A Vision of Missions

The ninth of A Biblical Vision series is the vision of Missions.

Christian Mission is a central part of the faith as God commissions people in all parts of the world to develop the kingdom of God in Christ.  Even in the OT God sent people on missions in preparation for the Messiah.  God sent Christ Himself on the greatest mission ever.

Ge.3:21, "Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them."

- In the first mission in the Bible we see God clothing Adam and Eve, a mission of mercy.

Ge.6:13-14, "And God said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch."

- God commissions Noah to build an ark in a mission of rescue, from the wrath of God.

Ge.12:1-4, "Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing."  

- Abram was called from his homeland to a new country, to become a great nation.

Ex.3:9-10, "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

- Moses is sent back to Egypt on a rescue mission, to set His people free.

Nu.3:1-2, "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them."

- God commissions Moses to spy out the promised land, to show the courage of the Israelites.

Jo.1:1-2, "After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to the, the children of Israel."

- God commissions Joshua to carry on the mission of Moses, to go into the promised land.

1Sa.16:12-13, "So he sent and brought him in.  Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good- looking. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah." 

- David was commissioned as a young man and anointed by the Holy Spirit, to become a king.

Ne.2:4-5, "Then the king said to me, “What do you request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it."

- Nehemiah was given inspiration and a longing to rebuild Jerusalem, and he returns to do it.  He is given the mission to recover his homeland.

Is.61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

- Isaiah gives prophecy for the coming Messiah as the greatest mission of the grace of God.  Spiritually we all are the poor, brokenhearted and captive, and we are recipients of the mission of grace in Christ.

Mt.2:1-2, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

- The wise men were commissioned to go to Bethlehem, to worship the promised Messiah.  They are called to a mission of worship, which we all have to worship Christ.

Mk.12:29-31, "Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these."

- Jesus describes the primary calling or mission of Christians is to love the Lord God with a four-fold love.  And then we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Lu.4:1-2, "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry."

- As Jesus began His earthly ministry He was sent into the wilderness to face temptation and hunger.  He was given the mission of obedience. 

Lk.22:20, "Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."

- Jesus declares the new covenant of grace, now to be sent to all the nations.  Jesus commissions his disciples to become apostles of the covenant of grace to all nations.

Mt.28:18-19, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

- Jesus commissions the disciples to go into the whole world to make new disciples. 

Ac.2:42-43, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

- The mission of the church is to continue in the Apostles' doctrines and then the fellowship.  The doctrine is the teaching, the Word of God.  It is the primary mission of the apostles and all disciples.

Ac.5:29-31, "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."

- Peter declares the mission of obedience to Christ as being first and foremost over any men.  Our mission is faithfulness to God in all things.

2Co.5:18-19, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

- Paul describes the mission, or ministry, of reconciliation to God through Christ.

Ga.2:10, "They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do."

- Paul describes the ministry to the poor, the mission of mercy.

Re.4:10-11, "The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."

- John teaches us the consummation of all things is the worship of God in His glory and power.

There are many missions of the church as different circumstances arise.  There are missions of preaching and teaching, of being sent to foreign countries, of rescue, of rebuilding, and of mercy.  There are missions to individuals, families, churches and cultures, just as the first disciples were called to go in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth.  But the ultimate mission of the church is to give worship and glory in all of our lives to the Lord for His holiness, and because He has brought salvation to us.