During His ministry, Jesus had kept constantly before the disciples the fact that they were to be one with Him in His work for the recovery of the world from the slavery of sin. When He sent forth the Twelve and afterward the Seventy, to proclaim the kingdom of God, He was teaching them their duty to impart to others what He had made known to them. In all His work He was training them for individual labor, to be extended as their numbers increased, and eventually to reach to the uttermost parts of the earth. The last lesson He gave His followers was that they held in trust for the world the glad tidings of salvation.

Under hele Jesu tjeneste havde han stadig foreholdt sine disciple den kendsgerning, at de skulle være ét med ham i hans arbejde for at frigøre verden fra syndens slaveri. Da han udsendte de tolv og senere de halvfjerdsindstyve for at forkynde Guds rige, lærte han dem, at det var deres pligt at meddele andre, hvad han havde lært dem. Gennem hele sit virke opdrog han dem til individuelt arbejde, som skulle udvides, eftersom de blev flere i antal, og som til sidst skulle nå ud til verdens fjerneste egne. Det allersidste, han indprentede sine disciple, var, at frelsens glade budskab til verden var blevet dem betroet.