Study Guide: "The Great Commission - Part Two"

Open:

As we learned last Sunday, this ‘great commission’ was given to the disciples collectively.  It was told numerous times during the 40 days between Christ's resurrection and ascension.  It was utmost on the mind of Christ.  A version appears in every gospel and the book of Acts.  Here in St. Matthew's Gospel, it is the last thing Jesus said before ascending back to heaven.  

A couple of interpretive mistakes are often made with this text:

1) Interpreted as a commission to individuals.  Not one time was the commission given to an individual, always to a group of disciples.  In other words, the great commission is not for individuals, it is for the church.  Is every believer expected to make disciples of all nations?  Impossible.  Was Jesus speaking facetiously?  Never.  The church has this task.  Every person plays their part according to their spiritual gifts.

- The United Methodist Church speaks of this as 'connectional.' John Wesley spoke about and developed an interlocking system of classes, societies, and annual conferences.  So, what does it mean to be connectional?  "Simply put, no congregation is the total body of Christ.  United Methodist churches and organizations  join in mission with one another and with other denominations." (United Methodist Church Handbook 2014)

2) Thinking that the imperative in the Great Commission is "Go."  Normally only used in missionary contexts. That is a great loss for the church.

- Actually, a literal translation reveals quite a different emphasis and calls for a radically different interpretation:

"As you go, therefore, disciple all the peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to guard all things whatsoever I did command you. And lo, I myself am with you all the days until the consummation of the eon."

- There is only one imperative in the Greek, but it is not "go." Instead, the one imperative is "make disciples." Matheteusate.  The imperative means "to turn into disciples" and it's aorist form conveys the thought that this is actually to be done. The other three participles are auxiliary to the main verb and describe how this is to be done: going, baptizing, teaching.

Christ makes it clear that the church’s one task plain and simple is to make disciples.

C. S. Lewis (known by many today as the author of Chronicles of Narnia, but considered the greatest Christian thinker of the 20th Century):

"..the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.  If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.”

The Great Commission:

Extending the kingdom of God by making disciples everywhere we go. Kingdom Growth, not church growth. Not mutually exclusive terms. However, the Bible does not speak of methods to help a church grow numerically.  It's concern is expanding/ extending the kingdom of God throughout the world and among all the people's of the world.

I. EVANGELISM IS THE FIRST STEP IN DISCIPLESHIP (v. 19).

“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

  1. Jesus was intentional in reaching out to the lost and hurting.

Jn 3:22, “After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.”

Jn 4:2, “The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.”

  2. The people Jesus reached out to read like a cast of outcastes:  Fishermen, Tax collector, Jewish ruler, Samaritan woman of questionable character, demon possessed, tax collector/thief, etc.

  3. We too must be intentional about reaching out.  It is the first step in getting to Christ's  imperative/command to "make disciples."

     1) Evangelism is a necessary step in discipleship, but evangelism that stops with “accepting Christ” is not valid evangelism.

       - This is the reason so many church members can’t be found. The back door is open wider than the front door.

       - This statement allows for no separation of evangelism from discipleship.

II. DISCIPLESHIP IS MORE ABOUT RELATIONSHIP THAN INFORMATION (v. 20).

"Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

  1. Notice the strong ethical emphasis: to make disciples is not complete unless it leads to a life of observing Jesus’ teachings.

1 Jn 2:5-6, “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.  This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

  2. Teaching is more than simply conveying information, it's about seeking a total transformation.

Paul Hiebert on worldview shift:

     1) Cognitive—information (average Christian knows more than majority of pastors in two-thirds of the world)

     2) Affective—emotions

     3) Evaluative—values, behavior> relationship

Cognitive alone never changes behavior.   Only when connected to relationship.

*We make disciples by establishing relationships that serve as a model for changed behavior.

Levels of effectiveness in discipleship: 

- Large group (Sermon on the Mount) – Anonymous

- Small group (Apostles) – Accountability is introduced

- One-On-One (Inner Circle—Peter, James & John) –Unable to avoid accountability

CLOSE:

The ultimate goal of discipleship is for the disciple to think like, look like, desire like, act like his/her master.

We make disciples by developing personal relationships that result in transformed lives.  This is the Great Commission.

- Who are you impacting with the gospel through your relationship with them?

- Will those who know you personally be influenced to become 'little Christs?'

