How To Study The Bible

Okay, let's see. I wanted to use the tool that we have here with this Word Study New Testament to take a look at a passage that is frequently quoted, but I think there's a lot more depth of understanding in it than currently shows up in most English translations. Anyway, this is one I want to make sure that we're focused here, which it looks like we're not initially. And hopefully, last week, I apologize, the lettering was a little hard to see, so I worked on trying to get that a little clearer.

This is what's commonly called the Great Commission, okay? The Great Commission passage. And this, you know, the way it typically comes across, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. And that's typically seen as the, you know, this is the Great Commission.

It's not words that are in the verse, but that's kind of the title that's given to it. What I want us to take a look at is some of the things that come out of studying the meaning of the words behind what we see in the English here to get some greater depth of understanding and in some cases maybe even correct some misunderstandings that people have. That's what I'd like us to do. There is in fact more to this than we have time to go into every little tiny detail about. But nonetheless, I think there's some neat and some deep truths that can come out of this. So, let's dive in.

The situation, and I haven't quoted up here the entire context, it actually starts back in verse 16. Jesus seeing, here's these disciples gathered, And in fact, it expresses right before this, some doubted. I mean, here He is giving the Great Commission, or about to give it, and it says some doubted. You see that? And so that's in the verses just prior to that. So verses 16 and 17 get a little more context. And so when it says He spake unto them, the them is the disciples that He's gathered with.

Okay? So Jesus came and spake unto them, the disciples, saying, all power, and incidentally, I won't go into it just in order to keep things within our scope here, but this word power, the Greek word for power is dunamis. This word actually is referring to authority, which is a little different slant. So it actually means authority. But all power or authority is given to me in heaven and in the earth.

And then this, what is typically called the Great Commission, verses 19 and 20, is what we're going to focus on here. And the first one says, Go ye therefore. Now let's look at this word go. Because I would venture to say hundreds if not thousands of sermons have been given with the idea, Go! Go! But guess what? We've got to take a look at that.

To start off with, here's the reference in the Greek study Bible. The definition of the word itself isn't wildly different from what comes across in the usual English. To go from one place to another, to go implying motion from the place where one is. Okay, so that's all right. How about that little symbol here. A P T P. What does that say in your little code index there? What's that talking about? A P T P. Okay.

First of all, okay, it's an it's an arith, which actually has an arith tense actually has a past tense implication to it, okay? It's a participle, which a participle really has more of the idea of ING at the end of the verb, okay? And it's also passive. Active is when you're doing something, right? Passive means more it's in the sense of it's happening to you. Now, question. Do you see in that definition that grammar definition, do you see an imperative in there? It's an aorist participle passive. Does it say imperative?

No, it's not there. Quite often, the way this comes across, and like I say, people have preached whole sermons, I think, you know, this idea of go, and the reality is, it's not an imperative. There is an imperative in the sentence, and we'll get there, but it's not with go. So the implication is not the order go or you must go, but the implication is as you've been going. As you've been going. And because it's passive, it's almost in the sense of as you've been made to go.

Okay? All right, so a different thing. As you've been going, therefore, and then it says, and teach. Hmm. Now, let's look at something here. Here's the word teach, and you see the Strong's number? 3,100 there? 3,100? Well, here's another. It says teaching here, and is that the same word? There's a difference, isn't there? In the English, they both come across teach, but in the original language, they're different words. So we need to take a look at that, don't we?

There's something else. What's this code? A-I-M-A. What does that look like on your... Ah, there's your imperative. As you've been going, as you've been going, therefore, Now, here is the imperative. You must teach. But it's also, it's an aorist, and so even that is implying a passive, excuse me, a past tense. As you've been going, you must also have been teaching.

Isn't that interesting? And it is active. That's what you're to do. There's no question here, this is at the core of what's being commanded. And as we'll see here in a minute, this is the only place where the imperative is, the going, the baptizing, the teaching, all the other verbs are kind of in a participle form connected to the imperative to teach. You see that? Pardon? That's right.

And we'll take a look at kind of the sum total of what that means. But I think it's important for us to take a look at it and to try to understand, oh, wait a minute. Maybe we've understood this a little differently than what was originally intended. Let's continue to take a look at that, OK? Let me skip back here. This teaches 3,100 is the Strong's number, right? So we'll go look that up in the book and here's what we come up with. And it's very insightful.

What is said there in verse 19, to teach, this word here is actually not teach but disciple. Disciple. And there's a valuable insight. Basically it means to make a disciple. Make a disciple, but it must be distinguished from this verb, which simply means to learn without any attachment to the teacher. This word here means not only to learn, but to become attached to one's teacher and to become his follower in doctrine and conduct of life.

