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Teaching the Great Commission is a command to all followers of Jesus Christ, according to the Bible.
Matthew 28: ‘’18 Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age’’ (Matthew 28:18-20).
The last blog discussed why many Believers are not taking up the opportunities presented to reach out to people with the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. https://fmministry.co.uk/reaching-out-a-measure-of-our-obedience-to-god.
We have described that the work of the Great Commission is for every day and everywhere. That is, we have to be the aroma of Jesus Christ as described in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16.
We can establish, through scriptures, that the Person of the Holy Spirit is all we need for this work, and He is guaranteed for those who are born again and are willing to use Him for the work of the Kingdom (Matthew 7:12; 1 Corinthians 12:7).
However, the Great Commission work does not end with reaching out to non-believers with the gospel, it also includes teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded us. That is Discipleship.
There is a special office of ‘Teachers’ in the Church as in the five-fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). ‘’11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’’.
And we all have different gifts according to Romans 12:7. ‘’ 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;’’.
The Ministry of teaching is restricted in the Church because of the huge responsibility God placed on the Teacher. For example:
Despite all the above, the Great Commission established that teaching is for all Disciples. This means that all followers of Jesus Christ must aspire to be teachers by growing according to God’s requirement to teach.
The willingness and ability to teach others are of great importance for disciples in circular environments such as work or the marketplace. This is because many people cannot be reached by titled ‘Teachers’ but are easily accessible by believers in the workplace.
Parents are the best teachers to their children so they must learn to teach in words and in deeds.
The fact is that the ultimate Teacher is the Holy Spirit, and He is capable of using anyone in whom He resides to teach others (John 14:26).
Revelation 7: 9 – 17 describes the great multitude in white robes from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and the Lamb. This proves that salvation is not restricted to a limited group of people.
Instead, the Bible shows that:
The Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ is definitely for all nations of the world. It is God’s plan for the Gospel to be preached to all the world and so it is going to happen. But all of God’s children have been called to take part and we will be rewarded for our obedience.
Therefore, we must learn and teach others to identify and remove barriers that prevent access to any group of people. We must be prepared to lay down everything we value e.g. language, culture, tradition, and values for the sake of reaching and disciplining others.
As Apostle Paul illustrated in (1 Corinthians 9:22). ‘’22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some’’.
After removing barriers, we must be intentional, make the effort, invite people over, offer something of ourselves, and serve others, so they may discover, and respond to, the good news of Jesus.
Discipleship aims to know Jesus Christ, be like Him, and then teach others to be like Him.
What we teach about Jesus must be based on the observed characters of Jesus in the Bible e.g., the Compassionate, Righteous, and Humble Jesus. The Just and Merciful Jesus, and the best character of them all, the Loving Jesus.
We must study and teach others about what Jesus said about himself such as in ‘The I am that I am’ statements in the Gospel of John:
We must learn all these, teach them in any way we have opportunities, and most especially with our characters as we relate with others.
Whilst it is wonderful to teach all the wonderful benefits of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, it is equally important to let people know of the cost of that decision. This is an area that many avoid in teaching which then creates false expectations in new believers.
Jesus described estimating the cost of being a disciple as how someone who wants to build a house will sit down and estimate the cost. Or how a king will estimate the resources available to him before going to war (Luke 14:28-33).
Some of the most important blessings of being a Disciple of Jesus Christ include:
There are costs, although not in any way comparable to the gain, that must still be taught as they will be felt on the sanctification journey.
The following are the simple steps to follow:
According to Matthew 28:20 – you can be sure that God is with you always, to the very end of the age.
Thank you for reading and you can read our previous blogs at:
Our Blog – Fishers of Men Ministry (fmministry.co.uk)
God bless you and let us keep talking and sharing Jesus Christ with the world.
Adesina
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