God’s Two “Great Mandates”
God’s Two “Great” Mandates
by
Tim Leahy
To understand the purpose of the “Church” and the purpose of every follower of Jesus, we need to understand and follow God’s two “Great” Mandates.
The first “Great” Mandate is the “Great Commandment” (Mt. 22:37-40) which is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself…” – Matthew 22:37-40.
The second “Great” Mandate is the “Great Commission” which is where Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20.
In summary, God’s two “Great Mandates” are to love Him, love others, tell others (how to be saved through faith in Jesus), and teach others (how to follow Jesus His Way). This is the purpose of God’s Church.
If we (the Church – followers of Jesus) would successfully do these four things, God would bless our mess. By mess, I mean the chaos in us and the chaos on planet earth. God’s Word says that He loves us, has fixed our sin and separation problem (John 3:16-18), and that He wants us to live abundantly now and for eternity (John 10:10).
God’s promises are to save us (John 3:17), redeem us (Galatians 3:13), reconcile us (Colossians 1:20), transform us (Romans 12:2), and use us (2 Corinthians 5:20) for His Kingdom work.
God’s Kingdom work is summed up in His two “Great Mandates”. If we would be about the King’s business in living out God’s two “Great Mandates” He would change the world.
With this in mind, Equip U exists. The purpose of Equip U is to “Train All to Reach All”. To equip followers of Jesus with the knowledge and skill to fulfill God’s two “Great Mandates”.