Understanding the Great Commission

“Go door to door and proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This is what I reminded myself and my teammates of every day while working with my former ministry organization. This took place while I was in Turkey and later in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. At first glance, this seemed like the Great Commission that our Lord calls all Christians to fulfill, with each part being as important as the other. This Great Commission is what Jesus says in Matthew 28:18-20:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

As I have grown in Christ, I have more deeply understood the Great Commission and also what a healthy church is based on Scripture. As I consider my experiences in ministry, I have realized how much human desire can influence ministry and desired ministry outcomes. By healthy church I mean a church that is led by elders, served by deacons, administers the Lord’s supper and baptism, practices church discipline and values meaningful membership. 

Sadly, I have seen strategies driven more by human wisdom than by God, and seen plans that stray from God’s purposes. I have witnessed widespread misunderstandings about the mission of the church, the church itself, and even Christ Himself. The purpose of this article is to clarify a biblical understanding of the Great Commission and its implications for the mission and practice of the local church.

All Authority

One thing that sending churches, as well as individual Christians, must be reminded of is the fact that a missionary is not going abroad by his initiative but by the authority of a local church. The local church is given this authority by Jesus himself. When Jesus talked to His disciples in Matthew 16, He gave the foundation of the church’s authority and an authorization of how it was to use it in exercising the keys of the kingdom of God.

Later, in Matthew 18, we see the process of discipline, which is exercising the given authority in and by the local church. But this authority is not only for correction within the church, but also for carrying out the responsibility of the Great Commission. The phrase “all authority” in Matthew 28:18 stands at the center of the Great Commission and reshapes how the church understands power, mission, and obedience. When Jesus declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” he is claiming universal lordship.

This authority is not seized by force, nor granted by human institutions, but given by God the Father after Christ’s death and resurrection. It means there is no realm—spiritual, political, cultural, or personal—outside Christ’s reign. For the modern church, this truth is both comforting and corrective. It comforts believers because the mission of making disciples does not rest on human influence, numbers, or cultural acceptance. The church acts under Christ’s authority, not its own competence.

At the same time, this truth corrects the church whenever it confuses authority with control. Jesus’ authority does not license domination, manipulation, or self-promotion; it calls the church to serve, teach, baptize, and obey in humble faithfulness.

“All authority” also guards the church from fear. Changing governments, declining social status, and opposition do not nullify Christ’s rule. The church is not tasked with creating authority but with faithfully witnessing to the One who already possesses it. In every age, the church lives, speaks, and suffers with confidence because Christ reigns—and he sends his people under his authority, not alone, but with his abiding presence.

Go

In Matthew 28:18–20, the word “Go” has played a powerful role in shaping Christian mission. For many believers, this single word has been the reason they left their country to serve elsewhere. Absolutely, the mission has always involved movement, and the gospel has advanced through faithful men and women who physically went to the nations.

However, we must be careful not to build our theology of mission on a misunderstood interpretation of this word. The Gospel of Matthew was written in Greek, not Hebrew, and when we examine the original language, we discover that “go” (poreuthentes) is not the main command. It is a participle and best translated “as you are going” or “while you are going.” The true imperative—the central command of the passage—is mathēteusate, meaning “make disciples.”

Therefore, the focus is not merely on going, but on disciple-making in the context of going.

This distinction is important because many mission organizations and agencies have placed strong emphasis on sending, and many sincere, obedient Christians have emphasized going, sometimes more than anything else in the passage.

In doing so, “go” has been highlighted above baptizing, teaching, and forming disciples who obey all that Christ commanded. The danger is not going itself, but reducing the mission to a movement without depth. Going is the starting point of obedience to the Great Commission.

Make Disciples

Understanding “as you are going” reshapes modern missions and church life. It reminds us that mission is not only for those who cross borders, but for every believer in every place.

Disciple-making happens as believers live, work, suffer, and serve where God has placed them. Success is no longer measured by distance traveled or numbers sent, but by faithful obedience and spiritual multiplication.

Not every Christian, like the apostle Paul, is called to go abroad, but every Christian is called to live on mission. Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 assumes that believers are already “going” in their daily lives. This means our own city is not a secondary mission field—it is a primary one.

