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II. The commission of the Lord as the Christ of God:
А. After all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord as the King-Savior commissioned His disciples to go and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them, to make them citizens of His kingdom of the heavens — Matt. 28:18-20.
B. In His resurrection the Lord as the Slave-Savior charged His disciples to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation (of which mankind is the main item) to redeem and save God’s lost creation from the vanity and slavery of corruption back to Him to enjoy the freedom of His glory (Mark 16:14-15; Rom. 8:20-21) in His new creation (Gal. 6:15b).
C. After the accomplishment of God’s redemption for man through His death and resurrection, the Lord as the Man-Savior charged His disciples to proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins in His name to all the nations that the fallen men may be redeemed back to the way of peace that leads them into the blessing prepared by God for them according to His eternal economy — Luke 24:46-48; 1:77-79; 2:30-32.
D. After the unveiling of the mysterious mingling of the Divine Trinity with the believers (John 14:8-11, 16-20), the Lord as the God-Savior charged His disciples to bear fruit for His increase that His mystical Body, which is signified by the true vine composed of Him and His believers as His branches, may be completed as His fullness — His expression — as the New Jerusalem in eternity — 15:16a; 3:30; 15:1-8; Rev. 21:1—22:5.
E. After He had trained the disciples to know the kingdom of God, which, according to God’s New Testament economy, is different from the kingdom of Israel, and when He was ready to return to the heavens triumphantly in the presence of His disciples (Acts 1:2-9), the Lord as the Victor over Satan, sin, and death, the One who was to be made by God in the heavens both the Lord and Christ, charged His disciples to be His witnesses, especially of His resurrection and His ascension (2:32-36; 5:30-32), from Jerusalem unto the uttermost part of the earth, by the power of the Spirit (1:8), that is, to announce the gospel of the kingdom of God (8:12) for the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth (1:3; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31; Rom. 14:17; Eph. 2:19; 5:5).
III. Peter’s reminding of the believers concerning the telling out of the virtues of God — 1 Pet. 2:9:
А. Corporately by a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people acquired for a possession of God.
B. To proclaim abroad as the gospel the virtues (mercy, compassion, lovingkindness, love, grace, redemption, forgiveness, justification, regeneration, salvation, etc.) of God, who has called the believers out of darkness into His marvelous light for the testimony that the believers as God’s chosen race who are under God’s bright governmental dealing in His house (4:17) do not live and walk in darkness but in the marvelous light of God (2:11-12).
IV. The calling of the Spirit and the bride, who represent the New Jerusalem — Rev. 22:17:
А. To the thirsty ones.
B. To come and take the water of life freely for their enjoyment of the riches of the Triune God flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb as a river of water of life to be the rich supply with Christ as the tree of life to the New Jerusalem as the Triune God’s glorious enlargement and expression for eternity — 21:1—22:5.
In the previous chapter we saw that Paul gives us the perfect example and highest standard in the announcing of the gospel. In this chapter we first want to see the commission of the Lord as the Christ of God for the announcing of the gospel. In each of the four Gospels and Acts, the Lord commissioned His disciples to carry out the gospel. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke this commission is at the end, but in John it is in the middle. In chapter 15 of John, the Lord charged the disciples to go forth and bear fruit (v. 16). Then at the beginning of Acts, the Lord trained the disciples, before His ascension, to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God (1:2-9).
In each particular book the Lord’s commission has a particular base. If we are to understand the Lord’s commission in these five books, we have to enter into the intrinsic contents of each book. The book of Matthew is on the kingdom of the heavens. The first thing the New Testament offers to us is the kingdom of the heavens. Mark and Luke also have their particular perspectives on the gospel. John is very deep and high, and Acts is on the kingdom of God.
After we see the Lord’s commission to us in Matthew through Acts, we want to go on to fellowship concerning Peter’s reminding the believers to tell out the virtues of God (1 Pet. 2:9). This telling out is a kind of preaching, and the virtues of God are the contents of the gospel. Finally, we need to see the calling of the Spirit and the bride (Rev. 22:17). Together they call people to come to drink the living water.
Jesus is our Lord and He is the Christ of God, so He has the standing to commission us for His gospel.
