Was the great commission only commanded to the apostles?<\/p>\n\t
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’<\/em>” (Matthew 28:18-20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Many people find Jesus’ words awkward in this passage. It clearly shows Jesus commanding that people were to be baptized by other people; thus, eliminating baptism by the Holy Spirit as being the one baptism in Ephesians 4:4-6. It shows that people become disciples through baptism, which shoots a hole in the teachings of “faith alone” or “grace alone.” The authority for baptism is in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, which destroys the argument that baptism can be only done in Jesus’ name. It means three beings giving authority, which is awkward for those who claim that God is only one being.\u00a0The result is that many seek to reclassify this passage as not applying, such as by claiming that it isn’t original to the text or that it was only given to a limited audience.<\/p>\n
Jesus was speaking to the eleven apostles (Matthew 28:16). It was his commission to them for what they must do in the future.<\/p>\n
Not only were they to make disciples from all<\/strong> nations, but they were to teach these new disciples to observe\u00a0all<\/strong> the commands that Jesus gave the apostles. Now think about it. The command that Jesus is currently giving the apostles would be included in all the commands that Jesus gave them. Thus, the command to baptize to make disciples would also be a command to later disciples. So would the command to pass on the teachings, just as Paul told Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also<\/em>” (II Timothy 2:2).<\/p>\n
Jesus also promised to be with the disciples to the end of the age. The Christian age still continues but the apostles have left this world long ago. This wasn’t a command meant to be limited to a short period of time or only for a few people.<\/p>\n
The apostles were the start but they were by no means the exclusive recipients of this command.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Was the great commission only commanded to the apostles? Answer: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[52,708,451],"class_list":["post-34423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-baptism","tag-matthew","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25429,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-person-doing-the-baptism-have-to-be-an-official-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":34423,"position":0},"title":"Does the person doing the baptism have to be an official in the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm curious to know what you think about this. I think there are some Christians who believe in order for your baptism to valid, it must be done by someone appointed by God as a minister, elder, or some kind of official position. We know people such as Peter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14999,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-baptism-is-referred-to-as-the-one-baptism-of-ephesians-45\/","url_meta":{"origin":34423,"position":1},"title":"Which Baptism Is Referred to as the One Baptism of Ephesians 4:5?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Adapted from an article by Clem Thurman in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 20, May 16, 2008. Question: Which baptism is referred to as the one baptism of Ephesians 4:5? Answer: Some people want to refer to this baptism as a spiritual baptism. I have never been able to understand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0006-10-300x187.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2754,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/matthew-2819-cannot-refer-to-a-christians-baptism-because-it-was-given-in-the-wrong-place-and-at-the-wrong-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":34423,"position":2},"title":"Matthew 28:19 cannot refer to a Christian’s baptism because it was given in the wrong place and at the wrong time.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 19, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Here is my proof for not baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Isaiah 2: 2-3, The word of the Lord that goeth forth from Jerusalem will build the house of the God of Jacob. I do not find Galilee as the city chosen of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3632,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-matthew-2819-a-part-of-the-setting-up-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":34423,"position":3},"title":"Is Matthew 28:19 a part of the setting up of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 28, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am concerned about baptism. I have found that all of the Bible corresponds with Acts 2:38\u00a0from the prophets until the Spirit came upon the apostles. What I do not find is\u00a0Matthew 28:19\u00a0having a part in the setting up of the church at Jerusalem. The prophets Isaiah and Micah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39652,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/examining-the-great-commission\/","url_meta":{"origin":34423,"position":4},"title":"Examining the Great Commission","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Among the most familiar Bible passages that are known and memorized, are the words Christ spoke to his disciples before he returned to his home that he left 33 years before. There is more to the passage than memorized words, and we want to give some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-baptism-be-done-only-in-jesus-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":34423,"position":5},"title":"Should baptism be done only in Jesus’ name?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 24, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: For many years the churches of Christ have used Matthew 28:19 as a baptism that adds to the church that was built by the word of the Lord that went forth from Jerusalem, a baptism that was not present when Israel was told to repent and be baptized in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}