God With Us: Five Blessings (Part 4)

Blessing 4: Because God is with us, we have authority and enabling power to make disciples.

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Image from Heralds of the Gospel

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Review

Birthed in a season of personal trial, grief, and loss, this blog series explores five incredible blessings that come from experiencing the presence of God in our lives. In previous posts, I covered three of these five blessings.

Blessing 1: Because God is with us, we can have assurance in trial.

Blessing 2: Because God is with us, we can have success in God-given tasks.

Blessing 3: Because God is with us, we can have victory in spiritual conflict.

In this post, I will cover Blessing 4: Because God is with us, we have authority and enabling power to make disciples. It is to that topic we now turn our attention.

Authority and Enabling Power

to Make Disciples

A diplomat is an official delegate who represents his country’s interests in a foreign country. The term “diplomat” has an interesting origin. It literally means one who has a diploma, but not in the sense of holding a college or university degree. “For the ancient Romans, diplomas were passports, stamped out on double metal plates and stitched together.”[1] Issued to royalty or political officials in the ancient world, this stamped metal document would be comparable to our modern diplomatic passports. In other words, a diplomat was one who held authorized credentials allowing him to take up residence in a foreign country as a representative of his own country. These official plated documents conferred on him the special status and privileges of being a foreign delegate to carry out official government business. 

The Roman usage of “diploma” was derived from the ancient Greek practice of using folded documents for official purposes, the Greek verb diploun meaning to fold double. These “ancient diplomas written on parchment or papyrus were handed over to heralds and carried as evidence of their status and authority.”[2] Employed by kings or military officials or wealthy landowners, heralds were official representatives sent out to make proclamations or arrangements and engage in business on behalf of their employers. Much like diplomats, they were official delegates representing the interests of their superiors.

Image by Jacqueline Macou from Pixabay

The highest diplomatic rank is that of an ambassador. Like all diplomats, an ambassador is a representative of his government residing in a foreign country, but he also has the added responsibility of giving oversight to all other diplomats in that country. All ambassadors are diplomats, but not all diplomats are ambassadors. An ambassador is a diplomat of the highest order.

Some of the many and varied responsibilities of an ambassador include:

• building healthy political relationships

• representing national interests

• negotiating international trade

• supporting humanitarian efforts

• advocating for the wellbeing of fellow citizens in the host country

• forming advantageous military alliances,

• working for peace

To perform his duties and fulfill the wishes of his nation, an ambassador bears the authority of his government and has the backing of his nation’s power and resources at his disposal. He does not go as an independent unaided by his country, but as a representative with the full support of his country.

Why is this important?

Correspondingly, the roles of both herald and ambassador are used in the Scriptures to refer to God’s messengers. Angels were frequently sent to proclaim God’s messages and carry out divine tasks. The prophets too, were called and sent by God to speak His word, beckoning the people to return to their God and King. The prophet Isaiah describes the role of a herald.

Isaiah 40:3–5 (NASB) 

3   A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;

Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

4   “Let every valley be lifted up,

And every mountain and hill be made low;

And let the rough ground become a plain,

And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

5   Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

And all flesh will see it together; For the

mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 

The “voice” imagery used by Isaiah is that of a herald sent far in advance to announce the king’s coming and call the people to make the necessary preparations. This was a common practice in the ancient world and throughout much of the world’s history. One of the major preparations for welcoming a king was the building or repairing of roads to make his travel more comfortable – i.e., making a smooth highway by lifting the valleys, lowering the mountains, and leveling the rugged terrain.

Based on this historic practice, Alberta (the province in Canada where I live) renamed its major north/south highway between Calgary and Edmonton in honor of Queen Elizabeth II when she visited in 2005 to take part in the province’s centennial celebrations. During her visit, Highway 2 was renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (abbreviated QE2) as a commemorative tribute to her royal visit and Alberta’s centennial.

Photo of Queen Elizabeth II by Wikiimages on Pixabay

Then in July of 2022, Pope Francis visited Alberta to apologize to the indigenous peoples for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the abuses that took place in the Canadian Indian residential school system. In preparations for his coming, major resurfacing work was done on the highway routes he would be traveling.

In every way possible, Alberta “rolled out the red carpet” to welcome both the Queen and the Pope. In addition to highway preparations and a commemoration, every effort was made to see that Queen Elizabeth and Pope Francis, as well as their entourages, were welcomed and hosted in a manner appropriate for honoring dignitaries of high status.

