“Then Jesus came to them and 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
Even with all the work still to be done, it is wonderful to see in big-picture relief the journey that the church of Jesus Christ has traveled from one small room in Jerusalem to this present level of geographical extent and numerical splendor. In every generation, the Holy Spirit ensures that the name of Jesus Christ is the greatest name on earth, despite the fact that no infant is ever born into the world knowing anything about him at all. The Holy Spirit has orchestrated the protection of that name and of the truths of the gospel in every generation. He has worked across the centuries to defend the gospel, to move human messengers to spread it in their families and neighborhoods and, in the course of their trade and daily lives, to those of other places. He has defended the church of Jesus Christ from the false doctrines of Arianism, Pelagianism, semi-Pelagianism, and all other heresies.
The Holy Spirit has secretly and mysteriously orchestrated the minds of mighty potentates to make rulings favorable to the spread of the gospel. He has controlled the economic conditions of nations to create the specific circumstances his sovereign will deemed best. He has maneuvered his messengers to cross forbidding mountain ranges and raging rivers to reach terrifying barbarian tribes in the dark forests beyond. He has raised up men and women to get on sailing vessels, travel as far as sixteen thousand nautical miles (in the case of John Paton from Scotland to the New Hebrides islands), and face likely death, such as at the hands of cannibals. He has moved missionaries to pack their belongings in their own coffins and travel to the west coast of Africa, expecting not to survive more than eighteen months in the unfamiliar disease-infested jungles. And most significantly, he has caused Christian parents all over the world to raise up the next generation in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, teaching their children the gospel of Jesus Christ in their native tongue.
"Every redeemed child of God will receive an eternal heavenly education in what was done to bring them all there."
The dimensions and details of the achievements of the triune God in this astonishing journey will not be scraped onto the trash heap of forgetfulness when the new universe comes. Rather, every redeemed child of God will receive an eternal heavenly education in what was done to bring them all there. And God will be greatly glorified in their resurrected hearts as he reveals new aspects of his glory in wave upon wave of heavenly review.
Excerpt from "The Glory Now Revealed" by Andrew M. Davis. To purchase click here.
