LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

THEOLOGY OF MISSIONS

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. D. JIM ONEIL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CLASS GLOBAL STUDIES SURVEY - GLST 500

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

BY DANIEL K. GANN

TUNNEL HILL, GA APRIL 22, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT MISSIONS ----------------------------------------- 1 THE NATURE OF GOD IN MISSION ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 MISSION THEOLOGY COMPARED ------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 KEY THEMES IN MISSION THEOLOGY ------------------------------------------------------------- 5 THE MISSIONARY, CHURCH LEADERS, & LAY PEOPLE -------------------------------------- 6 CONCLUSION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9

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INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to articulate a biblical and theological basis for global mission. From the very foundation of the world, God chose us1 and had a purpose for us in His plan for all of humanity. Even though the relationship had not been broken as of yet. God in His sovereignty knew that man would need a plan of redemption, through which a restoration of fellowship could be renewed. This plan of redemption and restoration is seen through the actions of missions everyday. Basic Biblical theology, which could be defined as the attempt of humanity at defining God, His nature, and His relationship to man,2 is the foundation on which this belief is built. The theology of missions has key themes and patterns, which are clearly evident within the Bible. Anyone who calls himself a Christian, missionary, minister, or layperson benefits from the knowledge of these basic truths. The hope and intent of this paper is that it will demonstrate that these basic truths formulate a theology of mission or the mission of God.

OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT MISSIONS Beginning with creation, Gods mission was to create a world full of people who knew Him, fellowshipped with Him and trusted Him.3 This desire for relationship can be seen as the Lord would walk in the Garden in the cool of the day.4 It could be assumed that God may have formulated a plan for redemption here. This is definitely the location where missions started,

Ephesians 1:4, KJV

Mark G. Cambron, Bible Doctrines, Beliefs That Matter, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1977), p. 13 Stanley A. Ellisen, Everyones Question, In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, (Pasadena: William Carey Library), pgs. 17-18
4 3

Genesis 3:8, KJV

because it is here that God first sought after mankind with the question, Where are you?5 And it is here that mankind first responded with a confession of sin, and where God responded with a sacrifice to cover that sin! This mission is continued as God, once again, saves mankind from his own destruction with the account of Noah and the flood.6 God could have literally wiped out everyone and everything, but He chose to redeem eight humans, and two of all living creatures, and allow them to repopulate the earth. This is based on the fact that Noah had a real relationship with God. He talked to God and God talked to him. This episode of Gods Old Testament salvation is also mentioned in the New Testament in the book of 1st Peter, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.7 Within this passage we also see an episode of missions where Jesus went unto the spirits in prison. It seems that there is conflicted ideas about missions. Distinctions are even argued between the terms, mission and missions.8 In their book, Introducing the Missional Church: What it is, Why it Matters, How to Become One, Roxburgh and Boren spend an entire chapter explaining how and why the term missional cannot be defined.9 However, when one studies the Old and New Testament in regards to missions, it is evident that God is on a mission and has

Genesis 3:9, ESV Genesis 6, ESV 1 Peter 3:20, ESV

Stanley A. Ellisen, Everyones Question, In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, (Pasadena: William Carey Library), p. 17. Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren, Introducing the Missional Church: What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 2009), pgs. 27-45.
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commissioned His people to fulfill that mission through the effort of missions. They are all intertwined terms and dependent on one another for their meaning. New Testament and Old Testament alike abound with references to the mission of God which is to reach out, redeem, and restore fellowship with His creation. From the Great Commission in the Gospels, to the Acts of the Apostles, to the epistles of local churches, Christians are to live life fulfilling the mission of God. The resurrected Christ declares this mission, Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.10 The body of Christ, the church as a whole, should be the fulfillment of the mission of God in action.

THE NATURE OF GOD IN MISSION The scriptures declare that God is love.11 This is the fundamental nature of God. In the spiritual rebirth of mankind through the efforts of missions, the ones born of God become partakers of the nature of God.12 This nature of love that we inherit from God at salvation is the foundation stone of fulfilling Gods mission through missions. This love is unlike the love that we feel for a spouse, child, relative, or friend. It is the love that is only of a Godly nature where one becomes willing to lay down his life for the cause of Christ. Josef Tson notes that, God does everything with a purpose. If He chooses to call His children to suffering and selfsacrifices, He must have very important purposes to achieve through them.13

10

John 20: 21, ESV 1 John 4:8, ESV

11

Josef Tson. Suffering and Martyrdom, In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, (Pasadena: William Carey Library), 196.
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12

Ibid.

It is an awesome obligation and burden to bear if God has chosen you for this. However, God will equip you through His very nature to be able to withstand. The apostle Paul said, That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.14 There is both power and a deep fellowship that comes from knowing God through the suffering and sacrifice. No one is above sacrifice and suffering. Actually, to become more like Jesus is a calling for all people. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.15 Moreau noted that, In being called to become more like Christ, Christians have the responsibility to teach others to obey all that Jesus taught.16 Following the call of Christ and His mission is a complete life changer, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.17

MISSION THEOLOGY COMPARED Ecclesiology is the theology or doctrinal foundation of the church as a whole found in the Holy Scriptures. The church is made up of people who have been saved as a direct result of the mission of God as people fulfill their call in missions to the world. The church then becomes the agent in the world of Gods plan for the reconciliation of all things.18 The church is the vehicle

14

Philippians 3:10, ESV Philippians 2:9-11, ESV A. Scott Moreau and others, p. 165 2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV

15

16

17

Howard A. Snyder. The Church in Gods Plan, In Perspectives on The World Christian Movement, A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, (Pasadena:William Carey Library), 158.

