Barbara Helen Burns
The Bible is a book about missions. Two amazing things come out of this fact: that so manynever mention it, and thatin some places around the world, far from the theological hot-houses in the West, Christians are beginning to come in throngs to obey the Bible’s missionary mandate.
God loves and reaches out to all mankind with His Gospel of Salvation. Starting with the creation of every race in Adam and Eve and the promise of deliverance from Satan in Genesis 3:15, this theme continues through the Covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses and David, the messages of the Prophets and their fulfillment in Christ and His body, the Church. But to communicate His love and grace, God chooses human instruments—special people through whom He can fulfill His purposes. Israel, and then the Church, become those missionary instruments to God’s world.
In modern history, a widely influential Western missionary movement began at the end of the 18th Century. During the 19th and the first half of the 20th Centuries, churches from Western nations sent their representatives to those who had never heard the Gospel. They planted churches and taught the Bible. We can see the results from this in great international conferences such as Lausanne, the World Evangelical Fellowship or GCOWE where Christians from almost every nation meet to praise God and celebrate their common life in Christ. The variety of color, language, styles of singing, clothing and speaking is evidence of the work and sacrifice of churches and missionaries during the past two centuries in bringing people from every land to a knowledge of Christ.
Surprisingly, however, it was often the case that these missionaries ignored missions in their Bible teaching! For various reasons a great percentage of missionaries did not expect their disciples to continue the task of reaching the nations with the Gospel. Often non-missionary churches were planted, creating a receiving-only mentality.
Recently this has begun to change. Churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America are coming alive with a missionary vision. Biblical teaching regarding the church’s missionary mandate is coming to the fore, and people are wondering, “This has been here all the time. Why haven’t we noticed?” They are discovering that missions is not the monopoly of any one person, group, or structure; “it is the obligation of every church and believer in the West as well as of those in Asia, Africa, and Latin America” (Roger Hedlund, 1990:274).
The Bible clearly describes the missionary purpose of Israel and the Church in the Old and New Testaments. Two texts prove the continuity of God’s missionary mandate for His people. Exodus 19:3-7 and 1 Peter 2:9 are like two ends of a clothes hangar on which the rest of the bible rests. The same truth is stated forcefully at the beginning and repeated at the end of the Bible: Israel and the Church are to be priests, holy and separate unto the Lord for His purposes, both drawing people to themselves in holy living as well as going out to proclaim God’s grace and glory.
The Purpose of God’s People in the Old Testament
God’s love for His creation and His desire for its redemption from sin and death dominate Biblical teaching from beginning to end. From a perfect paradise, mankind chose disobedience and death. God did not give up on His creation, however, and continued to reach out to them with a promise of hope and redemption. To this end He formed a people through whom He could communicate and work to fulfill His gracious will.
The Need and Promise of Salvation
God created man and woman, and from them all the nations of the earth. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God and alienated themselves from Him, a problem that worsened with each generation. They were ejected from their wonderfully perfect paradise and their close fellowship with God. Their descendants continued in decadent disobedience and disregard for God’s sovereignty clearly implied in Creation. After the flood a new generation arose, but they also turned away from God, preoccupied only with themselves and their own desires. The punishment was again disastrous; social ties were severed in a confusion of languages at Babel.
In the midst of this tragedy, Genesis 3:15 records God’s response. A Savior is promised, a descendent of Adam’s seed who will crush Satan’s head. Satan is permitted to tempt and torment as a result of disobedience, but one day Another, a Savior, will destroy him and abolish his power forever. The promise of salvation for all nations was repeated to the Patriarchs, Kings and prophets.
The Channel for Salvation
After the peoples deteriorated in their disobedience and separation from God and one another, God chose a people who were to share insight into and identity with His purpose and plan. In Genesis 12:1-3 God called Abraham, renamed him, and promised to bless him and make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. Galatians 3:8 and 14 call this the “gospel”—the good news to the nations that they could be justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Kenneth Gnanakan elaborates on this:
By the time we come to Abraham, we see most clearly the wide significance and the long range plans of God’s mission. The covenant God made with Abraham in Ge. 15 and 17, does not stand in isolation with the rest of his dealings with humankind. Abraham is just as much a sinner as Adam. But he is chosen so that God could demonstrate his purposes for the whole world. God needs a vehicle and Abraham is to be this vehicle through whom nations are going to be blessed… Abraham, in this sense, is to become the father of all nations (Gnanakan, 1993:65-66).
J.H. Bavinck further clarifies this when he says, “Israel is not better than other nations, it simply bears greater honor and greater responsibility. And its distinction consists precisely in the fact that it may and shall be the means by which other nations shall one day receive the salvation of Israel’s God” (p.14).
