Is the Great Commission for today?

(RichardBurger;66855)
Is the Great Commission for today??The Great Commission is not what Paul preached. The Great Commission was given to the Jewish Apostles for the church of the kingdom. Paul was sent with the gospel message of God's grace. Under the gospel of God's grace a person does not have to work (do anything) for salvation. God has done everything that is necessary for their salvation.It should also be noted that in the Great Commission, not one word is mentioned about the cross. But the cross is the foundation of the Grace Commission. QUESTION: Where, in the scriptures, do we find the "GREAT COMMISSION" that was given to the TWELVE "BEING SUSPENDED?" This is a good question. Most churches today operate under the Great Commission. They believe there has been no interruption of the Great Commission from the time it was given until this day. But in fact, its suspension was recognized at the Jerusalem Council. In Galatians 2, Paul explains why he had a meeting with the remainder of the Twelve Apostles. In Galatians 2:7-9 we read, “But contrariwise, when they [Apostles] saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter.” Think about it, if there was no difference in these gospels then why indicate that there is? Why was this statement worded this way?Un-circumcision means those who were not a part of the Jewish program. Circumcision was a Jewish ritual. He is talking about a message that does not include rituals, does not include the law, the keeping of the law, and all of the other ordinances that went along with it along with the ritual of water cleansing (baptism). “When they saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision (Gentiles) was committed unto me [Paul says], as the gospel of the circumcision (the Jews) was committed unto Peter: (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.” BUT HOW CAN THEY DO THAT? At least two of these men were right there when the Lord told them to go into all the world beginning in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samara, and then unto the uttermost part of the earth. How could Peter and John who were standing with the Lord when He said they were to go into all the world, now suddenly say, “We won’t go to the Gentile nations anymore. Paul, you do that. We will go to the circumcision.” How can they do that? They can do it because God revealed something new to them. He revealed that God has begun a new program in order to bring salvation to the Gentile nations. It was NOT going to be according to the Great Commission Jesus had given them. It included a different message. Not only was the responsibility being transferred to a new apostle, (the Apostle Paul), but a new message was being committed to him as well. So the answer to the question, “Where is the Great Commission suspended?” is right here in Galatians 2:9 - where the remainder of the Twelve Apostles recognize that God has given a new ministry, and a new message to Paul. It was no longer their task to go to the Gentile nations anymore and they stopped at that point. Paul and the new program took over with the Gospel of the Grace of God. With that background we will now go back and look at the various accounts of the Great Commission and see that it cannot be carried out today, at least not the way the Lord told them to do it. Matthew 28:18 says, “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Many people try to carry out these instructions; yet they cannot and still be scriptural in this dispensation of Grace. Why is this? Because for one thing - to carry out the Great Commission, as recorded here, means you must bind your followers to the Law of Moses. Some will ask, “where does it say that?” Notice the first part of verse 20, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Did the Lord Jesus Christ ever command his disciples to be subject to the Law of Moses? YES HE DID In Matthew 23:1-3 we read, “Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.” This is the seat of the Law, the authority of the Law. “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” Our Lord commanded His disciples to be subject to the Law of Moses. Now as He commissions them to take the kingdom gospel to the world, He says to teach them to observe all things He commanded them. What a contrast to Paul’s later teaching that we are “not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b). Another area in which some try to do, but it does not work very well, is the Lord’s teaching to sell everything they had and to give it to the poor. He taught that on more than one occasion (See Matthew 19:21 & Luke 12:33). Did they teach those that they reached to do the same thing? They certainly did! Read Acts 2 and 4 where the early disciples of the twelve sold everything they had and they laid the money at the apostles' feet. The Apostle Paul never tells us to do that. He tells us to be careful not to trust in riches, but he never tells us that we are to sell everything we have and bring it to the apostles' feet. Which apostles would we take it to anyway? Keeping the Commission of Matthew 28 would require keeping the Law, selling everything you have and laying it at the apostles’ feet. Obviously, these are things we cannot do if we are going to try to keep that Kingdom Commission. A more controversial passage, and one that is quoted most often, is Mark, 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Usually this is all you ever hear quoted of the Great Commission. This part sounds wonderful. Of course, we should do that. But the details that the Lord tells them are simply not compatible with the Dispensation of Grace. This is a Kingdom commission. Verse 16 says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Where do people get the idea that water baptism will save them? Right here in this verse. According to this commission, water baptism was required along with their faith. Does this mean that the water saved them? No. But it was an act of obedience which demonstrated their faith and if they did not do it, it only showed they did not have faith. Some people will tell you this is true today. But the Apostle Paul is clear: Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration.” There was a time when water baptism was a requirement in God’s program. This is not the case today. Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils...” This is a kingdom sign. What will happen to the devil in the kingdom? He will be cast out for 1,000 years. “They shall speak with new tongues...” What language will people speak in the kingdom? The Bible says God will give them a pure language (Zephaniah 3:9). Everyone will be able to speak the same language once again someday. God gave a gift to these people to illustrate the kingdom. That is not the case today. “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” People today try this and many times end up six feet under. This is not a commission for today. “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” We will discuss the question of healing later, but for now let us affirm that God can heal, but He is not obligated to do so. Luke 24:47, “Beginning in Jerusalem...” and Acts 1:8, “...in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Many people will spiritualize this passage and say this means to start in your own hometown. For us, they say, the Great Commission is to start in your hometown, then your county, and then your state, and then the United States, and so forth. Is this what the Lord was saying? Of course not! First of all, Jerusalem was not the hometown of many of these disciples. He was telling them to start in Jerusalem because Jerusalem was to be the capital city of the earth, of the Kingdom program. But the Jews rejected the Kingdom program. If the capital city does not believe, what good is it going on from there? Are we to begin in Jerusalem today? II Corinthians 5 says we are ambassadors for Christ. We are already in a foreign land. We are already missionaries right where we are. We may go wherever the Lord opens a door, but it does not have to begin in Jerusalem. The fourth and one of the most neglected references of the Great Commission is John 20. In this account, we find that Christ entrusts the forgiveness of sins to human mediators. John 20:19-23 says, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” Again, we remind you, in this dispensation, forgiveness is not committed to men. There is one mediator between God and men, the Apostle Paul says, the man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5). But at that time, under the Kingdom commission, God committed the authority to forgive sins to the disciples. Does this mean they had the power in and of themselves? Of course not! But they did have the authority. This is something we do not have today. God has not entrusted this to men today. But it was a part of the Great Commission. The Great Commission was Jewish, it was a Kingdom Commission, but it is not our commission today. Upon hearing this, many will ask, “Does this mean you do not believe in missions? Does this mean you do not believe in getting the gospel out?” Of course not! We do believe in a commission, but not the one given to the Twelve. That one has been suspended. God has given us another commission and it is tragically the most neglected commission in all the Scriptures. We have a two-fold commission. Paul says in I Timothy 2:4 that God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Those are the two things that God wants to accomplish in this Dispensation of the Grace of God. He wants all men to be saved and He wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth. What does this entail? In II Corinthians 5:18, 19 we find the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” What’s that? Verse 19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The message of reconciliation is simply that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. When Christ came to this earth, died for our sins, was buried and rose again, He paid the entire price of our sin. In so doing, He reconciled the world. That does not mean that the whole world is saved. It simply means that the world is savable. This is the Divine part. Now our part is to preach the word of reconciliation, which says, now you must be reconciled to God. God reconciled the world. That is something we could not do. We could not pay for our own sins. We could not take care of our own sin problem. Now He says to be reconciled to God. How do we do that? By believing in what God has done for us through Christ. The ministry of reconciliation is the first part of our commission. The second part is in Ephesians 3:9. Once a person is saved, then, God wants him/her to understand the fellowship of the mystery. In verse 9, Paul says, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery.” Literally, in the Greek (Majority Text), it is “dispensation of the mystery”, “...which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” What is the fellowship or the dispensation of the mystery? It involves the fact that God revealed a new message through the Apostle Paul that had not been revealed to the prophets and had not been told to the Twelve. It was first committed to Paul. And God wants everyone to know about it. This is part of our job. We are asked why we make such an emphasis of the mystery, of the Grace message committed to the Apostle Paul? It is because it is our job. God has told us to do it. If we are not doing it, we are disobedient children. Many today have been laboring under the commission given to the Twelve. We might commend them for doing something, yet they have been unfaithful servants if they are not doing what God has told us to do in this Dispensation of Grace. I pray that you will not be an unfaithful servant, but that you will carry out God’s commission to us.I think this was written by “BigD,” a previous poster on C.A.R.M. It is worth the read and is certainly something to think about.Richard
RichardBurger, Jesus gave the reat Commission to everyone. Just before Jesus went back to heaven he stated that commission at Matt 28:19,20. Jesus said to God therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all the things I commanded you, Look I am with you all the days until the end of the system of things. As Jesus was on the Mount of Olives, just before ascending to heaven he gave the same commission, You will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem and all of Judea, to Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth, Acts 1:8. The whole reason for Christianity was to Preach and teach the whole world. The only way to salvation is a faith in the Ransom Sacrifice of Jesus, Acts 4:12, Matt 20:28, 1Tim 2:4-6. The apostle Paul taught the very same things as did Jesus. Paul said that all should become imitators of him, 1Cor 11:1. At 2Tim 4:2-5 we are given another another reminder of the importance of the teaching work. Also 2Tim 2:2,3 we are told to commit to faithful men the things we have learned, then they will be adequately qualified to Teach others. Even with all the things Jesus did, his healing and resurrecting some from death, and other powerful works, Jesus was called THE TEACHER, that is what Rabboni and Rabbi means, John 20:16, Matt 23:7,8. The time we are now living in is the most critical time in all of man's history. We are living in the Last Days of a system of things. The Good News of the Kingdom must be preached for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come, Matt 24:14. All who do not know God and obey the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of this system be be judged as getting the everlasting pinishment of everlasting destruction, 2Thes 1:6-9, Matt 25:41,45,46. All of us must find that one religion that Paul talked about, Eph 4:3-6. Remember, there was only ONE ARK in Noah's day. There is only one WAY today!!! Acts 9:2, 19:9,23, 24:22.:study:

