Chances are, if you have known me recently, you have heard me talk about making and multiplying disciples. I talk about it a lot. I care about it a lot. But the reason I care about it goes deeper than simply the task itself, which Jesus gives us in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20. If you have ever been discipled, you should be familiar with that passage. But to answer the question of why this is Jesus’ mission, we have to understand the bigger picture of God and creation and what this is all for. Scripture refers to this as God’s secret plan or His eternal purpose. To understand that, we must begin BEFORE creation.

John 17:1-5:

1 After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

John 1:1-4:

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

Colossians 1:15-17:

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

Romans 11:36, “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

Before the world was created, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit existed in perfect unity, and they shared glory with one another (John 17:5). God did not need physical creation or heavenly beings. He needed nothing. But out of His shared fellowship within the Godhead, He decided to expand that dwelling so that there could be others who share in His divine life and make a place where God could share a home with them.

There was something in the heart of God, an eternal purpose that existed before creation that He willed for Himself. You can see that in Ephesians 1-3. And so, the Lord Jesus spoke all things into being. He created the tangible universe, the earth, and everything within it to be the place for Him to reign and share his divine life and goodness with other beings.

This is why we exist.

It’s imperative to learn the story of the Biblical gospel, seeing how the story of Jesus begins in creation and goes through the end of Revelation to understand what Jesus intends for us. But here, I want to give an overview of the big picture, why it matters, and what I’ve been learning for the past few years. This piece is a summation of what I’ve spent that time instilling into several young men who are instilling it into others and training them to pass it on (2 Timothy 2:2).

For years, as a pastor, I taught people about Jesus and encouraged them to be like Him. I encouraged them to invite Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. Still, while I knew and believed the events of the gospels and the facts about His life, I missed something significant. There was a topic central to Jesus’ life and message; his birth, earthly life, death, resurrection, and second coming had everything to do with that.

So… what is it?

It is not love, though love is clearly of major importance to Jesus. It’s not money and possessions, though he had much to say about them. Nor is it about people or even making disciples. The central message of Jesus and the early church was the kingdom of God. Nearly all of Jesus’ parables are about the kingdom. He spoke of it often, which is why we should take it seriously. After all, the purpose of life, creation, existence, and eternity are wrapped up in it.

The gospel that Jesus and the apostles preached was NOT that if you ask him into your hearts, you will be saved and go to heaven when you die. In Mark 1:15, Jesus proclaimed the gospel, the good news that the kingdom was here. He claimed that his rule and reign had come here to the earth and that we could enter it. It was both a present and future hope.

Unlike any earthly kingdom with physical borders, Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. Anyone can enter into it, and all are welcome, regardless of background, culture, gender, or any other human divisions. Jesus is the king, the kingdom is his divine rule and reign, and its citizens follow Him out of the world’s kingdoms and into his.

This kingdom was God’s intention from the beginning. He created a garden where He walked with Adam and Eve, where heaven and earth had no separation. Out of Eden came everything needed for the garden to become a city where God and man would dwell and reign together and encompass the earth, which is seen in Genesis 2 and Revelation 21. This was God’s design from creation. Unfortunately, sin entered the world through Satan, and while God’s purpose never changed, the method of making it a reality changed.

Satan became the temporary ruler of the world in which we live. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, he is called the god of this age. Behind all the kingdoms of the earth, the economy, entertainment, education, and even religion is him, the god of this age. Everything that comes out of the world belongs to him. That’s why James 4:4 says that friendship with the world makes us an enemy of God. That doesn’t mean no good thing can come from the world and its systems, as God’s power and purpose are still supreme, and He brings about good things. But currently, we live in a clash between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world.

So, back in Genesis, God established a people for himself in the world through a man named Abraham. Out of Abraham came the Israelites, who eventually settled into a promised land, Canaan, which was supposed to be the new Eden. They had no king because God was their king. God would establish his purpose on the earth through Abraham’s descendants, telling him in Genesis 12:3 that all people of the world will be blessed through them. But just as Adam failed, Israel also failed. They were unfaithful to God, they instituted their own kings, and eventually, they lost God’s blessing and were toppled. God’s Kingdom could not be established through human beings. Even the reborn nation of Israel post-exile kept being conquered by stronger empires and was not sovereign.

Then, God came to earth in the form of a man. Jesus Christ was wholly God and fully human. Though he had no home and no worldly power, he demonstrated his kingly authority over all aspects of creation through his life and ministry. He healed people and did miracles, showing his authority over physical creation. He cast out demons, showing his authority over spiritual beings. Through his teaching, he undid centuries of religious tradition. He showed a new way to live, centered on him, showing his authority over truth. He established a kingdom not subject to any human government, showing his authority over all power on earth.

A thousand years before Jesus, King David wanted to build God a temple, a house where God could dwell. Remember, all creation was to be God’s house, and His intention was to dwell with us. So, as impressive a structure as the temple would be, it was a far cry from what was initially intended. And while God eventually said yes to the temple, in 1 Chronicles, 17:10-14, this is what God said to David:

“’10 Furthermore, I declare that the Lord will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 11 For when you die and join your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. 12 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for me. And I will secure his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my favor from him as I took it from the one who ruled before you.

14 I will confirm him as king over my house and my kingdom for all time, and his throne will be secure forever.'”

Then, in Luke 1:33-35, when the angel Gabriel shows up to Mary to tell her that she’s going to give birth to Jesus, he says, “31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

This is what Jesus was fulfilling. While he talked about the kingdom throughout his earthly ministry, his disciples still didn’t understand that he was not talking about restoring the earthly nation of Israel; he was talking about establishing a new kingdom unlike anything else on earth. His teachings on love and morality and conduct and money and relationships defined and described what life in his kingdom would look like.