Senior and Stulmueller also comment:
Israel’s election is to be considered under these terms: a choice by a personal God, in favor of a helpless people, with promises and gifts to be held as loaned and borrowed, never as possessed and owned, as signs of love rather than indicators of power, as good to be shared instead of riches to be hoarded and defended (Senior and Stuhlmueller, 1983:87).
Ken Gnanakan continues:
. . . Israel’s religion was fundamentally an expression of the fact that God had chosen her to be his own, to be fully committed to unfolding his purposes to the world around them . . .
The fact of election, though not explicitly stated, has got to be noted as the underlying theme of the whole Old Testament. Yahweh is universal in his sovereignty and activity, yet particular in his choice of a people, but primarily with the purpose of fulfilling his plan. (Gnanakan, 1993:62).
A very important text (the first side of the hangar) which shows God’s missionary purpose for Israel is Exodus 19:3-8. Moses is just about to receive the Ten Commandments. He had gone up to the Mount and was ready to hear those basic laws that would govern Israel in almost every aspect of their existence. It was one of the most crucial moments in history, and this is what the Lord says to Moses:
And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel (Ex. 19:4-6).
In this decisive moment God does not keep Moses or Israel in the dark about why He delivered them or why He is instructing them in His ways. Neither was it special knowledge only for Moses, the leader. The whole people were to know that they were His special treasure and that He had chosen them because all the earth was His. They were not to be ruled by legalistic, unreasonable laws; everything had a purpose and end. They were to be priests, a channel, and therefore holy and separate unto God, so that God could manifest His active presence in the world, reaching out to all the peoples of the earth. They were a living demonstration of who God is. In keeping God’s law in the sight of the nations, Israel was a reflection of His holiness and justice (Dt 4:6-7; 26:18-19; 2 Sm 7:23).
After God’s explanation, Exodus 19 goes on to say that Moses did what God said; he called the elders of the people and the whole people responded with a promise that they would follow their mandate. Would they be faithful to their promise? How long did the understanding of their mission last?
One of the highest forms of isobeyedce is idolatry, putting another in god’s rightful place (Ex 22:20; 23:13; 34:12-17; Dt 5:7; Ps 8:9, etc.). God is high and holy, and He is the only God. Israel was therefore forbidden to mix with the surrounding tribes, grossly immoral in their idolatry (Ex 23:33; Dt 7:1-2, 5-6; Josh 23:7-8; 24:23). Missions was at stake!
Israel’s mission required faithfulness and holiness; obedience was essential. How could the nations see a perfect, just and holy God if His representatives were unholy and idolatrous? They were to honor His name among the nations (Dt 9:28; Joshua 7:9; 2 Sm 7:23; 2 Kings 19:34; Ps 67; 96:3; 106:7-8; Is 37:20; 49:9-11; Ez 20:9, 14, 22; 36:22-23; Rm 9:17; and how could they do this if they adopted the evil customs of the Canaanites and other surrounding nations? Herbert Kane says that God chose Israel for three reasons: (1) to be the recipient and guardian of special revelation; (2) the channel for the Redeemer to enter human history, (3) God’s servants and witness in the midst of the nations (Kane, 1976:23, cited in Hedlund, 1991:42). He commissioned Israel to show forth His existence, love and character in the midst of the nations (Ex 14:4; Dt 28:10). To be disobedient would be to block God’s special revelation of Himself to the nations (Ez 20:21-22).
But Israel did not obey; they adopted the idolatrous and sinful customs, and they soon came to believe they were chosen because of favoritism, not service, and often even forgot God completely.
Missions in Israel’s History and Literature
God did not forget Israel, even after they had apparentely understood what Moses told them in Exodus 19, and agreed, but then isobeyed. This disobedience was almost continuous throughout their history, with some notable exceptions.
- Israel’s History
Israel was not always desobediente, as we can see in such examples as the times of the good judges, David’s rule, the Temple dedication (I Kings 8:43, 60; Is 56:7) and during national repentace, as in Hezekiah’s and Josiah’s days. But for the most part, sin caused the Lord’s name to become an abomination among the nations. Israel was finally punished to the extreme, and led into exile for cleansing (Ez. 20:38; 36:19-25; 11:18; 13:3-7; 16:36-40; 33:28; 36:29). Punishment was for renewal (Jer 24:5-7) so their role among the nations could be fulfilled. They were to become the people of God among the nations (Jer 29:7; Dan 2:27-30) (Hedlund, 71) so that God could be glorified in their lives and in their eventual deliverance from captivity (Jer 33:7-9).
Isaiah emphasizes this in Is 49:3-6; 42:6-7; 60:3. Isaiah 12:4-5 shows it was to be an active witness, not merely passive (also Is 61:1; 66:19).
