A transformational church changes lives.

Following Jesus in community is one of the primary ways Christians are shaped to become more like Jesus. At least that's the way church is supposed to work. God designed the church to be a transformational community. It welcomes sinners, assimilates new believers as members, and shapes them into fully devoted Jesus followers. The Lord explained this when He spoke what is commonly called the Great Commission, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18–20).

Because English translations often put "go" at the beginning of verse 19, usually capitalized and set apart with a comma, readers incorrectly assume the emphasis in this passage is on going. This interpretation is strengthened by our evangelical propensity for missions and evangelism. We know we should be going, so we emphasize this aspect of Jesus' instructions. But the linguistic emphasis in this passage is on making disciples, not going. To capture the appropriate emphasis, consider this slight adjustment to the above translation: "Go, therefore, and make disciples." Understanding the Great Commission with those words emphasized will help us keep the emphasis straight. Jesus told His followers to make disciples by baptizing and teaching, both activities that can only be done in community. (Think about it—at least two people are required for either activity!)

While baptism signifies entry into a new lifestyle, the primary means the church uses to develop disciples is teaching. Teaching shapes the mind. As new thoughts emerge, new attitudes and actions result. Paul amplified these ideas when he wrote, "The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4–5). Spiritual growth is rooted in changed thinking. Carnal thought patterns, the strongholds of "arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God," naturally dominate the minds of unbelievers and new believers. Learning God's Word and God's ways takes time and may call for undoing years of wrong thinking and learning to think biblically and to behave accordingly. The best word to describe this process is transformation.

The theological word for this is sanctification. While that word literally means "to make holy," the doctrine of sanctification broadly encompasses all aspects of spiritual transformation. While justification describes your once-in-a-moment conversion experience, sanctification involves a lifetime of spiritual growth, change, and development. Sanctification is becoming more like Jesus, God's process of every believer's being "conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29). While this process is personal, it wasn't designed to be accomplished in isolation. Spiritual formation requires a group effort.

Jeff Iorg, The Case for Antioch (Nashville: B&H, 2011).

This Bible Study is available on Amazon. It is also avail as well as part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription service.

This service is like Netflix for Bible Lessons. You pay a low monthly, quarterly or annual fee and get access to all the lessons. New lessons that correspond with three of Lifeway’s outlines are automatically included, as well as a backlog of thousands of lessons. Each lesson consists of 20 or so ready-to-use questions that get groups talking, as well as answers from well-known authors such as David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll and Max Lucado. For more information, or to sign up, click here.