Make Disciples

This is the final command recorded in Matthew. The starting point of the church.

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."

First Jesus explains that He has authority over all. The foundation of asking and receiving, binding and loosing. We have not yet grasped the scope of this truth.

The baptizing is not only of water to be seen of men as an act of acceptance of the rule of God, but also immersion into the body of Christ by the Spirit. Hebrews speaks of these baptizisms.

The teaching can then be friutful having recieved the Holy Spirit. This is the area of the church that needs our attention. We are to teach the whole council of Jesus, and to obey (do) them. This study and application of the word to our lives will produce fruit of the kingdom of God. The word produces faith in God. Faith in God in our actions produces the acts of God. The acts of God will produce fruit, more disciples, for the increase of the kindgom.

This is the super-natural result of being disciples. The Lord saying this, "surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Jesus is not here to take a break from His work, but to continue His work through us. So if we are not now fruitful we need to check our teaching to be sure we have not left out what Jesus put in. And to be sure our fellowship with the Lord is secure, and vibrant and alive.