Richard,Your theory starts with a dodgy premise based on an odd translation.In Bibles I have consulted your phrase “the gospel of the un-circumcision” is translated asto the Gentiles (NIV)to the uncircumcised (RSV)to the uncircumcised (NAB)to the uncircumcised (Amplified)The Greek word eis means to or into not ofYou see, not two Gospels - one of the uncircumcised and one of the circumcised, but one gospel, to both the uncircumcised and the circumcised.As Mark says at the start of his gospelThe beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God) – one Jesus Christ, one gospel of Him.

(RichardBurger;66863)
But I know the religious will never accept what I posted. But I believe it and so do others.Richard
So when Jesus said to the gathered Apostles:But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth (Jn 16:13), he didn't keep his promise but let it all go wrong for 2,000 years until you and a few others came along?

Richard:The point you brought up about the so-called "Great Commission" and the apostles' original failure to do so is exactly why I subscribe to lost tribes teaching. The apostles understood Jesus as saying go unto the nations, ie. where the rest of Israel was dispersed. The Jews are primarily two tribes, not 12. This is why James talks of the 12 tribes in the dispersion.Israel was to become extremely populous and many nations (not in many nations but to become many nations).Later on, the Lord revealed to Paul that the gospel was opened to non-Israelite Gentiles, not just the Israelite Gentiles.The teaching about lost tribes is not based on a few verses, nor just a historical curiosity, but myriads of scriptural passages in both OT and NT and is involved in the core purpose regarding the bible besides Messiah Himself.I found in my studies that many theological paradoxes, like the one mentioned here, caused many of heated debate because of the failure to see that God had two groups of people: the Israelites and the Jews. Most see the latter, but are totally blinded and may even stubbornly resist the idea of the first group, but they (the Israelites) are where the promises are directed, not the Jews.

(RichardBurger;66869)
No matter your desire to make this a play on words the message is clear; the Apostles agreed with Paul that Paul should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews. That means they, the Apostles, would no longer go to the Gentiles. Therefore they were abdicating their responcibilty to fulfill the great commission as given by Jesus.Gal 2:6-106 But from those who seemed to be something — whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man — for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. NKJVGal 2:99 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.KJVGal 2:99 and when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision;ASVGal 2:99 and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision.Richard
I'm not playing on words, I'm pointing out that you are building a house of cards on poor translation. Repeating a quote several times does not make your personal interpreation of it any more valid. Just makes it vain repetition!Gospel means good news - the good news of Jesus Christ. There is only one Jesus Christ. There is only one gospel.

(RichardBurger;66925)
If you don't want to believe what I wrote that is your problem, not mine.So you think the message you teach has been around for 2000 years and mine hasn't. Well again, that is your problem. But according to the writings of Paul the apostasy started while Paul was still alive and has been taught for almost 2000 years.For almost 2000 years Satan has preached an apostate message and many will go to hell believing it.Richard
I have no problem - you believe your teaching I'll believe Jesus'.