Now that is deep. The imperative in this whole Great commission is that you teach as a discipler such that the people that you are discipling actually have a recognizable connection to you. You see that? They ask this question. When someone first comes to the Lord and we bring them into church, is that what typically happens? I would venture to say sometimes, sometimes. But this is pretty intent, isn't it? This is actually saying, it doesn't just say teach them in all kinds of contexts. It actually is saying make disciples of them such that there is a personal connection. Personal connection. Paul uses the example with the Thessalonians. He says, I was like a father to you. I was like a mother to you. And there is a personal connection.

Now, this is baby week we mentioned. When you first bring a baby home, you just bring them into the front door and you just say, OK, there's the linen closet. There's the towels. There's the bathroom. Your bed's over here. Refrigerator's in there. We keep it stocked full, have at it. Pots are underneath the stove. That's what we do, right? No. Yes? No? OK. Maybe that's what you do. OK.

Hopefully, the idea is that there is some personal attention to bring them to the point where they are able to be independent, but that independence is not isolation. The intent, what we're wanting to bring people along to, is being interdependently dependent upon the Lord. And that's what this is directing us to. It's not saying, okay, now that you're a believer, I want you to just kind of join in this sea of people and join with us and we'll all just kind of mill around in the Scriptures and you'll get it. The intent here is you need to have disciples and those disciples are to be learning such that there is actually a personal connection to you as you direct them on to the Lord. So here's why Paul could say, imitate me as I imitate the Lord. Follow me as I follow the Lord. This discipling isn't simply a matter of pointing them to the Lord. It's actually a personal relationship connection between each person and the disciple.

See that? Interesting. That's just different from just the general word teach, isn't it? A different sense there. Okay, let's move on. Now, going down Going down the list there, let's take a look. Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Well, I'm somehow missing a sheet.

What I was looking at here was the name. And I'm not sure where it took off. But anyway, in this word that's underneath name, it isn't just name in the sense of, okay, now I've spoken the name in some sort of abracadabra magic, right? The sense of name was having to do with their being and character.

So it isn't just, okay, I've said the magic words, you know, you're baptized now in the name of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, you know, dunk you under. Now this magic has been done. It is a baptism that is in the very being and character of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You get the difference there? This isn't just a superficial, okay, now we've been through the procedure. But this has spiritual depth to it. It has eternal significance to it. Something else. Incidentally, this is the Trinity, very explicitly laid out. And notice, this is singular. The being, the character, the essence is singular. Now, we mentioned before this word for teach, and this word for teach are different words. This one is really discipling, making disciples. This one is teaching in the sense of teaching, laying out truths, conveying truths. Yes, yes. And we'll come back to that point, because that's critical. That's another misunderstanding that people have had about this Great Commission. Oh, I'm sorry. Here I had it. I just had it out of order.

This is the teaching, OK? To teach and instruct by word of mouth. And that's the significance of that, you know, teaching them to da-da-da-da, as it goes on in verse 20. This was the part on name and I guess I had it here but got it out of order. This has to do with their being attributes. And then the next part of that, teaching them to observe.

It's based on a root word that means warden. How about that? Because what was the warden, like the Philippian jailer was in charge of the jail, right? And his job was to watch over. Watch carefully. And the watching carefully was such that if you go back to the law of the time, the jailer had responsibility to keep all the prisoners in the jail. Failure to do so meant death. And that's why the Philippian jailer was probably pretty panicked. What must I do to be saved?

So when he talks about observing, this is a careful observance. A careful observance. This is the word here, to keep an eye on, to watch, and hence to guard, keep, and obey. Look carefully at the things Jesus commanded, not just casually, very carefully. eye to the finest detail. See the difference there? Observe carefully. From here he says to observe all things and actually the original Greek there It basically says everything. Everything. All. That's the intent. Whatsoever I have commanded you.

And here it says and lo. But it's actually, this is the same word. Remember as we've gone through the book of Revelation, numerous times it says behold. And what does that mean? Behold means take a mental picture. That's what this word is. And Jesus is saying, take a mental picture. And that's obviously a modern vernacular, but it communicates to us in our culture. Take a mental picture. Notice.

And then he says, I'm with you always, even unto the end of the world. That we need to take a look at. Because there's more depth to that than comes across in the typical English translation. The word to the end, the idea of to the end of the world, it isn't just, okay, that's it, we cut it off. The idea there, look at the meaning of the original, a culmination or completion, a bringing together of an intended purpose. In the New Testament, used only in the expressions, and I won't repeat that, the completion of the aids, the consummation or accomplishments of its purposes. So it isn't just end like, okay, that's it folks, we're snipping it off here. Okay? It isn't just a truncation, well, we're done.

