Matthew 28:16-20
The Whole God for the Whole World!
Lighten Thou, our darkness. Be Thyself our Light;
Strengthen Thou our weakness, Sprit of all might. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
In the Great Commission, Jesus takes a world-view of
His mission. He sends His disciples out to win all nations by bringing them
into a relationship with the whole God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
A single Christian will often see only his
congregation. A local congregation sees only its community. People need to see
that Christianity is a worldwide movement. In like manner, we seldom deal with
the whole Trinity.
Usually, we deal with Christ. Sometimes, to the
neglect of Father and Spirit. It takes the whole person - to bring the whole
God - to the whole world. Today we consider - The whole God for the whole
world.
The wholeness of our religion —
1. The whole world for a whole God — v. 19, “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,”
A. The task the Lord has given us — making
disciples of “all the nations.”
This is not an option. It is a divine mandate. These are our marching
orders. We are in the disciple making business. The Lord directs us to reach
out into the world.
B. Authority to win the world — v. 18, “Then
Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to Me.” This authority comes
from the Savior Himself. The Father gave it to Him. His Father has given Jesus
who lives and rules over heaven and earth authority.
By
His authority, we go out into the world. We do not go it alone. He leads. We follow.
We speak and move and act under His authority.
C. The methods the Lord has given us are two —
baptizing and teaching — vv. 19, 20. “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. And surely,
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
1. Baptism. We witnessed countless baptisms in this room.
Baptism brings us into the family. It is our entrance into the Kingdom of
heaven. It connects us to the Father. And to each other.
2. Teaching.
One of the chief reasons of having a Christian Day School such as
Wyneken.
We
are obligated to teach the word as we connect our children to the living Word
in Baptism. Such tasks are not always
easy. It takes commitment and sacrifice. It involving ourselves in teaching is not
always comfortable – yet the Lord bids us “feed My sheep; shepherd My lambs” [2]
and again He tells us, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of
these you have done it unto Me.” [3]
The wholeness of our faith involves the whole world
for the whole God. We also find the whole God for the whole world.
2. The whole God for the whole world — v. 19, “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,” [See PP. 322 - 323 of the Lutheran Service Book – a winsome way to witness]
A. God the Father
— He is the Almighty God our Creator. The entire vast universe was spoken into
existence by our creator in six days – or shorter yet – ten phrases. All that
we have comes from His sustaining and guiding hand.
Notice how Luther explains it in the His explanation
of the 1st Article.
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that
He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and
all my senses, and still takes care of them.
He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink,
house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and
daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.
He defends me against all danger and guards and
protects me from all evil. All this He
does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or
worthiness in me. For all this, it is my duty to thank and praise, serve, and
obey Him. This is most certainly true.
B. God the
Son — He is the Almighty God our Redeemer. Listen again to Luther’s explanation
of the 2nd Article as we answer the questions of WHO, WHAT, HOW & WHY…
WHO IS THIS? I believe
that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also
true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.
WHAT HAS HE DONE? Who has redeemed me, a lost and
condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the
power of the devil;
HOW DOES HE DO THIS? Not with gold or silver, but
with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death,
WHY DID HE DO THIS? That I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
C. God the
Spirit — He is the Almighty God our Sanctifier. The explanation of the 3rd
Article tells the story of your salvation.
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength
believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has
called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me
in the true faith.
In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and
sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ
in the one true faith.
In this Christian church, He daily and richly forgives
all my sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and
give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
The whole God for the whole world. This is the Lord’s
program for His creation. It is His worldview.
His mission. His work.
He sends His disciples out to win all nations by bringing them into a relationship with the whole God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Whom does He send? He sends you! This is my Father’s world. Christian, this is your mission field!
Passive Sentences -3.4%
Reading Ease -79%
Grade Level -3.4
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