The Great Commission Revisited

Jesus gave his apostles several mandates. The first was to be witnesses (martyrs) of Jesus life, death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, 21-26, 2:32). The second, was for  Jesus' disciples to love one another, as Jesus loved them (John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:11, 14; 4:7-12). The third mandate, is for the apostles to make disciples of all nations (people) baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were commanded to teach these new students of Jesus to obey whatsoever Jesus' commanded them (Mat 28:16-20). Therefore, we follow the apostle's teachings, and continue to teach others (Acts 2:42).  

Notice, Jesus rebuked those who did not believe; those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead (Mark 16:14; John 20:24-27). We are called to believe the gospel, or good news of Jesus' life, death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit (Acts 2:22-39; 1 John 3:23; 4:2, 14-15; 5:1).  Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and he has been raised from the dead! Secondly, we are called to be baptized (Mark 16:15-16). Additionally, believers are called to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).  Remember, John baptized with water, but Jesus with the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16: Acts 1:5, 11:16).

The apostle Paul taught that people should believe in the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:31; Rom. 1:16). To the Jews the apostle Paul proclaimed Jesus as the Christ (Acts 17:2-3). To Jews and Gentiles, Paul preached Jesus, and the resurrection of the dead (Acts 17:17-18). He told the people of Athens that God was the creator of the world, and Lord of heaven and earth. He said that God did not dwell in buildings. The God that Paul proclaimed doesn't need anything. He is the life-giver. In God we all live, move, and exist. All people are God's children. God has declared that all of his children should change their minds about him. For he is the one that will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:19-31).   

The apostle Peter preached that we should believe in Jesus, who is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42-43). The apostle Paul preached that Jesus will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). The apostle John records a time for the dead to be judged (Rev. 11:18; 20:12-13). The Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed also confirm that Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. 

God loves us. In Christ Jesus, everyone is included in the love and grace of God. No one is without God, except in their own minds. We are called to believe that Jesus is the resurrected Christ. We are called to be baptized in water, and receive the Holy Spirit. We are called to love one another, and to share this good news with all people. 

Watch my latest video on, "The Great Commission Revisited."

Heaven Or Iowa?

In the movie, "Field of Dreams," Ray Kinsella builds a baseball field in the middle of his corn fields after hearing a voice that tells him, "If you build it, he will come." Soon deceased baseball players, raised from the dead as young men, come out of Ray's cornfields. One of the players is Ray's father, John Kinsella. While Ray and John are renewing their relationship, John asks  Ray, "Is this heaven?" Ray replies, "It's Iowa," and then asks John, "Is there a heaven?"  John says, "Oh yeah, it's the place dreams come true."

The book of Genesis says that God called the "expanse," heaven (Gen. 1:8). The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that God is in heaven (Eccl. 5:2). Jesus said, heaven is the throne of God (Mat. 5:34). God the Father is in heaven (Mark 11:25-26). The Holy Spirit descended from heaven as a dove, and rested upon Jesus (John 1:32).  Jesus said, no one has ascended to heaven, except the Son of Man, the Bread of God, who has descended from heaven (John 3:13; 6:33, 38, 41). Therefore, if we want to know about heaven, we have one source of information, and that's from the one who has descended from heaven, Jesus.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus was having a conversation with Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee. The Pharisees rejected Jesus, and his testimony.  He told Nicodemus that a person had to be born again, or born of the spirit,  to see, and enter into the kingdom of  God (or kingdom of heaven). He then went on to say that being born of the spirit, has to do with believing in the Son of God, Jesus (John 3:1-21).

We have placed so much emphasis on heaven being a place that we go to after we die, and little  emphasis on the relationship that we have with God in Christ Jesus. Heaven is a metaphor for salvation and eternal life. It is a present, and future reality. It's a relationship that we have with God. We have been brought into this relationship in Christ, because of who he is, and because of what he has done. Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). It's necessary to believe in Jesus, to trust him, to "eat the bread of God," so that he lives within us, and so that we fully experience the life that he has already given us, for this is the will of the Father (John 6:40, 50-51). 

Jesus made these bold statements:

I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35). 

I am the Light of the World (John 8:12).

I am the Door (John 10:9). 

I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).

I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). 

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). 

I am the True Vine (John 15:1).

I am, the Alpha and the Omega, the First, and the Last, the Beginning, and the End (Rev. 22:13).

Jesus is our life! In him we experience heaven. Salvation is a person, Jesus. Just like Jesus said, "I am...". 

The apostle Paul said, "When Christ who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:4 my emphasis). When Christ is revealed, we will experience the fullness of heaven in our new, glorified bodies. We have borne the image of the man from earth [Adam], and we  will also bear the image of the heavenly man [Jesus] (1 Cor. 15:47-49). 

We are [already] seated with him in the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:5-6). We're seated with him, because we are one with him in his person.

The present heaven, and the present earth will both pass away (Luke 21:33).  But the good news is, Jesus is the pioneer of the new creation - the new earth, and new heaven (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1-5).

Watch my latest video on heaven.