The Mission of the Church | Matthew 28:16-20

Is there an issue or cause that you are passionate about?

There is certainly no shortage of crises and causes in the world today: Poverty and homelessness; inflation and economic concerns; illiteracy and education; public health crises; drug addiction and the opioid epidemic; suicide; wars and refugee crises (there are 56 active conflicts involving 92 countries today); human trafficking; terrorism; malnutrition and the need for clean food and water; and on and on.

I think our phones and social media contribute to this, but doesn’t it seem like all these causes are clamoring for our attention and our affections and our money and our action all the time? As a finite being with limited time and limited emotional bandwidth, you can’t live with the intensity cranked to 11 about every issue all the time. But not caring doesn’t seem like the right response either. What are we to do?

Of all the things—all the causes and campaigns we could be involved in—what is our mission? More specifically, what is the mission of the church? Or to put it another way, what is the church sent into the world to do?

There is a real danger that if everything is a priority, nothing is. If everything is mission, nothing is. We need mission clarity. And that’s what Jesus gives his Church in his final words in Matthew’s Gospel.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

Make Disciples

What is the mission of the Church? The mission is not anything and everything that Christians do or that the Church could be involved in. The mission of the Church is specifically that which Jesus sends his church into the world to do. And that’s what we find in the Great Commission—a clear command from the Risen Christ, the King of heaven and earth: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19).

That’s the mission, to make disciples of all nations. That much is fairly easy to agree upon. But what does it mean to “make disciples”?

It’s instructive to consider the verbs that could have been used and weren’t. Jesus could have used κηρύσσω (kerusso), which means to announce or proclaim. Or μαρτυρέω (martureo), meaning bear witness or testify. Or εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizo): to bring good news or evangelize. Those verbs are certainly used elsewhere to describe the activity of the Church, but here, Jesus uses the verb μαθητεύω (matheteuo), to make disciples.

D. A. Carson explains that this verb “entails both preaching and response.” And Ken Gentry writes, “The proclamation of truth is necessarily there, of course. But the idea of discipling involves the proclamation of truth with a view to its effecting the appropriate response in the disciple.”

The point is that the mission is not simply to bear witness or proclaim the gospel—though it is not less than that—but to proclaim the gospel and then to teach those who believe to work out all the implications and applications of the gospel in all of life. To put it simply, the mission of the Church is to make the world thoroughly Christian.

Does that sound impossible? If not impossible then improbable? Listen again to the words of Jesus: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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” (Matt 28:19–20).

There are four phrases here that use the Greek for every or all: all authority, all nations, all that I have commanded you, and I am with you always. The Great Commission is great for many reasons. One reason is that it is all-encompassing and in its power, scope, and mission.

Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, “What is the principal intention of this commission; to disciple all nations. [The Greek word means] “... do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations” …. The work which the apostles had to do, was, to set up the Christian religion in all places, and it was honourable work; the achievements of the mighty heroes of the world were nothing to it. They conquered the nations for themselves, and made them miserable; the apostles conquered them for Christ, and made them happy.”

G. K. Chesterton once gave a simple illustration of slow and steady progress toward a grand and glorious vision for the world that I find helpful: “Let us suppose a man wanted a particular kind of world; say, a blue world. He would have no cause to complain of the slightness or swiftness of his task; he might toil for a long time at the transformation; he could work away (in every sense) until all was blue. He could have heroic adventures; the putting of the last touches to a blue tiger. He could have fairy dreams; the dawn of a blue moon. But if he worked hard, that high-minded reformer would certainly … leave the world better and bluer than he found it. If he altered a blade of grass to his favorite color every day, he would get on slowly. But if he altered his favorite color every day, he would not get on at all.”

Jesus is King of the world and he wants all the nations to know him, trust him, obey him, and worship him as king in all of life. If that is a blue world, our mission is to turn the world blue, one blade of grass—one human life at a time. And what we need is mission clarity. Our favorite color can’t change constantly or we won’t make any progress at all. Jesus is King, and the mission is to assert his crown rights over all of life.

But how do we do that? Look again at the text. The command to “disciple the nations” is surrounded by three other verbs in participle form: going, baptizing, and teaching. These statements give dynamic depth to the mission and clarify the task. How are we to make the world thoroughly Christian? By going, baptizing, and teaching.

Go

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (v. 19).

The command to “go” means that the Church is sent into the world. In other words, there is a mission. The posture of the Church toward the world is not retreating or reclusive. The Church is not cloistered, self-preserving, or inward focused. The Church is commissioned—sent by the King to a dark and hostile world to proclaim the Gospel, which is the power of God for salvation.

