these things” (Luke 24:46-48). This is equivalent to witnessing unto Him (Acts 1:8). An old Scottish divine once re marked that Christ did not come to preach the gospel, but that there might be a gospel to preach. But the Church has failed to bear the glad tidings of redeeming grace to the millions of earth. Christ’s plan is common, and one which every true disciple may help ful fill. The commission to evangelize is individual, as well as corporate. “ Go ye” ! And “ ye” means you and me. These passages are not limited to missionary activities in the regions beyond. We speak of “ home” and “foreign” work, but in the early church every Christian was a missionary or witness—a fact accounting for the rapid spread of the gospel throughout the Roman world. What does Christ’s command “ to every creature” mean? Does it not imply that every saved creature must endeavor to tell each unsaved creature, near at hand, the blessed news of deliverance from sin by the Cross? Twice over, Christ urged His own to begin at Jerusalem, the home base. And is there not need to double up on per sonal evangelism? The rim of the divine commission—the uttermost part of the earth: the hub of the wheel is Jeru salem. Can it be that the Church is failing to realize that the extension of Christ’s church abroad depends upon aggressive evangelism at home? Last of all, the Plan is a command. “ Go,” says the Commander. “ Teach all nations . . . whatsoever I have com manded you.” “Ye shall be witnesses.” Such authoritative language cannot be overlooked. If Christ has said to go, He does not mean to stay at home and pay for another to go in our stead. We are to go into our part of the world and witness to those nearest us, our Jerusa lem. If not, we are living in disobedience to a command, as imperative as any God ever gave. The Power Too often, man-evolved plans, although brilliantly conceived, fail to materialize. But with Christ’s plan there can be no failure, from His side, although tragi cally we may fail Him. For a moment let us look at the double aspect of the divine power necessary to execute the plan o f world evangelism. Behind the command, “ Go ye,” there is the power delegated to Christ by the Father, and also the power of the Spirit delegated to every witness by Christ. “ Ye shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you.” The Person is the power, for spiritual power is but the manifestation of the presence of the Spirit of God. Commanded, then, to make disciples of all nations, we are not left to our own resources in the supreme task of evangelization. “ Faithful is he who call- eth you, who also will do it.” We are certainly commanded to go out and Page Eight
preach and teach the gospel to every creature, to the creature nearest us at home, neighborhood or office, but His commands are enablings. He never sends us forth to the warfare upon our own charges. A double empowerment is ours. A study of The Acts reveals how the first generation of witnesses appropri ated both the power of the risen, as cended Lord and the power of the Spirit. How dynamically they preached and taught the Word! Believing that all power in Heaven and on earth was the Lord’s, the apostles turned their world upside down. Within the first century
own, “ It is expedient for you that I go away . . . I leave the world, and go to the Father” ? Yet here He assures them, “I am with you alway.” The disciples knew that the Lord went with them and worked with them. He left the world in the visible body they had seen; now they were to endure as “ seeing him, who is invisible.” To the early church, Christ was indeed “ a living, bright reality.” With the “ Go” there was the “ Lo.” It was said of Phillips Brooks that he preached as if Jesus Christ was stand ing at his side. So He was! The first century heralds had the same feeling. They knew that Christ was present. This accounts for the miraculous element in their labors for God. The unseen Ally was at hand, energizing His own as they ceased not to teach and preach Him. Gradually, however, the church lost the sense of Christ’s presence. There came the Laodicean period when He was no longer the Source and Center of the Church’s life and activities. This is why He pictures Himself as standing outside a closed door, pleading for ad mission (Rev. 3:20). No longer was the church Christ-possessed and Christ- centered ; it had forgotten the divine declaration, “ I am he that liveth.” What is the sad story of succeeding ages? Is it not the substitution of ritual for the Redeemer? Departing from the Great Commission and the realization of the Presence of the Commander Him self in its fulfillment, the church has multiplied its vestments, candles, altars, crosses and crucifixes, forms and cere monies. Ritualism indicates the absence of spiritual realities. The One John saw midst the seven golden candlesticks de clared, “ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for ever more” (Rev. 1:18). What is our solemn obligation in an age like this, so pregnant with oppor tunity? Is it not a speedy return to first century evangelism? Must we not study anew the last commission of the Master, and then go out into our part of the world to declare a positive gospel, and witness to the fact and force of a living, ever-present Christ as the unfailing source of conquest? To each of us the Man with a Plan is saying, “ Go ye.” Because there is no other plan for the salvation of the world we dare not fail. Christ alone can save the lost, whether they be in America or Africa, but He does not work alone for their redemption. He counts upon the full co-operation of those who have ex perienced His saving grace to deliver the message. Whether we endeavor to witness in the suburbs or slums of the community we represent, or hope to journey on to our Judeas, Samarias and regions beyond, may ours ever be the realization of His blessed presence. Whether our ministry is public or per sonal, local or universal, may it be fruitful and effective because it is Christ- honoring, and fragrant with His abiding presence. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
the Church rapidly spread. Marvelous conquests were experienced. Men like Peter, Philip, Barnabas and Paul knew that a power, not their own, was con tinually imparted unto them. Here is the secret of their effective witness: Under the impact of power from above, the church became Christ- exalting. The apostles witnessed unto Christ. They preached Jesus and the resurrection. They determined to know nothing among men save Christ and Him crucified. Positively they pro claimed, not dogmas, but a Deliverer. Divinely empowered, the early church was likewise a Spirit-possessed and a united church. This was why His presi dency and power were constantly in evidence. Motivated by a common passion to preach the gospel, the early believers knew no fear. On it went, triumphantly claiming fresh territory for the Lord of glory. No wonder that The Acts is the greatest missionary annal ever written! Would that the church today could capture that vision and venture, daring and dynamic faith and fearlessness! They never apologized for the gospel; they obeyed without question. Under standing clearly the Master’s plan for world evangelization, they hurled the Cross into the face of a godless world, believing that it was only through the preaching of the Cross that lost men could be saved. And what a harvest of souls there was! The Presence The Man with a Plan is ever with His servants. It seems a contradiction of terms. Had Jesus not said unto His
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