It's God has intents and plans and purposes for everything that's going on. And Christ is saying, I am with you all that time. To the end, not the end just being an accidental whoops, we're done. but to the end meaning an intended final termination based on all the purposes that he has, all the plans that he's got in mind. You see the difference there? It isn't just a falling off the edge. He's saying every single plan and intent and purpose of the Lord is involved in my being with you. See that?

Everything that I have always had in mind those things are being focused towards the end of this age. God will have, by the end, accomplished all the things He planned and intended and purposed and designed from the beginning. Now, one more thing. Some of these translations, they'll say the end of the world. And what do you think of when you think of the end of the world? What does that mean? Yeah, you're thinking, in the world? Well, we're all done, right? Well, we'd better look a little deeper.

The Greek word there is aeon, and it means age, referring to an age or time. It denotes duration or continuance of time. It has not to do with ending this planet and the place, but there is a time that is appointed for God's... remember that word end has to do with God's purpose. So the idea is that there is a time, an age, a certain period of time in which God intends to complete His purposes. And Christ is telling His disciples, I am with you, I am present with you through all the things that are going to go on that will be a part of the procedure or process of finishing up God's purposes all the way to the end of this age. And what's the end of this age? It's the church age, after which the church will be taken up, because its earthly purpose will have been ended and completed, and the tribulation period will start.

See that? It's a whole different thing, isn't it? What Thomas is bringing up, the idea that we think it's to the end of the world, that can give you the idea that I'm with you always and you're just going to go to the end and boom, you're done. what this is talking about is the period of time in which God has His purpose in us being here on planet earth as a church. You see that?

So now, let's take all these Greek words and definitions and put this together. Here's what I ended up with as a translation from the standpoint of trying to give a fuller sense of here's what the original meaning was. So, Matthew 28, 18-20, And Jesus, having come, spoke to them, that is, them being the disciples, saying, There has been given to me all authority in heaven and upon earth. The whole thing. He's got it all. then what's typically translated, go, I have here, having gone on your way, the going is presumed. The going is presumed, okay?

Therefore, you must, now here's the imperative, you must teach both life and doctrine. Can you get that? What sometimes happens, churches will sometimes end up kind of leaning one way or the other. Have you noticed that? Real heavy on doctrine, real heavy on how it applies. The idea of a disciple is you're teaching both life and doctrine.

This is why, here's Paul writing to Timothy, and what does he say? Watch your life and doctrine closely, and in doing so you will save many. See that? It's the same thing as this, isn't it? Now, teach both life and doctrine to all the nations, in such a way as to be making them your disciples, baptizing them into the very being of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to be keeping carefully all that I commanded you. And behold, take a mental picture, I am with you all the days until the culmination of the purposes set forth for this age. So that's not speaking of water baptism either. Well, okay. Let's talk about that.

Because I think the thing you have to do is think through, okay, now that we've looked at these words, what are some of the consequences that this has for the way that we do things? Or the way some people do things? Because the truth is the church has a lot of variety in the way things get carried out, doesn't it? One thing that we see is having gone on your way. It doesn't mean you don't go, but what it means is the go is not the core of the command. Having gone on their way is a presumption that they will be going various places.

And in fact, that's what we saw the disciples ultimately do. It took them a while to get pride out of Jerusalem, didn't it? But ultimately, that's the effect and direction. having gone on your way, but then this is, therefore, you must teach. That's the imperative. And that teaching, you could also just translate it, you must make disciples. But since making disciples in a lot of people's minds gets a little foggy, that's why I put it this way. You must teach both life and doctrine. Let's think about that.

The baptism is done, do we do it all the time? The teaching has to be done all the time, isn't it? It's a continual process, isn't it? I think that's one thing to distinguish. Teaching is an ongoing process. You can't just say, okay, here's your post-baptismal catechism and read it and we'll see you later. Teaching is an ongoing process. Do we keep baptizing people?

No. So there's a difference here, isn't there? One is an ongoing process. The baptizing is a one-time event, recognizing their salvation. But it's not to be taken as a superficial event. The teaching is an ongoing process. It's making disciples. That takes time. That's going to involve an input of time into their lives.

I would suggest to you that probably something on the order of a minimum of three years. And here's why I come up with a three-year number, and it's a minimum. That's what Christ spent with His disciples. That's what Paul spent with the Ephesians when he spent three years all totaled there.

If he wasn't going to spend that much time there, he left somebody else, a Timothy or a Titus. You see that picture. Again, that's not some sort of the scripture says, thou shalt do three years. Don't misunderstand me. But I see that as a kind of a pattern for both Jesus and for Paul as he spent time. It seems like at least three years is sort of the pattern that we see. Now let's take a look at that.