After the era of the judges, David’s and Solomon’s reigns are the high point of Israel’s influence over nations near and far, for God’s glory. “And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations” (I Chr. 14:17). During this period the Psalmists verbalize God’s plans for Israel in relation to the nations, the gentile peoples. “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindred of the nations shall worship before thee” (Psalms 22:27).
- Israel’s Wisdom Literature
The Psalms are full of missionary themes. God is lifted up and magnified before the nations. They are to praise and submit to Him. He is merciful, just, to be feared and obeyed. The grandeur and majesty of God are not limited to one nation, but extend to the world, with Israel at the heart . Psalms 2, 19, 22, 33, 66, 67, 68, 72, 87, 96, 98, 104, 117 and 145 are especially rich with missionary themes.
These Psalms show that God has revealed Himself to the whole world (Ps 19 and 104:24). His glory is to be proclaimed to them actively (Ps 96:3). Psalm 67 is based on the Aaronic blessing (Nu 6:24-26) but the Psalmist changes to “Elohim” instead of “Yahweh”. “Elohim” was used when the author desired to refer to God’s relationship with all men, nations, and the creation (Kaiser, p. 36). He applied to all men that which God gave through Aaron and the priests (Kaiser 36). In Israel’s blessing, the nations would praise the Lord.
It was a complex message by which God’s people lived, combining fear of God with His offer of help. “He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves” (Psalms 66:7); “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations” ( Psalms 67:2). “Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him” (Psalms 72:11). “His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed” (Psalms 72:17). “I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations” (Psalms 57:9). “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth” (Psalms 67:4). “Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations” (Psalms 82:8). “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name” (Psalms 86:9).
God was using the Psalmists to teach and remind His people so that as they prayed and sang back these words to Him their minds would be renewed in line with His plan. His glory was not to be limited to the nation of Israel. They were to proclaim His glory to the nations (Psalm 96:3) and their prosperity and blessing would serve “That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations” (Psalm 67:2). Psalm 67 is a magnificent statement of God’s will that the people of the earth would be able to praise God and sing for joy through Israel’s testimony. The theme of God’s glory as the basic motivation for missions runs throughout the entire Scriptures. We can find a summary of this in Romans 15:1-13 and 16:15-27. The reason for calling Israel and the Church was that God’s name would be glorified in all the earth.
In the Psalms idolatry is again expressly prohibited, even for the other nations (Ps 135, 31:6; 96:5; 97:9, 7). God is one and universal and through Israel is to be made known.
- God’s Prophets in Israel
In the time of the Prophets the Scriptures ring with Israel’s missionary themes. In the Servant Songs of Isaiah the metaphors intertwine to show that Israel, the Remnant and Jesus are chosen for service. (Roger Hedlund says that in Jesus these chapters also include the Church since Christ cannot be separated from His Church [p. 111]). The mission of the Servant in Isaiah 42:1, 4, 6-7ff; 43:8-9; 45:5-6, 22-23 and 49:6 is clearly to reach out to the gentiles, the entire world.
The Church applied the first Servant Song (42:1-4) to Christ in Mt 12:17-21; Mk 1:11 and Mt 17:5. The second Servant Song (49:1-6) is addressed to foreign people, the nations. The Servant is Israel and the spiritual Israel. Hedlund says this is the “Old Testament rendering of the Great Commission. . . .” (p. 114).
The third Servant Song (50:4-9) describes the means by which the mission is accomplished: through torture, suffering and victory. Jesus quoted all these in Luke 9:22; 17:25 and 24:46 (Hedlund p 115). In the fourth Song (52:13-15) suffering is developed even more, along with victory. This definitely refers to Jesus (John 12:38; Mt 8:17; 1 Pe 2:24-25; Acts 8:32-35; Luke 22:37) (Hedlund, 116).
The Songs definitely speak of reaching outside of Israel—justice shall be brought to the coast lands and the islands (42:2; 49:6). Isaiah 52:7 (cf. Rm 10:15), 56:6-7; 66:18, 21 all speak of going out, and even the Gentiles become Yahweh’s ambassadors (the Church) in Is 66:18, 21 (Hedlund p. 118).
Jonah was the classic example of God’s sending Israel to the nations. It was probably written to show how one man exemplified Israel’s ethnocentricity and deficient conception of God (not to say it was not an actual happening). Hedlund says:
They forgot that Israel was called not to private privilege but to service and witness as light in a dark world. The people of God must never become a ghetto, a caste, a monastery, or an exclusive club. God’s people must ever maintain a missionary spirit and constantly reach out to others. Jonah illustrates what happens when this dynamic is lost (p. 121).
Verkuyl and Bavinck also comment:
Whenever Israel forgot that God chose her with a view to speaking to the other nations and turned away from them in introverted pride, prophets like Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah lashed out at the people’s ethnocentric pretensions and charged them with subverting God’s actual intentions (see especially Amos 7:9-10) (Verkuyl: 92).
