bam010 biblical foundation of mission - zugg

8/16/2019 BAM010 Biblical Foundation of Mission - Zugg

1/133

TITLE PAGE

Biblical Foundations for Missions (BAH 936, MAH 936)

Rev. Julian Michael Zugg, LLB (Hons) Barrister, M. Div.

Belize Presbyterian Theological Seminary

P.O. Box 145, 12 St Matthew’s Street, Belize City, Belize

CONTACT DETAILS:

[email protected]

MissionBelize.org

Tel Belize 501 628 5404

Tel US 281 506 2833

1

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/133

OUTLINE

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

LESSON ONE. Trinitarian View of Mission

LESSON TWO. The Fall, Abraham, Israel and the Plan of God

LESSON THREE. The Coming of Christ, the Presence of the Kingdom in

the World

LESSON FOUR. The Control of the Holy Spirit in Missions, The New

Creation

LESSON FIVE. Paul, the Missionary to the Gentiles

LESSON SIX. Paul’s First Mission Journey and the Jerusalem

Council

LESSON SEVEN. Paul’s Mission and the Church

LESSON EIGHT. The New Testament and Cross-Cultural Ministry

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

2


3/133

PREFACEThis work is dedicated to the students at Belize Presbyterian Theological

Seminary. I am grateful to God for His work in them and for the zeal and

commitment they show for His cause. I would also like to thank my God for the

opportunity to teach about mission while being on the mission field. Special

thanks must go to those who preceded me, whose works I have drawn from and

who I have interacted with in the process of Gospel mission. The work of Leslie

Newbigin and Roland Allen are the bedrock of this course, to God be the glory

for their labors.

INTRODUCTION

This course is written seeks to an expositional, biblical ground and theologicalbasis for mission in order to prepare students for the great task of spreading the

message of the Gospel throughout the world. It is my prayer that they might not

only be in a church founded by missionaries, but they might themselves go out

to found other churches in the this world.

COURSE CONTENTThe course is divided into eight lessons and has two major parts. Part 1

(Lessons 1-4) argues that Mission is a work of the Triune God with each

member taking specific roles. Part 2 (Lessons 5-8) stresses man's responsibility

in mission. We will focus particularly on the life of the apostle Paul, a Jewish

missionary to the Gentiles, and the relationship between the church and

mission.

3


4/133

COURSE MATERIALSThe principle course materials are the lecture notes. Additional reading is from

Roland Allen’s work,Missionary Methods.

COURSE OBJECTIVESThe course is designed to encourage students to study together, to interact with

the professor and each other, to discuss and debate, and to gain a deeper

understanding of the material. It is also designed to give students a principle

scriptural and detailed understanding of the material and to encourage students

to read original material in the field of apologetics. It is hoped that the course will

help students develop the apologetic skills needed to defend the faith to

unbelievers. Finally, it is my prayer that they will communicate this informationand skill sets to their congregations.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSEThis course has been written in 8 consecutive lessons. The modules should be

studied in order. The lessons are of unequal length; therefore, students must

take care to allocate sufficient time for each. The principle content is found in the

lectures, and this should be supplemented with the required reading. The

readings are ordered to follow each part of the course.

COURSE REQUIREMENTSStudents will attend 16 hours of class time.

Students will do 16 hours of extra reading outside of class.

Students will undertake a special project.

There will be a final exam covering lectures and readings.

COURSE EVALUATION

1. Student participation (15%): One point may be given for each class hour.2. Student homework (15%): Two points may be given for each completed

homework assignment. If all homework assignments are completed, an extra

point is awarded at the end of the course.

3. Student readings (20%): Students are required to read Rolland Allen,

4


5/133

Missionary Methods, St. Paul’s or Ours. Master Reading will include Appendix 2.

4. Student Special Project (25%): See Appendix 3.

5. Student Exam (25%): The student will demonstrate his/her understanding of

the main concepts and content of the course materials

BENEFITS OF THIS COURSEThe course teaches students the basic principles of defending the faith and of

how to expose and exploit the deceptions that the unbeliever is laboring under. It

also helps define what our responsibility is in defending the Gospel.

5


6/133

Lesson One. Introduction to the Mission of the Church -

Overview

1. Introduction

The Bible and the Gospel are mission focused. Since the Fall of man (by

sin and rebellion against God in the Garden), a gracious God has been working

to redeem man, to restore and recover him. The mission of God begins with the

great promise of Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman

and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall

bruise His heel.” This promise has been partially fulfilled in the coming of the

Son, in His death and victory over Satan; and it continues to be fulfilled in the

church’s mission. Paul encouraged the Roman church with these words:“And the

God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly”(Rom. 16:20). The mission

of the church and the ongoing warfare will continue until the final victory over

Satan is complete. These texts (as well as others) show that mission is principally

God’s work. It is God who made the promise; it is God who is fulfilling it. In this

great work, the church joins with God in His work of mission.

Lesson One lays a foundation for mission; one we will build on over the

remainder of the course. This course is divided into three sections. In lessons 2-4

we will argue that the basis of mission is the work of the Triune God. Mission is

the work of the Father who plans all things. Mission is the work of the Son, who

comes from heaven to earth to save. Mission is the presence of God in Christ

meeting the unbelieving world, calling it to repentance and faith. Mission is the

work of the Spirit who continues Christ’s work in the church upon earth in Christ’s

absence.

In section two we focus upon Paul. Paul was uniquely called and chosen

by God to be His missionary to the Gentiles. Paul saw himself as the servant of

Isaiah 42, part of the Father’s plan and promise that the Gospel would go to all

nations. We will look at Paul in three lessons. Lesson 5 stresses Paul’s unique

call and vision for mission. Lesson 6 traces Paul’s first mission journey until the

6


7/133

Council of Jerusalem. Lesson 7 looks at Paul’s and the missionary’s relationship

to the church.

