Good day
In Part 3 I mentioned that the lost are important to God (Luke 15:1-24) and therefore preaching the gospel and leading people to salvation is important. I also mentioned how God set salvation in motion, clearly indicating the value He places on having an eternal relationship with us and that given how important people are to Him, they need to be important to us as well.
In Part 4 I made reference to what we call the "great commission" (Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-19) and how this instruction given by Jesus Christ to the disciples didn't stop with them but that it was given to all believers - that this was also delegated to all who believe in Him. Let's take a look at the below passage which helps to clarify this:
2 Corinthians 5:17,18,19
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
From the above passage we can see that the ministry of reconciliation is given to all who are in Christ and has been reconciled. We could say that if we've been reconciled to the Father through receiving the free gift of eternal life by placing our faith in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, then we've been given the ministry/word of reconciliation.
In other words, because we've been reconciled to the Father, we've now been given this ministry - it's been committed to us to go and reconcile others to the Father through the word of reconciliation (which is the good news that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them) ...
Notice that it doesn't mention anyone occupying a certain office or position in church, it doesn't talk to a unique group of believers that may have this interest, it doesn't mention someone having a "gift" or special "ability" for this task ... it simply starts out by saying, "if anyone is in Christ" ... meaning that this is applicable to anyone that is in Christ/that's been reconciled!
So let's answer the question - did the disciples of Jesus Christ and those belonging to the early church obey the great commission?
Let's take a look at the below passages which answers this question for us.
Mark 16:15-20
Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Acts 8:1
... A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.
Acts 8:4
But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.
Acts 12:24
But the word of God grew and multiplied.
Acts 13:49
And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.
Acts 16:5
So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Acts 19:20
So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
From the above we can see that the disciples obeyed the great commission (Mark 16:20). We go on to find that although it was given to them, it was the believers that were scattered that preached the good news about Jesus wherever they went. They took on that commission and then they in turn went and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ as well ... and look at the outcome - we see that the word of the Lord was being spread through the region, that the church increased in number, that the word of the Lord grew mightily!
Consider the role they played in getting Christianity to where it is today?
Can you imagine what would've happened if they decided they weren't going to carry out the instructions of Jesus Christ?
What would the state of the church look like today?
Would there even be a church?
Can we see the success that comes when everyone chooses to participate in the great commission! Thank God for their obedience because we’re here today, able to meet in church, have bibles to read and hear about God's word, because of their obedience to the great commission!
Amen