Mission in our city begins with faithful presence, hand in hand with faithful evangelism. Believers adorn the gospel by living visibly Christian lives at work, in schools, among neighbors, and within extended families. Sharing the gospel grows naturally out of relationships marked by love, integrity, and service. Hospitality, listening, and living life patiently with people are powerful missionary practices that open the door for ongoing evangelism.

In the local church, mission happens when the church prioritizes disciple-making. Our main goal is to teach believers to obey Christ, equip them to share their faith, and encourage them to mentor others—creating a culture of multiplication. Some are called to cross borders, but more are called to stay faithfully. Both are acts of obedience. The mission of God advances not only through those who go far, but through those who remain rooted and faithful where God has placed them.

Baptizing in the Triune God

Baptism is the public display of what a person has confessed and what they truly believe. Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, a person becomes a brother or a sister in God’s family. We see this clearly in Acts 2. After Peter’s confrontational sermon to the Jews, the people were cut to the heart and asked, “What shall we do?” And Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized.” Then Scripture tells us: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

Whether a person is a new believer in Washington, D.C., or in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, baptism is the visible confession of their faith. Throughout the book of Acts, we see that baptism was the first act of obedience for believers, and it continues to be so today. Being immersed in water in the name of the Triune God proclaims a powerful message. This act of obedience publicly declares that the Father planned salvation, the Son accomplished salvation through His shed blood, and the Holy Spirit applies that salvation and will complete the work God has begun—for the glory of His name.

Being raised out of the water symbolizes the reality of entering into a new life made possible because of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. 

But what should that new life as a disciple of Jesus look like? The next part of Jesus’ commission helps us to understand the answer to that question. 

Teaching

When a person confesses his sin, puts his faith in Christ, and is baptized, he must be taught. Jesus commands the church to make disciples by teaching them “to obey everything I have commanded.” Teaching is central to discipleship because Scripture alone is the final authority for faith and practice.

Teaching is not merely the passing on of religious tradition,  but the faithful exposition of God’s written Word with the goal of obedience and transformation. It may take the form of faithful public preaching, like Peter’s proclamation to the crowds, or personal instruction, as seen in the ministry of Aquila and Priscilla.

Teaching is itself a process, and when we consider what it means to teach everything the Lord commanded, we realize it is a lifelong work. In the same way that a good teacher has the burden to skillfully instruct their students in age-appropriate ways as they develop, so the church has been given the responsibility to teach new believers to grow into maturity. As they grow in love for God and His people, learn the Scripture, and mature in faith and in the knowledge of the Bible, believers will be led deeper and deeper into the truth. We should pray as as Paul did, that believers would be strengthened with power through the Spirit in their inner being, that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that, being rooted and grounded in love, they may know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge and be filled with all the fullness of God.

This work of teaching disciples to obey all that he has commanded is the ongoing task Christ has entrusted to His church.

To the very end of the age

Jesus concludes the Great Commission with a promise that grounds the church’s mission in His abiding presence: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This assurance flows directly from His divine authority and victorious resurrection.

The One who sends His disciples is not distant, but present with them by His Spirit. Christ’s presence does not depend on human strength, cultural success, or favorable circumstances, but on His unchanging faithfulness.

Throughout Scripture, God’s redemptive work is marked by His promise to dwell with His people. In Christ, this promise reaches its fullest expression—Immanuel, “God with us.” For the church, this means that obedience to Christ’s command is never carried out alone. His presence sustains, empowers, corrects, and comforts believers as they proclaim the gospel and make disciples until He returns in glory.

Conclusion

The Great Commission reminds us that the mission of the church flows from the authority of Christ and is sustained by His presence. We are called not simply to go, but to make disciples—evangelizing, baptizing new believers, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded.

This work is not driven by human strength or clever strategies, but by humble obedience and trust in our risen Lord. Whether we are sent across borders or remain faithfully in our own communities and support the mission, Christ is with us. And with this assurance, the church continues its mission with confidence, perseverance, and hope until He returns in His glory.