The guardians of the spiritual possessions of Israel, the prophets, now arose to issue repeated calls to repentance. The prophets clearly saw the dangers threatening the covenant people, and they therefore opposed the introduction of pagan ideas and practices with a holy zeal. They knew that Israel’s political unity had no meaning and was of no value apart from its spiritual independence, and that without the latter, Israel could not hope for the saving assistance of God. Israel had no reason to exist except as the bearer of an unmingled and undefiled faith in Jehovah (Bavinck: 18) √Dn 9:19.
- Apocalyptic Literature
In the Old Testament apocalyptic literature we see the anticipation of the consummation of the mission and of the kingdom (Hedlund, 131). Daniel 2:44-45 and 12:1-3 show that “Mission is possible because God is powerful. Confidence in the power of God gives courage for carrying out his mission” (Hedlund, 132).
During the exile, Isaiah continues to express this clearer vision: “And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations” (Isaiah 25:7). “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it” (Isaiah 34:1). “I the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand: I will keep you and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. . . Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth” (Is. 42:6, 10); “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring froth before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:11).
- God’s Final Purpose for Israel and the Nations
Israel’s purpose was to honor and glorify God on the earth—among the nations. But they failed.
Israel failed to recognize God’s wider purposes. They had even failed to recognize the significance of God’s love for them. They knew that the term used for election, BACHAR, implied an unmotivated choice among several possibilities and no restrictions. As creator God, the whole world was at the disposal of Sovereign Lord but he chose to concentrate his love on a people, through whom the world would receive the redemptive benefits of God’s mission to humanity (Gnanakan, 60).
Israel finally will glorify God, however (Ez 36:22-23; Ho 2:21-22). A faithful remnant will accomplish God’s purposes (Mc 4:1-2). There is great hope for this future promise for God’s people and the world through them (Mc 4:1-2; Is 2:2-3; Hab. Is 9:1-2; 11:10-=11; 11:6-9 Ez 37:28; 36:22-23; 20:9, 22). Roger Hedlund writes:
Israel prior to the captivity almost entirely failed to carry out her missionary obligation. In exile the people of God learned obedience. Exhorted by Jeremiah to
“seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (Jer. 29:7), the Jews in Babylon represented a missionary presence in the center of power. The cultural adaptations as well as the spiritual purification of the Jews in captivity prepared them for an eventual missionary vocation. Israel had failed to go out to the nations in missionary obedience. In the exile the Jews are scattered in the midst of the nations. The missionary vocation is begun. God’s missionary purpose for his people is accentuated by the Remnant. Eventually, as Vicedom points out, passing on salvation to others be the remnant of Israel came to be understood as his genuine calling (p. 108) (reference is to G.F. Vicedom, 1965 The Missions of God: An Introduction to a Theology of Mission. Trans. G.A. Thiele and D. Helgendorf, Saint Louis: Concordia).
Israel would be God’s missionaries of His grace in the world, “and we are also in virtue of these verses! The mission hasn’t changed in our day” (Kaiser, ?:32, emphasis is Kaiser’s). Blauw says that these truths are not only important for a missions theology , but for the theology of the Church. The Church that is closed and introverted can never reflect the Kerygma of the Old Testament (p. 28). Romans 9:6-7 and 11:5 and Galatians 3:7 make clear this connection between Israel’s mission and that of the church. The true children of Abraham are people of faith.
The Purpose of God’s People in the New Testament
God’s mission for Israel was to make the peoples of the world aware of the one true eternal and sovereign God. The same is true of the Church. In the following pages we will see how the New Testament concentrates on the mission of Christ and the Church to the world. “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son.”
The Saviour Comes
In the prophesies and happenings surrounding Jesus’ birth it is clear that he has come for the whole world. In Isaiah 6:9 His birth is depicted as having universal implications, something clearly developed in the Gospels. The Gentile Wise Men in Mt 2:1-12 come to worship the new Babe. Luke’s especially graphic descriptions of Jesus’ birth include His world-wide mission. The angel declares to the shepherds that Jesus brings love and peace on earth for all men (2:10-14). Simeon, speaking prophetically, joyfully declares that the baby Jesus is the means of salvation for all men, light for the Gentiles (2:25-32). Before the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, John the Baptist declares that “all flesh will see the Salvation of God” (3:6).
Jesus Prepares His People to Carry on the Message
Jesus prepared and sent His disciples to tell the Good News to the whole world. He deeply invested His life in twelve men, who would become leaders of the future Church and missionaries themselves. He continually tried to break their pride and ethnocentrism, and even though the early forays of the 12 and the 70 give the impression of isolated practice runs, such periodic assignments gain their real significance in Jesus’ culminating command—the “Great Commission.” This final commissioning can almost leave readers with the impression that it was an unexpected challenge Jesus sets before His followers, like saying, “Oh, yes, I nearly forgot to tell you—get out there and make disciples of all nations.” Upon closer examination, however, the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke, bring a different perspective. The Great Commission is like a central nerve network throughout the 3 years of public ministry.
