1:8 is important and needed to be fulfilled in the order as it was written by Luke.

The very first verse in the New Testament sets the tone for our Lord's earthly ministry, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1). The mention of David and Abraham should immediately remind one of the Covenants in the Old Testament that God made with those two men (2 Sam. 7:12-29 - DAVID: Gen. 12:1-3 - ABRAHAM). The Gentiles do have a place in these Covenants, but only THROUGH the saved Nation of Israel as it represents Jehovah God in His dealings with mankind. This is where Mark 16:15 canes in, and why the order of territory in Acts 1:8 is so important. The Hebrew people in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria needed to be saved FIRST before the Twelve Apostles could go to the end of the earth. Since this did not happen in the book of Acts under the Apostles' ministry, this Divine order will be carried out during the Tribulation Period and in the Millennium. Paul was familiar with this truth, as he indicated in Romans 15:8-12.

2. The GOSPEL that is referred to in this commission is the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus and His disciples preached in the 4 Gospels (Matt. 9:35). This is the only 'gospel' preached during our Lord's earthly ministry. This is the only 'gospel' that the disciples knew. To teach that the Gospel of the grace of God, which was LATER revealed to the Apostle Paul by the risen Christ (Acts 20:24), is the gospel of the great commission is totally wrong

3. The TERMS of the Gospel of the Kingdom are: (1) to believe, (2) be baptized with water for salvation (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). Mark expressed it in the simplest way possible, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved..."

Under this gospel, when a person believed, he exercised faith in this message. God has required FAITH in every age for those who want to be saved. But it is not strictly 'faith alone' when discussing the Gospel of the Kingdom; water baptism is also included when repentance and confession of sins are indicated by the person who believed. Luke 3:3 says, "And he [John the Baptist] went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." In Matt. 3:6, the word 'confessing' is used instead of 'repentance' when they were baptized by John.

This preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom includes the ministry of the Twelve Apostles in the book of Acts. The only terms for salvation were belief (faith) and water baptism, which is what Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost.

4. When the Gospel of the Kingdom was proclaimed, there were many signs and miracles that accompanied this Gospel. Jesus had told them that they would do many greater than what He did (John 14:12), and He very dogmatically said that signs would follow those that believed (Mark 16:17-18). This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost, as Acts 2:43 states, that 'many wonders and signs were done through the Apostles.' The 'signs' proved that God was working in their midst in a wonderful way. This continued for a few years, at least up to and including chapter 12 of Acts, where Peter is delivered from jail by an angel of the Lord (Acts 12:7).

5. The reason for water baptism was for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; John 20:23; Acts 2:38). Luke 1:77-78 teaches that this was according to the mercy of God: "To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission [forgiveness] of their sins, [78] through the tender mercy of our God..." The word 'remission' means 'forgiveness.'

John 20:23 is an interesting verse: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." This is the only place in John where the forgiveness of sins is mentioned. The only way the disciples could forgive the sins of any person was through water baptism; it is certainly implied in John 20:23. This verse is parallel with Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."

Both verses deal with saved and unsaved people; only the language is different:

1. Saved - John 20:23a - sins forgiven them / Mark 16:16a - believes and is baptized
2. Unsaved - John 20:23b - retain (keep] one's sins / Mark 16:16b - does not believe; condemned; not necessary to mentionwater baptism here

Water baptism is a part of each verse because that was the way God programmed it for the forgiveness of sins. We should not argue with God over this fact. The one who is condemned does not need water baptism because he refused to repent and confess his sins; so he holds on to his sins and is condemned (John 3:18).

