Why Preaching the Great Commission in This Dispensation of Grace is False Doctrine

The command commonly known as the Great Commission—given by the risen Christ to Peter and the Eleven (the apostles associated with Israel’s prophetic program)—is often assumed to be the standing commission for all believers today. However, when the Scriptures are rightly divided (II Timothy 2:15), it becomes clear that this commission belongs to a prior dispensation tied to the gospel of the kingdom offered to Israel. It is not the commission given to the Body of Christ in this present age of grace.

In this age, God has revealed “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2) and committed to us “the Ministry of Reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18-21). The gospel we proclaim is “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), centered on the finished work of Christ. The Great Commission, by contrast, was given for a different program, a different gospel, and different requirements. Treating it as binding today constitutes a false doctrine that confuses Israel’s kingdom program with the mystery of the Body of Christ.

The Great Commission was given to the Jewish apostles after Christ’s resurrection but before the full revelation of the mystery committed to Paul.

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This commission was given to Peter and the Eleven for the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14). It was to begin with Israel’s repentance so that the kingdom could be restored to Israel (Acts 1:6), after which it would extend to the nations under Israel’s priestly ministry.

The following reasons demonstrate why this commission does not apply to the Body of Christ today:

It was given exclusively to Peter and the Eleven for Israel’s kingdom program. These apostles were sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first (Matthew 10:5-6). Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and revealer of the mystery, was not among them and received his gospel and commission by direct revelation from the risen Christ (Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 3:1-3), not from this command.

It proclaims the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of the grace of God. The message was “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and the good news concerning the coming earthly kingdom to Israel. In contrast, Paul testifies “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), which is “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:3-4). These are distinct messages for distinct programs.

It requires water baptism for salvation or as an integral part of the message. Mark 16:16 states, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Matthew 28:19 commands baptizing in the name of the Trinity. Paul, however, declares, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (I Corinthians 1:17), and in this dispensation there is “one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5)—the spiritual baptism into the Body of Christ.

It includes miraculous signs as following believers. Mark 16:17-18 lists casting out devils, speaking in tongues, taking up serpents, drinking poison without harm, and healing the sick. These signs confirmed the kingdom offer to Israel. In the grace age, we “walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7), and sign gifts were temporary, associated with the apostles and the kingdom program.

It commands teaching converts to “observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you,” which includes the law. This encompasses the Sermon on the Mount and other kingdom ethics under the Mosaic law. Yet Scripture declares that believers today are “not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14) and are “dead to the law” (Romans 7:4; Galatians 2:19).

It was never carried out as given because of Israel’s rejection. The commission ordered the message to begin at Jerusalem and spread after Israel’s repentance. Instead, Israel rejected the offer (Acts 7; 13:46; 18:6; 28:28). God then turned to the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry because of Israel’s fall (Romans 11:11,15), introducing the mystery program.

Paul never enjoins the Body of Christ to fulfill this commission. His epistles contain no reference to Matthew 28 or Mark 16 as binding instructions for the Church. Instead, he emphasizes the mystery “which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men” (Ephesians 3:5) and the new creation in Christ.

It belongs to Israel’s prophetic program, while the Body of Christ is a distinct new creation. The Great Commission maintains distinctions (Israel first, then nations under kingdom rule). In the Body of Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Galatians 3:28), and we are “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15), seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

These distinctions show that applying the Great Commission today mixes two different divine programs and creates doctrinal confusion.

God has given the Body of Christ a distinct commission suited to this dispensation of grace. It is recorded in II Corinthians 5:18-21. Under our commission the saved members of the body of Christ are to be ambassadors for Christ and share the Ministry of Reconciliation.

God initiated reconciliation through the cross work of Christ. He reconciled us (believers) to Himself and has given us (the Body of Christ) the ministry and the word of reconciliation.

The message is that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses. This is pure grace—no works, no baptism, no law-keeping, no signs required for acceptance.

We are therefore ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador represents his king and pleads the king’s message. We beseech the lost: “Be ye reconciled to God.”

The ground of this reconciliation is substitution: Christ was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

This ministry perfectly aligns with “the gospel of the grace of God” that Paul preached (Acts 20:24; I Corinthians 15:1-4). It is the message for this age until the Body of Christ is complete and caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

The command to Peter and the Eleven known as the Great Commission was a valid and glorious commission in its proper dispensational setting—the offer of the kingdom to Israel. In this age of grace, however, it is not our commission. To treat it as such is a false doctrine that obscures the distinctiveness of the Body of Christ and the pure grace message committed to Paul.

Our commission is the Ministry of Reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming that God has reconciled the world to Himself through the cross and is not imputing trespasses. Our gospel is the gospel of the grace of God: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. By faith in this finished work, sinners are saved and placed into the one Body of Christ.

May we rightly divide the word of truth, recognize the distinctions God has made, and faithfully fulfill our role as ambassadors in this present dispensation of grace.