Jesus worked to develop a sense of mission all during his life and ministry. The Synoptics are clear on this. In the very first chapter of Mark we see Jesus escaping into the desert for prayer, then announcing to His disciples that they are called to those who have not yet heard (1:35-39). In Matthew 4:15 He speaks of “Galilee of the Gentiles” and in 4:24-25 and Mark 3:7-9 He healed people from Syria, Decapolis, Tyre, Sidon and “beyond Jordan”, all Gentile populations. He delivered the possessed man in Gadarene (Mk 5:1-17) and a Gentile Centurian’s servant (Lk 7:1-9). In Luke 4:26 and 27 He praised the widow of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian. The hero of the story of the Good Samaritan is not a Jew, but a Samaritan (Lk 10:25ff) and the only healed leper to return to thank Him was a Samaritan (Lk 17:11-19). In Matthew 15 He heals the Syrophoenician woman and His words in Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10 make certain his disciples know that the end will only come after witnesses have gone to all nations.
When Jesus drives the merchants from the Temple in Mark 11, He says, “My house will be called the house of prayer for all nations” (vs 17). Jesus taught that He was the salt and light of the earth as He begins to explain about the Kingdom (Mt 5:13-16). In the Lord’s Prayer He teaches His disciples He says, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10). His teachings about the Gentiles increase when He says that many will come from the East and the West and will take their places at the table with Abraham (Mt 8:11-18). In Luke 4:16-30 Jesus confronts the Nazarenes with promises for the rejected poor and sick, along with eulogies for the faith of certain gentiles. He breaks human barriers and shocks the pious in the synagogue to the point that they try to kill Him.
Jesus is crucified, risen and returns to His disciples. He then repeats and gives great emphasis to the reason for His life and death and for their lives. All four Gospels and the book of Acts explain that they are to be sent to the world. They are His ambassadors so that every tribe, language and nation can know God through Him. Jesus’ words have the strength of command. Filbert says,
. . . Jesus received authority to make explicit what all along was implicit in the Old Testament Scriptures—the nations or Gentiles are to be included in God’s Kingdom; this much was readily inferred. This was the missionary interpretation of the Scriptures. What was dimly perceived, if at all, was the command to therefore go and make disciples from among the Gentiles. Now these words become the explicit command for his disciples until the end of the age. . .
. . .While formally it is true that in the Greek of Matt. 28:18 (and Mark 16:15) the word go is a participle, this is where the Greek language of the New Testament differs from Enghlish, for in Greek a participle can take on the same force as the verb if its context (A.T. Robertson 1934). Since therefore the verb of the Great Commission in both Matthew and Mark is imperative or a command, the participle of going that precedes it is also imperative. In other words, it is just as imperative for disciples to go, as it is to preach and make disciples (Filbeck, 191-92).
Acts 13:46-47, citing Is 49:6, is also referred to as a command. Luke used the Greek work entellomai, which is explicit, definite order or command to do something specific (Filbeck, 17). God’s desire may be interpreted as a command, which Paul does. “We see, as we read the Old Testament, that God’s purpose for his people in being light for the nations of the world is also his command to us to bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Filbeck, 2, emphasis is his).
John is just as strong in his universal statements as the Synoptics. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world. . .” (3:16) and He told the Samaritan woman that worship would no longer take place in Jerusalem (4:21) She recognizes that He is the Saviour of the world (Jn 4:42). He told His disciples that bread from heaven gives life to the world (6:33) and that He was the light of the world (1:9; 8:12 and 9:5). He said He had other sheep (10:16) and when the Greeks wanted to see Him, He replied, “And when lifted up, will draw all men unto me” (12:32). He told His disciples that He was sent into the world and that He was sending them as well (17:18 and 20:21).
The Advent of God’s Missionary People, the Church
Exactly as Jesus said, ten days after His return to heaven the Holy Spirit came with mighty power upon the disciples. That very day they were enabled to proclaim the Gospel to thousands who were gathered in Jerusalem from all over the known world. It was the beginning of the Church and the continuation of God’s purpose for His people to reach the world. Acts and the Epistles describe what happened in the first Century. The research in this book shows that after Acts the Church continued to grow and expand and reach others. One day we know that before God’s Throne will gather worshippers from every land, every tribe, every language and every people.
- The History of the Chuch
Just as God formed His missionary people in the Old Testament, He again forms them in the New. Israel has rejected their Messiah, but Jewish Christians (the Apostles) become the foundation of the Church. Jesus declared, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Mt 16:13).