The command to go reminds us that we are surrounded by people who are lost and dead in sin, “having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Entire nations are languishing in sin, worshiping idols, oppressed by demons, and suffering the effects of sin. They are alienated from God; their hearts are hard; their understanding is darkened. The devastating effects of sin ravage everything humans do, from addiction and despair in human hearts, to abuse in homes, to perversion in culture, to corruption in the state. Jesus sends his Church into that world because he bought it with his blood.

And that means there’s hope because Jesus’ aim in sending his Church is to save the world. “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:13–15).

This is what the command to go has in view: the Church going and preaching, the lost hearing, believing, calling on the name of Jesus, and being saved. Jesus sending his Church into the world is further proof that he came, not to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 3:17). Just as God put Adam in Eden, a cultivated garden surrounded by untamed wilderness, and told him to subdue the world, so Jesus sent his Church to proclaim his Kingdom to all the pagan, idol-worshiping, child-sacrificing, demon-fearing peoples of the world.

Like Jonathan said last week, this doesn’t mean every individual Christian is required to sell their home and move geographically or become a missionary in Africa. But I do take it to mean that the posture of the Christian Church is by nature missional, militant, moving outward. The command to go implies that barriers and boundaries will have to be crossed for the sake of the gospel, whether those barriers are geographical, relational, social, political, or ethnic.

Making the world thoroughly Christian requires evangelism. We go in the power and authority of the risen Christ to inform the world of the rule and reign of Christ, declaring that every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord (Phil 2:9–10). We are sent to the world to announce that the Kingdom of God has come, that Christ died for our sins and triumphed over the grave, and that forgiveness of sins is available to all who trust in him.

Baptize

Look again at verse 19: “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” (Matthew 28:19).

The mission is not just to proclaim the Gospel. Neither is the mission merely to make converts or to get initial, one-time professions of faith, or so-called “decisions for Christ.” The mission is to unite new disciples to Christ and his Church in lifelong commitment. That’s indicated by the instruction to make disciples by baptizing them.

Baptism is the public and visible sign of entrance into the Kingdom of God. Every disciple (or follower) of Christ begins here, with faith in the Triune God. Jesus says, “Baptizing them in the name” (singular)—not “names” (plural)—of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  

As our Statement of Faith says, “The one true God eternally exists as three persons …. The three … are neither divided nor mixed, are of one and the same essence, are equal from all eternity, and are worthy to be worshipped as the one God—Father, Son, and  Holy Spirit.”

The Father created the world and so loved the world that he gave his Son. The Son accomplished salvation by living and dying and rising for our sins. And the Spirit applies redemption to God’s people by regenerating, indwelling, and empowering us.

And genuine saving faith in the Triune God is not merely a subjective thought or feeling in a person’s heart; it is objectively expressed outwardly through baptism. Baptism is like the Christian’s swearing-in ceremony. Baptism is an oath of allegiance to Jesus, the Risen King who rightfully possesses all authority in heaven and on earth. Baptism is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to trust and follow and obey Jesus in all of life.

The public oath of allegiance to Christ at your baptism is like public vows in a marriage. Imagine a guy who tells his girlfriend, “I love you deep down in my heart and that should be enough. Marriage is just a formality; it doesn’t mean anything.” Should she move in with him? Isn’t his feeling of love and commitment in his heart enough? Isn’t that what love is really about?

No! Without the public vows and covenant commitment, the private affection is unsubstantiated, unaccountable, uncommitted. A marriage begins with vows, an official takes office by swearing an oath, and a disciple of Jesus Christ begins the Christian life with baptism.

Through baptism, those who were dead in their sins and alienated from God are united to Christ. That’s indicated by baptism “in the name” of Christ. It means more than merely saying the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at a baptism. It means that the disciple of Jesus is delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of Christ (Col 1:13).

Baptism signifies real union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4; cf. Col 2:12).

Baptism also indicates your entrance into the visible Church and its mission. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body …” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Think of baptism like the Christian’s passport of the Kingdom.

So the mission of the Church is to make the world thoroughly Christian by baptizing new disciples into Christ and connecting them to the Body of Christ. This is one reason we value church membership, since local churches are expressions of the Body of Christ and a sign that the mission Jesus gave his Church is being accomplished. And this is why we value church planting as a critical piece of our mission.

Teach

Finally, Jesus says, “Make disciples …, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (v. 20). 

The mission is to make the world thoroughly Christian by teaching people the implications of the gospel in all of life. All of Christ for all of life.

