Mission of God

The morning after I accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, I hurried to the homes and businesses of all my friends to tell them the good news. Although still a child, I attempted to preach to anyone who would listen. My one sermon was "Christ for the Whole Wide World," based on John 3: 16. Missions is so at the heart of God that even a child who knows John 3:16 and has experienced new life in Christ can grasp it.

Why is the world in such a mess? Does God not love the world? Does he not will to do good? Does he not have all power? In short, why is there a need for world missions?

The majesty of God’s mission lies in the answer to this problem: Why is God’s will not being done on earth as it is in heaven? Ultimate answers are found in the nature of God, in the nature of man, in the nature of evil, and in the nature of mission.

THE NATURE OF GOD

The dilemma related to the nature of God may be diagrammed as follows:

God is powerful, purposeful, and loving.

Powerful

Step on a rocket with me and catch a glimpse of the greatness of God. We travel at the speed of light, 186,282 miles per second. As we blast off, our seats afford us a clear view of earth. One second later earth has dropped away until it appears no larger than a huge balloon. In two seconds we have shot past the moon and stolen a glance at the now-famous moon shot of earth. Eight and one-half minutes later we pass the sun. Earth appears to be a speck 93 million miles away in the darkness of space.Five hours later we leave our solar system and can no longer distinguish earth from myriads of other planets and stars. After four years of travel at the speed of light, we zip by the nearest star, Alpha Centauri. For almost 100,000 years we travel across the Milky Way, our own galaxy. After that, we travel another 1,500,000 years before we reach the Great Nebula, most distant of the six other galaxies in what astronomers call the Local Group. Up to this point we might compare our journey to a family traveling across country whose five-year-old asks before they get out of town, "How much farther is it?" In the great vastness of space, we must travel at least 4,500 million years at the speed of light before we begin to reach the area of the universe that cannot be seen with telescopes from our planet. And who knows how much lies beyond?Yet Isaiah says God "hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span" (Isa. 40:12). He measures space by the width of his hand.A vision of God’s greatness must increase our wonder at his mission. "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:-l), but only a bit of it. When we compare God’s infiniteness with our limitations of time and space, we say with the psalmist, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Ps. 8:3-4).

Certainly the world’s mess is not caused by any lack of power and greatness on God’s part.

Loving

To understand God better, we must reverse our rocket and return to earth, for the psalmist asserts: "Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Ps. 8:5-6).

God loves man. Can you imagine the great God who created all the universe visiting earth, forming man out of dust, and breathing life into him (Gen. 2:7)? As the crown of God’s creation, man was placed in a perfect environment that provided everything he needed (Gen. 2:8-14). God even created woman as a loving companion who perfectly complemented him (Gen. 2:18). God communed with the finite creature that he had made in his image. He entrusted man with his creation and gave him dominion over it. God’s provision, fellowship, and trust prove God’s love. It is not because of God’s lack of love that the world is in such trouble.

Purposeful

One quick look at the created order convinces us that God is a God of purpose.

For all God’s words are right, and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good; the earth is filled with his tender love. He merely spoke, and the heavens were formed, and all the galaxies of stars. And with a breath he can scatter the plans of all the nations who oppose him, but his own plan stands forever (Ps. 33:4-6,10-11, TLB).

The patterns God has placed in the building blocks of the universe make it possible for science to exist. Without the consistency of those patterns, scientists could never verify an experiment because they could not be sure that the elements would react the same way under the same conditions. The astronomer can predict precisely the location and movement of the stars and planets because they were made according to the purpose of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork" (Ps. 19:1).From our vantage point today we do not understand all the original purpose of God in creation, but we do know that it was good. We know that man was to be a partner in its development and that God and man communed regularly about it. In the opening chapters of the Bible, we glimpse the nature of God as powerful, purposeful, and loving, and we begin to understand his mission. Certainly, there was no lack in God’s original purpose that caused the malfunction that we experience in the world today.Why then does God allow the world to exist as it is? Certainly, it could not be that he does not love man, for he spared not his own Son to save man (Rom. B:32). It is not because of God’s will that things are not better, for God is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). Neither is it a lack of power, for God himself says, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jer. 32:27).Since God loves us and is powerful enough to do whatever he pleases, the answer must lie somewhere in his will; and that involves the nature of man.

THE NATURE OF MAN

The nature of man adds another dimension to the mission of God and explains part of the dilemma. God created man in his own image, which meant that man was good, responsible, and capable of communion with God (Gen. 1:27). But he created man from dust, which meant that man was finite and limited to time and space (Gen. 2:7).

Man’s ability to think, to will, and to feel reflects the image of God. But the likeness of God was most evident in man’s moral nature.

Relational

Because man reflected God’s image, his primary need was relational. Man desired relationships with God and other created beings to experience wholeness.Man discovered his true nature and identity in his face-to-face relationship with God and in his relationship to creation. He knew he was different from other created beings. He could think, talk, and interact with creation in ways animals could not. More important, he found he could communicate with God.

