There seems to be a lot of attention on the idea that we as believers are sent by God into the world (Mk15:16). But if we focus on just being sent then we are in danger of missing out on the blessings of being the church. The word used as “church” in the bible (Mt16:18) is “ekklesia” and it means “the called out”. Being the called is an important teaching in the bible. Jesus says no one can come to him unless he is first called by the Father (Jn6:44). 1 Peter 2:9 lists being called as part of the very identity of the church. If we focus on just being called however, we are ignoring that Jesus also sent us.
The great commission (Mt28:19) to “make disciples and baptize them” is very important. This should not in any way lessen its value or urgency. But that command was one for believers as individuals as part of our daily obedience to Jesus Christ. We cannot shift the responsibility of this command to the church nor should we allow it to be taken from us. In some ways it is the church that makes the carrying out of Jesus’s command possible. Through support, encouragement, education, and joint effort or in other words through “edification, fellowship, communion, and corporate worship”. But the church as a meeting of believers described in Acts 2:42 can never take the responsibility given to us in Mt 28:19 away from the individual believers. In the end we are called and then we are sent but our focus should always remain on Jesus Christ.
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