After all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord as the King-Savior commissioned His disciples to go and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them, to make them citizens of His kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 28:18-20). Christ is the King. All the authority in heaven and on earth, in the whole universe, has been given to God’s Christ. This authority given to Christ is for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens. In Matthew the Lord is the King-Savior who commissioned His disciples to go and disciple the nations by baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is to bring people out from the nations into the Triune God. The intrinsic purpose of our preaching the gospel is to bring people out from the nations into the Triune God, to make them the citizens of the kingdom of the heavens.
Many in Christianity say that preaching the gospel is for winning souls. But there is no mention of winning souls in the New Testament. The first book of the New Testament tells us that the preaching of the gospel is to bring people into God to make them the citizens of the kingdom of the heavens. This is very high and very deep. To preach the gospel is not to win souls but to gain people from different countries and put them into the Triune God that they may become the citizens of the kingdom of the heavens for the establishment of this kingdom. When we go out to preach the gospel, we should not forget this purpose.
In His resurrection the Lord as the Slave-Savior charged His disciples to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation (of which mankind is the main item) to redeem and save God’s lost creation from the vanity and slavery of corruption back to Him to enjoy the freedom of His glory (Mark 16:14-15; Rom. 8:20-21) in His new creation (Gal. 6:15b). In the Gospel of Mark the Lord charged us to preach the gospel, not just to all men but to all the creation. Sometimes we have to preach the gospel to the birds, the horses, and the other living creatures. Mankind takes the lead in all the creation. Mark reveals that we preach the gospel to make people of the old creation the members of the new creation. In Matthew the preaching of the gospel is for setting up the kingdom of the heavens, but in Mark it is to bring a part of the old creation into the new creation. The creation was lost, so it needed to be redeemed, saved, back to God from the vanity and slavery of corruption. All the creation is under the vanity and the slavery of corruption and is waiting for a time when it can be redeemed and saved back to God to enjoy the freedom of God’s glory in His new creation.
In Matthew the Lord is the King-Savior. In Mark He is the Slave-Savior to serve people that they may be redeemed and saved back to God. In Luke He is the Man-Savior. After the accomplishment of God’s redemption for man through His death and resurrection, the Lord as the Man-Savior charged His disciples to proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins in His name to all the nations that the fallen men may be redeemed back to the way of peace that leads them into the blessing prepared by God for them according to His eternal economy (24:46-48; 1:77-79; 2:30-32). In Mark it is the fallen creation, but in Luke it is the fallen men who need to be redeemed back to the way of peace.
When God created man, God ordained blessing for man, but man fell from that original blessing. All the people on earth are seeking for blessing because they have lost the God-ordained blessing. Now a redeemed person should be redeemed back to the original blessing that God prepared. We need to consider what this original blessing is. First, man was ordained to express God (Gen. 1:26). To express God in His image is a great blessing. This blessing was also for man to have dominion over all things. The believers in Christ enjoy such a blessing. We are those who express God, have the dominion over all the creation, and one day will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5; Heb. 2:5-8; Luke 19:17, 19).
After the unveiling of the mysterious mingling of the Divine Trinity with the believers (John 14:8-11, 16-20), the Lord as the God-Savior charged His disciples to bear fruit for His increase that His mystical Body, which is signified by the true vine composed of Him and His believers as His branches, may be completed as His fullness, His expression, as the New Jerusalem in eternity (15:16a; 3:30; 15:1-8; Rev. 21:1—22:5).
In John 14 Christ unveiled the mysterious mingling of the Triune God with the believers. In this portion of the Word, the Lord Jesus told us that He came in the flesh to be with us, among us, but He was unable to get into us. Thus, He needed to be another Comforter, the Spirit of reality (vv. 16-20). The first Comforter was Jesus in the flesh, but the other Comforter would be the Spirit of reality. When the Spirit of reality would come on the day of resurrection, He would be not only with us but also in us. So the Lord said, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (v. 20). There are three ins. The Son is in the Father, we are in the Son, and the Son is in us. These three ins indicate a mingling. The believers are mingled with the Triune God.
After He unveiled this mingling, the Lord as the God-Savior charged us to bear fruit. In the four Gospels the Lord is revealed as the King-Savior, the Slave-Savior, the Man-Savior, and the God-Savior respectively. In the Gospel of John we see the mingling of the Triune God with the believers to produce the Body of Christ. We are the members of Christ just as we are the branches of the vine tree to bear fruit for the building up of the Body of Christ, which is Christ’s increase. The Body of Christ will consummate in the New Jerusalem for God’s eternal enlargement and expression. When we preach the gospel, we must remember that we are going to bear fruit for Christ’s increase so that the Body of Christ can be completed and become the New Jerusalem.