It is vitally important to see that Paul’s missionary methods reflected histheology. Paul’s belief that mission was God’s work was reflected in his mission

strategy–being sent by a church, relying upon preaching and teaching and the

Spirit to spread the word, the founding of churches, not just converting

individuals. Paul relied upon the Spirit to strengthen and establish the new church

as quickly as possible. Paul’s method flowed directly from his understanding that

mission is God’s work in the church. Paul understood this and tailored his

methods to be consistent with these principles. It is a great failing that many

missionaries do not see mission in this light. It is crucial that we study Paul’s

methods and apply them to the best of our ability.

The third section, lesson 8, focuses upon cultural ministry in the New

Testament. We will include the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 10, the cultural

importance of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, the circumcision of Timothy, and

a final discussion of meat offered to idols.

2. Mission: A Work of the Trinity

As all of God’s works are Trinitarian, Mission is a work of the Trinity. Each

member of the Trinity–Father, Son and Spirit–is immediately and directly

involved in this work. Jesus’ baptism, the formal inauguration of his ministry,

demonstrates this principle.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and

saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was

spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the

wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’ ” Now John

himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his

food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region

around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan,

confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees

coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to

7


8/133

flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do

not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you

that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even

now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does notbear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with

water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose

sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing

floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with

unquenchable fire.” Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be

baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized

by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him,

“Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Thenhe allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from

the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit

of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice

came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

(Matt. 3:1-17).

John was the last and greatest of the prophets to Israel (Matt.11:11). He

preached a Gospel of repentance as the kingdom of God was coming, a

message fulfilled in Christ (Matt. 1:22, 23). In His baptism, Jesus identifiedHimself with His people. He formally became the mediator of the New Covenant,

the true Servant of God, the true Israel (Isa. 41:8, 9). His water baptism must be

read in the light of the whole of His public ministry: it points to the whole of His

life and work. His “baptism” was completed upon the cross in His death, burial

and resurrection for sin (Luke 12:50; Col. 2:11, 12). By being baptized, Jesus

identified Himself as His people’s representative. They are joined to the whole of

His life.

In Christ’s baptism we see the Father as Creator, Head, Innovator, andPlanner. It is He who elected His own Son to be the firstborn amongst creation,

the focus of the Gospel and mission. We see the Son, fully God and fully man,

able to secure the forgiveness of sin. In the Son, God entered into human

suffering, humbling Himself in order to establish His kingdom in the world and in

8


9/133

the church. Mission is the presence of God in Christ in the world, reconciling

men to God. The Spirit played a crucial role, descending upon Christ and

anointing Him for His task. The Spirit is the Lord Jesus’ source of action and

power (Isa. 61:1, Luke 4:16). It was the Spirit who led Christ and equipped Himfor ministry. It was the same Spirit who was poured out upon the church at

Pentecost, equipping them to continue Christ’s work until He comes. Paul

summarized the work of each Person of the Trinity in Ephesians 1:1-14. In

Christ’s baptism, the mission of God was manifest.

3. Mission and the New Creation

The mission of God, the Gospel, is closely linked to the coming of the

New Covenant.

Christ’s coming introduced the New Covenant, which brought in a

completely new order in creation. Paul said:If any man be in Christ he is a new

creation, old things have passed away (2 Cor. 5:17).

Christ came in the fullness of time (Gal 4:4). In His coming a new

creation, a new order (indicated by the vertical line), was revealed. The new

creation brought the old creation and the role of Israel to an end. The copies,

shadows, and types of Israel were ended (Col. 2:16, 17). In Galatians 6:15, Paul

said “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything,

but a new creation.” The coming of the New Covenant and creation opened the

way for missions to break out of Judaism/Israel and go into all the world in a new

way. In the New Covenant the Last Days have arrived.

9


10/133

Some implications of the New Covenant are:1

First, the New Covenant brings a sense of urgency. We are now in the

Last Days. The second coming of Christ and the judgment of the world isimmanent.

Second, in the New Covenant the old cultural forms of Israel are replaced

by the new key concept of the Spirit, Sonship, the New Creation, and the rule of

Christ. As Colossians 2:16, 17 and Galatians 6:15 (above) state, the cultural

forms, circumcision, and other specific laws to Israel no longer hold. The real

issue is, is someone part of the new creation? Are they a son, indwelt by the

Spirit and under Christ’s rule? Israel’s Old Testament culture and cultural forms

have been superseded, something new has occurred. This was recognized bythe elders at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:18-21). The freeing of the Gospel

from Israel’s Old Testament forms was crucially important for the spreading of

the Gospel into the Gentile world.

Third, the New Covenant brings in the period of the Spirit who helps Christ

rule the nations and enables the church to fulfill its mission.

Fourth, the church is already part of the new creation. While she still

exists in the old creation, she experiences the power and the foretaste of the

glory that will be revealed. She is already experiencing the age to come. This

power and foretaste of glory is an essential part of her witness to the world. The

church in the world is calling the old creation to repentance and faith.

1 The New Covenant, as the final covenant, brings all the blessing of Christ to theworld. Due to

space we have only dealt with a few of these above due to space.

10


11/133

4. Paul as Missionary

Paul is the great New Testament missionary. God called Paul to be an

apostle, to take the Gospel from Israel to the nations. In the history of God’s

revelation, Paul was a unique figure, the aide to the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah

42). Paul’s unique position means that we cannot simply use his methods but

we are to learn from him. One important aspect of this course will be to identify

his mission principles so that we might use them today. As an aid, I have

collected all of the principles and placed them in Appendix 2. Due to Paul’s

unique status, no missionary is called to follow these principles exactly, but the

closer we can model our missionary methods upon these principles, the morescripturally effective our position will be. It is a question of degree.

One of the principles we will consider is that Paul’s mission is church

based, not para-church based. Paul focused upon preaching and teaching. His

aim was to establish churches and to encourage them to operate independently

of him while depending upon Christ’s lordship and the work of the Spirit. To this

end, Paul appointed elders, equipped the church with its officers and then

committed the church to the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul did not try micromanaging the church or keeping control over it once he had left. Paul

understood that the church was founded by the work of the Spirit and that the

ongoing work of the Spirit would keep and sustain it.

