The Great Commission Gives Us
A Comprehensive World Vision

Not many Christians have grasped the extent of the world vision laid out in the Great Commission.

What exactly is the Great commission, anyway? Some say it is the Christian duty to preach the gospel. Others say it is manifesting the love of Christ to the world. What exactly does the Bible say?

The most detailed expression of the Great Commission and its comprehensive world vision is found in Matthew 28:19, 20.

“Go ye therefore and make disciples of 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 to the end of the age.”

The Greatness of the Great Commission

Notice the word “therefore” in the first sentence. Whenever you see a “therefore” always look to see what it’s there for.

“Therefore” refers to Jesus’ immediately preceding statement that based on His resurrection, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” All authority.

• Not some authority.
• Not future authority.
• Not authority limited to the so-called “spiritual” realm.
• Not just authority in heaven.

Jesus was given immediate, comprehensive, and final authority over all the people and nations on earth. This coincides perfectly with the second Psalm which declares that God has given Jesus “the uttermost parts of the earth” and the kings of earth are therefore to submit to Him. This is true world vision.

The Great Commission is comprehensive. It encompasses every aspect of man’s earthly existence. Notice the four “alls” sprinkled through the Great Commission passage:

• All authority
• All the nations
• All things
• Always, even unto the end of the age

The Extent of the Great Commission

Men of God throughout the Bible addressed their message to the sins of the nation and its leaders, not just the individual. For example, the Prophet Micah called the rulers in Israel to repentance with these words, “Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people…” (Micah 3:1,2).

Psalm 2 calls on the kings of the earth to “serve the Lord with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way….” Acts 4:25-27 applies this Psalm to the New Testament era just following the triumphant work of Christ on the cross. The Bible presents a comprehensive world vision.

We are fond of saying “the Bible has all the answers,” yet we systematically ignore or downplay the specific answers the Bible provides for our cultural and political problems. Why do we believe that the Bible has application to our homes and churches, yet deny its application to the life of our nation?

Christ did not limit the Great Commission to an internal “spiritual” kingdom within the hearts of men. To argue in this manner is to follow in the footsteps of Plato, not of Christ. Plato drew the sharp distinction between the “sacred” and the “secular,” not Christ. Plato taught that the “physical” realm of existence was less important to man than the “spiritual” aspect of his life, not Christ.

Obviously, the Great Commission must begin within the hearts of individuals. Individual souls must be called to repentance and faith in Christ. But that is just the beginning of the task. Christ went on to declare that His teachings were to extend beyond the individual to the nations themselves. “All nations” are to be discipled and taught to observe all that Christ commanded. Our world vision is to extend to the nations themselves.

What did Christ command? Obviously He based His commands on the whole Bible. Included within those commands are very specific directives for civil magistrates. These directives have been largely ignored by the Church for at least the last century.

God, however, has not ignored or forgotten them. He waits and works for that generation of believers who are endowed with the spirit of Joshua and Caleb. He waits and works for that generation of believers that will not shrink back from total victory. He waits and works for that generation of believers that will not be content to wander in the wilderness of cultural irrelevance and impotence.

The claims of Christ in Scripture are comprehensive. No sphere of earthly activity is outside His jurisdiction. Every sphere of earthly activity is to be subjected to Christ for His glory in history, and that includes “city hall.” As Isaiah declares: “the government shall be upon His shoulder.” (Isa. 9:6).

When the Church fails to teach and insist that the civil government submit to the directives of Christ, civilization beings to crumble. Culture begins to disintegrate. The age of the barbarians begins to encroach once again. Paganism emerges from its place in the shadows.

The Church is driven into the wilderness, and her freedom to preach the gospel is suppressed. Her world vision is stifled. The kingdom of God must then wait for another, more noble generation of believers, to press its comprehensive authority over the world.

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