However, as man related to God, he became aware that God was the Other--different from man or creation. God was infinite; man was finite. God had unlimited power; man’s was limited. God could be anywhere; man could be only one place at a time. God knew all things; man was still learning. God was independent; man was dependent. God was Spirit; man was flesh as well as spirit. In this relationship man was secure. God loved man, and man responded. God trusted him, and man trusted God. His awareness of his identity made him at home with God and with the world. He worshiped God and was happy to be his friend.

Responsible

God made man responsible by giving him dominion over all living beings on the earth. Original man must have had great intellectual powers to know and name all the animals (Gen. 2:19-20). We do not know how man ruled over the domain God had created for him, but it is clear that he was to be responsible for it.Man’s second responsibility was to subdue the earth. He had the right to master his material environment and to make it serve him. God placed man in Eden and told him "to dress it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:15).Man’s third responsibility was to "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth"

(Gen. 1:28). He was responsible for his descendants.

Finite

Man’s finiteness was not evil but, instead, the strongest reason for dependence on God. Although man had limitations, he had every power he needed to live a happy life. His susceptibility to death emerged only after he overstepped his dominion.Man rebelled against his dependence on God and enthroned self. He desired to "be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5). Man’s nature was corrupted. In one stroke he sacrificed his close relationship with God, destroyed his cooperative relationship with the created order, and became subject to sin and death (Gen. 3:16-24).Man lost his self-identity in the Fall because he was no longer properly related to the Other. His lack of wholeness caused him to relate improperly to his fellowman. He sought identity and security by comparing himself to others whom he considered inferior or by becoming hostile to those he perceived as superior. He created a fractured society that sustains itself by making distinctions of race, class, intellect, prowess, religion, and so forth.Therefore, man is alienated from God, dislocated from his original position in the created order, and estranged from his fellowman.Concurrently with man’s sin and evil, there developed a destructive fault in the created order. Paul described man’s fallen condition in a fallen world: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:2223).Part of the dilemma mentioned above begins to clear. In giving man freedom, God had limited himself to some degree. He gave man the responsibility of choice and let him suffer the consequences of his wrong choices.Another aspect of God’s nature emerges-his righteousness and justice. He punished man and the serpent. But because he loved man, he did not give up on him. God’s mission is to restore man to wholeness so he can be related properly to God, man, and the created order.God’s mission not only flows from his own nature but flows toward man’s fallen nature to restore a right relationship between himself and man.

THE NATURE OF EVIL

Another factor complicated God’s mission--Satan usurped authority. Before Satan entered the picture, there was no sin, sickness, death, war, or discord on earth. Man lived in a perfect environment created by a loving, personal, purposeful God. But when man yielded to the temptation of the serpent, he loosed an evil power in the earth.In essence man traded lords. He surrendered to Satan his God-given right to dominion over the earth. Although man surrendered his dominion, he did not surrender earth’s ownership. The earth is still God’s. But now it has a new master. Satan and his evil spirits have set up residence on the earth and Oppose God and his kingdom.Satan’s origin is unclear; but whenever he comes on the scene, he tries to usurp power over man and the world. The Bible says that he is the prince of this world (John 14:30; 16:11), and the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). As prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), he heads a vast horde of demons, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked hosts of the spirit world (Eph. 6:11). He claims to have authority over all the kingdoms of this world (Matt. 4: 1-11). John said, "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19, NASB).The nature of evil necessitates God’s judgment. Man who becomes a part of the kingdom of evil by his sin must also be punished. God’s mission, however, is to redeem man from the clutches of evil and save him.So often we are oblivious to the malevolent power of evil that pervades the world. We seem not to realize that it is robbing God of glory and man of salvation. Throughout this book references will be made to Satan and the forces of evil. God is much greater than Satan (1 John 4:4); but in the present conflict on earth, God has chosen to involve man through his love and his purpose in overcoming the Evil One.Now we come to a key part of the answer to the world’s dilemma. God is powerful enough to create again a perfect world. He loves man and is willing to do whatever is necessary to save him. However, God’s moral nature requires that he punish sin and rebellion. Then why doesn't he do it and get it over?In God’s infinite wisdom he purposely has limited himself to some extent by the kind of relationship he desires with man. He created man free and responsible. God will not violate that relationship even if man does. Therefore, God works through all things to lead man again to enthrone God as Lord, and to do it of his own free will. God works through man to reestablish his kingdom. Man cannot bring the kingdom, but he can recognize it and become a partner with God. God does not want a kingdom of slaves but of free men who joyfully and willingly worship him.

Given the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of evil, the world’s dilemma will not be solved until God’s mission is accomplished.

THE NATURE OF THE MISSION

Missions originated in the heart of God. It is not something we decide to do for God, but God reveals his purpose to us so that we may have a creative part in his mission. Make no mistake, we do not initiate the mission nor will we consummate it. But somehow, some way, and to some extent, God has limited what he will do. That limit is the possibility of what he can do through us (Ps. 78 :41). God sums up our awesome responsibility and the faith he puts in us in three basic purposes of his mission and ours.