Then, through his death on the cross, he took the punishment that allows us to be reconciled with God to the kind of relationship He intended from before creation. Through His resurrection and giving us new spiritual life, he opened the door for us to fully surrender and follow Him, receive His Spirit, and enter His kingdom, leaving the allegiances of this world behind.

From here on out, we live as ambassadors of His kingdom on the earth in occupied territory. That is why we are given a mandate to go and make and multiply disciples of all nations; baptize them, which symbolizes new life and represents being brought into the kingdom; and teach them to obey all that Jesus commanded, which is how we live in His kingdom in a totally different set of values than the world around us. Following and obeying Jesus’ commands is the basic building block of how to be a disciple. That’s why we should begin discipleship by learning and obeying Jesus’ commands in the context of caring relationships. We are not intended to be disciples by ourselves.

However, the highest purpose of Jesus’ kingdom is NOT to go and make disciples. Those who know me know I am obsessed with going and making disciples. That is our Lord’s mission, but that is not His highest goal. The highest purpose of this kingdom is that through His people, God will establish His eternal purposes on earth. This is revealed in Ephesians 1-3 especially, along with the rest of the New Testament.

Ephesians 1:4-5:

“4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Ephesians 1:9-10:

“9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.”

Ephesians 3:3-11:

“3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. 4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. 7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Part of this eternal purpose is that through His people, God will have:

• A body
• A bride
• A house
• A family
• A field
• A new nation (citizens and ambassadors, a kingdom of priests).

1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.”

1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”

Ephesians 2:19-22:

“19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens, along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him, you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”

These are not just analogies. They are tangible expressions of what Jesus’ ekklesia (church) is supposed to be. That’s why the practical application of His kingdom is life together with one another, under the rule and reign of Jesus; to be all of those things, and that is all meant to happen through Jesus’s church. Not the church in the way you think of going to buildings, services, and congregations, which is for God but is also largely created by man, but the true church that Jesus meant to establish.

God’s purpose is to have a kingdom on the earth, His rule and reign, open to all people of all nations. In his kingdom, there is no division. Revelation 1:5 calls it a kingdom of priests. We don’t need anyone to stand between God and us because, through Jesus’ redemption, we have been brought near to God. So it doesn’t matter what earthly country we live in, the language we speak, or the circumstances of our lives. All of God’s people are under one domain.

Ephesians 4:3-6:

“3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”

So, as His kingdom people, we are His body, bride, house, family, field, and nation. I don’t have space to unpack all of these Biblically, though I highly encourage you to do that yourself. Frank Viola’s From Eternity to Here is a great start.

If you notice, all of those analogies are living things except for one: a house. However, consider this in 1 Peter 2:4-5:

“4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.”

Peter calls us living stones. We were spiritually dead, but when we received Jesus’ divine life, we became living stones. We make and multiply disciples to see dead stones become living stones. But the question is why. Most churches and ministries exist because we want to make more living stones. The problem is, to do that, we basically try to become a factory to crank out as many living stones as possible. So we try to grow bigger churches and ministries, build bigger buildings, and develop bigger platforms to create scale and make more stones.

The intention may be good, but Jesus’ purpose is not to make the most enormous pile of living rocks possible. He desires all people to be saved, but salvation is not the end goal. God is trying to build us into something! And as a single stone, you can’t build anything by yourself. But simply making as many stones as possible that sit in a pile and don’t do anything isn’t the point. The point is that Christ builds us together to be His dwelling place.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus says in Matthew 18:20 that wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them? If we all have the Holy Spirit, isn’t God already among us? The answer is yes; however, when we are together, we become his body. We become his dwelling place. That’s what the church is: the people with whom Jesus dwells.

This is why Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God has a purpose in heaven that He intends to break through on the earth, and He does that through His kingdom’s people; our prayers and actions.

We are the outposts of His kingdom. And together, we are called to reach the world and make disciples. Because one day, all the kingdoms of this world will pass away. Jesus’ kingdom is here now in part, but one day, it will be here in its fullness. And it will stand for eternity.

In Revelation 21-22, you can read about how Eden comes back as a city where God will reign for eternity after all the effects of sin, the fall, and all opposition to God has been defeated, and we are there with Him. God’s eternal purpose is to have an eternal kingdom where we dwell with Him forever. And we make disciples, build community, pray, and go into all the world so that His kingdom will spread to all people in all places.

“For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

And so, as we near the end, I want to finish with my personal dream. We call it gospel saturation. Because Jesus is Lord, and His kingdom is here now and coming in full, what would it look like if God’s kingdom was here on earth as it is in heaven?

Ephesians 1:21-23:

“21 Now, he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”

Dream with me for a moment about what it look like if Jesus were to fill all things everywhere with Himself in your community: all people, places, and spaces. There would be holistic flourishing for all people. There would be no income inequality, racism, sexism, classism, or any other ism. There would be no suffering, no violence, no mental illness, no disease of any kind.

All would have enough. All would be healthy spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially. And all would come under the Lordship of our true King, Jesus. It would be heaven on earth. This would require four things:

• A vision for gospel saturation.
• A simple method of reproducing disciples.
• An extraordinary commitment to prayer and fasting.
• An army of missionary disciple-makers who are willing to go and demonstrate the kingdom in every relational network in a community.

We go and make disciples who will multiply disciples because that’s how gospel saturation happens. It has never happened here for an extended period, but is it not a worthy pursuit? Since Jesus is worthy, he deserves those for whom he died. His kingdom is eternal; it is here now and still coming, and we can all enter it.