Once again, Jesus’ deliberate word choice in the Great Commission is emphatic. In English it simply says, “All that I have commanded.” But behind the words “all that” are two Greek words, and either one alone would have been enough. It says, πάντα ὅσα (panta hosa). Πάντα (panta) means all and ὅσα (hosa) means all that. So πάντα ὅσα (panta hosa) is an emphatic repetition. The KJV captures this best: “All things whatsoever I have commanded you”

But what does “all things whatsoever” include? It certainly includes Jesus’ teachings recorded in the Gospels. But it also includes all the rest of Scripture—the Old Testament Law and Prophets and the New Testament letters—what Paul calls “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). All of Scripture is God’s Word, and Jesus is God. So the mission is not to deliver the bare minimum truth to as many people as possible; the mission is to disciple the nations, to teach them to obey all that Jesus commanded.

There is a difference between what I would call a thin view of the Great Commission and a thick view. A thin view understands the Great Commission merely in terms of evangelism. Or perhaps evangelism plus applications of the gospel narrowly focused on the internal “spiritual” life of individuals and the families. A thin Great Commision reduces everything to personal salvation, personal piety, and going to heaven when you die. A thin view sees little value in applying the whole counsel of God to the public sphere. 
A thick view of the Great Commission applies the whole counsel of God to all of life. And one key to developing a thick view is recognizing continuity and connection between the Great Commission and the original Creation Mandate found in Genesis 1:28: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

God made man in his image to rule the world under him as his representative, to subdue and to exercise dominion. God put Adam in a Garden to work and keep it, to cultivate and extend it (Gen 2:15). But sin corrupted every part of every man, including that task of taking dominion. Now, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, fallen men can be redeemed. That is, grace restores nature.

And the Great Commission sends the Church to extend that gospel to the ends of the earth. And through the gospel, men and women are reconciled to God and restored to the God-given task of ruling, subduing, multiplying, and taking dominion. And that means culture-making—including all of the arts and sciences and sports and skills and trades—are to be explored and developed for the glory of God and the good of others.

To be clear, the Great Commission and the Creation Mandate are not the same. The Great Commission spreads the Gospel so that fallen humans can be redeemed. Then redeemed humans are restored to the God-given task in the Creation Mandate.

The words of Jesus in the Great Commission require a thick view of the Great Commission. Jesus claimed all authority, directed us to all nations, and told us to teach them to observe ‘all things whatsoever’ he commanded. The result is nothing less than the transformation of lives by the power of the gospel. And when lives are changed, families are changed. And when families are changed, neighborhoods and communities are changed. As the gospel spreads through a group of people, the result is gospel culture.

Abortion & Amendment G

Let me give you a real-time example of applying the whole counseling of God to all of life. As you know, abortion is a major social and political issue in our country. And this fall, there is a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in South Dakota that would establish a constitutional right to abortion in our state.

As pastors of Emmaus Road Church, we believe it is our responsibility to address this issue with clarity and conviction. This is not a matter of politics or personal opinions. It’s a matter of teaching disciples of Jesus to obey all the ways of Jesus in all of life.

The biblical case against abortion is simple:

God prohibits all unjust taking of human life.

The unborn human is a whole and unique living person from the moment of conception.

Therefore, abortion violates the clear commands of Christ.

That’s why we are urging you (and all South Dakotans) to vote no on Amendment G. We have drafted a statement explaining our position on this issue, which will be available on Realm and on our website for you to read and share.

The world in sin is alienated from God and ignorant of his ways, but Jesus has authorized his Church to assert the crown rights of King Jesus over all of life.

Conclusion

The mission of the Church is to make the world thoroughly Christian. How does that happen? Not by political revolution or military conquest or humanitarian causes. It happens by the means Jesus has given his Church: going, baptizing, and teaching.

The command to disciple the nations indicates inside-out transformation that begins with regeneration and salvation and flows out into every sphere of life. The command to baptize shows that faith and conversion are necessary. The command to teach indicates that the heart and mind must be renewed. As Ken Gentry writes, “The cultural effects of the Great Commission flow from the redemptive power that is inherent in Christ’s kingdom.”

And this is the mission of the Church. This is not a responsibility that rests on each of you individually. The Church is the Body of Christ—one Body with many members. The mission given to the whole Body is accomplished as individual members, empowered by the Spirit, contribute in various ways.

During wartime, the whole Navy has a single mission: defeat the enemy. But the Navy has cooks, mechanics, navigators, engineers, and more. Those are the parts and they make up the whole. It would be foolish for the cooks to argue that everyone should be cooking. And it would also be foolish to think that cooking is a distraction from the mission.

Likewise, the Church has one mission: disciple the nations by going, baptizing, and teaching. But the individual members of the church play a variety of roles, depending on spiritual gifts, season of life, resources, vocation, and more.

So is there hope for this sin-stained world riddled with misery and suffering and more humanitarian crises than we can count?

God promised Abraham, “I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17–18).

And in Revelation, John had a vision: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, … crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9–10)
And in between, in history, the Son of God came to earth, died to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2), rose from the dead, and sent his Church to disciple the nations.