I think this was written by “BigD” a previous poster on the C.A.R.M. forum and my friend. I am posting it as a study on The Great Commission.
Is the Great Commission for today??
The Great Commission is not what Paul preached. The Great Commission was given to the Jewish Apostles for the church of the kingdom. Paul was sent with the gospel message of God's grace. Under the gospel of God's grace a person does not have to work (do anything) for salvation. God has done everything that is necessary for their salvation.
It should also be noted that in the Great Commission, not one word is mentioned about the cross. But the cross is the foundation of the Grace Commission.
QUESTION: Where, in the scriptures, do we find the "GREAT COMMISSION" that was given to the TWELVE "BEING SUSPENDED?"
This is a good question. Most churches today operate under the Great Commission. They believe there has been no interruption of the Great Commission from the time it was given until this day. But in fact, its suspension was recognized at the Jerusalem Council. In Galatians 2, Paul explains why he had a meeting with the remainder of the Twelve Apostles. In Galatians 2:7-9 we read, “But contrariwise, when they [Apostles] saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter.” Think about it, if there was no difference in these gospels then why indicate that there is? Why was this statement worded this way?
Un-circumcision means those who were not a part of the Jewish program. Circumcision was a Jewish ritual. Paul is talking about a message that does not include rituals, does not include the law, the keeping of the law, and all of the other ordinances that went along with it including the ritual of water cleansing (baptism).
Paul speaking; “When they saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision (Gentiles) was committed unto me [Paul], as the gospel of the circumcision (the Jews) was committed unto Peter: (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
BUT HOW CAN THEY DO THAT? At least two of these men were right there when the Lord told them to go into all the world beginning in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samara, and then unto the uttermost part of the earth. How could Peter and John who were standing with the Lord when He said they were to go into all the world, now suddenly say, “We won’t go to the Gentile nations anymore. Paul, you do that. We will go to the circumcision.” How can they do that? They can do it because God revealed something new to them. He revealed that God has begun a new program in order to bring salvation to the Gentile nations. It was NOT going to be according to the Great Commission Jesus had given them. It included a different message.
Not only was the responsibility being transferred to a new apostle, (the Apostle Paul), but a new message was being committed to him as well. So the answer to the question, “Where is the Great Commission suspended?” is right here in Galatians 2:9 - where the remainder of the Twelve Apostles recognize that God has given a new ministry, and a new message to Paul. It was no longer their task to go to the Gentile nations anymore and they stopped at that point. Paul and the new program took over with the Gospel of the Grace of God.
With that background we will now go back and look at the various accounts of the Great Commission and see that it cannot be carried out today, at least not the way the Lord told them to do it. Matthew 28:18 says, “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Many people try to carry out these instructions; yet they cannot and still be scriptural in this dispensation of Grace. Why is this? Because for one thing - to carry out the Great Commission, as recorded here, means you must bind your followers to the Law of Moses. Some will ask, “where does it say that?” Notice the first part of verse 20, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Did the Lord Jesus Christ ever command his disciples to be subject to the Law of Moses? YES HE DID In Matthew 23:1-3 we read, “Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.” This is the seat of the Law, the authority of the Law. “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” Our Lord commanded His disciples to be subject to the Law of Moses. Now as He commissions them to take the kingdom gospel to the world, He says to teach them to observe all things He commanded them. What a contrast to Paul’s later teaching that we are “not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b).
Another area in which some try to do, but it does not work very well, is the Lord’s teaching to sell everything they had and to give it to the poor. He taught that on more than one occasion (See Matthew 19:21 & Luke 12:33). Did they teach those that they reached to do the same thing? They certainly did! Read Acts 2 and 4 where the early disciples of the twelve sold everything they had and they laid the money at the apostles' feet. The Apostle Paul never tells us to do that. He tells us to be careful not to trust in riches, but he never tells us that we are to sell everything we have and bring it to the apostles' feet. Which apostles would we take it to anyway?
Keeping the Commission of Matthew 28 would require keeping the Law, selling everything you have and laying it at the apostles’ feet. Obviously, these are things we cannot do if we are going to try to keep that Kingdom Commission. A more controversial passage, and one that is quoted most often, is Mark, 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Usually this is all you ever hear quoted of the Great Commission. This part sounds wonderful. Of course, we should do that. But the details that the Lord tells them are simply not compatible with the Dispensation of Grace. This is a Kingdom commission. Verse 16 says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Where do people get the idea that water baptism will save them? Right here in this verse.
