Is the Great Commission for us today?

Read http://www.gospelcom.net/navs/collegiate/resources/borntoreproduce.pdf

 

JiL, that fella is obviously a hyperdispy. He wants to make a distinction between the gospel for jews and the gospel for gentiles. That is a distinction that only exists in his mind.

 

Topic: Is the Great Commission for us today?

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter you not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/Oldcivilization/phoenicia/britmines/britmines.html

 

16. But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
17. When they saw Him, they worshiped {Him;} but some were doubtful.
18. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20. teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (NASB, 1995)

To whom is Jesus speaking here? Answer: He is speaking to the eleven disciples. Are they still alive? Answer: I strongly doubt it. (Please don’t tell me that you are one of the eleven disciples! )

 

Christ was speaking to His "Church," when he delivered the commission. Unless you believe His church has passed into oblivion, the commission is still valid and His church is still obligated to it.

Luk 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luk 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

 

I have heard your theory before; but as for me, I choose to believe what the Bible says.

 

They were the eleven disciples! The "Church" did not yet exist.

 

I agree with this, but we need to be careful how we apply the teachings of Jesus on specific occasions to specific persons and groups of persons. Many pseudo-Christian cults have taken the sayings of Jesus and misapplied them.

 

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Luke 24:46-49 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

It seems to me that the the Great Commission is mentioned in more than just one reference in the Bible, and is meant for more than just eleven people.
DHK

 

Matt. 5:22. "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty {enough to go} into the fiery hell.
23. "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24. leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. (NASB, 1995)

The setting here is not one of a Christian church; the setting here is obviously that of the Jewish temple and the Sanhedrin. Is there as an application to the Church today? Yes, of course there is, but that does not mean that Christians are supposed to leave their offering in the Temple in Jerusalem, and then go visit their brother and reconcile their differences.

 

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (NASB, 1995)

In Acts one, we see a shift from a Jewish context to a Christian context, and a shift from the eleven disciples to a larger group; but the Greek verb translated “shall be” in Acts 1:8 is not in the future imperative tense, but the future indicative tense, and therefore there is no actual commission in this verse. There is no command to go, but only a statement of what is going to take place in the future.

 

Col. 1:3. We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4. since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
5. because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6. which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
7. as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
8. who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. (NKJV, my emphasis)

Some would argue that the Great Commission, as many like to call it, was fulfilled during Paul’s lifetime, or at least that Paul saw it as having been fulfilled by the time he wrote his letter to the Colossians.

 

Acts 1:4-5 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

The obedience of Christ's command did not come without promises. He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem.
He commanded them to wait for the promise of the Father.
After they obeyed his commandments his promise to them came true. They did receive power from the Holy Ghost. They were witnesses first in Jerusalem (Acts 2), and then in Judea, and then in Samaria (Acts 8), and then in all the world (Acts 13-28).
You need to look at the context of the entire chapter, and then the entire book.
DHK

 

In my personal opinion, the command NOT TO DEPART was not a part of the Great Commission.

... and be careful to distinguish what the Bible says from what men tell you the Bible says.

 

ABSOLUTELY! YES!!!

Matt. 28:19-20 STILL apply to us today! The gospel is still spreading over the world since Early Church to now.

Matt 24:14 tells us, the end of the world will not come TILL all nations hear the gospel first. More than half of the world population still not yet hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. More than 80% of deaf world population are not yet hear the gospel.

We are still carry and obey Christ's commission to tell the gospel to every person over the world. God desires every person to hear the gospel, repentance for salvation - 2 Peter 3:9.

Matt 28:19-20 tells us, the commission of the gospel will be done at the end of the age WHEN Christ shall come at the second advent. Right now, Christ is not yet come, He is in the heaven, so, the gospel is still open and oppurinity for the world to hear it - 2 Cor. 6:2.

Matt 28:19-20 STILL always apply to us of today's and the future include great tribularion TILL Christ comes at the end of the age/world.

In Christ
Rev. 22:20 -Amen!

 

hello deafposttrib, im back right now long absent from forum for while. im doing fine. congrts pistion won nba final.

yes im totally argee with you amem preach it.

there are plenty of oppunity for us to spread the gopsel until Christ come