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The Glory of God
The Greatest Commandment
The Great Commission

The Glory of God

Love wants to give to the beloved. God is love, and God has made people so that He can give Himself and His gifts to us ― in our bodies, souls and spirits. God has designed us to respond to love, whether it is love given or received.

Here’s an example of love given and received: Our whole world was staggered in December of 2005 when an earthquake and tsunami ravaged people and property in areas touched by the Indian Ocean. In March of 2007, another earthquake and its associated tsunami devastated the region of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. In both instances, we heard extraordinary accounts about people giving and receiving love amidst trial and trauma. Yet even before the tsunamis, love was given and received among the people there in their daily lives in hundreds of small, ordinary ways. Love given and received is the evidence of what’s inside our hearts. That’s the way human beings are created to be; we are created to give and receive love, because we are created in the image of God, who is love.

Here’s a specific story of love given and received: In the Solomon Islands, there was a Gilbertese village of about 100 people. After the earthquake and before the tsunami rolled in ― a period of only five minutes ― a woman gathered up as many children in the village as she could find and took them to safety. Then in a panic, she realized she had left her eight-year-old granddaughter behind in their seaside home. She ran back to rescue her, but both of them were swept out to sea and drowned when the tsunami hit. Later, they were found clasped in each other’s arms. This grandmother gave her life out of love for her granddaughter.

The Bible recounts the greatest story of love given and received. The Gospel of John, in chapters 13-17, recounts Jesus’ love ― love for His Father and love for us ― as He spoke His farewell words to His disciples on the night before He died, as He prepared to give His life for each of us. Jesus’ discourses contain the incredibly significant words of a man who knows He’s going to die. Repeatedly, Jesus spoke of love. And repeatedly, Jesus spoke of giving glory to His Father, and He told us that He wants us to have the glory His Father gave Him.

What does glory mean? The word glory is used about 400 times in the Bible. It means to express, manifest, show forth, reveal, make clear or unmask one’s true self, in such a way that a person’s character or nature is clearly seen in the deed or work done. Shortly before He died, Jesus prayed that He would glorify His Father and so manifest God’s character through His sacrificial death and Resurrection. He wanted to reveal ― to show forth in His life and death ― His love given and received for His Father and for us.

Referring to His disciples, Jesus said to His Father, “I have given them the glory you gave me.…” (John 17:22a NAB) And now Jesus wants to give His glory to us. Jesus, who is Son of God and Son of Man, wants to show forth His life in us and through us ― for this manifests God’s nature of love and gives glory to God.

The Greatest Commandment

In last month’s message on the Great Commission, Jesus told us to go, make disciples, baptize and teach. Teach what? Teach “them to obey everything I have commanded you,” Jesus said. (Matthew 28:19a) (Emphasis added.)

The original Greek word for obey or observe means to fulfill a commandment. And everything Jesus has commanded us to do can be summed up in the Greatest Commandment:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)

We express our love for our neighbor in various ways, including how we share our time, talent, and treasure.

Time: There are 24 hours in a day; everyone is limited to the same amount of time. How we choose to use that time is an indication of what we love. We give time to what we truly love.

Talent: People are blessed with various talents and various amounts of talent. It doesn’t matter which talents we have or how much talent we have; what matters is how we use our talents to be a blessing to others, as an expression of our love for others.

Treasure: People are blessed with various amounts of money and possessions. We find a measure of our capacity to love in an assessment of how generously we do or do not share our money and possessions with others.

There is no one person, Christian or otherwise, who possesses enough time, talent or treasure to be able to address all the problems and needs present in the world. However, we must respond to those needs. If we are obedient to Jesus’ command to love, then Christians can make a difference in this world as each one of us does our part.

The Body of Christ, like a human body, is one body with many parts. Think of the human body; we take time to feed, clothe and cleanse our bodies. Different parts of our body have different talents; the eyelid is talented in keeping the eyeball clean and moist. Different parts of our body have different treasures to share; the pancreas shares its insulin with the rest of the body. Our body is composed of many parts, which need each other. It is the same for the Body of Christ; we need each other and each of us must do our part to build up the Body of Christ.

