THE L.I.F.E. PLAN THE GREAT COMMISSION IS FOR ALL CHRISTIANS BLOCK 6 THEME 4 - GOD S GENERAL PURPOSE LESSON 1 (193 of 216)
BLOCK 6 THEME 4: GOD S GENERAL PURPOSE LESSON 1 (193 OF 216): THE GREAT COMMISSION IS FOR ALL CHRISTIANS LESSON AIM: Show that God s general purpose is the same for every Christian. SCRIPTURE: (Matthew 28:18-20) 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. We often hear that God has a purpose for our life but we do not always hear what that purpose is. People may say, especially after having a close encounter with death, I know God has left me here for a reason, but I do not know what it is. Well, two things are true concerning statements like this: God does have a purpose for our life, and we can know what it is. It should not come as a surprise that God has revealed his purpose for our lives in the Bible. The Bible is a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway in life. It is the road map by which we find our way in life. The Holy Spirit guides us according to the Word of God. Concerning the purpose of God for our life on earth, the Bible tells us that this purpose has two parts. The first part, which is the theme of our lessons this month, has to do with the basic, or general, purpose God has for us. The second part, which we will consider in the next theme, is the specific way each one of us will accomplish the first part. To begin with, God has a purpose for every Christian, and this purpose is the same. We see this truth in Matthew 28:19a where Jesus said, Go ye therefore and teach all nations. This is a command, and it gives us the general purpose God has for all of us. The word ye is plural and it means all of you, or every one of you. As we are going about the activities of our daily life, we are to teach, or make disciples of all nations. This is God s general purpose for each and every Christian. No Christian is exempted from this purpose. Many Christians today consider this purpose as if it were an option we can take or leave. This wrong approach to the purpose of God is not entirely their fault. Most Christians have never seen another Christian who fulfills this command, and most Christians have never been personally discipled into becoming the kind of Christian who will fulfill this command. This happens when we fail to follow through with each point within the commission. By the way, this is what we call this passage in the Bible, The Great Commission. The making of disciples begins with sharing the gospel and leading people to Christ. We call this process evangelism. However, evangelism, in its larger context, includes the work of making the disciple. For too many years, the church has focused on the front part of evangelism, the winning of souls to Christ, but did nothing on the other end to build those who were won into visionary, world-impacting, reproducing disciples of Christ. This is the kind of disciples Jesus meant when he said, make disciples. Christians learned how to present the good news of salvation through Jesus
and how to lead a person to Christ, but did not do the work of teaching them what to do or what to become now that they are a Christian. Consequently, our local churches are largely nurseries full of baby Christians. These baby Christians, left to themselves and to figure it out for themselves, struggle their entire lives to know and do God s purpose, most of the time never finding and doing it. We have to share the gospel in order to win the lost but we have to understand that our work is just beginning when the lost have been won. We are not to win the lost, set them aside as if we have done our job, and move on to win the next one. When the lost are won, we then must begin the work of building that person into a disciple of Christ who is able to do the same work with others and teach them to do the same thing. To do this requires that we are taught and that we also teach the three basic foundation stones of the ministry of making disciples. The first foundation stone of disciple-making is the mandate. A mandate is a requirement or a command that must be followed. This is what we find in Matthew 28:19a; as you are going, make disciples. This command is given to all Christians and is intended to be fulfilled in the lives of all Christians. This is the reason we say disciple-making is not optional. Jesus fully intends and expects each individual Christian to do this work. It is a mandate for every believer in Christ. Next, we have the foundation stone of the models of disciple-making in the Bible and elsewhere. There are many examples of the disciple-making relationship within the Word of God. We find disciple-makers in the stories of people like Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Barnabas, Paul, Luke, and Timothy, and others. Of course, the information we have about Jesus is the most comprehensive body of teaching on the process of disciple-making we have in the Bible. In Jesus, we have a number of case studies we can observe to learn many things about how to take a new believer and turn him into a reproducing disciple-maker. The third foundation stone on which to build a ministry of disciple-making is the method of making disciples that we find in the Bible. There are several steps in this method, and we can see the steps in varying degrees in all of the models we have to examine. At some point, we will specify each step in the disciple-making process, but for now, we will simply point out two important things about the method. One, disciples are made in the context of a relationship. Jesus taught his disciples to watch the people around them and establish a relationship with the ones who seem to give the best opportunity for making a reproducing disciple. Two, within that relationship, all of the information, method, and technique of making disciples can be passed from one person to another. So, disciple-making is done within the relationships we have with others. This opens the door for every Christian to be a disciple-maker because we all have relationships with other people. In this way, Jesus has made it possible for each one of us to make disciples and fulfill his command. God s general purpose is that each Christian be a maker of disciples. No one is left out of this purpose of God for the Christian and for the church. This is something every Christian can do. It does not require a seminary degree, although it does require a sound Bible knowledge and understanding. It is something which can be done in any environment imaginable. Through it, a Christian can fulfill The Great Commission. He can multiply his own life, increasing the impact of his individual life in the world. Through disciple-making, the message of the gospel and its transforming power can be carried to all the peoples of the world. It is the general purpose God has for all of us. The only thing that makes sense is to learn it, live it, and lead others to do the same thing. Have you been discipled, and are you making disciples?
