Go
Teach All Nations
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This chapter from the Desire of
Ages is very important for the times we are living in.
Go Teach All Nations
[This chapter is based on Matt. 28:16-20.]
Standing but a step from His heavenly throne,
Christ gave the commission to His disciples. "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth," He said. "Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations." "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15.
Again and again the words were repeated, that the disciples might grasp their
significance. Upon all the inhabitants of the earth, high and low, rich and
poor, was the light of heaven to shine in clear, strong rays. The disciples
were to be colaborers with their Redeemer in the work
of saving the world.
The commission had been given to the twelve
when Christ met with them in the upper chamber; but it was now to be given to a
larger number. At the meeting on a mountain in Galilee, all the believers who
could be called together were assembled. Of this meeting Christ Himself, before
His death, had designated the time and place. The angel at the tomb reminded
the disciples of His promise to meet them in Galilee. The promise was repeated
to the believers who were gathered at Jerusalem during the Passover week, and
through them it reached many lonely ones who were mourning the death of their
Lord. With intense interest all looked forward to the interview. They made their
way to the place of meeting by circuitous routes, coming in from every
direction, to avoid exciting the suspicion of the jealous Jews. With wondering
hearts they came, talking earnestly together of the news that had reached them
concerning Christ.
At the time appointed, about five hundred
believers were collected in little knots on the mountainside, eager to learn
all that could be learned
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from those who had
seen Christ since His resurrection. From group to group the disciples passed,
telling all they had seen and heard of Jesus, and reasoning from the Scriptures
as He had done with them. Thomas recounted the story of his unbelief, and told
how his doubts had been swept away. Suddenly Jesus stood among them. No one
could tell whence or how He came. Many who were present had never before seen
Him; but in His hands and feet they beheld the marks of the crucifixion; His
countenance was as the face of God, and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him.
Note: Some SDA’s are teaching that we should
worship only the Father. Did Ellen White miss something that important? I think
not! We are to worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. End note.
But some doubted. So it will always be. There
are those who find it hard to exercise faith, and they place themselves on the
doubting side. These lose much because of their unbelief.
This was the only interview that Jesus had
with many of the believers after His resurrection. He came and
spoke to them saying, "All power is given unto Me
in heaven and in earth." The disciples had worshiped Him before He
spoke, but His words, falling from lips that had been closed in death, thrilled
them with peculiar power. He was now the risen Saviour. Many of them had seen Him
exercise His power in healing the sick and controlling satanic agencies. They
believed that He possessed power to set up His kingdom at Jerusalem, power to
quell all opposition, power over the elements of nature. He had stilled the
angry waters; He had walked upon the white-crested billows; He had raised the
dead to life. Now He declared that "all power" was given to Him. His
words carried the minds of His hearers above earthly and temporal things to the
heavenly and eternal. They were lifted to the highest conception of His dignity
and glory.
Christ's words on the mountainside were the
announcement that His sacrifice in behalf of man was full and complete. The conditions
of the atonement had been fulfilled; the work for which He came to this world
had been accomplished. He was on His way to the throne of God, to be honored by
angels, principalities, and powers. He had entered upon His mediatorial work.
Clothed with boundless authority, He gave His commission to the disciples:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations," "baptizing them into
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:19, 20, R. V.
The Jewish people had been made the
depositaries of sacred truth; but Pharisaism had made
them the most exclusive, the most bigoted, of
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all the human
race.
Everything
about the priests and rulers--their dress, customs, ceremonies,
traditions--made them unfit to be the light of the world. They looked
upon themselves, the Jewish nation, as the world. But Christ commissioned His disciples to
proclaim a faith and worship that would have in it nothing of caste or country,
a faith that would be adapted to all peoples, all nations, all
classes of men.