Acts 1 shows that the disciples were not clear about the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Israel. Even though the Lord Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God while He was with them for three and a half years, at that time they did not fully understand it. So even after the Lord’s resurrection, they asked the Lord if this was the time for Him to restore the kingdom of Israel (v. 6). The Lord revealed to them that the Father is going to establish His kingdom, the kingdom of God (v. 3).
After the Lord trained the disciples to know the kingdom of God, which, according to God’s New Testament economy, is different from the kingdom of Israel, and when He was ready to return to the heavens triumphantly in the presence of the disciples (vv. 2-9), the Lord as the Victor over Satan, sin, and death, the One who was to be made by God in the heavens both the Lord and Christ, such a One, charged His disciples to be His witnesses, especially of His resurrection and His ascension (2:32-36; 5:30-32), from Jerusalem unto the uttermost part of the earth, by the power of the Spirit (1:8), that is, to announce the gospel of the kingdom of God (8:12) for the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth (1:3; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31; Rom. 14:17; Eph. 2:19; 5:5). In the book of Acts the early disciples were witnesses who testified of the Lord’s resurrection and ascension. In Acts the gospel was preached to set up the kingdom of God, so the kingdom is mentioned in both the first and last chapters. Acts 28 says that Paul spoke to people about the kingdom of God (vv. 23, 31). Thus, we go out to preach the gospel to extend the kingdom of God, to gain people so that the kingdom of God may be established on earth.
In Matthew to preach the gospel is to set up the kingdom of the heavens by putting people into the Triune God, making them the citizens of the kingdom of the heavens. In Mark to preach the gospel is to get people out of the old creation into the new creation. In Luke it is to redeem fallen people back to God’s original blessing. In John it is to bear fruit for the increase of Christ that His Body can be completed, consummating in the New Jerusalem. Then in Acts it is to set up the kingdom of God. We need to remember these different points.
First Peter 2:9 says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” To tell out is to preach, to proclaim, and the virtues of God are the contents of the gospel.
This kind of telling out, or proclamation, of God’s virtues is a corporate matter.
We are to proclaim abroad as the gospel the virtues (mercy, compassion, lovingkindness, love, grace, redemption, forgiveness, justification, regeneration, salvation, etc.) of God, who has called the believers out of darkness into His marvelous light for the testimony that the believers as God’s chosen race who are under God’s bright governmental dealing in His house (4:17) do not live and walk in darkness but in the marvelous light of God (2:11-12). When we go to people, we should say something to them about all the virtues of God that we have experienced. This is to tell out the virtues of God, to preach the divine attributes to people. We tell people the virtues of God, testifying that we are not living and walking in darkness. We are a people living in the marvelous light of God as a testimony. Regretfully, it seems that today there is not a group of Christians like this. This is why the Lord needs a recovery.
The Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God; the bride is the aggregate of all the believers, the church (Rev. 22:17). These two, the Triune God and the believers, become one entity, a couple.
This couple, at the end of the Bible, cries to the thirsty ones.
Whosoever is thirsty is called to come and take the water of life freely for their enjoyment of the riches of the Triune God flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb as a river of water of life to be the rich supply with Christ as the tree of life to the New Jerusalem as the Triune God’s glorious enlargement and expression for eternity (21:1—22:5).
In this chapter we have seen seven aspects concerning going out to preach the gospel to people. We preach the gospel for seven reasons:
(1) To put people into God for the kingdom of the heavens.
(2) For the old creation to become the new creation.
(3) For the lost man to be redeemed back to God’s original blessing.
(4) To bear fruit for the increase of Christ to complete Christ’s Body, consummating in the New Jerusalem.
(5) To announce the gospel of the kingdom of God.
(6) To go out to tell people God’s virtues, testifying that we as His people do not live in darkness but in the marvelous light. We are people of light.
(7) To call the thirsty ones to come and drink the living water to enjoy the Triune God, who is the very river flowing out of His throne to supply all the redeemed with Christ as the tree of life that they all may be the New Jerusalem as God’s enlargement and expression for eternity.
These are the seven aspects of the goal of our preaching the gospel. We also need to keep in mind who the Commissioner of this gospel is. He is the King-Savior, the Slave-Savior, the Man-Savior, and the God-Savior. We have a strong base with a high goal to go out to preach the gospel. This gospel is simple but all-inclusive.
