The Ever Present Savior and the Giving of the Great Commission
Jesus promised to be with His disciples forever {i.e. until the resurrection and judgment}. The giving of the Great Commission was the prelude to the establishment of the church of Christ on Pentecost some 50 days after Jesus arose from the dead and ascended back to the Father.
There are three references to the final instructions of Jesus to His Disciples; I will list them …
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV)
Mark 16:15-16 – 15 and he said unto them, Go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (KJV)
Luke 24:46-48 – 46 and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. (KJV)
Jesus informed His disciples of the commission they had from Him then He told them to wait in Jerusalem until the promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming had occurred – cf… John 14:16-17-16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter , that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.(KJV)
John 14:26 – But the Comforter , which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (KJV)
John 15:26-27 – 26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Luke 24:49 – and, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (KJV)
From these passages of Scripture we may conclude that the church of Christ did not begin before these events has passed. Indeed, during the lifetime of the Lord on the earth in physical form the church did not exist. Therefore those who suggest that it did are mistaken and may be classified as false teachers.
According to these facts; so presented here by glc it is apparent that the church had its beginning according to Acts 2:1-47. In this reading one will observe that the promise of the Holy Spirit {i.e. the Comforter’s coming} is fulfilled. Not only that but in Acts 2 we find that the first members of the church of Christ numbered about 3,000 – cf. Acts 2:37-40.
There is never before Acts 2:47 any reference to the how one becomes a member of the church of Christ {i.e. the Body of Christ – 1 Cor. 12:27 – Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (KJV)
Ephesians 4:11-13 – 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
Consider This:
BUT; in Acts 2:47 we find that the Lord adds the saved ones to the church as they are being saved; the Bible does not teach that members are elected into the congregation by vote of the elders, bishops, deacons, preachers, or anyone else but they must first meet the instructions of the Lord – cf. Hebrew 5:8-9); before the Lord adds them.