11


12/133

5. Mission Texts and Cross-Cultural Ministry

In the final section (Lesson 8) we will look at a number of important texts

for cross-cultural mission in the New Testament. The call to mission, the

implication of the call, was not immediately understood by the early church. As

she began to engage in mission, she was challenged on both a theological and

a social/cultural level. We will consider this in lesson 8.

Conclusion

Since Genesis 3:15, God has been at work in mission. Mission is the work of

the Triune God with each member playing a particular role. Paul is the great example of

mission in the New Testament and we are to follow his example as closely as possible.

Summary

In Matthew 3:1-17 the Father, Son and the Spirit are involved in the

incarnation–the mission of God to save a people. The Father plans salvation, the

Son brings the plan into effect and the Spirit applies salvation to us. Mission is

the presence of Christ in the word, drawing men to the Father, through the power

of the Spirit. This understanding controlled Paul’s missionary method. Paul

sought to establish churches and make them grow through the power of the

Spirit. Paul did not take ownership of the church; it was Christ’s church boughtwith His own blood (Acts 20:28). Paul founded churches and then committed

them to Christ.

12


13/133

Lesson One Questions1. When does mission begin in the Scriptures?

2. What are the implications of the verse above?

3. Explain what we mean by the statement, God’s missionary work is

Trinitarian.

4. What verse is a good illustration of the Trinitarian mission?

5. Briefly describe the role of each person of the Trinity in mission.

6. Explain the importance of the new creation in mission?

7. Describe Paul’s attitude to this circumcision and this creation.

8. What is the significance of the Spirit being poured out in the nations?

9. Explain why Paul is unique and yet still an example to us.

10. Explain one of Paul’s missionary principles from the text above.

13


14/133

14


15/133

Lesson Two. The Fall, Abraham, Israel and the Father’s Plan

1.Introduction

The Old Testament lays the foundation of New Testament mission. We

begin our discussion of mission by looking at this foundation. We will look at the

Fall of Man, the Flood and the Tower of Babel. These events set the scene for

the election and call of Abraham, and from his election, the election of Israel and

the coming of Abraham’s seed–the Christ.

In the Old Testament, one great theme is that God the Father is

working out His divine plan. The Old Testament illustrates the Father’s plan.Initially, God narrowed the Gospel message, limiting it to Israel but in the fullness

of time God reversed this, sending His Son, the true Israel of God (Isa. 41:8). In

the Messiah, Israel’s calling to be a witness to the nations is finally fulfilled. He is

the Obedient Messenger, bringing salvation to Israel and from Israel He takes

this salvation to the ends of the earth.

2. Sin, Universal Fall, the Flood and the Tower of Babel

This section offers a brief look at God’s response to the Fall in the Old

Testament.

2.1. Genesis 3: The Universal Fall and First Promise

The fall of man in Genesis 3 set the scene for Abraham’s call. Adam

fell and sin entered the human race (Rom. 5:12-14; Gen. 3:11). Adam’s position

as federal representative meant that his sin had universal scope and so all men

are now alienated, hostile to God and cast out of His presence. Sin and death

now reign (Gen. 5:5, 8, 11ff; Rom. 5:12-14). God’s answer to sin's entrance isfound in Genesis 3:15.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and

her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.

15


16/133

This is the first promise of the Gospel and it lays down a paradigm for

God’s mission in the world. Notice the following:

1. In the Fall, men have swapped sides, leaving God’s blessing for Satan'skingdom. Men are alienated from God and God is alienated from them.

2. Mission is the initiative of God. It is God who intervenes and promises Satan

that that He will place enmity between Satan and the woman. Mission is the

battle between God and Satan. God, through His own initiative, promises to

separate the woman from the serpent and her seed from his seed. Without this

work of God, Eve and her seed will still be on Satan’s side.

3. Out of the destruction of the Fall, God lays down a promise, a program ofdeliverance in which He now attacks Satan’s kingdom, electing and separating a

line to Himself, a line culminating in the Messiah who at great cost will destroy

Satan.

4. The promise sets up a conflict between Eve and her seed and Satan and his

seed. In this promise, God divides the world into two lines. The promise creates

a threefold structure. Initially the contrast is between the woman and Satan, then

it is between the two seeds, and finally it will crystallize in the “HE (first person

singular) will crush your head. YOU (singular) will bruise his heel”.

5. The fulfillment of these two lines is found in the singular seed (He) of the

woman and Satan (singular). In this battle, the Seed of the woman crushed

Satan’s head, a death blow, while Satan still strikes on the heel, a deadly but

16


17/133

lesser attack.

6. Although the ultimate battle is found in the two seeds, the fact that each seed

is part of a line (the Christ comes from the seed of the woman and all those whofollow the Christ are the seed of the woman) means that the whole line joins the

battle, both in being bruised and bruising. Paul eluded to both points 4 and 5 in

Romans 16:20: And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

2.2. The Flood, Tower of Babel

Genesis 4-11 traces the two lines. Cain’s line threatened to bring

disaster upon the whole earth and threatened the line of the seed (Gen. 6:1, 5,

11). In answer, God brought the flood, destroying the seed of the serpent whilekeeping Noah and his family alive.

The flood offered a new start but it didn’t deal with the root of man's

sin, his corrupted heart. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was

great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil

continually (Gen. 6:5). Man's heart before the flood is the same as man's heart

after the flood.'And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said

in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the

imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth”(Gen. 8:21).

God slowed sin’s progress a second time by the confusion of

languages at the Tower of Babel. The nations of the world, who were to go out

subduing the world for God (Gen. 1:26, 27), gathered together to build a tower to

reflect their own glory. Rather than seeking the glory of His name, they desired

to displace God from heaven, to make a name for themselves. God responded

by coming down in judgment. He confused their language and so slowed their

progress, forcing them to abandon Babel and scatter over the earth. Babel was

eventually reversed at Pentecost (Acts 2).2

2 The pouring out of the Spirit and the mandate to reach the whole earth means that the

languages barrier must be overcome. The gift of the spirit begins the process of uniting

mankind.

17


18/133

It is in this context that God called Abraham out from amongst the

nations. God used Abraham to bring forth the seed.