From Genesis on, we know that God chose His people so that the world would see and know Him. In Acts 1:8 Jesus gave geographic dimensions to the church’s task: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world. He also outlined a job description of preaching, baptizing and teaching, and assured the disciples that, relying on his presence, they could expect accompanying signs. They would be power-filled and commissioned for the whole world. His own life was a model of principles for his church, for God “… appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (Eph 1:22).
Even though there is a sense in which the Church is universal, as in Ephesians, the main reference to “church” in the New Testament pertains to local assemblies. The new churches which came into being after the Day of Pentecost varied in dimension: “the church which meets at their house” (Cl 4:15) to “the church which was in Jerusalem” (Acts 11:22), the “churches of Asia” (1 Cor. 16:19) or each of “the seven churches of Asia,” as presented in Revelation. Each local church was responsible to be and do all that Christ had commanded.
The progression of the fulfillment of Jesus’ description of the Church’s mission is clear in Acts. Dispersed Jews hear and are baptized in Jerusalem before they return to their homes with new life and message. Gentile proselytes and God-fearers believe and are baptized, the Samaritans accept Christ, and persecuted Jewish Christians spread out with the Gospel. Saul, the persecuter or Christians, encounters the Lord and is told he will be a missionary to the Gentiles.
In Antioch, unnamed church‑planting witnesses from Cyprus and Cyrene lead many, including Gentiles, to the Lord. The Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to verify the authenticity of this diverse church. He rejoiced in God’s work there, and stayed to teach and lead the new Christians. The church grew so much that Barnabas needed help, so he sent for his friend, the gifted teacher Saul of Tarsus.
After a year of ministry, teaching and evangelizing, the Antioch church knew from the Lord that they must part with their two beloved leaders and send them to places that had not heard the Gospel as yet. This new church quickly responded to world-wide missions and sent Saul and Barnabas.
So much can be learned from studying the missionary and church-planting methods of the new missionaries. They were filled with the Spirit and with the desire to take God’s love and salvation to those who had not heard.
…Paul is being driven by a personal commission from the Lord which has been richly buttressed and filled out with a prophetic vision of hope. He was gripped by the Old Testament purpose of God to bless all the nations of the earth (Galatians 3;8) and to be praised by all the peoples (Romans 15:11), and to send salvation to the end of the earth (Acts 13:47), and to be understood in every group where He is not known (Romans 15:21) (Piper, 195).
It is important to note that the missionaries sent from Antioch did not deny obedience to the new churches they planted. They clearly taught the missionary nature of the church wherever it is found, and for that reason we can see Timothys and Tituses springing up all along the way, as well as financial support coming from some of these churches (Phil. 4:10-20).
We can learn from this. Individually, a new believer, and collectively a young church, must immediately be made aware of the whole spectrum of Christ’s commission. There is very little in scripture to support our practice of waiting until a church body “matures” or “is ready” before reaching out, whether to the rest of the nation, the people groups who may be the object of prejudice, or the areas of the world remote from the local church concerned. In fact the opposite is true—Jesus immediately channeled the fervor and excitement of those he had just touched redemptively. The church at Antioch simultaneously ministered locally and internationally. The church did not have an “either Jerusalem /or the uttermost parts of the earth” strategy. It was simultaneous.
Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8 did not leave room for long time lapses between ever‑broadening geographic concentric circles of witness. The church at Jerusalem was not allowed the luxury of 20 or 50 years to stabilize itself, then plant and maintain the church at Antioch for a similar period. The early church pattern is one of simultaneous and steady expansion, chronologically and geographically. Beginning at Jerusalem it progresses to Judea, the larger local government and cultural area. The Gospel can be spread to Judea at the same time the church is establishing itself in Jerusalem. Believers from Jerusalem begin witnessing in Samaria, the culturally near but different peoples (and therefore usually looked down upon) at the same time that many in Judea and Jerusalem are still understanding the Gospel for the first time. Concurrently, outreach begins to peoples further away culturally and geographically, in the uttermost parts of the earth. All should be in operation at once. Priorities shift for use of time and deployment of resources as special needs and opportunities shift.
As new churches were formed through the ministry of those sent, it is clear that they also fell in step with God’s missionary heart. The missionary outreach of the churches is on-going (Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Cor. 3:1-15, Phil. 4:10-20). Not only financially, but spiritually and physically the new churches supported their missionaries. Timothy, Titus, Luke and many others joined Paul’s missionary team, and certainly there were many other missionary teams Luke does not mention in Acts. These new churches understood that they were missionary in their very nature.