To Bring Glory to God

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul stated three times that God’s eternal plan is for his people to be to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:6,12,14). Throughout the chapter, God stands as both the originator and the goal of the redemptive process. Scholars agree that the glory of God is the ultimate goal of God’s mission.God receives glory when man fully realizes the purpose of his existence, consciously praises God for his grace, and joyfully demonstrates God’s grace by being filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).

The goal which one envisions is of such great importance for the mission because one’s conception of the goal determines to a great extent one’s motive for participation in the mission.... Those, therefore, who find in God final goal are impelled to conscious mission by the most urgent and compelling motivation possible. These cannot rest until all men praise God, until every tongue confesses the Christ, until every knee bows before him, and until all the ends of the earth have been reached with the gospel of Jesus. For these are conscious that while there is one tongue yet silent or one knee still unbent, God is not receiving the glory due unto him in and from his creation.'

To Share the Good News with the Alienated

God’s mission includes recreating man spiritually. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God bath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). God restores man’s identity and his purpose for being.

At the same time God creates a new society without barriers (Eph. 2:13-22). The mystery of God’s mission is clear: "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body and partakers of his promise" (Eph. 3:6). He has entrusted his people with the mission expressed by Paul: "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world bath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Eph. 3:8-9).

To Display the Wisdom of God to Evil Powers

In some way yet unrevealed, man becomes God’s display of his wisdom to Satan and his evil beings: "In order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places" (Eph. 3:10, NASB). Redeemed man is the primary exhibit of God’s grace. We are not informed about all the conflict between the two kingdoms although we are obviously in the midst of the struggle. Nevertheless, God seems to be depending on us to demonstrate his goodness, wisdom, and power. We do not understand what is at stake for God, but we are told that it is supremely important to him and to us.Each of us feels uncertain about his purpose in life until God reveals it to him. One purpose of this book is to help you realize how important you, as an individual, and the church, as the people of God, are to God.

God intends for man to bring glory to him, to share the good news with the alienated, and to display God’s wisdom to evil powers.God is determined to accomplish his mission on his terms. He will not coerce man, nor will he be coerced by man. Rather, he will lead man by love. After man fell, he continued to disappoint God. He became so wicked that "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Gen. 6:5-6).

It is difficult to understand the meaning of the words "It repented the Lord." To repent means to change one’s mind, action, or behavior. Sometimes the truth that God is unchanging is interpreted to mean that he is static, not active, and is not affected by anything man does. But when the Bible says God is unchanging, it means he is unchanging in his character.Although God destroyed most of the people he created, his mercy caused him to stop before he destroyed them all. So, although God was "sorry" for the way man had corrupted all is creation, he did not '`repent" in the sense that he reversed his previous purpose. He maintained his purpose but redirected his plan to accomplish it.The writers of the Bible were incapable of expressing God’s feelings in other than human terms. Make no mistake; God has emotions. Emotions are one part of God’s image that was placed in man. Most of us in the Western world have been influenced unconsciously by the idea of Greek philosophy that God is the Unmoved Mover who stoically sits on a throne without acting or feeling. Even a surface study of the Bible will reveal that God is grieved, hurt, and brokenhearted over man’s rebellion. He is the God who feels and acts.No wonder the Perfect One is grieved when man willfully sins. Man tries to be like God but for the wrong reasons. He wants God’s knowledge for selfish ends. He wants to rule the world as a manifestation of his own power rather than as an extension of God’s authority. He wants fellowship with God based on his own works instead of on God’s grace. He wants to have spiritual communion, but he has chosen to communicate with Satan and the rulers of wickedness rather than with God. He has taken God’s gifts and has used them selfishly. He has become so perverted through his rebellion that he thinks that wickedness is better than righteousness. Man’s rebellion and wickedness are the burden of the Lord. The Lord expresses his burden, "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?" (Jer. 2:5).The remainder of the Bible following the Fall is the story of God’s determination to reverse history and to establish his kingdom. God began again and again but each time with a marred man. Nevertheless, God has never given up on man o on his own plan to establish a kingdom of men from all nationsJesus later echoed this desire in Matthew 28:19 when he said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations." The Spirit demonstrated God’s desire to reach men of all nations when, at Pentecost, men from many nations heard in their own languages about the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). John prophesied in the Revelation that "they sang a new song, saying, Thou . . . hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (5:9-10).

Between Genesis 3:15, when God promised that the son of Adam would bruise the serpent’s head, and Revelation 20, when Satan is cast into hell, lies the drama of the mission of God.

NOTE

1. Edwin D. Roels, God’s Mission (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), p. 80.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carver, W. O. Missions in the Plan of the Ages. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1909.Parley, Gary. The Doctrine of God. Nashville: Convention Press, 1977.

Vicedom, George. The Mission of God. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1965