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¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 16-20)

This passage has been the backbone of what has become modern Evangelism. The imperative to go is often misunderstood as a command to go someplace we were not intending to go, but the tense is aorist passive which means the command is not for disciples to “Go” and do the action verb, instead, the disciples were to receive the action verb of “Going”, thus rendering it “having gone.”

These final instructions are for Jesus disciples (mathetes–students, learners, disciples) having gone (wherever they will go) to “make students, learners, disciples” from “all the heathens/nations” and “wash, purify” them into the name (family) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This mission will be successful according to these two realities:

1. The authority (exousias) of the earth (originally Satan’s-Luke 4:6), has been subverted by Jesus and his Kingdom has come and is firmly established here and NOW.
2. Jesus “IS” (present, active, indicative) not “will be” (metá-with) you (suntéleia-ultimate end) of the (aión-era, age, world system).

Now that we have the context for this I AM statement, let’s explore it’s understanding.

This must have been confusing for the disciples. Jesus told them that he was going away. Then He endured his arrest by the religious leaders, an improper trial, and was turned over to Pilate (the State) where he was flogged, beaten, crucified and buried. Now Jesus is back, telling them that as they go about their lives, He will be with them. Since they were all going different places, how would they interpret this?

All modern believers are virtual disciples in that we have never met the historical Jesus. Since we are post pentecost, we know that the Holy Spirit of Christ is precisely how Jesus accompanies His disciples, but they wouldn’t know this until pentecost.

What did it mean to the disciples that Jesus IS with them always? What about us?

Scripture records the disciples experiencing many miraculous signs and wonders during the remaining days of their lives. Jesus (His power and authority) worked in and through the early Church, and a common question is whether Christ’s power still attends the modern believer and intends to perform the same miraculous signs. Since we see so few miracles, should we conclude Christ is not with us, that believers lack faith, or something else?

Many believers “imagine” Jesus to be with them in the same way we imagine deceased loved ones to remain with us…in spirit. While true, this seems to be the bare minimum that must be true. Even atheists posses this amount of faith. This kind of “being with us” is essentially an imaginary friend who helps us psychologically but lacks reality or power that others can appreciate.

I AM with you always must mean something more…

Everything changes when these words are understood within the context of ontological existence. Which is to say: God’s own identity is existence, existing as all that exists (I AM who I AM), and Christ Jesus is the Existence (I AM) of God, in the flesh, who is the Holy One of God, possessing authority over death and establishing His Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, AND this Christ, has now become our I AM, our existence, and we experience His power in His redemptive Kingdom in the context of our very life.

“For God to exist is to give being…for us to exist is to receive being.”– Meister Eckart

Can we sit still and become aware that the life we possess is not entirely us, nor is it ours as a separate and distinct existence from the life of God. I AM (existence) has graced us with a suffering icon existing in the flesh, whereby we can see a perfect example of supreme Deity dwelling with, in, and as humanity. Paul says we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us, in us, as us. If then we are the image bearers of God, then by faith we begin to awaken to the realization that our life is a fresh retelling of the Christ life, the Christ power, the Christ suffering, the Christ renewal, in and as our life. Our existence is God existing in us by way of Christ existing ALWAYS with us.

This isn’t about a belief in a doctrine or tradition. This is a “faithing” graced awareness. Too many spiritual teachers error when they experience this existential awareness. I see them mistakenly conclude that they themselves are God. This is a tragic error which over-appraises one’s anthropology. There is an equally tragic error when we under-appraise our anthropology as utterly depraved, worthless, and vile. The biblical anthropology, by way of illumination in Christ, means that while we are not God, we are also not completely other than God either.

This allows us to see how Christ is (I AM) with us (in us) always. If we are alive…breathing…then we are sustained by the ongoing love and grace of God to exist as a little form of Christ (Christian). In that sense, we are each the second coming of Christ. As we unite or assemble together in faith, we form the real, physical, bodily return of Christ, known as the Church. If this is true, we are living in the Millennial Kingdom of God, but acting as if Jesus has no power or authority.

As I’ve tested this in life, I testify that to the degree we understand and experience this, to the same degree our lives undergo a transformation and restoration. This happens apart from religion, but never apart from contemplation (wordless prayer). A restored life is always experienced as a complete miracle, as it reaches every corner of our life, soul, emotions, thinking, relationships, finances, work endeavors, ministries, hobbies, and creative efforts. The complete and promised New World emerges from within us. It moves everyone from captivity unto total freedom without distinction to time, tribe, tradition, or talent. We need not join anything, convert to anything, or pick a particular team. We simply discover who we are, hidden in Christ, and found in God, and knowing who we are (that Christ is with us) resets what we truly want in life, and that establishes a new set of priorities and agendas.

It’s a new life in Christ. Not a new religion. That’s how we know He has come, and that He will always be with us.