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All Authority & All Wisdom

Please notice the superlatives in the following three Scriptures:

Jesus: “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’” (Matt. 28:18-20). All authority, all nations, to obey all that I commanded, with you always, to the end of the age.

Paul’s prayer: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:9-12). Not ceased to pray, filled with the knowledge of His will, all spiritual wisdom and understanding, live a life worthy of the Lord, please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, strengthened with all power, qualified us to share in His inheritance.

Paul’s preaching: “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:28-29). Admonishing everyone, teaching everyone, with all wisdom, to present everyone fully mature in Christ, with all the energy, so powerfully works in me.

Notice also how Paul communicates. He proclaims, admonishes, and teaches. There is nothing “iffy” about any of these paragraphs, and no exception clauses.

To “share” the gospel is to make it soft, to make it so that it does not offend anyone. But the Cross is an offense. The preaching of the Cross is a declaration. The Bible does not teach us to share in our admonishing, teaching, proclaiming, or preaching. We do all of these with authority.

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