In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul named five of the many parts of the Body of Christ, parts that are given to the Church by Jesus to prepare God’s people for works of service:

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)

Again I say, there is no one person who can do it all. But together, we can do all that God calls us to do. For example, in the book of Acts, we see the twelve apostles dividing up responsibilities among themselves and other disciples, for no one can do it all:

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:1-4 NIV)

In this example, some were called to focus on prayer and the ministry of the word, while others were called to focus on aspects of social justice. Note that having a focus in one area does not eliminate our responsibility to be aware of needs in other areas and cooperate with others to see that the needs are met. For example, Acts 6:5 identifies Philip as one of the seven men chosen to oversee the daily distribution of food. And yet Acts 8:26-40 recounts Philip’s obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit that led him to share the gospel message about Jesus with the Ethiopian eunuch and baptize him. This story ends with verse 40 declaring that Philip “traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns….”

Regardless of our focus within the Body of Christ, all of us need to be available for the Holy Spirit to work through us in whatever way and at whatever time He chooses. All of us need to be available to go, make disciples, baptize and teach. Teach what? Teach them to obey. Our good deeds, done in obedience to God, bring glory to God. Jesus said:

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 NASB)

The greatest commandment is to love God. We express our love for God in various ways, but especially through obedience. Jesus taught us the connection between love and obedience:

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:23-24 NIV)

Obedience is especially important, but we can also express our love to God through other ways, such as through trusting Him, through doing good deeds, through an attitude of gratitude, and through worshiping Him for His greatness, His goodness and His lovingkindness.

The greatest commandment is to love God; the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. In the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of John, Jesus repeatedly instructs us to love:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35 NIV)

The Great Commission

Jesus is a person of action! Before He left His disciples and ascended to His Father in Heaven, He gave a Commission to those who believe in Him. This directive to His followers is called The Great Commission. It highlights four powerful action words: Go, Make Disciples, Baptize, and Teach. Here’s what Jesus said:

“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.”
                                             (Matthew 28: 19-20a NIV) (Emphasis added.)

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were originally written in Greek, an international language of Jesus’ time. Then, and in every age, Jesus’ actions and words change people’s lives! The four action words that Jesus used in His Great Commission are layered with depth, focus and promise. Let’s take a closer look at the four words and the amplified meanings of the original Greek words, as noted below in italics:

Go
To go means more than move forth.  When Jesus says to go, He’s saying:

• Move away from whatever impedes our relationship with Him.
• Move up towards Him so we can grow in belonging to Him and grow in impacting others through Him.
• Walk so we keep moving forth without racing ahead or lagging behind.
• Travel or make a journey so we move from where we are to another place—whether literally or figuratively.
• Live/experience so we pay attention to the day-by-day small things and big things that can make a huge difference.
• Attempt so we put forth our effort joined to Jesus’ presence and power.
• Traverse along a safe and marked path instead of a wide unprotected plain.

Make Disciples
The original word used here is a word literally meaning teach. However it is different from Jesus’ fourth action word teaching that we’ll explore below. When Jesus says to make disciples, He’s saying:

• Be a pupil, a learner, a disciple. Be one who learns and lives what comes through the Teacher. Jesus’ first disciples were drawn to Him because of their personal encounter with Him. They heard His words, saw His actions and responded to His call to follow Him and learn of Him. We are each called to have our own encounter with Jesus and then to share Him with others.
• Mentor others. Be with another in a relational way that honors another’s needs in knowing, loving and serving Jesus Christ.

Baptize
Baptism concerns the whole person. It is an outward sign of an inward reality. When Jesus says to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, He’s saying:

• Be wet with water as an outward sign of the inward reality of being born into and belonging to God’s Family.
• Be washed as in an ablution, making a fresh beginning. Instead of living in my own name, I shift to living in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• Take on, be stained with, be dyed with, and be fully immersed in God’s Life.

Teach
Teaching gives information about a particular topic. While a word meaning teach is used above, there the emphasis is on relationship that is part of mentoring and making disciples. Here another word meaning teach is used, and the emphasis is on imparting information. When Jesus says to teach, He’s saying:

• Instruct so that we can grow in information and in how to live in response to God’s love.
• Cause others to learn in practical, personal and prayerful ways so we can grow to obey all that Jesus commands.

There is no one person, Christian or otherwise, who possesses enough time or money or energy to be able to address all the problems and needs present in the world. However, we must respond to those needs. Christians are commissioned to go, make disciples, baptize and teach. If we are obedient to Jesus’ commands, then Christians can make a difference in this world as each one of us does our part