Did Paul Say the Great Commission was Already Completed?

I recently saw a post on social media that made the following claim:

"If the Great Commission is still unfulfilled...why did Paul say it had already been accomplished?"

Under the statement, a few passages of Scripture were listed: Romans 1:8; 10:18; Colossians 1:5-6, 23.

The idea that the Great Commission was only for the apostles is not a new idea, but with the given passages as supposed proofs for the claim, I thought it might be fruitful to examine the passages in question. After all, the claim is suggesting that since the apostle Paul believed the Great Commission was fulfilled in his day, then we have no obligation to go to the nations in our day. So, what does Paul mean in these verses? Had the gospel really been preached everywhere? Was the Great Commission given by Christ completed in the first century and, thus, irrelevant for us today?

I would argue that these passages do not teach that Paul believed the Great Commission had been accomplished. Rather, the verses in question celebrate the remarkable spread of the gospel while assuming the church's ongoing responsibility and privilege of participating in God's mission among the nations.

But what should we make of these verses?

The Passages in Question

First, let's take a look at the passages offered for the claim:

Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

Romans 10:18
But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

Colossians 1:5-6
5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth

Colossians 1:23
...if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

As you can see, occasionally, Paul spoke of the impact and spread of the gospel in global terms. Clearly, the early church saw incredible growth as the gospel spread, converts were made, and churches were planted. But even with that being true, did Paul really believe that the gospel had reached the ends of the earth, meaning the Great Commission had been completed? And if so, does that mean the Great Commission was only for the first century and, therefore, not something we should be concerned about today?

Examining Each Passage

Second, let's briefly examine each passage in its context to identify possible reasons for Paul's use of global language.

Romans 1:8 - "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world."

Paul begins his letter to the church in Rome with an expression of gratitude for God's grace shown to the believers there. The message of the gospel reached Rome and the Lord brought forth fruit. So much so that the news of a new congregation in Rome, of all places, had spread abroad. Their faith, according to Paul, had been "proclaimed in all the world."

So, what does Paul mean by "all the world?" A few things to consider here. First, Paul likely has in view that other churches are rejoicing in the news coming from Rome. It is not that the entire unbelieving world was talking about this new church and, through that, heard and understood the gospel. Rather, Christians in other parts of the known world had heard of new brothers and sisters in this important city. Paul's use of the phrase "all the world," then, should be read as hyperbole. Moo holds this position, writing that this is "clearly hyperbolic, but of course Paul is thinking of fellow Christians and thus places where the gospel had already been preached."[1] Schreiner agrees, stating that this "signifies that the success of the gospel in Rome is known in the churches Paul has established..." [2]

Second, we should recognize that in the same letter (to the Romans) Paul speaks of parts of the world that had not yet heard the gospel (Romans 15:20, 24, 28). Schreiner concludes that this verse must be "an example of hyperbole, since Paul knows that the gospel has not yet come to Spain."[3] In fact, Paul would continue his missionary ministry to unreached peoples and places for roughly another decade after his letter to the Romans. Instead of hanging up his hat and enjoying retirement life, Paul continued his travels as far as he could. This alone makes the claim that Paul believed the mission was completed impossible to maintain.

Romans 10:18 - "But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for 'Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'”

Admittedly, this verse is slightly more difficult to understand. In the verses preceding (Rom. 10:14-15), Paul argues for the necessity of gospel workers to be sent, so that people can hear and believe. No one can believe unless they hear. No one can hear unless the gospel is preached. No one will preach if no one is sent. Then, in verse 18, Paul quotes Psalm 19:4, saying that "all the earth" and "the ends of the world" have heard.

A few important questions need to be answered here. First, who is Paul talking about? And second, why would he quote Psalm 19:4 as an argument that "they," whoever that is, have indeed heard? To answer the first question, while there is some debate, many believe that, due to the context of Romans 9-11, Paul is referring to "Israel" when he speaks of "they." "They" have heard the gospel. Again, Moo holds this position: "Paul is speaking generally about all people but with special reference to Israel. Paul puts his question in a form that makes it legitimate to paraphrase it with an assertion: people have heard."[4] And since this is true, "Paul's focus might be corporate rather than individualistic: he asserts not that the gospel has been preached to every person but to every nation, and especially to both Jews and Gentiles."[5] How then has Israel heard the message of the gospel? Answering that question is found in understanding Paul's reference to Psalm 19.

