Panta ta Ethne

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations [panta ta ethne], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).

In order to better understand the Great Commission, John Piper endeavors to list and discuss every NT occurrence of the Greek phrase panta ta ethne – “all the nations” (Let the Nations be Glad, pp. 186-89).

But while Piper claims to include every occurrence of the phrase, for some reason he leaves out Romans 16:26, which incidentally uses panta ta ethne in a way that undercuts his understanding of the Great Commission as a perpetual mandate for all Christians.

“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations [panta ta ethne]” (Rom. 16:25-26).

Not that he left this one out intentionally or anything. I’m just saying.