Israel’s Great Commission and Ours #1 11/6/22

The purpose of this lesson is for you and I to understand and appreciate, that the commonly called “Great Commission” recorded in the gospel accounts of Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, and Acts 1, are really Israel’s “Great commission” & not ours”.

But first, what is a Commission? A Commission is a military term, it is the granting of power to certain individuals or a group to perform various duties. God had a plan & a purpose for the nation of Israel. Therefore, God commissioned the 12 apostles during Christ earthly ministry, & gave to them power, “to go into all the world and preach the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 16:15).

But notice, “The Great Commission” does not belong to the church, body of Christ (CBOC) in the Dispensation of Gentile grace that we live in today! “The Great Commission” Is not our mail. No, the Great Commission is Israel’s mail. The only way to know that “The Great Commission,” and “The Dispensation of Grace” are different, is to know & practice God’s method of studying the scriptures, and that is by  “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim, 2:15).

The Five Commissions were really 5 parts of ONE overall Commission that the Lord Jesus Christ was giving to the 12 apostles following His resurrection from the dead. “The Great Commission” was their marching orders for the last stages of Israel’s program. The 12 apostles understood that some things that their Commission contained, were NOT to take place until the Ages To Come.

The “Great Commission” is a “stumbling block” for most believers. This is because Gentiles are mentioned in the “Great Commission”. This is Satan’s plan of evil (SPOE) and it results in, erroneous teaching, misinformation, corrupt doctrine, coming from the pulpits of institutions of organized religion. Men & Bible teachers who do not “rightly divide the word of truth. We have been taught for so long that the “Great Commission” is our “commission” today. Nothing could be further from the truth!

It is obvious that the scope of this Commission goes beyond the borders of the nation of Israel. “Go you therefore and teach all nations”… “baptizing them”…. “teaching them” … “go ye into all the world”… “preach the gospel to every creature”… “you shall be witnesses”… “unto the uttermost part of the earth.

If you do not properly understand what the Dispensation of Gentile grace is, the mere mention of Gentiles in the Great Commission, can be very misleading. God is NOT saving Gentiles during Israel’s Great Commission. Israel’s program does have the salvation of Gentiles in view (in the Ages To Come). But Israel’s program does NOT have the Dispensation of Gentile Grace in view.

The issue of saving Gentiles is the goal of God’s program with Israel. But the Dispensation of Gentile Grace is not the fulfillment of Israel’s program. In fact, in the Dispensation of Grace, God has set Israel’s program aside, and He is SAVING Gentiles in spite of Israel today. Believers sometimes do not really appreciate what the Dispensation of Gentile Grace is when they see Gentiles mentioned here in the Great Commission. They think that the Dispensation of Gentile Grace is in view, but it is not.

The “blessings of the Gentiles” is what the Kingdom program is all about in the “Ages to Come.” But we don’t ever want to get that confused with the Dispensation of Gentile Grace, which before the foundation of the earth, was a MYSTERY, KEPT SECRET, HID IN GOD, HID from Ages & from Generations, IN OTHER AGES was Not Made Known. Until God revealed the Dispensation of Grace, “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” to our Apostle Paul. (Gen. 12:1-3; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26; Eph. 3:9; Eph. 3:8).

*This study is recommended by K. Blades in order to prepare us for our next course “OUR AMBASSADORSHIP,” “OUR COMMISSION”, “OUR MARCHING ORDERS” TO THE CBOC TODAY! They are found in Paul’s epistles alone, where we find the conversation between God and Paul for us, & about us, in the Dispensation of Gentile Grace. Cf. 2 Cor. 5; Eph. 3 (chapters)