3. The Election and Call of Abraham

God called Abraham out of the 70 nations. The Fall, the Flood, and

the Tower of Babel showed the total corruption of man. At Babel, God divided up

the nations, but in Abraham He separated a family from them that He called and

blessed; A family that He will make into a nation that will continue the work of

bringing the seed. The promise to Eve now found its focus in one man,

Abraham, and from this man, the nation of Israel, the seed was born. God

separated Israel from the nations to protect her from their wickedness.

3.1. The Election and Call of Abraham

Genesis 11:26-12:3: Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot

Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram,

Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in

his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the

name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the

daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was

barren; she had no child. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot,the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they

went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and

they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and

five years, and Terah died in Haran. 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. I will bless those who bless you, and I

will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be

blessed.” So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot wentwith him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Genesis 12 teaches us that Abraham was called by grace. No merit or

special reason is given for his call. It was God who chose Abraham out of the

18


19/133

mass of the nations, not Abraham who chose God. The call of God is powerful

and effectual, following the promises of Genesis 3:15. Abraham was called out

of the land of Haran into the land of Canaan, thus separating and protecting the

line of Abraham from the nations. Satan's grip over Abraham was broken;Abraham the idolater was now the friend of God–he followed Him by faith. The

promised seed comes through Abraham: “in you all the families of the earth

shall be blessed” (Gen. 12: 3). Through Abraham’s seed, God will bless all

nations. The blessings of God do not come directly but through His servant, then

through Israel, and finally though Abraham's final seed, Christ. It is in Christ that

all the nations will be blessed.

The election and calling of Abraham was for two ends. He was called

to be blessed and to be a blessing (Gen. 12:2,3). The election of God is not justa privilege, it is also a call to bring that blessing to others. Grace and privilege is

not just to be kept, rather it is to be received and given. Initially that promise was

to Abraham’s seed, identified by the covenant sign of circumcision and faith

(Gen. 17:1-14), with the eventual purpose that in the fullness of time, it would go

forth to all the nations. Paul developed this idea in Galatians 3:8:“And the

Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the

Gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”

So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” By calling

Abraham in history, God entered into a plan in which all the nations of the worldwill be blessed.

3.2. Election of One for the Blessing of Many

In the calling of Abraham, God now mediates His blessing to all nations.

In the Old Testament the nations came to Israel to learn of God and to receive

His blessing. An example was the coming of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon’s

court (1 Kings 10:4). The principle came to its greatest fulfillment in Christ, the

Messiah, the true Servant of the Lord, the true Israel. In His coming, Israel is

blessed and through the Gospel the Holy Spirit is poured out upon all nations

(Acts 2,10,19). In Christ the electing stream finds it ultimate fulfillment and it is

from that all nations are blessed (Eph. 1:4.). The steam is narrowed in order that

it might later be broadened.

19


20/133

That the election of Abraham was never for his own blessing alone, but

was part of God's plan to send the Gospel into all the earth can be seen from

the location of Canaan (the center of all commercial routes) and by therelationship between Abraham and Melchizedek. In Genesis 14 we are

introduced to Melchizedek, one who was outside of the line of Israel and the line

of promise to Abraham. Abraham came to Melchizedek to offer sacrifices to

God. This act of worship through Melchizedek’s priesthood showed that he was

greater than Abraham and that although the stream of redemptive history in

Abraham had narrowed; God’s purposes were wider than merely Israel. The

importance of Melchizedek increases for we are told in Psalm 110:4 that the

Messiah will be of his order; “The LORD has sworn, and will not relent ‘You are a

priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’”

Here we are told that the Messiah will be of Melchizedek’s line, one who

was not a priest for the Jews only but who was priest for the Jews (Abraham)

and the Gentile nations. The relationship of Christ and Melchizedek is developed

at length in Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7.

3.3. Abraham Is a Paradigm

God’s call to Abraham presents a paradigm for missions.

1. The foundation of mission is based upon God’s gracious election (Gen. 3:15,

12:1-3). In the battle between Satan and God, God reversed Abraham’s side,

taking him from serving the devil to serving God.

2. The election of God is for blessing and to be a blessing. God chooses some

in order for them to receive His blessing and to be a blessing for others.

3. Election works through a people, Israel in the Old Covenant and the church in

the New Covenant. God chooses to mediate His blessings through His elect. In

the election and call of Abraham, the blessings of God were narrowed to a single

person. Those outside this line can be blessed, but only if they enter into contact

with Abraham. Abraham was the ordinary channel through which God sent His

Gospel. Through election, the blessings of God are mediated to others. Election

20


21/133

and mission and the spread of the Gospel are through men and are relational.

4. The election and blessing of Christ (Isa. 42:1, Eph. 1:4). He is the high point

of Israel’s history. Christ is the only true mediator of grace to Israel and to thenations.

5. In the Old Testament Abraham and the nation of Israel were the people of

God. God set them aside for blessing. Others could receive those blessing by

coming to them. They were to be blessed and to be a blessing. The relationship

of the call and election of Israel and Israel’s relationship to the Gentiles is dealt

with in Galatians 3 and Romans 9-11.

4. The Role of Israel in the World

4.1. Election, the Basis of Israel’s Blessing

Our discussion of Abraham leads us into a discussion of Israel, as we see

God’s plan and promises to him unfold in his life. First, the relationship between

God and Israel was based upon God's grace to Abraham. God delivered Israel

from Egypt because of the promises made to Abraham, not because of any

good in her.

Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your

feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moreover He said, “I am the

God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of

Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. 'And the

LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt,

and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows”

(Ex. 3:5-7).

This same point is made in Deuteronomy 7:6-9. “For you are a holy

people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a

people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the

earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were

more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but

21


22/133

because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He

swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and

redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of

Egypt. Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful Godwho keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love

Him and keep His commandments,”

The great lesson that Israel was to know was that she had been set

aside, chosen and blessed, not because of any merit in her but solely based

upon the grace and mercy of God. She should have been humble and thankful

before God. The election of Israel, even as Abraham's, was one of grace. This

should have led Israel to thankful and humble obedience.