(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)

Study Guide: "The Great Commission -- Part One"

Text: Matthew 28:16-20

Open:

This ‘great commission’ was given to the disciples collectively.  It was told numerous times during the 40 days between Christ's resurrection and his ascension.  It was obviously utmost on the mind of Christ.  In fact, version of it appears in every gospel and in the book of Acts.  Here in St. Matthew's Gospel, it is the last thing Jesus said before ascending back to heaven.  

A couple of interpretive mistakes are often made with this text:

1) Interpreted as a commission to individuals.  Not one time was the commission given to an individual, always to a group of disciples.  In other words, the great commission is not for individuals, it is for the church.  Is every believer expected to make disciples of all nations?  Impossible.  Was Jesus speaking facetiously?  Never.  The church has this task.  Every person plays their part according to their spiritual gifts.

2) Thinking that the imperative in the Great Commission is "Go."  Normally only used in missionary contexts. 

Illus:

Many great missionary pioneers were motivated by Christ's commission:

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.  If I had 1,000 lives, I'd give them all for China" — Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to inland China

"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map. Is not the commission of our Lord still binding upon us? Can we not do more than now we are doing?" — William Carey, pioneer missionary to India

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? Sympathy is no substitute for action." — David Livingstone, pioneer missionary to Africa

- Actually, a literal translation reveals quite a different emphasis and calls for a radically different interpretation:

"As you go, therefore, disciple all the peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to guard all things whatsoever I did command you. And lo, I myself am with you all the days until the consummation of the eon."

- There is only one imperative in the Greek, but it is not "go." Instead, the one imperative is "make disciples." Matheteusate.  The imperative means "to turn into disciples" and it's aorist form conveys the thought that this is actually to be done. The other three participles are auxiliary to the main verb and describe how this is to be done: going, baptizing, teaching.

Christ makes it clear that the church’s one task plain and simple is to make disciples.

C. S. Lewis (known by many today as the author of Chronicles of Narnia, but considered the greatest Christian thinker of the 20th Century):

"..the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.  If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.”

Great Commission:

Extending the kingdom of God by making disciples everywhere we go. Kingdom Growth, not church growth. These are  not mutually exclusive terms; however, the Bible does not speak of methods to help a church grow numerically.  It's concern is expanding/ extending the kingdom of God throughout the world and among all the people's of the world.

I. Extending the Kingdom is a Matter of Lifestyle.

"As you are going..."

As you go about the ordinary business of your lives and as you have contact with people that come under your sphere of influence.

  1. Disciple making is a relational activity.

- Shouldn't surprise us since we were created for relationship.  Made in the image of God who lives in perpetual relationship with himself-- Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

- Each of us is responsible for our sphere of influence. I help change the world one relationship at a time. Never lose sight of the power and responsibility of who you are.

  2. This is not positional authority, but personal influence. 

II. Extending the Kingdom is Every Believer's Responsibility.

  1. Inclusive -- every believer's responsibility. 

- Dispel clergy/laity distinctive. 

- Spiritual gifts based versus program based.

III. Extending the Kingdom Places a Distinct Priority on extending. 

1. Vital congregations consist of vital Christians who are living as salt and light among their sphere of influence.

2. Kingdom extension follows a natural and prescribed order.

- To reverse the order is to experience frustration and decline.

- Natural Order is always outside in: Influence people to Christ without, provide a nurturing environment within. Church is primarily to be a Safe place to grow, stumble, learn, love and be loved. 

Close:

Great Commission:

Extending the kingdom of God by making disciples everywhere we go.  Our concern is expanding/ extending the kingdom of God throughout the world and among all the people's of the world.

- We do this one person at a time.

- The size of our church does not guarantee nor limit our success if we understand our role the way Christ defined it.

Key Questions:

Can you identify your sphere of influence?

Are you consciously attempting to influence these individuals toward Christ?

As a church, do we understand this as our Christ-given mandate?

(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)

Study Guide: "True Greatness"

Text: Mark 9:33-37

Open:

Greatness is usually equated with a "rags to riches" story.

