Which commission should the Church the body of Christ be following as our marching orders? Matthew 28 vs 18 – 20 or 2 Corinthians 5 vs 18 – 19. Let's begin with the commission found in Matthew 28. To whom was the commission given? The Church as the body of Christ ( Made up of both Jews and Gentiles ) or the nation of Israel? According to Peter's sermon from acts chapter 2, he was addressing the nation of Israel. We must remember, that Pentecost was one of the seven great Jewish feast, which occurred 50 days after Passover, and so you had Jews, who lived in different parts of the world and who also spoke different languages, attending Pentecost to rekindle the national spirit. The Scriptures foretold the day of Pentecost. Peter's sermon was taken from the book of Joel and he is clearly addressing the Nation of Israel, and that is why I have such a difficult time, embracing this idea, that the day of Pentecost was the original birthday of the Church as the body of Christ. Think about this for a moment, the day of pentecost was a Jewish feast day. God is still dealing with the nation of Israel and the earthly kingdom program. Remember what the disciples asked the Lord Jesus prior to His ascension? Acts chapter 1 v 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”. Notice what they did not say, “ Lord will you restore at the this time the church the body of Christ?” Do you know why? Because there was no body, the formation of the church, the body of Christ, made up of both Jews and Gentiles on equal footing was still a secret hidden in the heart of God later to be revealed to and through the Apostle Paul. Christ was the baptizer, today the Holy Spirit is the One who baptizes us into the body Christ. I challenge Pastors and Bible Teachers, to seriously study the Scriptures and rightly divide the word to be an approved workman of God and stop trying to please men.
I have great respect and admiration for some of our Pastors and Teachers within the body of Christ. There are many of them who truly loves the Lord, and I have learned a lot from some of their teachings, which was very instrumental in my growth and development as a new Christian, for which i will always be grateful but I am deeply troubled that many of them have not come to see Paul's distinct ministry and message. This is not an indictment against these men, because some of them are truly brilliant men, but they read the early chapters of the book of Acts, the four gospels and the letters written by Peter, James, John and Jude and when they contrast them, with Paul's Epistles, they know the message and program is different. But a lot of these men, for good or bad reasons, have their own little fraternities and sometimes do not want to break rank, because of fame and fortune, so they come across things in the Bible that seems rather contradicting and in an effort not to offend their peers, they hold on to tradition.
But remember that one day you will have to stand before the Lord Jesus and I doubt very much, he will be talking to your fraternity friends.
Let me be absolutely clear, so that there is no misunderstanding. All Scripture is given by inspiration. The whole Bible is for our learning but not everything in the Bible is for my obedience. We no longer shed the blood of bulls and goats to atone for sins, but it's there as a reminder that God had the death of Christ in mind all along, throughout those years of the sacrificial system. Keeping all this in mind, if we go back to the day of Pentecost, we will quickly realize that the commission to go into all the world was given to the Nation of Israel, God's plan to bless the world through Israel, according to the abrahamic covenant, but in order for that plan to take full effect, Israel would have to trust Christ as her Messiah. There had to be national repentance. This is why they were commanded to launch their ministry, starting in Jerusalem, since this was the seat or headquarters of the religious leaders.
Every student of the Bible, knows that Israel, never embraced Christ as her Messiah and we learn from the word of God, that they have been temporarily set aside in unbelief and this is where the ministry of the apostle to the Gentiles (Paul) comes in. Paul writes in 2 Cor 5 vs 18,19. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. There goes our marching orders. With the setting aside of Israel, it paved the way for God to use Paul as the vessel to usher in the present dispensation of the grace of God. Yes!! We are to go into the whole world with the gospel but not according to Matthew 28, because that message and program focuses on the Lord Jesus as Israel's Messiah and king, as well as ruler over all the earth. But bare in mind, that the rapture of the Church, precedes the millennium reign of Christ. We don't preach Christ according to prophecy with regards to salvation for the simple reason, that it conflicts with the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery another name for the gospel of the grace of God and the terms and conditions of salvation are quite different from the present terms and conditions of the gospel of grace. On the day of Pentecost, how did Peter present the terms of salvation to the Nation of Israel? In Acts chapter 2 we read; Then Peter said to them. Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I have been to many Churches throughout my lifetime and I have never heard one Pastor, presenting the terms and conditions of salvation in this manner. And my question to everyone of them, why not? If you are laboring under the great commission, if you truly believe that this is the marching orders for the Church, the body of Christ, why then are you not presenting repentance and water baptism as a prerequisite for salvation, and while you're at it, tell your congregation that if those terms and conditions are not met, they won't even receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you are going to stay on message, at least be consistent. Let us now now look at the terms and conditions of salvation under grace. Ephesians chapter 1 v 13 reads; In Him ( Jesus ) you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. It's important for us to see that there has been a dispensational change with the temporary setting aside of the Nation of Israel. The moment a person hears the gospel of the grace of God, and trust Christ as their Savior, believing that He died, was buried, and rose again on the third day for their sins and justification, they are immediately sealed by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, forever as a child of God. This is how we gain stability in the Christian life ( Romans 16 vs 25 )