Many of you are familiar with the Great Commission, given to followers of Jesus at the end of the gospel of Matthew. Its place at the end of the book suggests this Commission represents Jesus’ final instructions to His followers:
“Go therefore and share the gospel with all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
However, that’s not the Great Commission. I changed some words. “Share the gospel with” isn’t in the ESV translation of this verse. Matthew 28:19 actually says:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
This illustrates a common idea that the Great Commission is mostly, or even all, about evangelism (sharing the good news of Jesus with people, in order to convert them to Christianity). The verse appears so often in the context of evangelism that, even though it says “make disciples,” it is often thought of the first way I wrote it.
Making disciples is a much bigger subject than evangelism and takes place in a much broader context, suggested by adding verse 20 to the quote:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Yes, evangelism is crucially important in the mission of the church (you can’t disciple if you don’t have Christians to disciple), but the Commission covers so much more that the church needs to do. It’s not just about accumulating converts, but about making disciples who follow Jesus. It covers anything involved with “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” and God equips each member of His church to contribute. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
And in verses 8-10 he lists some of the gifts:
“For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
These gifts are for “the common good”, and Paul says in chapters 13 and 14 that these gifts are useless unless used in love to build up the church, to make it (both as a total body, and as individual members) more like Christ. In other words, to disciple all nations since the church includes people from everywhere!
“So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.” – 1 Corinthians 14:12
Paul also makes a point to warn about emphasizing or exalting some gifts above others:
“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable”[1]
Limiting the Great Commission to evangelistic efforts also risks raising evangelists above those with other gifts. Maybe the teachers, helpers, and others will feel like the foot, which in Paul’s illustration, said:
“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body”[2]
Every time Paul wrote about the spiritual gifts, in 1 Corinthians 12-14, in Romans 12, and in Ephesians 4, he stresses the unity of the church, founded on love among its members. All gifts are part of the Great Commission when we know we are not making converts but making disciples. Every Christian has a part to play, specific to their own gifts, passions, and opportunities, and no Christian should feel like a second-class citizen of the church. Paul’s teaching on gifts is an encouragement to embrace diversity in the church – of gifts, of ministries, and of personalities – but not diversity of motive. The only good motive is self-sacrificial agape love, and each gift is only effective to the degree that the one using it uses it in service to the growth of the church.
Perhaps the Great Commission should be renamed as the Commission to Disciple? What a difference a couple of words make.
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 
I like the way you began this blog piece and how you supported your point with other scriptures.
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