4 Pillars of the Church: Mission
4 Pillars of the Church: Our Mission in God’s Mission
Matthew 28:18-20
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.”
Mission — “Go”
When we look at verse 19, you see two verbs at the beginning, ‘Go’ and ‘Make’. Let’s take a closer look at these two crucial words. After all, if we desire to join the mission of the Church, then it would be beneficial to know what the Church is supposed to be doing.
First, ‘Go’—poreuothentes in the Greek. Now, I am not a Greek scholar, nor do I pretend to be one in a blog, but I can say this verb has come under fire in recent history. For hundreds of years, the English translation has been ‘Go’, but recently some translators have pushed for ‘Going’ or ‘As you are going’. Their reasoning is the Greek word is a passive participle. Proponents of keeping it ‘Go’ cite a grammatical rule in Greek (attendant circumstance participle for those interested) which connects the participle’s interpretation with the main verb’s mood. The result is ‘Go’ takes on the same force as ‘Make’.
Now, I do know enough Greek to say the word is a participle (aorist passive participle), but I also know that when academics squabble over minutiae, there is usually an alternate motive. Here, the argument is between those who want to encourage global missions against those who encourage more work ‘at home’. One particular blogger’s argument was for the church to emphasize discipleship above evangelism because most modern Christians are ill-equipped for evangelism. While I understand his sentiment, I believe he is making an error of extremes—much like those who argue for global missions without proper discipleship go the other extreme. It is a perfect example of what happens when a local body emphasizes one pillar over the others. The church becomes lopsided and fails to fulfill its mission. Instead of ‘God’s Glory’ being pointed upward, it turns sideways and some person (or people) receive glory rather than God.
So, which is the proper understanding? I would argue ‘Go’ works just fine, as long as we understand what ‘make disciples’ means (more on that below). Likewise, ‘going’ works, especially in light of the Greek, as long as we remember it is very difficult to ‘make disciples of all nations’ if we never leave our own nation. To create a theological stance on one word is very foolish, even if you have the correct translation/interpretation of that word.
To fulfill the Great Commission, the Church must move from their present location forward as the Holy Spirit prompts them.
Regardless how you choose to interpret poreuothentes, the word signifies a change of status. Hopefully, we can all agree Jesus didn’t say “Stand still and wait”. Whether God calls you to global missions, which I am certain more Christians are called than go, or God leads you to make disciples in your backyard, ‘making disciples’ requires that we move forward. “The times they are a-changing” as the saying goes. Each passing year, the world changes around us, and the Church must adapt to those changes. Our mission never changes, and the Gospel certainly never changes, but the challenges will. Our financial challenges will grow and wane depending on the local economy. Our moral challenges will grow and wane depending on the local norms. Our logistical challenges will grow and wane depending on the makeup of attendance. It is highly appropriate the Bible describes the Church in organic terms, because she must ever-adapt to her circumstances.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
As we ‘go’, we will head into trying areas, but we must remain steadfast to honor Christ the Lord as holy. When we call on the lost to repent, we are calling them toward holiness. By definition that is to come out of the corrupted nations and into the family of God. Most will not understand the need for salvation, thus Peter reminds us to be ready to give a defense for our faith.
Missions, by definition, is engaging with those who deny the Christian faith.
Pro tip: if you find yourself never confronting those who disagree with your faith, you aren’t ‘going’. So, as you go, go with these principles from 1 Peter 3:15:
Go honoring Christ as Lord.
Go ready to give a defense for your faith.
Go with gentleness.
Go with respect.
Mission — “Make Disciples”
Next we have the actual action verb in the passage—‘make’. If we are to ‘make disciples’, it will be helpful to know what we are making. If God called us to build a boat, it wouldn't’ do much good to lay a concrete foundation.
Return with me to 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, which we looked at in the beginning of this series.
2 Corinthians 5:17-521
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Here we have a description of a ‘disciple’. First, s/he is a new creation.
A disciple is a new type of human—a new creation.
Look again, Paul says, “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” There is an inherent transformation in becoming a disciple. In John 3, Jesus described the work of the Holy Spirit as a rebirth. To see the Kingdom of Heaven, one must be born again.
A disciple is reconciled to God—s/he is in right standing with the Creator.
In this age of skepticism, it is absolutely noteworthy (and we should not assume others understand) a disciple is one whom God interacts with. It is right to say, “God loves everyone”, but it is only the disciple with whom God speaks, teaches, and guides. The person who has not yet turned from their sin can only expect God to call them toward repentance. For the Christian, God has opened up the kingdom of heaven. The lost person is bound to their sin and will continue to be its slave, following after every selfish desire that pops in their head. The Christian has been given true freedom to choose righteousness even when their natural self longs for its old passions.
A disciple’s trespasses hold no power over them.
There is a stereotype surrounding organized religion about guilt trips. I believe the stereotypes about guilting mothers and fathers in the various denominations and in Judaism have more to do with parents than the religion, but the fact still remains many in today’s world see religion as a means to guilt people. But this is not the Christian faith. Our sin is not counted against us, because Christ has paid the price. Paul wrote, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
For Christians who repented late in life, this last point can be difficult, especially when those who “knew us when” are still around. Part of the defense we give to others for our hope is the response “I am forgiven.” For every sin someone in our past wants to throw at us, the answer is “It’s been forgiven.” We strive for the future, because the past has been forgiven.
A disciple is an ambassador of Heaven.
Disciples do not live in their home country. Heaven is our home, earth is where we are just passing through. Ambassadors live in foreign lands in order to bridge the nations. They are there to share what their homeland has to offer. Every disciple is called to share the Good News Heaven has provided.
Notice Paul says in verse 20 that God is “making His appeal through us.” We are the channel in which God calls others to repentance which brings me to my final point.
Every Christian is a witness for Christ, but the question is whether the Christian’s witness is true.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells the disciples they will be a witness in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. There is no condition. It is going to happen. If we take that into account with the original creation narrative, that Adam and Eve were to be the image of God on Earth, and becoming born again marks a return to the original purpose of our creation, then it is safe to say that each of us are saying something about God—and as ‘Christians’ as ‘little Christs’, what we say is highly important.
Are we speaking the truth about God, or do the people around us get a false view? This is the point where ‘mission’ overlaps with ‘doctrine’ which will come later, but for today, consider this simple exercise:
Make a list of attributes of God—descriptors about who God is. Then, check off each item that you would say describes you as well. Now, of course, if you check off everything, either your view of God is too small, or your view of yourself is too high. But, if we are honest with ourselves, we will find those areas in which we can improve. And that is the goal of discipleship. That is our mission together.
‘Making disciples’ does not end with conversion—it begins.
We are called to “go and make”. The verbs work together in Greek, English, Latin, or any other language. We ‘go’ in order to engage with a lost world. We ‘make’ in order to fulfill our ‘ministry of reconciliation’. The process of being reconciled to God begins with that first step of repentance and receiving eternal life. The process continues as we grow in maturity and holiness. Thus, our work in evangelism is inextricably tied to our work in discipleship.
As we close, I want to point you to the church’s greatest tool for both evangelism and discipleship—Sunday School. Now, it has become en vogue to talk about ‘small groups’ or ‘life groups’, but the principle is the same. A small group of believers meeting together and holding each other accountable to encourage and seek the lost is always a better tool for evangelism and discipleship than a large worship gathering. There is a reason Jesus started with 12 and sent them out 2 by 2. The invitation today is simply this: if you have not received eternal life, then do that now! Turn from your sin, ask for forgiveness from the God who made you and sent His Son for you, and receive the eternal life He gives. Then, join with a small group of believers who are making disciples who make disciples.