Today, during this Dispensation of grace, all of our sins are washed away, forgiven by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:14). His blood cancels out the need for water baptism in this Age of grace. 6. It is stated in Matt. 28:20 that the disciples were to teach the Gentiles (nations) 'to observe all things that I (Jesus) have commanded you.' The word 'observe' takes us back to Matt. 23:1-3, "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, [2] saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. [3] Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do..." What is in view here is the Law of Moses and its teachings and not Christianity, as Reformed Theology believes. Three of the Lord's Discourses are found in the 4 Gospels - (1) the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7); (2) the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25); (3) the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17). These three discourses are a part of Judaism, and the many practical aspects of the three discourses, and the other times He taught them is what He had in mind for them to tell to the Gentile nations. This would also include the practical aspects of the New Covenant that is mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31.

But we must remember that Israel had to be saved FIRST before they could go to the nations. Even though that is not mentioned in Matt. 28:18-20, this truth can be seen in Acts 1:8 and in Luke 24:47. of course, the Apostles would know the truth of Genesis 12:3, "And in you (Abram) all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So what Jesus told them to do was something they were very familiar with (even though Reformed Theology and Acts 2 Theology reject this viewpoint).

What is the commission (or marching orders) for the Body of Christ if it is not the great commission?

Our commission from the risen Lord is found in 2 Cor. 5:18-20, "And the all things (are) from God, the One having reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and having given to us the ministry of the reconciliation. [19] How that God was in Christ reconciling (the) world to Himself, not imputing to them their trespasses, and having placed with us the word of the reconciliation. [20] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as it were, God encouraging by us, we ask for Christ, you be reconciled to God" (from the author's The Unveiling of Christianity).

This passage states that 'us' (verses 18,19), the members of the Body of Christ, have been given the message that reconciles unsaved people to God. This message is the Gospel of the grace of God. Paul is the only one to use the Greek words that have to do with man being reconciled with God. The Gospel of the Kingdom is not a message of reconciliation as a part of salvation.

'To reconcile' means 'to change.'. When a person has a saving experience with the Lord Jesus Christ, HE GETS CHANGED; he is reconciled to God. He becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Many things happen to the believer at the time of salvation, and reconciliation is one of those things. This truth is a part of the Mystery revealed to Paul. As ambassadors for Christ, it is our responsibility to proclaim this Divine message to all unsaved people.

There is one other verse that pertains to our commission. It is Ephesians 3:9, "And to illuminate all (as to) what (is) the Dispensation of the Mystery, the one having been kept secret from the ages in God, the One having created the all things by Jesus Christ" (from the author's The Unveiling of Christianity).

Ephesians, chapter 3, sets forth truth that is a part of this present Dispensation of grace that was committed to the Apostle Paul. Verse 9 shows that our commission is involved with this Dispensation.

Our job is to illuminate believers with the Revelation of the Mystery. But first WE must know about the Mystery. This is taught in Eph. 1:18, "the eyes of your understanding having been illuminated, in order for you to know what is the hope of His calling, and what (is) the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the holy places" (The Unveiling of Christianity).

The word 'illuminated' in Eph. 1:18 and in 3:9 is the Greek verb PHOTIZO, 'to give light, shine, enlighten, illumine.' (The Old King James and the New King James Bibles translated it 'being enlightened' in 1:18 and 'make see' in 3:9). It is used just twice in Ephesians, involving a progression of truth. In 1:18 Paul prayed that the new nature (understanding) of the believers would be illuminated by the Holy Spirit with the knowledge of God that pertains to this Dispensation. This was and is to be a continual process over their lifetime (the words 'having been illuminated' is in the Greek perfect tense).

Then, after they are saturated with the truth of the Mystery and are able to make it clear to others, they were to take this light and illuminate all believers with the wonderful and important truth that pertains to the Dispensation of the Mystery. This is an important aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:5). The new nature is capable of being established in the faith as the Word of God is rightly divided (Col. 2:7; 3:10).

This prayer might have been fulfilled in sane of the lives of the Ephesians, but it certainly has not been fulfilled in the Body of Christ over the past 19 centuries. The Church has been completely ignorant of the Mystery of Christ for all this time. The average Christian does not know what the Revelation of the Mystery is (Rom. 16:25), yet Paul said that this is the way the risen Christ is to be presented in our ministry.

By Robert C. Brock