The Power of the Great Commission
Mark 16:15-18 (NKJV) 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Over the last few posts, we have been looking at the Great Commission given by Jesus to the church. This Commission is the command he gave us to take his message to the whole world. I believe this is a duty that grows from our devotion and love for him and our care for those who will spend an eternity without him. Jesus gives this Commission to the church three times. Each of these statements of the same command carry a different emphasis. We have looked at one of them and will continue today with the next.
We see in Matthew 28:18-20 that Jesus had the authority to give us this commission. He also tells us in this statement what we are commissioned to do. We are not just commissioned to make converts. We are commissioned to make disciples. This does mean we must get people saved, but we are not to stop there. We must teach them to be disciplined followers of Jesus. I like to say that a disciple is one who knows how to walk in both Christian privilege and Christian responsibility.
In Mark 16 we see another statement of the Commission. This one focuses on the power that comes with the authority. In the military, the government commissions officers to lead men into battle. The commission comes with the authority to lead. However, it would be useless without the power of the military to back up the authority. Without guns, tanks, airpower or whatever other armament he may need, his authority is useless. Jesus did not just give us authority he gave us power.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his disciples that power will be available. In Mark 16 he tells us what power will be available and some insight into how it works. We are given power in a number of areas. First is the power to preach the gospel.
We need to understand that we are not just proclaiming our opinion about a better way of life. Paul tells us that the Gospel is the power of God to produce salvation.
Romans 1:16 (NKJV) 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
When we speak that part of the Word of God that is the Gospel, we need to believe power is attached to the words. I heard a story once of a preacher who went to witness to an older man who was a hard case. He did not want to hear about Jesus. All the man got out of his mouth was part of one verse in Romans 10. “If you believe with your heart God raised Jesus from the dead.”
The man threw the preacher out declaring in no uncertain terms that he did not need any of that religious stuff. Later he began to think about what the preacher had said. He thought, “I don’t think I have ever done that.” Just that little segment of the Gospel had the power to get into this old man’s heart and he was saved!
Do not discount the power in preaching. It is preaching that God uses to save people and we need to believe that when we speak, the words contain the power of God and not just our own wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:21 KJV)
There are some other “bullets in our gun. It says that all who believe and are baptized shall be saved and those who do not believe will be condemned. Baptism is part of what we do if we believe, but it is clear from the negative side of this that it is believing that brings salvation. We have the power to bring salvation to people.
This is not something to take lightly. When we preach the Gospel, anyone who believes will be born again. They will become “New Creatures” in Christ. That is an awesome power for us to carry. Again, everything in the kingdom of God comes by faith. If we go into the world believing we have this power, it will change how we present the Gospel. We will speak with more conviction because we know this power is at our disposal.
In verse 18 he tells us what signs or outward demonstrations of power we can expect when we preach. We tend to elevate these above the first two. However, they carry a slightly different place than the power of preaching and the power to bring the new birth. Their purpose is to validate the preaching and draw attention to the gospel. We must understand that as important as these things are, they cannot produce salvation. The only way people get saved is by the preaching of the Gospel.
That said, we should believe for these outward manifestations as well. Verse 20 tells us why. The demonstrations of power are the evidence of the Lord working with us. I have spent a great deal of time in this space talking about first Corinthians chapter two. In that scripture, Paul tells us that he came to the city of Corinth with a demonstration of the spirit and of the power of God. He reveals that this was necessary so that their faith would rest in the power of God and not in the wisdom of man. This is also the reason Jesus gives us manifestations of power as part of the Great Commission. Of course we must remember that the signs follow the preaching not the other way around. We do not follow signs; they follow our preaching. They are not there to confirm us but to confirm the Gospel we preach.
The signs promised to us as we preach the Gospel fall into two categories. First, we see the signs that meet the needs of people. They include healing of illness and casting out of devils. Healing is most often associated with the physical body. That is certainly a major area where healing manifests. However, it is not the only area. People can also be healed in their emotions. Either way, Healing is a sign produced by preaching the Gospel.
The second is casting out devils. This is a very controversial topic and I do not have space to go into it in detail. Suffice it to say that there are demonic beings who infest the world. They can and do gain control of people’s lives. We have the power as part of our commission to deal with them in order to set people free.
The second area he mentions here are signs and wonders that protect us as we preach. Some have perverted these statements to form doctrines where people will handle snakes as a demonstration of faith. That is absurd. What he says is very defined. When we are preaching the Gospel, we can believe that nothing will hurt us and keep us from being able to communicate the message. That is part of the power given in our commission.
Authority and power are two sides of the same coin. Jesus did not give us just one, he gave us both. He told us to go after all authority had been given unto him both in heaven and in earth. We have the authority to preach the gospel. Although I believe we should obey earthly authorities when possible, those earthly authorities do not override the Commission given to us by Jesus.
Not only has he given us authority, but he has given us power. When we go into the world, we go into it with the power of God working with us. That power anoints our words to cut through the hearts of men. That power also supernaturally meets the needs of people. People are the reason for the Commission. God wants more children for his family, and he has given us the authority and the power to bring them into relationship with him. Let me end this post by giving you the same words Jesus gave to his church in the Great Commission. “Go into the whole world and preach the gospel making disciples of all nations.”
Leave a Reply