Before leaving His disciples, Christ plainly
stated the nature of His kingdom. He called to their minds what He had
previously told them concerning it. He declared that it was not His purpose to
establish in this world a temporal, but a spiritual kingdom. He was not to
reign as an earthly king on David's throne. Again He opened to them the
Scriptures, showing that all He had passed through had been ordained in heaven,
in the councils between the Father and Himself. All had been foretold by men
inspired by the Holy Spirit. He said, You see that all
I have revealed to you concerning My rejection as the Messiah has come to pass.
All I have said in regard to the humiliation I should endure and the death I
should die, has been verified. On the third day I rose
again. Search the Scriptures more diligently, and you will see that in all
these things the specifications of prophecy concerning Me
have been fulfilled.
Christ commissioned His disciples to do the
work He had left in their hands, beginning at Jerusalem. Jerusalem had been the
scene of His amazing condescension for the human race. There He had suffered,
been rejected and condemned. The land of Judea was His birthplace. There, clad
in the garb of humanity, He had walked with men, and few had discerned how near
heaven came to the earth when Jesus was among them. At Jerusalem the work of
the disciples must begin.
In view of all that Christ had suffered there,
and the unappreciated labor He had put forth, the disciples might have pleaded
for a more promising field; but they made no such plea. The very ground where
He had scattered the seed of truth was to be cultivated by the disciples, and
the seed would spring up and yield an abundant harvest. In their work
the disciples would have to meet persecution through the jealousy and hatred of
the Jews; but this had been endured by their Master, and they were not to flee
from it. The first offers of mercy must be made to the murderers of the
Saviour.
And there were in Jerusalem many who had
secretly believed on Jesus, and many who had been deceived by the priests and
rulers. To these also the gospel was to be presented. They were to be called to
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repentance. The wonderful
truth that through Christ alone could remission of sins be obtained was to be
made plain. While all Jerusalem was stirred by the thrilling events of the
past few weeks, the preaching of the gospel would make the deepest impression.
But the work was not to stop here. It was to
be extended to the earth's remotest bounds. To His disciples Christ said, You have been witnesses of My life of self-sacrifice in
behalf of the world. You have witnessed My labors for
Israel. Although they would not come unto Me that they
might have life, although priests and rulers have done to Me as they listed,
although they have rejected Me as the Scriptures foretold, they shall have
still another opportunity of accepting the Son of God. You have seen that all
who come to Me, confessing their sins, I freely
receive. Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast
out. All who will, may be reconciled to God, and receive everlasting life. To
you, My disciples, I commit this message of mercy. It
is to be given to Israel first, and then to all nations, tongues, and peoples.
It is to be given to Jews and Gentiles. All who believe are to be gathered into
one church.
Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the
disciples were to receive a marvelous power. Their testimony was to be
confirmed by signs and wonders. Miracles would be wrought, not only by the
apostles, but by those who received their message. Jesus said, "In My name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take
up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17, 18.
At that time
poisoning was often practiced. Unscrupulous men did not hesitate to remove by this means those
who stood in the way of their ambition. Jesus knew that the life of His disciples
would thus be imperiled. Many would think it doing God service to put His
witnesses to death. He therefore promised them protection from this danger.
The disciples
were to have the same power which Jesus had to heal "all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease among the people." By healing in
His name the diseases of the body, they would testify to His power for the
healing of the soul. Matt. 4:23; 9:6. And a new endowment was now promised. The
disciples were to preach among other nations, and they would receive power to speak other
tongues. The apostles and their associates were unlettered men, yet through the
outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, their speech, whether in
their own or a foreign language, became pure, simple,
and accurate, both in word and in accent.
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Thus Christ gave His disciples their
commission. He made full provision for the prosecution of the work, and took
upon Himself the responsibility for its success. So long as they obeyed His
word, and worked in connection with Him, they could not fail. Go to all
nations, He bade them. Go to the farthest part of the habitable globe, but know that My presence will be there. Labor in faith and confidence,
for the time will never come when I will forsake you.
