ALL. It is one of God’s favorite words, used 5,606 times in His Word. This little word is a great revelation of the thoroughness of the Lord and a reminder of the completeness of His work. Someone once said, “All means all and that’s all all means!” Never is that more true than when God says it.
God loves all people (John 3:16). Christ died for all sin (Hebrews 2:9). The gospel is to be offered to all sinners…and the church is to carry out the great commission in all nations and generations. In our last article we examined each of the five records of the great commission – Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8. If you have not done so already take the time to meditate on these passages and read the brief article “What God Says 5 Times…”
My pastor used to say of these accounts, “All the parts make the whole.” As you compare Scripture with Scripture in these five texts it is easy to identify four steps in the carrying out of Christ’s commission. Remember each by the little word all…
- Go into all the world. The gospel crosses culture and transcends time. There is not a place in this world where the gospel does not work and there is not a person in the world who does not need to hear it.
- Teach all nations. This teaching which all people need is the teaching of the gospel. All men are sinners and all sinners are saved the same way. We are to tell the truth that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead for our salvation, and now calls all men to repent and believe. In this way, everyone who knows the truth is to be a teacher of that truth to others.
- Baptize all believers in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This baptism is to follow the sinner’s profession of faith in Christ and is the outward expression of the inward response to the gospel. This is the first step of obedience and the foundation for growth in grace.
- Teach all things that Christ commanded. This second “teaching” is the continued teaching of the new believer. Salvation is not the end but the glorious beginning! We are to teach the whole truth of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. There is no end to the work of making disciples. Of course, in the end, this teaching perpetuates the same work through every believer as the new Christian is taught to find His place in God’s purpose and carry out the great commission himself.
Our Lord is not general about what He wants – He is very specific! His work is not many things, but rather a concentration on one thing: getting the truth to all people at all times in history. His words are action words. Go. Teach. Baptize. Teach. We know them, and now it is time for action.