4.2. Election, Role and Function of Israel in History

What was God’s purpose in choosing Israel from amongst the nations?

What was God’s witness in Israel to the nations? What are the nations to learn

from her? The role and function of Israel can be summarized in two words,

privilege and paradox.

4.2.1. Privilege

God set Israel aside and exalted her as the one through whom His

salvation would come. This was the nation through whom He revealed Himself

to the world. It was through Israel that the seed of the woman, the seed of

Abraham, came. It was through Israel that God revealed Himself to the world. It

was only in Israel that the true knowledge of God was known in the world.

Through direct prophecy, typology, priesthood, and the temple, God revealed

Himself to Israel and so to the nations. The great revelation of God to Israel was

that in the future He would send the Messiah to deliver them from their sin and

bondage. Moses and the salvation of God in Israel was the great Old Testament

salvation that looked forward to the greater salvation of God which was

accomplished through Christ. Deuteronomy 18:15:“The LORD your God will

raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you

22


23/133

shall hear.”

4.2.2. Paradox

God’s revelation to Israel was also one of paradox. Since she was the

shadow that came before the reality, she did not yet posses the reality (Col.

2:17, Heb. 8:5,Heb. 10:1-4).

Since the Messiah had not yet come; the Spirit had not yet been poured

out on Israel. This lack of the Spirit meant that although privileged by the

revelation of God, Israel had no means of obedience. Because she did not yet

posses the means to obey, the life of Israel was one of failure. God revealedHimself mightily to Israel, yet this just exposed Israel’s sin in a greater manner.

This principle can be illustrated from a number of key events in Israel’s

life. At Sinai, the revelation of the holiness of God meant that sinful Israel

couldn't come near the mountain, “Lest they die.” No sooner had God revealed

Himself to Israel than God had to threaten them with destruction in the incident

with the golden calf. The greater revelation of God only led to a greater sense of

sin.

The Babylonian exile is another example. God had set Israel aside and

covenanted with her to be her God and yet she sinned and disobeyed God. In

justice, God threw her out of the Promised Land and sent her to Babylon as a

judgment.

The supreme illustration of this principle is Israel’s rejection of Christ, the

Messiah. He came to Israel and Israel rejected Him. In Christ, God gave His

greatest revelation and this was met with the greatest sin on Israel's part, the

crucifixion of the Messiah.

These illustrations could be multiplied; each one illustrates the principle

that Israel's privilege in being chosen and set aside by God led to her judgment.

When Israel looked to God, she was forced to see her sin and so wait for the

23


24/133

coming Messiah who would take away sin. The law is the tutor to drive us to

Christ. “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be

justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24).

It is noteworthy that although Israel was God’s son, yet she was a son

without the power of the truth. Israel was without the Spirit, in the flesh, under

law, and in the old creation. With Moses, as mediator between God and Israel,

there was only a limited outpouring of the Spirit–on the 70 elders, the rest of

Israel does not receive the blessing (Num. 11:26-29).

5. Jonah/Israel Amongst the Nations

Israel was called by God to be His witness to the nations. Thissection takes a broad look at Israel as witness and then focuses specifically at

Jonah as a paradigm for Israel's true responsibility amongst men.

5.1. The Witness of Israel to the Nations

The nations were to see God’s revelation to Israel (particularly His

signs and wonders in the Exodus from Egypt) and to see the sinfulness of men,

as reflected in Israel’s failures and sinfulness. They were to see the Babylonian

exile as the reality that they are all exiled from God due to their sin. They were to

see that Israel’s history is a replay of man being cast out of the Garden, being

denied access to God, and being under the judgment of God. Israel was to wait

for the salvation of God that He had promised, to wait for the true Israelite who

would obey God and merit His blessing and privilege in the land. In summary,

the Law was given to Israel to show them their sin, to be a schoolmaster to bring

them to Christ.

5.2. The Challenge of the Gentiles to Jonah/Israel

We turn now to Jonah. Jonah was a prophet sent by God to the

nations, specifically Nineveh. In disobedience he fled, taking a ship to the

opposite side of the world. In judgment, God sent a storm. Jonah was cast out,

and his casting out led to the salvation of the pagan sailors. Jonah was then

24


25/133

cast out of the presence of God; he was drowning in the depths of the sea.

Jonah then called upon God who sent the great fish. It swallowed him, saving

him. Jonah was in the fish for three days. After the fish spit Jonah out, he went

to Nineveh and preached to the city. The people are converted through thepreaching. In the last chapter, Jonah persisted in disobedience, complaining to

God that God showed mercy upon the Gentiles. The book ends with God's

challenge to Jonah as to why Jonah did not have more compassion for men.

Jonah played a unique role in the Old Testament. Israel was to

bear the light of the Gospel to the nations; the nations were to come to her to

receive instruction and knowledge. Rather than Israel going out to the nations,

the nations came to her. There are a number of examples of this, Rahab heard

of God’s work in delivering Israel from Egypt and came to believe (Joshua 2-6).The Queen of Sheba came to see the glory of Solomon’s court, a prefiguring of

the Gentiles coming to Christ (1 Kings 10:4). It is said that Israel’s witness in the

Old Testament was centripetal, inward focused, in contrast to the centrifugal,

outwards focus of the New Testament. Jonah was unique in that God sent him

out from sinful Israel to bear the gracious Gospel tidings to the pagan nation of

Nineveh.

The key to Jonah is found in Jonah4:1-3: “But it displeased Jonah

exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said,‘ Ah,LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled

previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow

to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.

Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die

than to live!”'

Jonah was not worried that God would not bless the Ninevites, nor

was he worried that his preaching would fail; instead Jonah was worried that

God’s grace, grace that had been withheld from Israel, would be given to the

Ninevites. Jonah struggled with the question: Why should the pagans be blessed

when my own nation is perishing? Jonah longed for Israel to be saved, but he

was not sent to them, rather he was sent to Nineveh and the nations. Jonah

struggled with the grace of God and his own nationalism.

25


26/133

Jonah was challenged as to his and Israel's role in the world.

