Sunday Soaking: Trinity in the Great Commission

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.
Matthew 28:19-20

These words of Jesus were offered shortly after His resurrection! As the disciples came to Him, they must have experienced the full gamut of emotions: incredulity, delight, astonishment, joy, love, amazement, gratefulness. Verse 17 tells us, “When they saw him, they worshiped him…”

And when we encounter Jesus today, we do the same!

Our worship is a response to Him … and it’s from a place a worship that we usually receive an assignment or challenge. Matthew 28:19-20 — a passage known to most of us as “the Great Commission” — represents the assignment received by the disciples then and, by extension, to us today.

For evangelical believers, the Great Commission represents our marching orders. Living an active faith, giving to missions, and sharing the gospel are foundational to all we believe. We know these verses. We have most likely committed them to memory. Our children learn this passage by heart in Sunday School or Awana.

If we were playing a game of “Finish that Bible Verse,” many of us would only need the two words, “Therefore go…” to quote the whole passage!

If asked to identify the theological themes of the Great Commission, we would perhaps respond:

• Evangelism
• Discipleship
• Missions

All would be true. But it is equally true that, though we quote it, we might miss the Trinity in the Great Commission. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — all three members of the Godhead are included in the Matthew 28:19-20 passage.

These words were some of the last spoken by Jesus before His ascension into heaven. Final words are weighty and important. They are remembered by those who remain. As He was leaving, He had an assignment for His followers: make disciples.

But Jesus did not leave them to their own devices to fulfill that assignment. When He left, the Holy Spirit would come. It is through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that the disciples in the first century — and we, as disciples in the 21^st century — can fulfill God’s call on our lives.

Today on Easter Sunday, we celebrate the blessed news that Jesus is alive! We serve a risen Savior! We know He is coming back! But as we celebrate all this, may we also celebrate that He did not leave us alone. When He left, the Holy Spirit came to indwell and equip us. And it is His power and His presence that enables us to live out the glorious truth of the Gospel …  the gospel that changes everything. Jesus not only came to save us, but also to change us. And through His Spirit, we are being changed day by day.

May the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit define us today as it did the disciples then!

To God be the glory! Great things He has done!

From all of us here at Cross My Heart:
A glorious Easter to you and your family!

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