But what about a man who gave up a well paying position for a small salary.  A man who sold a beautiful home in Florida and moved his family to a small house with a dirt floor.  They left a healthy environment in exchange for one that has given he and his family hepatitis, typhoid, malaria, amoebic abscess of the liver, relapsing fever, and ableeding ulcer.  Yet, this man, Doug Knapp, was greatly used of God as a missionary in Tanzania, East Africa, and in an 8 year period helped start 200 churches and baptize 34,000 African believers.  Does that challenge your view of greatness?

In our text today, Jesus and the Twelve have been traveling through Galilee, and upon arriving in Capernaum they went to Peter's home.  When inside, Jesus asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road to Capernaum?" Jesus used this experience to teach his disciples the meaning of true greatness.  Nothing could be more timely for us than this.  In a day of power seeking and ladder climbing, we too need to know that true greatness comes by choosing to serve those thought by others to be the least significant.

This is a story of paradox, of tension between the world's definition of greatness and Christ's view of true greatness. Follow me as we examine first the world's opinion of greatness and then compare that view with Christ's teaching on what constitutes true greatness.

I. True Greatness Is Not Worldly Advancement (vv. 33, 34).

  1. The disciples debated the question as to who was greatest among them.

     - Earlier, Jesus had told them that he would be delivered to men who would kill him, and that he would be raised the third day.

     - As they made their way to Capernaum, Jesus allowed them to travel much of the way by themselves, partly for privacy and partly to encourage the Twelve to discuss the terrible event he had just announced to them.  Instead, the disciples chose to discuss something far different.

2.  Verse 34 tells us what they had been debating.

- When Jesus asked his question, they all remained silent because they were ashamed to reveal the unworthy subject of their discussion. Jesus had spoken to them of his impending death, but their minds had been occupied with competitive thoughts of personal greatness.

3. The disciples failed to recognize that the Kingdom of God is not a place for worldly advancement.

- The term "who was the greatest" is very exact in the Greek.

- The meaning is that they saw each of them with some importance, but that some would be greater than the others.

2. Our society emphasizes getting ahead for greatness.

  1) Unfortunately, the world's ways & standards seem to have infiltrated the church.

    - This is nothing new.  It was true as far back as the Corinthian church.

"For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.  What I mean is that each of you says, 'I belong to Paul,' or 'I belong to Apollos,' or 'I belong to Cephas,' or 'I belong to Christ.'  Has Christ been divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Or were you baptized in the name of Paul."

 (1 Co 1:11-13)

Clearly, true greatness is not worldly advancement!

II. True Greatness Consists of Choosing To Be a Servant (vv. 35-37).

Jesus sat with his legs crossed under him in the Oriental custom of a teacher while instructing a group. This action indicated that Jesus was about to communicate some very important truth to his disciples.

1. The spiritual standard of true greatness is servanthood.

  1) Jesus did not reprimand his disciples for desiring to be great; in fact, he encouraged it.  But while Jesus encouraged them to choose greatness, he corrected their false idea that was in the minds of the disputing disciples.

  2) Christ tells the Twelve that the one who wants to be the most highly honored in God's Kingdom is the one who must seek no honor for him or herself, but lay himself out for the good of others.

  3) The standard of the world runs directly contrary to the mind of Christ because the world's standard of greatness is to rule, while Christ's standard consists of serving.

  4) The word Jesus used for servant, diakonos, means literally, "raising up dust in anxiousness to serve."

2.  Our serving is to focus on the seemingly insignificant.

v. 37, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

  1) Jesus used the presence of a child to rebuke the disputing disciples.

   - He took a child from the family in whose house he was teaching to illustrate what he was teaching.

   - At first, he stood the child in the middle of the disciples, facing the half-circle of men seated on the ground in front of them.  Then, he took the child in his arms, and with all eyes on them, he began to speak.

  2) True greatness described by Jesus involved caring for so-called insignificant people, like children, because Christ cares immensely about them.

  3) We are to care for these for two reasons:

Because Jesus cares about them

Because Jesus has told us to do so.

  4) Sadly, those that the world considers to be unimportant seem to be the very ones the Church neglects most.

Close:

Bottom-line: The litmus test of our greatness is how readily/ eagerly we serve others without any concern for our reputation and ranking among other Christians.  It becomes painfully apparent that much of what we think of as greatness is incompatible with the teaching of Christ. And yet, it is true that anyone may be great if he or she chooses to be the servant of those the world shuns as insignificant.

Has your view of greatness shifted?

(Dane Fowlkes, Ph.D.)