The Saviour's commission to the disciples
included all the believers. It includes all believers in Christ to the end of
time. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of saving souls depends
alone on the ordained minister. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come
are put in trust with the gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are
ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. For this work the
church was established, and all who take upon themselves
its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be co-workers with Christ.
"The
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come." Rev.
22:17. Everyone who hears is to repeat the invitation. Whatever one's
calling in life, his first interest should be to win souls for Christ. He may
not be able to speak to congregations, but he can work for individuals. To them he can
communicate the instruction received from his Lord. Ministry does not consist
alone in preaching. Those minister who relieve the sick and suffering, helping the
needy, speaking words of comfort to the desponding and those of little faith. Nigh and afar
off are souls weighed down by a sense of guilt. It is not hardship, toil, or poverty that
degrades humanity. It is guilt, wrongdoing. This brings unrest and dissatisfaction.
Christ would have His servants minister to sin-sick
souls.
The disciples were to begin their work where
they were. The hardest and most unpromising field was not to be passed by. So every one of Christ's workers is to begin where he is. In
our own families may be souls hungry for sympathy, starving for the bread of
life. There may be children to be trained for Christ. There are heathen at our
very doors. Let us do faithfully the work that is nearest. Then let our efforts
be extended as far as God's hand may lead the way. The work of many may appear
to be restricted by circumstances; but, wherever it is, if performed with faith
and diligence it will be felt to the uttermost parts of the earth. Christ's
work when upon earth appeared to be confined to a narrow field, but multitudes
from all lands heard His message. God often uses the simplest means to
accomplish the greatest results. It is
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His plan that
every part of His work shall depend on every other part, as a wheel within a
wheel, all acting in harmony. The humblest
worker, moved by the Holy Spirit, will touch invisible chords, whose
vibrations will ring to the ends of the earth, and make melody through eternal
ages.
But the command, "Go ye into all the world," is not to be lost sight of. We are
called upon to lift our eyes to the "regions beyond." Christ tears
away the wall of partition, the dividing prejudice of nationality, and teaches
a love for all the human family. He lifts men from the narrow circle which
their selfishness prescribes; He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial
distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends
and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our brother, and
the world as our field.
When the
Saviour said, "Go, . . . teach all nations," He said also,
"These signs shall follow them that believe; In My name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take
up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." The promise is
as far-reaching as the commission. Not that all the gifts are imparted to each
believer. The Spirit divides "to every man severally as He
will." 1 Cor. 12:11. But the gifts of the Spirit are promised to every
believer according to his need for the Lord's work. The promise is
just as strong and trustworthy now as in the days of the apostles. "These
signs shall follow them that believe." This is the privilege of God's
children, and faith should lay hold on all that it is possible to have as an indorsement of faith.
"They shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover." This world is a vast lazar house, but Christ came
to heal the sick, to proclaim deliverance to the captives of Satan. He was in
Himself health and strength. He imparted His life to the sick, the afflicted,
those possessed of demons. He turned away none who came to receive His healing
power. He knew that those who petitioned Him for help had brought disease upon
themselves; yet He did not refuse to heal them. And when virtue from Christ
entered into these poor souls, they were convicted of sin, and many were healed
of their spiritual disease, as well as of their physical maladies. The gospel
still possesses the same power, and why should we not today witness the same
results?
Christ feels the woes of every sufferer. When
evil spirits rend a human frame, Christ feels the curse. When fever is burning
up the life current, He feels the agony. And He is just as willing to heal the sick now
as when He was personally on earth. Christ's servants are His
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representatives, the channels
for His working. He desires through them
to exercise His healing power.
In the Saviour's manner of healing there were
lessons for His disciples. On one occasion He anointed the eyes of a blind man
with clay, and bade him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.
. . . He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." John
9:7. The
cure could be wrought only by the power of the Great Healer, yet Christ made
use of the simple agencies of nature. While He did not give countenance to drug
medication, He sanctioned the use of simple and natural remedies.