According to this commission, water baptism was required along with their faith. Does this mean that the water saved them? No. But it was an act of obedience which demonstrated their faith and if they did not do it, it only showed they did not have faith. Some people will tell you this is true today. But the Apostle Paul is clear:
Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration.” There was a time when water baptism was a requirement in God’s program. This is not the case today.
Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils...” This is a kingdom sign. What will happen to the devil in the kingdom? He will be cast out for 1,000 years. “They shall speak with new tongues...” What language will people speak in the kingdom? The Bible says God will give them a pure language (Zephaniah 3:9). Everyone will be able to speak the same language once again someday. God gave a gift to these people to illustrate the kingdom. That is not the case today.
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” People today try this and many times end up six feet under. This is not a commission for today. “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” We will discuss the question of healing later, but for now let us affirm that God can heal, but He is not obligated to do so.
Luke 24:47, “Beginning in Jerusalem...” and Acts 1:8, “...in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Many people will spiritualize this passage and say this means to start in your own hometown. For us, they say, the Great Commission is to start in your hometown, then your county, and then your state, and then the United States, and so forth. Is this what the Lord was saying? Of course not! First of all, Jerusalem was not the hometown of many of these disciples. He was telling them to start in Jerusalem because Jerusalem was to be the capital city of the earth, of the Kingdom program. But the Jews rejected the Kingdom program. If the capital city does not believe, what good is it going on from there?
Are we to begin in Jerusalem today? II Corinthians 5 says we are ambassadors for Christ. We are already in a foreign land. We are already missionaries right where we are. We may go wherever the Lord opens a door, but it does not have to begin in Jerusalem.
The fourth and one of the most neglected references of the Great Commission is John 20. In this account, we find that Christ entrusts the forgiveness of sins to human mediators. John 20:19-23 says, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.”
Again, we remind you, in this dispensation, forgiveness is not committed to men. There is one mediator between God and men, the Apostle Paul says, the man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5). But at that time, under the Kingdom commission, God committed the authority to forgive sins to the disciples. Does this mean they had the power in and of themselves? Of course not! But they did have the authority. This is something we do not have today. God has not entrusted this to men today. But it was a part of the Great Commission.
The Great Commission was Jewish, it was a Kingdom Commission, but it is not our commission today. Upon hearing this, many will ask, “Does this mean you do not believe in missions? Does this mean you do not believe in getting the gospel out?” Of course not! We do believe in a commission, but not the one given to the Twelve.
That one has been suspended. God has given us another commission and it is tragically the most neglected commission in all the Scriptures. We have a two-fold commission.
Paul says in I Timothy 2:4 that God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Those are the two things that God wants to accomplish in this Dispensation of the Grace of God. He wants all men to be saved and He wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth. What does this entail? In II Corinthians 5:18, 19 we find the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”
What’s that? Verse 19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
The message of reconciliation is simply that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. When Christ came to this earth, died for our sins, was buried and rose again, He paid the entire price of our sin. In so doing, He reconciled the world. That does not mean that the whole world is saved. It simply means that the world is savable. This is the Divine part. Now our part is to preach the word of reconciliation, which says, now you must be reconciled to God. God reconciled the world. That is something we could not do. We could not pay for our own sins. We could not take care of our own sin problem. Now He says to be reconciled to God. How do we do that? By believing in what God has done for us through Christ. The ministry of reconciliation is the first part of our commission.
The second part is in Ephesians 3:9. Once a person is saved, then, God wants him/her to understand the fellowship of the mystery. In verse 9, Paul says, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery.” Literally, in the Greek (Majority Text), it is “dispensation of the mystery”, “...which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” What is the fellowship or the dispensation of the mystery? It involves the fact that God revealed a new message through the Apostle Paul that had not been revealed to the prophets and had not been told to the Twelve. It was first committed to Paul. And God wants everyone to know about it. This is part of our job. We are asked why we make such an emphasis of the mystery, of the Grace message committed to the Apostle Paul? It is because it is our job. God has told us to do it. If we are not doing it, we are disobedient children.
Many today have been laboring under the commission given to the Twelve. We might commend them for doing something, yet they have been unfaithful servants if they are not doing what God has told us to do in this Dispensation of Grace. I pray that you will not be an unfaithful servant, but that you will carry out God’s commission to us.
