The Great Commission: a Restoration of God's Image

What is discipleship?

Making disciples is what the historical Church deemed the Great Commission. When broken down disciple-making is found in three key ideas: Going, Baptizing, and Teaching. These are found prominently in the Matthew 28 passage.

(Life of Proactivity: Restored Purpose)

Going involves a life and lifestyle of proactivity and purpose, taking on an initiative for the cause of Christ and His kingdom. As Jesus demonstrated throughout his life, doing the will of the Father. The Disciple’s mission is an extension of the Mission of Christ. Through personal discovery (God’s design) and knowledge of Scripture (God’s desire), a disciple receives the call to live, a life of purpose, a missional life.

(Life of Repentance: Restored Relationship)

Baptizing has to do with repenting, life, and lifestyle steering away from the ways of sin and this world. A Disciple is invited to be in the process of denying himself or herself the ways of flesh and the temptations of this world, which is ruled by man, Satan, and brokenness. Again, it’s not a single event, but a continued discovery of how faith can transform a person’s flawed character, personality, habits, desires, values, thoughts, and more.

(Life of Obedience: Restored Glory)

Lastly, teaching is not in the modern understanding of the word, such as in the context of a school or a church. “Teaching to obey” is what’s prescribed. Its meaning extends beyond the transmission of knowledge only, but into the realms of mentoring and modeling. It goes beyond knowledge acquisition or memorization. It is adopting a life and spirit of a person, a new character, or a restored image, the image of Christ, by which a person exhibits the glory of God.

(Discipleship: Restored Image)

In other words, disciple and disciple making is how God restores His image in humanity found in Genesis one, the First Implicit Command for Adam (representing humanity) if you will. This image was marred by sin in Genesis three but lived out perfectly in Jesus, the Son of God. Thus, salvation is God’s restorative act in the historical Jesus (In his life, death, and resurrection), and continued in the replication of Christ’s image through his disciples. Such a rippling effect is evident throughout the centuries. Though such an image will ever be approached yet never perfected in a lifetime for a disciple, it is made perfect in Christ by faith, in eternity.