Similarly, Isaiah uses the imagery of making royal preparations to describes a voice calling the people to prepare a highway for the coming King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Creator and transcendent Sovereign of the universe. He then calls the capital city to relay the good news of their coming Lord to the whole nation.

Isaiah 40:9–11 (NASB) 

9   Get yourself up on a high mountain,

O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily,

O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;

Lift it up, do not fear.

Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

10  Behold, the Lord God will come with might,

With His arm ruling for Him.

Behold, His reward is with Him

And His recompense before Him. 

11  Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,

In His arm He will gather the lambs

And carry them in His bosom;

He will gently lead the nursing ewes. 

As a herald, Zion is to proclaim that their Almighty God will come with ruling power to reward, restore, and care for His people. The rest of Isaiah 40 describes this incomparable God who is superlatively more powerful, more knowledgeable, more exalted, more worthy than all of creation and humankind.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist adopted lines from this chapter in Isaiah to describe his role as a herald to the coming Messiah, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’” (John 1:23 NASB). John’s role was to prepare highways in the hearts of people for the coming Messiah, the preexistent Savior King, the preeminent One, the thong of whose sandal John considered himself unworthy to untie. He was a herald calling people to repent and return to the Lord by humbling the proud mountains of their hearts and lifting the broken places of their lives in surrender to the Lord.

Image of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus by falco from Pixabay

It is also to this role of herald that Jesus calls us as His disciples. We are to take His message to the world. But we are more than heralds; we are Christ’s ambassadors sent under His authority to all nations, representing His kingdom and His interests - namely, calling all people to become His loyal citizens and teaching them to obey His commands as their new ruling King.

Matthew 28:18–20 (NASB) 

18  And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given

to Me in heaven and on earth.

19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

20  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you

always, even to the end of the age.” 

As the reigning Kings of kings, Jesus has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth. He is not a king among equals, but is transcendent and sovereign over all kings and kingdoms. It is in His authority that we are sent to proclaim the Gospel of His kingdom, calling people to become His royal subjects through a public declaration of faith by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are then to teach these disciples the commands and ways of their new King.

As Christ’s ambassadors we are to represent the values and interests of His kingdom. We go in His authority and we are backed by the divine resources of His kingdom. Moreover, unlike any earthly ambassador, we have the promise of our Lord's actual presence with us, enabling us to fulfill His great commission, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” By the presence and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the divine Immanuel is with us until He comes again at the end of the age in the mighty power and glorious splendor of His majesty to rule, reward, and shepherd His people.

In the meantime, we have a job to do. We are His ambassadors and heralds sent into this world. We have been commissioned with the authority of the King backing us and with the resources of the King at our disposal. But even better, the King Himself indwells us by His Spirit and goes with us as we represent Him and His kingdom in this dark world. Because God is with us, we have authority and enabling power to make disciples.

The Great Commission

In addition to Matthew, the other Gospels also contain accounts of Jesus commissioning the disciples as His representatives and heralds of His kingdom. In each account, divine authority and enablement are highlighted. In Mark’s Gospel, the commission to preach the Gospel comes with the promise of miracles done in Jesus’ name (Mark 16:15-18). This Gospel also ends with the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God and evidence of His promise being fulfilled, “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. . . . Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation” (Mark 16:20).[3]

In his Gospel, Luke highlights the Lord’s commission to preach in His name the message of repentance and forgiveness based on His death and resurrection. This is followed by His instruction, “You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:48-49). So again, Luke emphasizes that they are authorized to herald the Gospel and are given divine kingdom resources to do so – the power of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, in John’s account, Jesus commissioned them with the words, “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” He then breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” then highlighting their authority to proclaim forgiveness and warn of judgment (John 20:22-23). [4]

Image from IMGBIN

So, all together, Matthew highlighted Jesus’ supreme authority and abiding presence; Mark highlighted Jesus’ supreme authority (ascension to the throne), miraculous power, and abiding presence (“the Lord worked with them”); and both Luke and John highlight the role of the Holy Spirit as the means of God’s authority, presence, and enablement for the disciples to carry out His mission, in particular proclaiming forgiveness to those who repent and believe the Gospel.