- The Missionary Nature of the Church
Jesus came amidst prophecies and expectations that through Him the nations would receive their blessing. He helped His disciples overcome their arrogance and ethnocentrism, bringing them back to the Old Testament foundations of God’s love and concern for the Gentiles. Then He sent them out to all nations, plainly and clearly commanding them to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Great Commission, the culmination of God’s incarnational stay on earth, clearly defines the central nature of His new body of believers. If Jesus is to fulfill the proto-gospel of Genesis, the covenants with the Patriarchs, the Servant-Songs in Isaiah, the myriad of other songs, predictions and prophecies recorded in the Old Testament and the Gospels, He must do it in the same way it was done before—through a human channel.
The human channel would have power so it could do its job. Power in the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8 is the trampoline for the Church’s mission. Power and spiritual authority for Christ’s Body on earth is a major theme in Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. Ephesians One encourages a church surrounded by strong cultic practices that God’s power was demonstrated in Christ’s resurrection. Satan and demons are under his feet. They are also under the Church’s feet since she is seated with Him in heavenly places (2:6). She is to proclaim God’s grace and glory even to principalities and powers and for all generations (3:10 and 2:7). Power is for verbal witness and for holy living so that the Gospel could be seen in the life of the witnesses.
The Church is Christ’s fulness and is filled with Christ (Eph 1:21) in the sense that she completes and exercises His will on earth.
In what sense is this fulness as applied to the Church to be understood? The word pleroma can have an active or passive sense, that is, something that fills or that is filled up (=“full”). If the active sense were intended here it would imply that the Church completes or fills up something lacking in Christ. But the context of the epistle, particulararly 1:2-22, makes clear that there is nothing lacking in Christ’s lordship. He has been exalted above all things by the power of the Father. Therefore the passive is preferable. The Church is suffused with Christ’s own fulness, with that same world-embracing love with which Christ “fills all in all” (cf. also Eph. 3:19) (Senior, 202).
The Church is the body of Christ, who is the head, and is His choice for an instrument to accomplish His purposes and demonstrate His great love on earth.
The mission of the church is embodied in Paul’s description of his mission as described in Ephesians. He was chosen, as were they, to proclaim the “mystery”, now clearly revealed, that the Gentiles are also co-heirs with the Jews in Christ. The barriers are down, there is a new covenant people which must be united, holy, humble and powerful through whom God can operate on earth.
At the end of the Epistle, Paul asks for prayer from his fellow servants—prayer for power and ability to continue his mission even in prison and to the end of his life. Paul is not alone in his mission, but is one with the whole Church whose responsibility is to preach and declare the Gospel. He is dependent on the rest for his effective ministry.
In all this we see a great example of the Church’s missionary nature in operation. The church cannot be passive in mission or relegate missions to some obscure corner of their cooporate life.
The Reformation doctrine of the “priesthood of all believers” is important. But there is another side to the priesthood of Christians. “We are to serve the nations who do not know God. . . . The task of the Great Commission is the task of all Christians, not just those who are called, as the Apostles Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-2) were. The whole Church must be involved in releasing and sending those who are called (Acts 13:3)” (Filbeck 66). William Taylor (EMQ July 1993, pp. 242-248) says,
“The local church is crucial. Too often, in both Western and non-Western countries, it has been marginalized. The church must be the testing ground of service, a house of prayer, the arena where gifts are confirmed and exercised, the place where leaders and members together evaluate candidates. After the church is satisfied with the candidates experience in evangelism, discipleship and church planting, it sends them out with both financial and prayer support” (Ibid., p. 243,44).
Missions is truly at the heart of the church.
The Heart of the Church
The Apostle Paul uses the imagery of Christ’s body in describing relationships and ministries of the church (1 Cor 12:12-27). He stresses the centrality of Christ and the utility of each member. He states, “From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph 4:16). Paul also reminds churches of how phenomenal God’s plan for them is, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body…” (Eph. 3:5). From God’s perspective the multi‑gifted, multi‑ethnic, multi‑cultural body is a reality. From the human perspective, people have to intentionally work at making the body a functional, visible reality. The book of Acts and the epistles give insight on the process the early church went through to develop her distinct identity as Christ’s body and to learn to interact as members of Christ’s body.
The concept of ekklesia (gathering, body) implies holding to common beliefs and goals, giving it a reason to assemble together. The church is a relational group of like‑minded people with a common purpose and task in response to a commitment to God, to his Word, to each other and to the world. Even though each area of commitment can be named separately, they are inseparable. How does one separate God from his Word? Commitment to God means commitment to those created in his image. From the church’s perspective, her response to God and those created in his image, gives her a heart for the world.
The church is a community of committed people. They are to be formed in discipleship in the local churches so they can go out to the world as faithful witnesses and also attract those around them by their holiness, love and commitment to one another. After instructing the Ephesian church about God’s great grace and purpose for them as Christians, Paul goes on to exhort them to humility and holy living (chapters 4-6). Serving God as part of the Church isn’t just a compartment of their lives, but an all encompassing motive for truth, love, forgiveness, clean speech and victorious living, individually and in families and work places. The battle isn’t against others, but against those demons in heavenly places who were defeated when Jesus rose from the dead. Through prayer and alertness to the spiritual battle His name will be declared and glorified.