Is the Great Commission for today??
The Great Commission is not what Paul preached. The Great Commission was given to the Jewish Apostles for the church of the kingdom. Paul was sent with the gospel message of God's grace. Under the gospel of God's grace a person does not have to work (do anything) for salvation. God has done everything that is necessary for their salvation.
It should also be noted that in the Great Commission, not one word is mentioned about the cross. But the cross is the foundation of the Grace Commission.
QUESTION: Where, in the scriptures, do we find the "GREAT COMMISSION" that was given to the TWELVE "BEING SUSPENDED?"
This is a good question. Most churches today operate under the Great Commission. They believe there has been no interruption of the Great Commission from the time it was given until this day. But in fact, its suspension was recognized at the Jerusalem Council. In Galatians 2, Paul explains why he had a meeting with the remainder of the Twelve Apostles. In Galatians 2:7-9 we read, “But contrariwise, when they [Apostles] saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter.” Think about it, if there was no difference in these gospels then why indicate that there is? Why was this statement worded this way?
Un-circumcision means those who were not a part of the Jewish program. Circumcision was a Jewish ritual. Paul is talking about a message that does not include rituals, does not include the law, the keeping of the law, and all of the other ordinances that went along with it including the ritual of water cleansing (baptism).
Paul speaking; “When they saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision (Gentiles) was committed unto me [Paul], as the gospel of the circumcision (the Jews) was committed unto Peter: (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
BUT HOW CAN THEY DO THAT? At least two of these men were right there when the Lord told them to go into all the world beginning in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samara, and then unto the uttermost part of the earth. How could Peter and John who were standing with the Lord when He said they were to go into all the world, now suddenly say, “We won’t go to the Gentile nations anymore. Paul, you do that. We will go to the circumcision.” How can they do that? They can do it because God revealed something new to them. He revealed that God has begun a new program in order to bring salvation to the Gentile nations. It was NOT going to be according to the Great Commission Jesus had given them. It included a different message.
Not only was the responsibility being transferred to a new apostle, (the Apostle Paul), but a new message was being committed to him as well. So the answer to the question, “Where is the Great Commission suspended?” is right here in Galatians 2:9 - where the remainder of the Twelve Apostles recognize that God has given a new ministry, and a new message to Paul. It was no longer their task to go to the Gentile nations anymore and they stopped at that point. Paul and the new program took over with the Gospel of the Grace of God.
With that background we will now go back and look at the various accounts of the Great Commission and see that it cannot be carried out today, at least not the way the Lord told them to do it. Matthew 28:18 says, “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Many people try to carry out these instructions; yet they cannot and still be scriptural in this dispensation of Grace. Why is this? Because for one thing - to carry out the Great Commission, as recorded here, means you must bind your followers to the Law of Moses. Some will ask, “where does it say that?” Notice the first part of verse 20, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Did the Lord Jesus Christ ever command his disciples to be subject to the Law of Moses? YES HE DID In Matthew 23:1-3 we read, “Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.” This is the seat of the Law, the authority of the Law. “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” Our Lord commanded His disciples to be subject to the Law of Moses. Now as He commissions them to take the kingdom gospel to the world, He says to teach them to observe all things He commanded them. What a contrast to Paul’s later teaching that we are “not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b).
Another area in which some try to do, but it does not work very well, is the Lord’s teaching to sell everything they had and to give it to the poor. He taught that on more than one occasion (See Matthew 19:21 & Luke 12:33). Did they teach those that they reached to do the same thing? They certainly did! Read Acts 2 and 4 where the early disciples of the twelve sold everything they had and they laid the money at the apostles' feet. The Apostle Paul never tells us to do that. He tells us to be careful not to trust in riches, but he never tells us that we are to sell everything we have and bring it to the apostles' feet. Which apostles would we take it to anyway?
Keeping the Commission of Matthew 28 would require keeping the Law, selling everything you have and laying it at the apostles’ feet. Obviously, these are things we cannot do if we are going to try to keep that Kingdom Commission. A more controversial passage, and one that is quoted most often, is Mark, 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Usually this is all you ever hear quoted of the Great Commission. This part sounds wonderful. Of course, we should do that. But the details that the Lord tells them are simply not compatible with the Dispensation of Grace. This is a Kingdom commission. Verse 16 says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Where do people get the idea that water baptism will save them? Right here in this verse.