Jonah and Israel were forced to consider how they thought about the

surrounding nations--Did they see them as Gentile dogs or did they see them asthose in need of the same grace that had been given to Israel. The Jewish

paradigm and mindset were challenged, exposing Israel’s sin and challenging

her to her responsibility to the nations. This reaffirms the principle that Israel was

elected, not only to be blessed, but to be a blessing to others. In the book of

Jonah, God worked with Jonah to teach him and Israel that lesson. Graciously,

God did not abandon Jonah to his fate. God worked with Jonah to challenge him

concerning His grace. The book ends with the following question: Will Israel be

like God, full of grace to those outside, or will Israel be like Jonah, desiring to

keep the grace of God to himself?

5.3. The Sign of Jonah

The sign of Jonah is likewise important. Jesus refers to this sign in

Matthew 12:39 and Luke 11:39. Jonah was not merely an Old Testament

prophet; Jonah was a type, one whose life pointed to Jesus.

“But He answered and said to them,‘ An evil and adulterous

generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign ofthe prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of

the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart

of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation

and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a

greater than Jonah is here’” (Matt. 12:39ff).

In this text, Jesus made reference to the sign of Jonah, relating it to

the three days and the three nights in the belly of the great fish. While this is the

principle use of the sign, the whole of the life of Jonah was a sign. Chapter one

of Jonah is repeated in Mark 4. Mark used the events of Jonah–the sailors are in

a storm, Jonah was asleep, they called upon Jonah, Jonah awoke and calmed

the storm, the pagans were left in fear of God and in His power–to show that

Jonah’s God is Christ. In Mark we see Jesus asleep in the boat, the

26


27/133

sailors/disciples/fishermen call upon Him, Jesus calm the storm, and the

disciples left in fear of Christ and His works. The point made by Mark is that

Christ is Jonah's God.

Chapter two deals with the separation of Jonah from God. When

Jonah was thrown overboard, he experienced what he desired in chapter 1– to

flee from the presence of the Lord. Jonah sought to flee from God's presence

and he then experienced the reality of it. He stated in Jonah 2:4:Then I said, “I

have been cast out of Your sight, Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.”

Chapters two and three, in which Jonah was cast out into

judgment, then buried in the fish for three days, and finally resurrected, clearly

points to the judgment and death of Christ, His burial for three days, and Hissubsequent resurrection. This is the sign most immediately associated with

Christ.

Chapter four adds another important element to the sign of Jonah.

The resurrected Jonah preached to Nineveh, a Gentile nation. Likewise, Christ

once raised now preaches the Gospel to the nations. In Christ, the blessing of

the Jews was not limited to them; rather they flow out to the entire world.

Jesus fulfilled all the signs of Jonah. Jesus, the true God of Israel,through His death, burial, and resurrection, preaches the Gospel to the Gentiles

and many hear. In Jesus, Israel's mission is now also to the Gentiles–the

Gospel’s center is no longer just in Israel. In Christ, the Gospel is now to go out

into the entire world.

Finally we are to see that the sign of Jonah was a sign of judgment

upon the Jews. When the Jews asked Jesus for a sign, Jesus said that the only

sign they would receive was the sign of Jonah. It is ironic that Jesus pointed to

His own death as a sign to the Jews as they themselves would bring it to pass.

The sign was the reality that they would put to death the Messiah; they would

reject Him, but God will raise Him up on the third day. Their own act of putting

Christ to death, and God’s subsequent act of raising Him from the dead, thus

vindicating Him, was the sign of their own judgment before God. The Ninevites

27


28/133

who believed God’s message and messenger will stand and judge them on that

day.

6. The Sin of Israel

Israel never fulfilled her potential because she sinned. Israel’s two

main sins were idolatry and self-righteousness. From the time of the Exodus to

the Babylonian Exile, Israel’s principle sin was idolatry. This changed at the time

of the Babylonian Exile. The exile seemed to cure Israel of her idolatry.

Thereafter, Israel’s principle sin changed to one of works righteousness. Instead

of remembering that she was not elected because she was great or good, but by

God’s grace, she started to rely upon herself, rather than looking to the grace of

God. Because Israel assumed she was righteous, she sought a savoir whowould vindicate her, a mighty judge, who would deliver her and judge the

unrighteous Gentile nations. She was exclusive and proud; instead of having

compassion upon the nations, she looked down upon them in judgment.

7. The Fulfillment of Israel in the Christ

As we close this section on Israel, we are to note that “Israel” is not just

the nation, but Israel the Son, the Servant of God, a type, finding her full

manifestation (the antitype) in the Messiah. The nation is represented and

fulfilled in one person, its King and Messiah. Just as the promise of Genesis

3:15 finds its fulfillment in one person, even so God's dealing with Israel finds its

fulfillment in the one root of Jesse, the true Israel of God, the Christ. It is only in

Jesus Christ that Israel reached her promised potential. In His coming, Israel’s

failure becomes success in the representative action of the Messiah (Isa 41:8).

He brings and mediates the blessing of Abraham/Israel to all the nations. Jesus

Christ from the Jews, from Israel, obeys the Father's laws, merits life and by His

obedience brings life and righteousness to many, both Jew and Gentile.

8. The Father's Election Seen in the New Testament

Both the importance of election and the Father’s particular role continue

into the New Testament. In Ephesians 1 Paul states that the Son Himself is

28


29/133

elect, and that the church is chosen in Him (Eph. 1:4). The church is predestined

according to God’s own will (Eph. 1:11). Paul bases his own call upon the

electing hand of God (Gal. 1:15,16; Eph. 3:1-13).

The New Testament church is elected to be blessed and to be a blessing

and the New Covenant church is to remember the same lessons as Israel under

the Old Covenant.

Conclusion

God brings salvation through the person and work of His Messiah.

He chooses Abraham and Israel from amongst the nations to bring Him forth.

Israel is both elect and chosen and yet still waiting for the coming of the trueIsrael of God, the seed, the Messiah, who will crush the head of the serpent.

Israel is told that His coming will bring blessings, not only to her, but also to all

the nations.