To many of the afflicted ones who received
healing, Christ said, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." John
5:14. Thus He taught that disease is the result of violating God's laws, both
natural and spiritual. The great misery in the world would not exist did men but live
in harmony with the Creator's plan.
Christ had been the guide and teacher of
ancient Israel, and He taught them that health is the reward of obedience to
the laws of God. The Great Physician who healed the sick in Palestine had
spoken to His people from the pillar of cloud, telling them what they must do,
and what God would do for them. "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord
thy God," He said, "and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and
wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none
of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am
the Lord that healeth thee." Ex. 15:26. Christ gave to
Israel definite instruction in regard to their habits of life, and He assured
them, "The Lord will take away from thee all
sickness." Deut. 7:15. When they
fulfilled the conditions, the promise was verified to them. "There
was not one feeble person among their tribes." Ps. 105:37.
These lessons are for us. There are
conditions to be observed by all who would preserve health. All should learn
what these conditions are. The Lord is not pleased with ignorance in regard to His laws,
either natural or spiritual. We are to be workers together with God for the
restoration of health to the body as well as to the soul.
And we should teach others how to preserve and
to recover health. For the sick we should use the remedies which God has provided
in nature, and we should point them to Him who alone can restore. It is our
work to present the sick and suffering to Christ in the arms of our faith. We
should teach them to believe in the Great Healer. We should lay
hold on His promise, and pray for the manifestation of His power. The very
essence of the gospel is restoration, and the Saviour would have us bid
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the sick, the
hopeless, and the afflicted take hold upon His strength.
The
power of love was in all Christ's healing, and only by partaking of that love,
through faith, can we be instruments for His work. If we neglect
to link ourselves in divine connection with Christ, the current of life-giving
energy cannot flow in rich streams from us to the people. There were places
where the Saviour Himself could not do many mighty works because of their
unbelief. So now unbelief separates the church from her divine Helper. Her hold
upon eternal realities is weak. By her lack of faith, God is disappointed, and
robbed of His glory.
It is in doing Christ's work that the church
has the promise of His presence. Go teach all nations, He said; "and, lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
To take His yoke is one of the first conditions of receiving His power. The very life
of the church depends upon her faithfulness in fulfilling the Lord's
commission. To neglect this work is surely to invite spiritual feebleness and
decay. Where there is no active labor for others, love wanes, and faith grows
dim.
Christ intends that His ministers shall be
educators of the church in gospel work. They are to teach the people how to
seek and save the lost. But is this the work they are doing? Alas, how many
are toiling to fan the spark of life in a church that is ready to die! How many
churches are tended like sick lambs by those who ought to be seeking for the
lost sheep! And all the time millions upon millions without Christ are
perishing.
Divine love has been stirred to its
unfathomable depths for the sake of men, and angels marvel to behold in the
recipients of so great love a mere surface gratitude. Angels marvel at man's
shallow appreciation of the love of God. Heaven stands indignant at the neglect
shown to the souls of men. Would we know how Christ regards it? How would a
father and mother feel, did they know that their child, lost in the cold and
the snow, had been passed by, and left to perish, by those who might have saved
it? Would they not be terribly grieved, wildly indignant? Would they not
denounce those murderers with wrath hot as their tears, intense as their love?
The sufferings of every man are the sufferings of God's child, and those who
reach out no helping hand to their perishing fellow beings provoke His
righteous anger. This is the wrath of the Lamb. To those who claim fellowship
with Christ, yet have been indifferent to the needs of their fellow men, He
will declare in the great Judgment day, "I know you not whence ye are; depart
from Me, all ye workers of iniquity." Luke 13:27.
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In the
commission to His disciples, Christ not only outlined their work, but gave them
their message. Teach the people, He said, "to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you." The disciples were to teach what Christ
had taught. That which He had spoken, not only in person, but through all the
prophets and teachers of the Old Testament, is here included. Human teaching is
shut out. There is no place for tradition, for man's theories and conclusions,
or for church legislation. No laws ordained by ecclesiastical authority are
included in the commission. None of these are Christ's servants to teach. "The law
and the prophets," with the record of His own words and deeds, are the
treasure committed to the disciples to be given to the world. Christ's name is
their watchword, their badge of distinction, their bond of union, the authority
for their course of action, and the source of their success. Nothing that does
not bear His superscription is to be recognized in His kingdom.