The gospel was preached to the Jews first. His own received Him not. (John 1:11) Then the gospel was preached to the Gentiles... as Christ is the Saviour of the world. (John 4:42, I John 4:14, I Timothy 4:10, II Peter 3:9, Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32)Romans 3:29 - Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

(Jordan;66929)
The gospel was preached to the Jews first. His own received Him not. (John 1:11) Then the gospel was preached to the Gentiles... as Christ is the Saviour of the world. (John 4:42, I John 4:14, I Timothy 4:10, II Peter 3:9, Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32)Romans 3:29 - Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
Exactly so.When Paul went to preach the gospel he preached first to the Jews (he started with the synagogues) and then to the gentiles (e.g. Acts 13:16-49). But Paul preached, and converted both. At Iconium he preached to both at the same time (Acts 14:1).

(RichardBurger;66943)
You are mis-representing what I have been saying. NOTE: there is only one gospel in effect today. It is the gospel of grace that was given to Paul.No where have I said that they are two gospels in effect during this age. What I have said is that Jesus and the 12(11) were still preaching the gospel given to them by Jesus. It was the gospel of the "kingdom at hand" and it included the law of Moses. But the Jews rejected Jesus along with His gospel of "the kingdom at hand." Jesus could not set up His physical kingdom on this earth while the Jews rejected Him. Nor could the Apostles convert the Gentiles to accept the gospel of "the kingdom" since the Jews wouldn't accept it either.God turned away from the Jews and gave a new gospel of grace to Paul.I repeat, the only gospel in effect today is the gospel of God's grace as taught by Paul.Richard
God never turned His back on the Jews. That's a downright lie. God only put a slumber on them and will continue to do so until the End period of the Gentiles. Then God will take off the slumber of the Jews that He had put them on... and this will happen when Satan comes and claim to be God.

(RichardBurger;66946)
No where in the scriptures do we find Jesus teaching that the Jews did not have to follow the Law of Moses. But Paul certainly taught it.
But Jesus did exactly that. Or rather he replaced the Torah, the old Torah, by a new Torah, himself and his teaching.As Peter recounts in Acts 2:22, Jesus was the new Moses prophesied by Moses himself. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew presents Jesus as the new Moses, going up the mountain, and proclaiming the new Torah in the beatitudes and the rest in chapters 5,6 &7. Jesus gives a series of “you have heard it said……but I say to you…” (Mt 5:21-45). Jesus proclaims himself the Lord of the Sabbath. Adherence to the law is now adherence to Jesus. Thus Jesus has fulfilled (completed) the law.God told Peter to go to the Gentiles in Acts 10 many years before Paul started preaching. When he returned and told the brothers they said “God has granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” (Acts 11:18). (RichardBurger;66946)
Heb 7:18-22 (NKJ)Notice that in Acts 3:21 Peter is proclaiming things made known by the prophets since the world began. In contrast, in the book of Romans, 16:25, Paul is proclaiming things kept secret since the world began. Something made known cannot be a secret and something kept secret has not been made known. Notice that Peter proclaimed the crucifixion of Jesus as something for the Jews to repent of (Acts 2) where Paul proclaimed that he gloried in the cross of Christ (Gal 6:11-15). Clearly, Peter and Paul proclaimed two different messages.
Paul is not talking about the same thing as Peter in Acts 3. Peter was referring to the prophesies of a Messiah, a new Moses. But what has been kept secret is the universality of the Messiah. Look at Eph3:4-7When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.Peter himself says this in 1Pet 1:4-5Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final timeAnd in verse 18-20 “….you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you(RichardBurger;66946)
Through Paul, God ushered in a new plan of salvation that does not depend on sinful man's ability to live up to God's standards. It all depends on the fact that Jesus DID live up to God's standards. Under the gospel of the grace of God a person must trust in God's Son (John 3:16-18). By that I mean, have faith, trust, confidence, and hope in what Jesus did on the cross to pay for our sins. When that happens God places that person "in Christ." The story of the "wedding feast is an analogy of these events (Matt. 22:1-13). The wedding garments are the righteousness that God gives a person. A man was thrown out because he chose to wear his own righteousness (Romans 10:3-4).Richard
It was Jesus who brought in the new plan of salvation not Paul. It was Jesus who died on the cross and rose again. It was Jesus who said to all the Apostles: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mk 16:15-16What did Peter say in Acts 2:38 to the assembled Jews “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” Same message.Peter quotes Joel “and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 2:21). It’s the same universal message – proclaimed by Peter.Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day……And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2: 41&47).You see Peter preached salvation not by keeping the Law of Moses but by believing in Jesus and being baptised just as Christ commanded. Exactly the same message as Paul.

RichardRead Joseph Prince's new book Destined to Reign You will love it. All about grace being preached by Paul. He talks of the problem of mixing two covenants of old and new. A very good read for those that want to understand grace more.