The
Great Commission
One
should dwell on such a thing!
Then
Jesus came to them and said,
“All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations,
Baptizing
them in the name of the Father
And
of the Son
And
of the Holy Spirit,
And
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”.
These
words of Jesus I have read over and over.
They
have been the backbone of missionary motive.
Yet
some how I missed the power of the message.
The
message seemed to only be about an introduction to heaven.
I
do not belittle such an introduction.
However,
as I study slowly over these words,
I
come to see them as powerful,
Not
only in the eternal sense,
But
in the present.
These
words are not just about immersion in water!
They
are about immersion in His Character!!!
Three
word studies changed the commission for me.
The
word baptize means immerse.
Disciple
means disciplined student.
And
the word name means character.
Substituting
these words
With
their meaning
Brought
to life the passage for me!
Then
Jesus came to them and said,
“All
authority in heaven
And
on earth
Has
been given to me.
Therefore,
go and make disciplined students
Of
all nations,
Immersing
them in the character of the Father
And
of the Son
And
of the Holy Spirit,
And
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”.
These
thoughts then come to mind.
Who
has authority?
Jesus!
It
is good to be a student of Jesus!
He
is the one with the words of life.
It
would be good for the people of all nations to be
Disciplined
students of Jesus!
What
is His character,
And
the character of the Father,
And
the character of the Holy Spirit?
One
in the same!
Omnipotent
Omniscient
Omnipresent
Righteous
Full
of truth and light
Full
of mercy
And
grace
And
He loves us.
Creator
sustainer
Re-creator!
He
is able!
And
He loves us.
And
what does He teach?
What
is His command?
“…But
I tell you Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
“A
new command I give unto you that your love one another as I have
loved you.”
“And
this is my command that you love one another.”
One
can learn about His character from His command!
How
did he love us?
“God
commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ
died for us.”
“Come
unto me all who labor and are heavy laded and I will give you rest”
I
want to be immersed in His character.
I
want to be submerged, surrounded, soaked, and overwhelmed by His
creative building uplifting loving merciful graceful character!
And
I want you to know Him!
There
is great hope in Him!!!
Billy
R. Masten
12/20/1913