This is also the purpose of Jesus’ pre-ascension commission recorded by Luke in the book of Acts, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NASB). The rest of the book of Acts records the fulfillment of this promise along with many confirmations of the Holy Spirit’s presence, power, and leading.

In addition to the gospels and Acts, the epistles of the New Testament also describe the ongoing power and work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and churches scattered throughout the Roman Empire. The overwhelming evidence of Scripture is that God’s commission to make disciples accompanied by the promises of His abiding presence and power through the Holy Spirit applies to every believer. He sends all of us into the world as His ambassadors and heralds to proclaim the Gospel and call others to be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:18–21 (NASB95) 

18   Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through

Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

19   namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not

counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the

word of reconciliation.

20  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an

appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might

become the righteousness of God in Him. 

Having been reconciled to God through Christ, we are now Christ’s ambassadors commissioned with the “ministry of reconciliation.” This ministry is primarily carried out as we proclaim the “word of reconciliation,” namely, the message “that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” As our sinless sacrificial Lamb, Jesus took our sin on Himself and was judged in our place so that we might receive His righteousness, thereby reconciling us to God. This encapsulates the good news of the Gospel. As Christ’s authorized representatives, we are to passionately proclaim this message, speaking as though God Himself were pleading through us, “Be reconciled to God.” 

Paul mentions two things earlier in this passage that compelled him to preach the Gospel: 1) The fear of the Lord, and 2) The love of Christ.

The Fear of Lord

2 Corinthians 5:9–21 (NASB95) 

9    Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent,

to be pleasing to Him.

10   For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each

one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what

he has done, whether good or bad.

11  Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, . . ..

Knowing that one day we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of our lives should produce in us a healthy fear of the Lord. This fear should motivate us to live in a manner pleasing to Him and to be faithful to His call. but also move us to reach others, knowing that one day they too will stand before Christ in judgment. This holy fear of the Lord should compel us to persuade, appeal, and beg others to be reconciled to God.

The Love of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 (NASB95) 

14  For the love of Christ controls us [NIV, NKJV – “compels us”], having

concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 

15  and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for

themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 

As with Paul, the second motivating factor that should compel us to “persuade men” is the “love of Christ.” The Greek grammar here can be taken two ways - either to mean “Christ’s love” for us as translated by the NIV and NLT, or our “love for Christ” as translated by the little-known Mace New Testament of the 18th Century, “I am urg'd by the love I bear to Christ.” In a practical sense, both are true. Having been so touched by the sacrificial love of Christ, we in turn love Him, “He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” Christ’s transforming love so impacts us that we cannot help but love Him in return by living for Him and sharing the message of His sacrificial reconciling love with others. The message is too amazing to keep to ourselves. Others must also hear this incredible message of God’s saving love that provides reconciliation for sinners who are enemies of God deserving His wrath!

Romans 5:8–11 (NASB95) 

8    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were

yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9    Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be

saved from the wrath of God through Him.

10  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death

of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

11  And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 

Conclusion

What a message we have! A message of God’s unfathomable love in Christ forgiving undeserving sinners and calling them to be reconciled to God. Compelled by both a healthy fear of the Lord and the transforming love of Christ, we plead with the lost, begging them to escape the wrath of God by placing their trust in Christ “who died and rose again on their behalf.” We are commissioned ambassadors of Christ, backed by the resources of heaven as we go into this fallen world and proclaim the good news of a reconciling Gospel. Moreover, we have the promise of Christ’s presence as we go, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

REFERENCES

[1] https://mashedradish.com/2017/09/05/the-etymological-folds-of-diplomacy/

[2] Ibid.

[3] I am aware of the manuscript issues regarding Mark 16:9-20. Though it is not found in the earliest manuscripts and is likely a later addition, the content is consistent with the other gospels and teaching in the epistles.

[4] It would take extensive writing to unpack this sentence. There has been much written on John’s record of Jesus breathing on His disciples and His command to “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Views range from this being a symbolic gesture prefiguring Pentecost, to the disciples being indwelt and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, to this being a private Pentecostal filling of the Holy Spirit. Much has also been written on Jesus words, “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained” (John 20:23). It is not my purpose in this blog to discuss these topics or share my conclusions. Rather, I want to highlight the repeated emphasis on the Holy Spirit as the divine presence and enablement in believers to fulfill the commission of Christ.