According to this commission, water baptism was required along with their faith. Does this mean that the water saved them? No. But it was an act of obedience which demonstrated their faith and if they did not do it, it only showed they did not have faith. Some people will tell you this is true today. But the Apostle Paul is clear:
Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration.” There was a time when water baptism was a requirement in God’s program. This is not the case today.
Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils...” This is a kingdom sign. What will happen to the devil in the kingdom? He will be cast out for 1,000 years. “They shall speak with new tongues...” What language will people speak in the kingdom? The Bible says God will give them a pure language (Zephaniah 3:9). Everyone will be able to speak the same language once again someday. God gave a gift to these people to illustrate the kingdom. That is not the case today.
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” People today try this and many times end up six feet under. This is not a commission for today. “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” We will discuss the question of healing later, but for now let us affirm that God can heal, but He is not obligated to do so.
Luke 24:47, “Beginning in Jerusalem...” and Acts 1:8, “...in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Many people will spiritualize this passage and say this means to start in your own hometown. For us, they say, the Great Commission is to start in your hometown, then your county, and then your state, and then the United States, and so forth. Is this what the Lord was saying? Of course not! First of all, Jerusalem was not the hometown of many of these disciples. He was telling them to start in Jerusalem because Jerusalem was to be the capital city of the earth, of the Kingdom program. But the Jews rejected the Kingdom program. If the capital city does not believe, what good is it going on from there?
Are we to begin in Jerusalem today? II Corinthians 5 says we are ambassadors for Christ. We are already in a foreign land. We are already missionaries right where we are. We may go wherever the Lord opens a door, but it does not have to begin in Jerusalem.
The fourth and one of the most neglected references of the Great Commission is John 20. In this account, we find that Christ entrusts the forgiveness of sins to human mediators. John 20:19-23 says, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.”
Again, we remind you, in this dispensation, forgiveness is not committed to men. There is one mediator between God and men, the Apostle Paul says, the man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5). But at that time, under the Kingdom commission, God committed the authority to forgive sins to the disciples. Does this mean they had the power in and of themselves? Of course not! But they did have the authority. This is something we do not have today. God has not entrusted this to men today. But it was a part of the Great Commission.
The Great Commission was Jewish, it was a Kingdom Commission, but it is not our commission today. Upon hearing this, many will ask, “Does this mean you do not believe in missions? Does this mean you do not believe in getting the gospel out?” Of course not! We do believe in a commission, but not the one given to the Twelve.
That one has been suspended. God has given us another commission and it is tragically the most neglected commission in all the Scriptures. We have a two-fold commission.
Paul says in I Timothy 2:4 that God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Those are the two things that God wants to accomplish in this Dispensation of the Grace of God. He wants all men to be saved and He wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth. What does this entail? In II Corinthians 5:18, 19 we find the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”
What’s that? Verse 19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
The message of reconciliation is simply that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. When Christ came to this earth, died for our sins, was buried and rose again, He paid the entire price of our sin. In so doing, He reconciled the world. That does not mean that the whole world is saved. It simply means that the world is savable. This is the Divine part. Now our part is to preach the word of reconciliation, which says, now you must be reconciled to God. God reconciled the world. That is something we could not do. We could not pay for our own sins. We could not take care of our own sin problem. Now He says to be reconciled to God. How do we do that? By believing in what God has done for us through Christ. The ministry of reconciliation is the first part of our commission.
The second part is in Ephesians 3:9. Once a person is saved, then, God wants him/her to understand the fellowship of the mystery. In verse 9, Paul says, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery.” Literally, in the Greek (Majority Text), it is “dispensation of the mystery”, “...which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” What is the fellowship or the dispensation of the mystery? It involves the fact that God revealed a new message through the Apostle Paul that had not been revealed to the prophets and had not been told to the Twelve. It was first committed to Paul. And God wants everyone to know about it. This is part of our job. We are asked why we make such an emphasis of the mystery, of the Grace message committed to the Apostle Paul? It is because it is our job. God has told us to do it. If we are not doing it, we are disobedient children.
Many today have been laboring under the commission given to the Twelve. We might commend them for doing something, yet they have been unfaithful servants if they are not doing what God has told us to do in this Dispensation of Grace. I pray that you will not be an unfaithful servant, but that you will carry out God’s commission to us.
