In the last blog we examined Christ’s unequivocable position as King over heaven and earth. We also considered that while He announced this position over 2000 years ago, He remains solidly in this place here and now.
Based on His authority, Jesus gives His commission to the church, Matt 28:18-20 (ESV):
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.”
In essence, He says because all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him, the King of heaven and earth, therefore go and make disciples of all nations.
Note the Greek word pas – translated “all” and “always” reveals the kingdom-size scope of the Great Commission. Christ’s death on the cross was for all and He now reigns sovereignly over all. Here we see the comprehensiveness of the mission.
This is no small commission as envisioned by the sacred/secular divide to solely save souls for heaven. It is a comprehensive commission, the GREAT COMMISSION. Note the Greek word pas is used four times in Matthew 28:18-20:
- All authority – Christ is sovereign over all.
- All nations are to be discipled.
- We are to teach the nations to obey all Christ has commanded.
- I am with you always – “all the days.” The Young’s Literal Translation of Matt 28:20b reveals the eternal present tense of the timeframe of the Great Commission: and lo, I am with you all the days — till the full end of the age.’
It is all encompassing in its scope. First, the commission is geographic, it extends from Jerusalem horizontally around the whole world (Acts 1:8). Second, it is demographic, it is to penetrate vertically into each nation to disciple at the level of culture (Matthew 28:18-20). Third, is kitzo-graphic, to bring healing to all creation (Mark 16:15, see also Romans 8:19). Fourth, it enters the Eternal Present in that the eternal King, Jesus, is with us until the end of the age.
Note, the disciples are to proclaim Christ’s sovereignty to:
- All creation
- All the world
- All nations
- Until the end of time
How far is the church’s influence to reach?
Far As the Curse Is Found
Years ago, when singing “Joy to the World,” I had a bit of a revelation. The third stanza startled me; it included an imperative: “No more let sins and sorrows grow!” As human beings we are to “no more let sins and sorrows grow.” How far are we to restrain sin and sorrow from growing? The answer, “As far as the curse is found.” Here in this hymn are marching orders for the church:
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessing flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
Sadly, many of the modern renditions of this carol omit this stanza. Maybe because it is a call for action in response to a message, not simply a happy proclamation. It calls for responsible action on the part of the church. In the middle of the “feel good” season of modern Christmas, perhaps we do not want to hear anything that requires actual effort.
As cultures move away from biblical revelation, the celebration of Christmas has been degraded from being primarily a reverent celebration of Christ’s birth to the celebration of a 4th Century Christian saint named Nicholas, who was renowned for his habit of giving gifts secretly, to Santa Claus, snow, a red-nosed reindeer, Christmas trees, and, of course, massive consumer spending and now to the Grinch who stole Christmas.
But this carol calls us back to reality.
As we have stated earlier in this series, there is real evil to be defeated and the responsibility for that victory lands not just on the shoulders of Christ when He returns but on the shoulders of each of His followers.
Pain and sorrow appear in three major forms of evil. The first is personal evil. Human beings are sinners. We think evil thoughts, say evil words, and make evil decisions. The second is natural evil: weeds in the garden, floods, droughts, earthquakes, famine, pollution, sickness, and death. Third, is institutional evil: slavery, apartheid, the caste system, children and female sex trade, abortion, sexual mutilation, corruption in every level of society, the promotion of evil by the government, media and arts, etc.
Christ has come to make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found. Jesus’ authority reigns over heaven and earth. Because all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Christ, therefore, we as His disciples are to go and make disciples of all nations.
His people are to engage in this reformation and transformation process, to “no more let sins and sorrows grow” from the time of His resurrection and coronation until He returns at the end of the age to complete the restoration process.
Here is a call that relates to the world of people and to the earth as a planet. In our world—privately and publicly, for cultures and nations—we are to stand against personal and institutional evil. With reference to the earth, we are to stand against natural evil, the thorns that infest the ground. We are to be stewards of the earth and protect and nurture “the garden.”
There is a relationship between the growth of sins and the growth of sorrows. Sin always has its consequent sorrow. We live in cultures that downplay human responsibility. Like addicts, we assign blame for our problems to others: “The devil made me do it!” “It was my brother’s fault!” “It was my wife/husband!” “It’s God’s fault!” “It’s the government’s responsibility to fix it!” “I’m a victim of sin and thus inevitably I have no power to choose anything but to sin myself.”
This carol was written within the framework of the reality of our being; we are made in the image of God. We are moral creatures; we make decisions with real consequences. We are to function as responsible human beings. Where do sorrows come from? They come from sin!
Christians are not to “go along to get along.” We are to stand against personal, natural, and institutional evil. “No more let sins and sorrows grow.”
Science was birthed out of this theological understanding. Francis Bacon, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton were scientists who functioned consciously from a biblical worldview. For them there was no separation between faith and science. They understood the significance of the fall and the relationship between thorns and sins and their corresponding sorrows. Their lives were given to fight against the natural evil in the world. And from that fight was birthed what we know today as “modern science.”
Like these godly men, we are to work for restoration: a garden free from weeds, a city free from corruption and poverty, art and music that promote a culture of life and beauty. We are not to be spectators of evil unfolding in our communities and nations. We are to be the shapers of our cultures, the builders of our nations.
We are to no longer “let sins and sorrows grow or thorns infest the ground.” We are to be Christ’s instruments for the flow of His blessings as far as the curse is found.
Christ’s death was not merely to save souls for heaven, but to reconcile all things broken by man’s rebellion back to Himself.
While Christ reigns perfectly in heaven, He expresses to His disciples at the Sea of Galilee that He wants to extend the culture of the kingdom to the whole earth.
When thinking of a king and his kingdom, there are five essential elements to consider. In an upcoming blog, we will look at these five qualities in relationship to Christ and His kingdom. Additionally, we still need to consider a different aspect of the Great Commission–the call to disciple at the level of culture.
Moment of Reflection:
- What does the word pas indicate about Christ and his mission?
- What has been your basic concept of the church?
- What comes to your mind when you think of the church as the Embassy of the Kingdom of God?
- The word “all” is used four times in the Great Commission. How does this contrast with the way many people view only spiritual things as of special and utmost importance?
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any place in your life or the world which you think is out of the scope of the Great Commission.
- How have the insights from Isaac Watts’ great hymn “Joy to the World” enlarged your understanding of the Great Commission?
- How does your life reflect the reality that Jesus is Supreme Lord and King?
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