Psalm 19 speaks of "general revelation," that is, how creation speaks to the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Paul says in the beginning of Romans that "what can be known about God is plain" to all since "his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world." (Rom. 1:19-20). Perceiving that there is a Creator, however, is not the same as hearing that there is a Savior. Nature does not preach the gospel to the world. So, how can Paul say Israel has heard while quoting Psalm 19:4? Well, Paul is being creative with his reference here. Schreiner explains, "God's general revelation thus functions as a type and anticipation of the gospel message, which extends to all peoples."[6] Further, Schreiner states, "Of course, Paul isn't claiming that every single Israelite has heard the good news, and thus the statement here is hyperbolic."[7] In other words, just as nature "preaches" the glory of God to all, the message of the gospel has extended to all those within earshot of its preaching.

Colossians 1:5-6 - "5 ...because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth"

Colossians 1:23 - "...if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."

I will examine the passages in Colossians together, because there is significant overlap. Paul is writing to the believers in Colossae to remind them that Jesus is both supreme over all creation and sufficient for salvation, all of which was contrary to the message they were hearing from false teachers in their midst. To encourage and strengthen the church, Paul reminds them that the same gospel which reached the believers in Colossae has also reached people "in the whole world," having been "proclaimed in all creation under heaven."

What does Paul mean here? Much like in his letter to the Romans, Paul is likely using hyperbole to make his point. The gospel has made significant movement across the world and is bearing fruit. Again, Moo writes, "It is possible that Paul uses the 'world' to mean his own 'world' of the Roman Empire, but the expression...is more likely to be simply a 'rhetorical exaggeration.' The point is that the gospel is exerting its power widely, in many different places, and, by doing so, attests to its validity."[8] Similarly, one might think of Acts 2:5, where Luke says that "there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven." In other words, there were many, many people from many, many nations in Jerusalem at that time. Luke was not intending to literally say that "every nation" in the world was represented. Moo goes on to say, for the situation in Colossae, "Paul wants the Colossians to understand the gospel is the one, universal answer to the quest for spiritual fulfillment."[9] They should not, then, be persuaded to follow false teachers away from Christ.

So, did Paul believe the Great Commission was completed?

No. There is no biblical warrant, especially from these passages, to suggest that Paul believed the Great Commission had been completed. It is not difficult to see the use of hyperbole for Paul to communicate the amazing spread of the gospel. Nevertheless, there was still much work to be done by Paul, his contemporaries, and the Church for centuries to come.

Again, Paul did not see the Great Commission as completed; rather, he saw the Great Commission as succeeding. Those are two very different perspectives.

Let me pose another question, though. Even if the writings of Paul demonstrated that the gospel had reached every individual in the world during his day, would that mean we have no obligation today to make disciples of the nations? Of course not. In the Great Commission in Matthew's gospel (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus promised that as we go to the nations, baptizing new converts and discipling them to maturity in Christ, he would be with us "to the end of the age." Implied there is the ongoing responsibility of global gospel ministry until "the end of the age." This then brings up questions of who the "nations" are as well as issues of eschatology, perhaps for another post another day.

So, if you run into a claim like the one addressed here, don't let it shake you. Let the historical record of the incredible spread of the gospel in the first century inspire your efforts today. Keep making disciples in your context. Keep praying for the nations. Continue growing a heart for those who have yet to hear the good news of Jesus and support those who go to them.

[1] Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Romans, 2nd ed., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), 60.

[2] Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, 2nd ed., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018), 54.

[3] Schreiner, Romans, 54.

[4] Moo, Romans, 684.

[5] Moo, Romans, 685.

[6] Schreiner, Romans, 558.

[7] Schreiner, Romans, 559.

[8] Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and Philemon, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008), 89.

[9] Moo, Colossians and Philemon, 147.

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