1 Peter 2:9-10 is massive proof that the Church’s mission is a continuation of Israel’s, and of God’s overriding concern down through the ages. It is the other side of the clothes hangar, an almost word-for-word citation of Exodus 19:5-6 where Moses and Israel received their clear missionary mandate. Edmund Hiebert enlarges on this text: “Though the word ‘church’ does not appear in Peter’s epistles, his description of the church comes to its climax in these two verses” (Hiebert, 1984: 141). It speaks of character rather than identity. It is not eschatological, but a description of what the church already is (142). Vs 10 is not a direct quote from the O.T. but refers to Hosea 1-2, especially 2:23, includes both Jews and Gentiles and is a contrast between past and present state (refer to Eph 2!) (Hiebert, p 144.)
In glancing back over the last two verses, one cannot escape the impression that Peter clearly intended to establish a parallel between Israel and the church. . . . the four designations of the corporate identity of the church (v. 9a) were all drawn from designations applied to Israel in the Old Testament. That which Israel effectively failed to realize under the law and through law-keeping has now, through grace, been realized in the church composed of those who by faith have become united to Israel’s promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. The assignment given to the nation of Israel—to be God’s witness concerning Him to the nations—was frustrated by their unfaithfulness and sin. The church, now God’s chosen people, has the same assignment to be God’s witness to the world (v. 9b). In Romans 11, Paul points out that Israel’s history of failure is a clear warning to the church (11:17-24). A faithless Christendom will likewise fall under God’s judgement (Hiebert, 147).
The Final Purpose of the Church
A pervasive reason for doing missions is worship. John Piper has said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” The God who is worthy of the praise of the nations is unknown and forgotten or rejected. As a missionary body, the Church works so that God receives His just praise.
In the church, whether in its local or universal form, there is more to glorifying God than the words of praise that issue from the lips of Christians in prayers and songs. Glorifying God in full measure today is ultimately bound up with the nations of the world. More precisely, for the Church to evangelize the nations through world missions is to give glory to God to the full extent He desires and deserves in the world he has created (Filbeck 215). . . . If the church does not do missions as its first priority, it is not praising God in full measure (Filbeck, 215).
In the end people from all nations, tongues and tribes will gather before the throne of God and worship His name. What a great sound that will be! Thousands upon thousands of those faithful to Him will lift their voices and their hands in eternal worship to the true Lord of Lords and King of Kings (Rev. 5:9-14; 7:9; 21:22-27; 22:1-5). This is the end of the Church’s mission on earth, the final reason, and the culmination of her labors.
CONCLUSION
In this chapter we have seen that the church everywhere has the privilege and responsibility to carry out her missionary mandate. All are to be involved in God’s world-wide purposes. This testifies to the oneness of the church and the need for internationalizing missions. We should experience mutuality among churches from continent to continent as we gather our forces in obedience to God’s call.
An Apostolic Council, which some consider to be the forerunner of present day missions agencies, met in Jerusalem in the late 30’s A.D. Their goal was to define terms and requirements for Gentiles converting to the Way. They were in fact refining their interpretation of the mandate which Christ had left them—methodology, qualifications and requirements. These injunctions informed the apostolic missions and the continuing evangelization of the world after the last book of the Bible was written.
By the end of the first century the Good News had been widely preached, even to the far reaches of the Roman Empire and as far away as India. The Church continued to grow and expand throughout history with examples of methods and practices good and bad.
During the past two centuries, especially after the Industrial Revolution, a colonialization attitude predominated in missions. It meant—an African cannot be one! Because many churches are tied in with that era of history in many countries (and often explorers came for their queen [King] and for the mother church!) they have not realized that they too are included in God’s transcultural missionary outreach. But things are changing now. Churches all over the world are waking up and asking questions in areas in which they were not taught. They want answers, including about questions regarding the church’s role in missions.
Based on this brief theological overview, the following chapters will ask and try to answer, from the perspective of churches in several nations, many of these questions. What is the missionary’s relation to the church? What is his or her relation to the church prior to candidacy, during training days, during testing and apprenticeship, while working cross-culturally, during furlough, during drop-out ? Who ministers to them, who helps them re-integrate into society? What does he or she see as church’s role in missions? What will he or she teach in country of adoption as the role of the church?
Also important is the goal of missions in relation to the church. Church planting is our focus. We do not merely go out to make disciples, but disciples that are enfolded into a body of believers. The missionary then becomes a part of the church he has planted and the relationship continues. The missionary’s theology of the local church is essential in planting churches that will continue to fulfill their mandate as Peter quoted in 1 Peter 2:9.
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