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Go and Make Disciples

Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Matthew’s Gospel gives a record of the mandate of the New Testament Church.  We are commissioned by Jesus to “go and make disciples of all the nations.”  Acts 1:8 reads, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
What does it mean to be a disciple?  Dictionary.com defines a disciple as follows:
1)   Any follower of Christ,
2)   A person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another.[i]
Another source defines a disciple as A Christian disciple, by God’s grace, becomes more and more like Christ through a life of faith and obedience.”[ii]

            Discipleship begins with conversion.  You cannot be a disciple until you are born again by His Spirit.  We are commissioned to teach and train disciples.  Dr. John MacArthur writes, “As defined by Christ’s command to His disciples, the purpose of the church is to make learning believers - men and women whose lives reflect a deep commitment to and love for the Lord, His Word, and His people. (iii)

         The church must move away from the paradigm of a professional clergy doing the majority of the ministry.  We must empower believers to fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of the nations. The following six reasons will show the importance of answering the Great Commission to disciple believers:
  1. To empower the believer to grow in grace. 2 Peter 3:18 instructs, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
  2. To equip the saints for the work of the ministry.  The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-12, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”
  3. To bring believers to a place of maturity in the things of God. Ephesians 4:13 – 14, “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”
  4. To empower you to develop the discipline of hearing and obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit. Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
  5. To discover your spiritual gifts and allow the Lord help you discover your place of ministry in the Body of Christ. Romans 12:3-8.
  6. To train and release leaders who will disciple others. John 8:31, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

We must answer the Great Commission today.  We are called to “make disciples of the nations.”  Where do I start?  You start in your own house with your children, your church family, and your community.

[ii] http://www.discipleshipdefined.com/resources/what-defines-christian-disciple
[iii] http://www.gty.org/blog/B130207/what-does-it-mean-to-make-disciples

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