Wayne brought up the question, this baptizing. No, you don't need new glasses. Baptizing, is that a physical baptism or is that something else? Pardon? Okay, let's back up a little bit. We didn't go into a study of baptizing. I kind of skipped over it. But the basic meaning of baptism was to take something and place it into something else and have it be changed thereby.

Here's the way the word was used. The Romans, as you know, had these swords that were very well made. And what they would do is to treat the sword by taking the sword, heating it real hot, and then as the sword was very hot, shoving it quickly into water. In doing so, the metal in the sword was permanently changed. The people who would treat the sword that way would say, I am baptizing the sword. They would use that word, baptizo. I am baptizing the sword. I'm taking the sword, I'm placing it into the water and it will be permanently changed thereby. Now, that's how they got the word that is now being used in this way.

The intent is not, okay, I'm going to put this person in water and they're going to get changed. What we're doing is we're doing something that physically is a symbol of what has taken place spiritually. And that's one reason why this meaning, this into the very being is the translation. This isn't a magic formula. We don't just say, okay, I'm going to take you in water and I'm the right guy because I'm descended from so-and-so or that kind of thing and then just do this and now I've done the magic and now you're baptized.

The church fell into that, frankly. where they got into, okay, now we've got to say the right words. As a matter of fact, within about three or four centuries after the New Testament, they ended up having a creed. Alright, now we read these special words.

In the name of the Father. And they went and explained who the Father was. Boom. Put you down. And in the name of the Son. They explained who the Son was. Put you down. Okay? And they couldn't hold you down the whole time because they'd drowned you. And then they'd go the third time. In the name of the Holy Spirit. And then explain who the Holy Spirit is. Put you down again.

And so they got into that, and it got to be so that the baptism ended up accomplishing something. Instead of recognizing this is a symbol for what has already been accomplished by one placing one's faith in Christ, by further losing the significance of what that symbol of physical baptism was to represent, then they went on to the infant baptism thing where you know, you baptize the baby before the baby knows what believe means. And so anyway, that's kind of how it drifted, but it is the very intent right here, even at this verse, is yes, it's a physical baptism, but it at the very outset has spiritual significance based on what's already taken place.

Now, I think, Wayne, you already brought up something else, too, and that is it goes beyond just we're going to evangelize. It isn't go ye unto all the world and make converts. The bottom line is if we go and just make converts and then wave bye-bye, we've done a huge disservice. And we've also not done what this says. Because the intent is that if we bring someone to a place where they're placing their faith in Christ, The assumption here, based on what Christ has given as a great commission, is that you'll bring them to a place of being disciples, followers. So it isn't going on to all the world and make converts.

It's going on to all the world, teaching them so that they are disciples. Getting this point. Must teach. That's the only imperative in the whole a couple of verses, must teach both life and doctrine. Must. That's the only must in the whole set of verses there, in the whole Great Commission. You must do that. Imperative. Have to. Everything else, all the other verbs are tied to that one.

See the difference? Big distinction. And in doing that, because you look at the last line there, In doing that, you will be a part of God's purposes for this age. In making disciples that understand both life and doctrine, you will be fulfilling what Christ is here present for us for. Notice, I am with you all the days until the culmination of the purpose is set forth. Christ's presence with us is intended for this purpose.

Making disciples. So, a deep set of verses, isn't it? More so than what typically comes out. More so than what typically hits us, you know, as we just kind of read the English flat out. So anyway, as I kind of went through it and used the Word, Study, New Testament, I found it was fascinating.

Doug? For water baptism, that is not imperative to salvation. Ah, good point. Very good point. The imperative is on teach. The imperative is on teach. And that teach, where the imperative is, is not the same as the one before, but it is teach in such a way as to make disciples. Okay? Yes? Ah, okay. Originally given to the original twelve, right? Yeah. Directly, just given to them, obviously.

As you look at the other verses in Scripture, and look as to how this was carried on, even how, as I mentioned here, Paul drew on this very set of verses here as he commanded along. If I look at this explicitly, yes, it was given to just the 11th. But as I look at how it is connected and reiterated in the rest of Scripture, I have to say, this is for us.

How else is the church to continue? And there's something else. Look at this. The end of the age, or the culmination of the age, the disciples didn't live through that, did they? We don't know if we're going to be here when the Lord comes to take us home, but we know we're a part of those purposes. We know we're a part all the way to the end.

Okay? But good point. Excellent point. Pardon? Yeah. Okay. All right, let's go ahead and pray. Lord, we do thank you. Your word is certainly deep and we've actually, in truth, just scratched the surface this morning. But we thank you for the depth of your word. We thank you for the richness that you have placed there by your inspiration. And we just continue to to ask you and as well as giving you thanks, Lord, that you would teach us, that you would grow our understanding, as Paul said to the Ephesians, that the eyes of our hearts might be opened. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.