Summary

In the Fall, all men fell under the judgment of God in Adam. God

promises to reverse this in Genesis 3:15 creating the line of the woman and the

line of the serpent. In order to slow the effect of sin, God calls and separates to

Himself Abraham from amongst the nations. His election is by grace alone, he is

called to be blessed and to be a blessing to many. It is now only through Israel

and this line that grace is mediated to the nations. The promises to Abraham

come true in Israel and finally in the Messiah, the true seed of the woman. In

Him the Gospel is brought first to Israel but also through Him to all the nations.

Lesson Two Questions

1. Describe the promise of Genesis 3:15.

2. What two acts of judgment did God bring upon the old world and why?

3. What were God's promises to Abraham?

4. Why was Israel called by God?

5. In what way does the election of one nation, Israel, mediate blessing to

29


30/133

the nations?

6. Describe the privilege of Israel and paradox of Israel.

7. What lesson does Jonah teach Israel?

8. What is the sign of Jonah?9. What are Israel’s two principle sins?

10. How does Christ relate to Israel?

30


31/133

31


32/133

Lesson Three. The Coming of Christ, the Paradoxical Presence of

the Kingdom

1.Introduction

We will now focus upon the role of Christ in mission. Jesus’ coming to earth

brought God’s kingdom. In Jesus Christ, the mission of God and the Kingdom

are actually present, they are a reality in this world. After His death and

resurrection, the presence of Christ and the kingdom continues in the world but

now through the church by the power of His Holy Spirit in her. This means today

that mission is still the presence of Christ in the midst of the church, now

mediated through the Spirit. The Gospel/mission is that the kingdom has come

in Christ and since He dwells in His church, the King and kingdom are still upon

the earth. Since the church is indwelt by Christ’s Spirit, she takes the nature He

had when He was upon the earth.

We will also look at the nature of the kingdom, namely that the kingdom

comes in an unexpected manner. The kingdom of God did not come in the way

that the Jews demanded or the Gentiles expected. It did not come in worldly

power and wisdom; rather the kingdom came in weakness, in hiddenness, in

brokenness, and in the power of forgiving grace, not in the power of judgment.

The strange nature of the kingdom makes it difficult for both the world and the

church to recognize. To the world, the revelation of the kingdom’s call for

repentance, not glory, made it an offence to self-righteous men who sought the

kingdom to be one that vindicated them and came in power. As we will see, even

Christ and the church wrestled with the nature of the kingdom. The present

nature of the kingdom means that it must be seen and understood through faith.

The fullness, the glory, and the power of the kingdom will only be revealed in His

Second Coming,

In our analysis of Christ’s work in mission I will be drawing heavily upon the

Old Testament. The prophets in general and the “Servant Songs of Isaiah” in

particular are helpful in explaining the principles of the Son's mission. The Old

Testament through prophecy explains the Son’s work. In the Gospels in the New

32


33/133

Testament we see the fulfillment of those prophecies.

2.The Kingdom Is Present in Christ

In chapter 2 we saw how the Old Testament prepared for the coming of

the kingdom. It was a copy, a shadow, of things to come. Christ is the fulfillment

and the reality. Christ's coming did away with the shadows and brought in the

kingdom–Jesus not only preached about the kingdom, but in Him the kingdom

was present. The distinction between preaching about Christ and the kingdom

and the actual coming, the presence of the kingdom in Christ, is important. In

Christ, the kingdom of God currently exists in our midst. It is a kingdom that can

be seen, felt and touched, its power being manifest in the church through the

Spirit. In Christ, the mission and the kingdom of God are actually present in thisworld. As John said:“the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us”(John 1:14).

Mark linked the presence of Christ with the kingdom. Mark stated,“Now after

John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the

kingdom of God, and saying,‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at

hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel’” (Mark 1:14).

Jesus also pointed to the presence of the Spirit in His ministry as evidence of

the kingdom;“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom

of God has come upon you” (Matt.12: 28).

Initially, the presence and mission of the kingdom was found in Christ’s work

in Israel. But in the death, resurrection, and the ascension of Christ and the

outpouring of His Spirit, His presence is now found in the church throughout the

world. The church is sealed and indwelt by the Spirit. Berkhoff in speaking about

the role of the church and the kingdom states: “As a church they are called to be

God’s instrument in preparing the way for and introducing the ideal order of

things: as a kingdom they represent the realization of the initial order amongst

themselves” (569). The church is the manifestation of the kingdom of God and

the church is to bring in the kingdom. The church continues Christ’s role as

being the presence and mission of God in Christ. Just as Christ was the mission

and the kingdom of God in the midst of this world, the church through the

33


34/133

ongoing communion with the risen Christ through the power of the Spirit

continues His life, mission, and kingdom on the earth.

3. The Two Stages of the Kingdom

The Old Testament looked forward to the Day of the Lord, but was not

specific in dividing it into the First and Second Coming. Due to the split in the

manifestation of the kingdom, the way the kingdom came was different from that

which many expected. The two stages of the kingdom and its surprising nature

are seen in Luke 4 and Matthew 11.

Jesus began His public ministry in Luke 4:16ff by quoting Isaiah 61:1,2.

Jesus used Isaiah to define the purpose and nature of His kingdom. The key tounderstanding the nature of the kingdom is to note what Jesus quoted from

Isaiah and what he omitted. Isaiah 61:1ff deals with the Day of the Lord. Jesus

read from this section, stressing the gracious coming of the kingdom, but leaving

off the part about the coming judgment and vengeance of God.

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach

the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim

liberty to the captive and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who

are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.

In Isaiah the next verse is “ And the day of vengeance of our God.”Jesus did

not quote this section of the verse. By dividing the text in this manner, Jesus split

His first coming from His second coming. He stressed the kingdom had already

come and yet it had not yet come fully. The first coming was one of grace and

mercy, one of meekness, lowliness, and grace with the full power and public

judgment of God being delayed until the Day of the Lord has fully come. The

greater demonstration of the coming of the kingdom in power–judgment and

wrath–will occur at His second coming.