LESSON OUTLINE BLOCK 6 THEME 4: GOD S GENERAL PURPOSE LESSON 1 (193 OF 216): THE GREAT COMMISSION IS FOR ALL CHRISTIANS Foundation stones for a ministry of disciple-making I THE MANDATE A. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of the nations B. This command is not optional II THE MODELS A. Old and New Testament models B. Jesus is our greatest model III THE METHOD A. Disciples are made in the context of a relationship B. All method and technique should be employed in our personal relationships SCRIPTURES TO BROADEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING 1. God s original plan to multiply Genesis 1:28 2. The theme of the Bible Genesis 3:15 3. Evangelism and disciple-making are connected to the Bible s theme 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 4. Jesus disciple-making encounters Matthew 4:12-20 Matthew 9:9-17 John 1:29-51 John 3 John 4 John 21:15-25 To name a few 5. A prayer for purpose Ephesians :15-19
LINES OF THEOLOGICAL CONNECTION 1. THE DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES The Bible s theme of redemption through Jesus Christ Evangelism and disciple-making are connected to the Bible s theme 2. DISCIPLE-MAKING Bible models of disciple-making Jesus strategy of disciple-making 3. ANTHROPOLOGY God s purpose for your life LESSON GLOSSARY 1. Mandate An authoritative command 2. Commission The authority to act as an agent for another QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY 1. Write out God s general purpose for every Christian and its Bible reference. We are to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20) 2. What is the label we have given this purpose of God for our lives? The great commission 3. Is any Christian exempt from fulfilling the great commission? No 4. What is the simple answer as to why Christians do not obey the great commission? They have never seen anyone model it; they have not been discipled, or taught, to reproduce other disciples of Christ 5. Where does disciple-making begin? With evangelism; sharing the gospel and leading a person to Christ 6. As a student in the LIFE Plan, you are being discipled with the necessary tools that will enable you to fulfill God s general purpose for your life. Will you make a personal commitment to God that you will learn this information and obey his
commission? Student response 7. God fully expects you to be a maker of disciples. Think about your present relationships. Who do you know right now that you can begin to disciple? Student response 8. You come into contact everyday with people you do not know. Of these, who is God leading you to begin a personal relationship with that can be used for making disciples? Student response
BLOCK 6 THEME 4: GOD S GENERAL PURPOSE LESSON 1 (193 OF 216): THE GREAT COMMISSION IS FOR ALL CHRISTIANS QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE THOUGHT 1. Write out God s general purpose for every Christian and its Bible reference. 2. What is the label we have given this purpose of God for our lives? 3. Is any Christian exempt from fulfilling the great commission? 4. What is the simple answer as to why Christians do not obey the great commission? 5. Where does disciple-making begin? 6. As a student in the LIFE Plan, you are being discipled with the necessary tools that will enable you to fulfill God s general purpose for your life. Will you make a personal commitment to God that you will learn this information and obey his commission? 7. God fully expects you to be a maker of disciples. Think about your present relationships. Who do you know right now that you can begin to disciple? 8. You come into contact everyday with people you do not know. Of these, who is God leading you to begin a personal relationship with that can be used for making disciples?