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through which Gods mission is accomplished. This is not any one specific congregation or denomination, but every single body of believers who take the Bible as the word of God and rightly divide the truth! It has already been noted within this paper that the mission of God is that of redemption and restoration. It was also noted that God does this through reaching out. He reaches out through His body of believers who faithfully serve Him in fulfilling the Great Commission. God doesnt need any of us, but this is the way in which He has chosen to fulfill His mission upon the earth. The theology of Angles, known as Angelology, and missiology can be looked at as being directly related through their methods of ministration. Angels are messengers just like missionaries, or ministers, and the message that they bring is the revelation of God.19 The Bible records multiple acts of providence when God has sent angels to assist His people or to deliver a message. One such episode is found in Acts, when Peter, an apostle and first century missionary, was bound in prison.20 Hebrews also states that angels are all around us and we can be unaware of their presence and influence.21

KEY THEMES IN MISSION THEOLOGY Missiologists have devised and suggested different motifs, which are patterns that define the key themes of missions.22 There are multiple themes and motifs which characterize missions. One of the key motifs and an overarching theme is that of worship. This theme is seen clearly in the life of Paul, both in his actions and his theology when he states:

19

Hebrews 1:7, ESV Acts 12:6-11, ESV Hebrews 13:2, ESV A. Scott Moreau and others, pgs. 79-89

20

21

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Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.23 Paul realized and lived a God-centralized motif of missions. His life was worship through sacrifice, struggle, and never failing to worship God through it all! Another motif is the Kingdom of God, which deals with the paradoxes of the Bible and tends to be driven by the idea of the coming Kingdom in and beyond the end times. Ladd noted that, When the word kingdom refers to Gods Kingdom, it always refers to His reign, His rule and His sovereignty.24 This coincides nicely with the motif of worship. A sovereign God is worthy of worship. As he reaches out, redeems, and restores we should be willing to submit to His mission, worship Him, recognize His sovereignty and spread the news as much is humanly possible!

THE MISSIONARY, CHURCH LEADERS, & LAY PEOPLE The position of Missionary is not a particular leadership gift, or office that is mentioned in the Bible. However, some might say that its nature is apostolic. And we can definitely see in the Bible where the concept of being a missionary came from. But still, there is no spiritual gift set or leadership gift designated missionary. It is not seen in the framework of Israel or the church in Biblical history. The title of missionary is a modern term used for a Christian who takes the Gospel message to somewhere other than his or her own church, home, city, or in many cases, country of origin. The task is an overwhelming one. And it only gets more overwhelming

23

2 Corinthians 4:14-16, NIV

George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, In Perspectives on The World Christian Movement, A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, (Pasadena:William Carey Library), p. 84.

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without a proper understanding or plan action for the context of missiology that God is calling one to do. A proper theology of missions helps to give the missionary a biblical outline of expectations. No one can define the purpose for or the calling that may be upon a persons life. However, it is the responsibility of church leadership to teach a proper understanding the theology of missions. This and an understanding of related theologies will help the church leaders to identify those within their ministerial flock who might show a potential calling, desire and/or spiritual maturity to take on the task of missions and other ministry. By teaching the basic tenants of missiology, church leaders expose their congregants to the influence of missions on their own lives and fulfill the biblical teaching of equipping the saints for ministry: And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.25 Laypersons have no less obligation to missions than the missionary or the professional church leader. The Great Commission was given to all Christians. There is no big I or little u within the Kingdom of God and His mission for the world!

CONCLUSION The purpose of this paper was to articulate a biblical and theological basis for global mission. This was accomplished through the discussion of missions in both the Old and New Testaments. Attention was also given to the nature of God in missions, and the key themes of missions in Scriptures. The additional hope and intent of this paper was that it would demonstrate that these basic truths formulate a theology of mission or the mission of God. The articulated Theology of Missions summed up from the content of this paper is that God has an
25

Ephesians 4: 11-13, ESV

ultimate mission to reach out, redeem, and restore His people to the relationship that He once had with them from the beginning of creation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Cambron, Mark G. Bible Doctrines, Beliefs That Matter. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1977. Ellisen, Stanley A. Everyones Question, In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader. ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. Pasadena: William Carey Library. Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom. In Perspectives on The World Christian Movement, A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. Pasadena: William Carey Library. Moreau, A. Scott, Gary Corwin, and Gary B. McGee. Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey. Encountering mission. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2004. Roxburgh, Alan J. and M. Scott Boren. Introducing the Missional Church: What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009. Snyder, Howard A. The Church in Gods Plan. In Perspectives on The World Christian Movement, A Reader. ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. Pasadena: William Carey Library. Tson, Josef. Suffering and Martyrdom. In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader. ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. Pasadena: William Carey Library.