The Mediatorial Presence is to last unto the end of the «orld— w hether that refer to the end of the material order here, or the end of the present moral and spiritual order, for Christ's return will make all things new. Schaff points out that 'unto' (?ais) 'does not set a term to Christ's pre- sence, but to His invisible and temporal jnesence, wliich will be exchanged for His visible and eternal presence at His last coming.' An important link between the power and promised presence— one which connects them also with the intervening Commission — is this : The jiower is placed at the disposal of, the presence granted to, those alone who obey the command. Go and disciple tlie nations.
The Commission itself is evangelistic, or mis-
•The critical questions connected with Mk 169-20 ■ and thorougt' '" ' ■ " ..«--.--
Mark, Macniilla
sionary, and pastoral — the one merging into the other, with Baptism as the link connecting these two departments. Its order is threefold — Disci- pling. Baptizing, Instruct ing. All nations are to be brought to the obedience of the faith. Their standing is to be sealed and ratified by the sign of the gospel. Then their instruction is to go on, that so these baptized .scholars in the school of Christ may reach up to the measure of the stature of the fulnees of Christ.
(1) ' Go ye therefore and make disciples of (juaffij- Tevaare) all nations.' ' Demonstrably, this was not understood as spoken to the Apostles only, but to all the brethren ' (Alford). Go forth— out of the bounds of Israel — and disciple tlie nations, — con- vert them, enrol them as scholars in the school of Christ. St. Mark specifies the means by which this discipling is to be accomplished — 'Preach the gospel' (KJjpi/Jare rb evayyiXiov) % herald the good news of a crucified, risen, and exalted Saviour. By the mention of ' all nations ' the restriction of 10°- ^ is now removed : for the middle wall of partition, that divided Jew from Gentile, was broken down by Christ's death. Christ's words give no hint of an answer to that question, soon to disturb the early Church, about the method of Gentile admission ; but the principle of their admission is emphatically laid down. The corre- sponding words in Mk 16'^ 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature ' (jrdo-g Tj KTiaei), emphasize the universality of the gospel message even more strongly than those of Matthew. All the world is the sphere, eveiy creature the object, of evangelistic eftbrt.
(2) 'Baptizing them.' The Church of Christ being a visible community, to be gathered out of the world until it become it.self universal, has its peculiar rites, by which that visibility is mani- fested. Besides being channels of Divine grace, they are seals of Divine favour, and pledges, on the part of disciples, of obedience to Divine com- mands. Baptism is the initiatory rite. It signifies both the bestowal and the reception of that grace of God in Christ which brings salvation. It testifies to the adoption of believers by grafting into the body of Christ, the washing of regenera- tion, and the imputation of a new righteousness on God's part. The person baptized, on the other hand, ratifies by his signature the faith in Christ through which these blessings are appropriated. A profession of that faith has been required in all ages of the Church from those of mature years when seeking admission to her pale. This pro- fession was manifestly intended by our Lord when He instituted the rite of Baptism. A minority of the Christian Church confine the rite to those who
Baptism is ' into ' (ei's) the name of the triune God — by the authority and unto the authority of Fatlier, Son, and Holy Ghost. The unity in Trinity of the Godhead is distinctly marked by the use of the singular tA ivo/xa instead of rd ivb- liara. These words, ' into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' have been used for ages as our formula of Baptism when admitting candidates into tlie covenant of Re- demption— 'into the name,' 'as the expression, according to the common Scripture use, of the whole character of God, the suni of the whole Christian revelation. The knowledge of God as Father, the spiritual birthright of sonsliip, the l>o«er and advocacy of the Spirit — all these I)rivileges belong to those avIio, in the divinely a])pointed rite, are incorporated into the Divine name ' (G. Milligan in Expositor;/ Times, vol. viii. [1897] p. 172).
(.S) ' Teaching them to observe all things «hatso-
COMMON LIFE
COMMON LIFE
349
ever I liave commanded you.' The process begun before, must lie continued after Baptism. Admis- sion into tlie Cliurcli — whether visible or invisible — is only the beginning of Christian discipleship. Eternity cannot complete the process of learning what has to be known of an inlinite (iod, and the relation of His creatures U> lliui. It is part of the pastoral duty of the Christi.aii ministry to inculcate the truth as it is in .Jesus, that every incmher may be built up into the full manliood of the Author and Finisher of our faith. The subject-matter of teaching is the doctrines and precepts of Christ, which lie at the root of Christian faith and Christian practice. On all the members of His Church it is incumbent to be diligent scholars in the school of Christ, learning obedience to His commandments from those appointed as teachers. On some of these learners the additional duty rests of being official expounders of His law— teachers in their turn — devoting their lives, as the Apostles did, to edify the body of Christ.