The Great Commission: Spreading the Gospel to All Nations

The Great Commission is the term given to spreading the Christian message and converting others to Christianity. It is to be the individual and collective response of the Christian church to the mandate given by Jesus when He declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

This is not an option but a command to be obeyed

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 all I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20). In this directive, we see Jesus uses the word “all” in four different ways: “All authority”— the power backing us up; we are to go to “all nations”; we are to communicate “all His teaching”; and empowered by His presence “all the time” (translated always). An implied fifth “all” is the command for all believers to be involved in this most important task that Jesus has given us.

This order was not only for the disciples of Jesus’ day but is for every Christian to be actively engaged in — carrying on Jesus’ ministry of spreading the gospel and teaching converts to grow in their faith. As His teaching is the most important thing in life to follow, all nations must be given the

What part of the Great Commission am I fulfilling?

opportunity to receive it. This necessitates being equipped (knowing the essentials of the gospel), and the corresponding action: unless we go and share Christ in our local world and support missionaries in foreign lands, we are disobeying. Think — if someone had not shared Christ with you, the chances are you would be on your way to a lost eternity. Surely, you are so appreciative that you should likewise share the gospel with others. With this comes the authority to use His name and the equipping of the Spirit to partner with Him (Mk 16:15–18; Act 4:29,30; Eph 5:18). It is not just about getting decisions from people, but discipling them so they become effective Christians too, in the process of being transformed by the power of God. Do I understand that every disciple must be a disciple-maker, whether God sends me down the street or to the other side of the world? Any ‘calling’ we have will be part of this mandate, and it requires that we submit to and draw on His enablement. He gives us a task to do, and He promises to be with us.