The gospel is to be presented, not as a
lifeless theory, but as a living force to change the life. God desires that the
receivers of His grace shall be witnesses to its power. Those whose
course has been most offensive to Him He freely accepts; when they repent, He
imparts to them His divine Spirit, places them in the highest positions of
trust, and sends them forth into the camp of the disloyal to proclaim His
boundless mercy. He would have His servants bear testimony to the fact that
through His grace men may possess Christlikeness of
character, and may rejoice in the assurance of His great love. He would have
us bear testimony to the fact that He cannot be satisfied until the human race
are reclaimed and reinstated in their holy privileges as His sons and
daughters.
In Christ is the tenderness of the shepherd,
the affection of the parent, and the matchless grace of the compassionate
Saviour. His blessings He presents in the most alluring terms. He is not
content merely to announce these blessings; He presents them in the most
attractive way, to excite a desire to possess them. So His servants are to
present the riches of the glory of the unspeakable Gift. The wonderful love of
Christ will melt and subdue hearts, when the mere reiteration of doctrines
would accomplish nothing. "Comfort ye, comfort ye My
people, saith your God." "O Zion, that bringest
good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength;
lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! . . .
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His
arm, and carry them in His bosom." Isa. 40:1, 9-11.
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Tell the people of Him who is "the Chiefest among ten thousand," and the One
"altogether lovely." The Song of Solomon 5:10, 16. Words alone cannot
tell it. Let it be reflected in the character and manifested in the life.
Christ is sitting for His portrait in every disciple. Every one God has
predestinated to be "conformed to the image of His Son." Rom. 8:29.
In every one Christ's long-suffering love, His holiness, meekness, mercy, and
truth are to be manifested to the world.
The first disciples went forth preaching the
word. They revealed Christ in their lives. And the Lord worked with them,
"confirming the word with signs following." Mark 16:20. These
disciples prepared themselves for their work. Before the day of Pentecost they met together,
and put away all differences. They were of one accord. They believed Christ's
promise that the blessing would be given, and they prayed in faith. They did not
ask for a blessing for themselves merely; they were weighted with the burden
for the salvation of souls. The gospel was to be carried to the uttermost parts
of the earth, and they claimed the endowment of power that Christ had promised.
Then it was that the Holy Spirit was poured out, and thousands were converted
in a day.
So it may be now. Instead of man's
speculations, let the word of God be preached. Let Christians put away their
dissensions, and give themselves to God for the saving of the lost. Let them in
faith ask for the blessing, and it will come. The outpouring of the Spirit in
apostolic days was the "former rain," and glorious was the result.
But the "latter rain" will be more abundant. Joel 2:23.
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to
God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power.
The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His
own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart
and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their
assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ they
are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the
deeds of Omnipotence.
The Saviour longs to manifest His grace and
stamp His character on the whole world. It is His purchased possession, and He
desires to make men free, and pure, and holy. Though Satan works to hinder this
purpose, yet through the blood shed for the world
there are triumphs to be achieved that will bring glory to God and the Lamb.
Christ will not be satisfied till the victory is complete, and "He shall
see of the travail
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of His soul, and
shall be satisfied." Isa. 53:11. All the nations of the earth shall hear
the gospel of His grace. Not all will receive His grace; but "a seed shall
serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation." Ps. 22:30.
"The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High," and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea." "So shall they fear the name of the Lord
from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun."
Dan. 7:27; Isa. 11:9; 59:19.
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth! . . . Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places: . . . for
the Lord hath comforted His people. . . . The Lord hath made bare His holy arm
in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the
salvation of our God." Isa. 52:7-10.