The dual nature of Christ’s coming frames the nature of Mission and the

kingdom. As Christ’s mission was one of grace, mercy and humility–a powerful

and yet hidden kingdom–even so the Gospel mission of the church has the

34


35/133

same nature. The church’s mission is to bring the grace, mercy and hope of the

Gospel to men.

The same point was made in Jesus’ conversation with John the Baptist. Johnwas surprised at the nature of the kingdom and for a time he does not

understand it.“Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His

twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their

cities. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent

two of his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for

another?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which

you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and

the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to

them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me’” (Matt.11:1-6).

John recognized Jesus as the Messiah. He baptized Him. In Christ the

mission and kingdom of God was present and yet John was confused, he

struggled. He expected God’s judgment to fall upon the wicked, but it did not. To

help John understand, Jesus told him that the kingdom had come but in mercy

grace and kindness, not in judgment and power.

4.The Nature of the Kingdom

The kingdom came in two stages, something that Israel was not expecting,

and in an unusual and unexpected manner. The unexpected nature is illustrated

in the ”Servant Songs” of Isaiah, particularly Isaiah 52:14 and Isaiah 53:1-3, in

which the servant is told that his ministry will be one of suffering and pain, not of

victory and blessing.

“Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than

any man, And His form more than the sons of men” (Isa. 52:14).

“Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of

the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like

a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him

and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by

35


36/133

men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men

hide their faces; he was despised, and we esteemed him not”(Isa. 53:1-3).

The early manifestation of the kingdom seemed to be one of weakness andeven failure. There was nothing spectacular or successful about the kingdom.

The king would be rejected and his own life and mission would be filled with

sorrow and suffering. It is not what Israel expected. The extreme weakens of the

kingdom represented a test for the servant himself. In Isaiah 42 the servant

states“I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity,

yet surely my right is with the LORD and my recompense with my God.” This

prophecy was fulfilled in the Gospels. At the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, only

a few women accompanied Him, even His disciples abandoned Him. By any

earthly account, His ministry was a failure. He Himself, the King, lived by faith,looking to His Father who vindicated Him in the resurrection. Since Jesus

struggled with the nature of the kingdom, it is to be expected that the church and

the world will also struggle with the nature of the kingdom.

The weakness of the kingdom hides divine power. Instead of the power of

God being manifest in glory and success, God has chosen to manifest his power

in our weakness, humility, frustration and failure. Isaiah says:“Behold! My

Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My

Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, norraise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street”(Isa. 42:1,1,2).

God placed His Spirit and power upon the Servant, not to do obvious works

of power, but in order that His servant would not be crushed in His suffering, so

He would not cry out. As the servant struggled to obey His Father, the power of

God though the Spirit upheld Him, strengthened Him and sustained Him in the

work. He was to rest in faith that God will put forth His power and vindicate Him

after His death. He was crucified in weakness, but raised by the power of God.

After His resurrection, He now reigns in hidden power. The Father promised

Christ that He would reap the fruit of His victory after the resurrection. Isaiah

53:11 states: “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His

knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their

36


37/133

iniquities.” In Matthew 28:19, 20 we are told that all power in heaven and earth

has been given Him. Just has Christ had to rest upon a future victory by faith

while upon the earth, even so the church must also wrestle with that victory.

Such ministry is not attractive or understood by the world. Thehiddeness

of the kingdom explains the Jews seeking after a sign and the Greeks seeking

after wisdom. God in His wisdom provided neither; rather He demands that His

people, like their King, live by faith. We will look at the Jews and Greeks in turn.

4.1. To the Jews - a Gospel of Weakness

The Gospels tell us that the Jews expected a powerful sign. Due to Israel's

self-righteous blindness, she was waiting for a Messiah who would come inpower and through signs and wonders to deliver her and judge her enemies.

In contrast, the Gospel/mission/kingdom came to offer them deliverance from

sin and salvation. It was offered to Israel and to her Gentile oppressors. Christ

came in weakness and meekness–a suffering, humble, bleeding, dying Messiah.

The humble nature of the Messiah led the Jews to reject Him. This can be seen

in the whole of Jesus’ ministry and specifically in John 6.

In John 6, Christ fed the 5000 in power and glory. The Jews responded to

this manifestation of the kingdom by wanting to take Him by force to make Him

king. The earthly logic was that if one could feed that many, surely He could

deliver Israel from the Romans. Jesus rejected and challenged them. He stated

that to be a part of His kingdom they are to eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Faced with a kingdom that they found repulsive and did not understand, the

Jews turned away. In contrast, the disciples, called and faithful to God,

remained. As Peter says, “Where else shall we go, you have the word of eternal

life.” Peter and the church continued to follow the words of Christ even though

they were confused and did understand.

When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said

to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man

ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits

37


38/133

nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are

some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they

were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I

have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to himby My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with

Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the

words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the

Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you,

the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of

Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve (John 6:61-

71).

Paul summarized the Jewish position on righteousness, the law and the

kingdom in Romans 9:32, 33. Paul stated: “Why? Because they did not seek it

by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that

stumbling stone. As it is written‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock

of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”

4.2. The Gentiles– the Folly of the Gospel

The nature of the kingdom was also a stumbling block to the Greeks. Whilethe Jews sought a sign of power from God, the Greeks sought after knowledge.

To the Greeks, the idea that one man could die for the sins of many and would

rise to return and judge the dead was the height of foolishness, not wisdom. In

contrast, the cross, the kingdom and the church offered no worldly knowledge

other than the knowledge that is received by simple childlike faith and trust. As

Paul said in 1Corinthians 2:1-5, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not

come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of

God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and

Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. Andmy speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom,

but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in

the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

38


39/133

4.3. Mission, the Kingdom and the Church

It is important that we understand the nature of Christ’s mission, since

Christ’s coming is a model for His church and Christ continues to dwell in His

church upon earth. As such, the church is called to preach and to manifest the

kingdom. Just as Israel was a paradox and paradigm, so Christ and the church

are also a paradigm and a paradox The mission and presence of the kingdom in

the church reflect the ongoing presence and kingdom of Christ in this world, not

in its fullness nor in imposing judgment upon men, but in meekness, humility

and lowliness. While the power of the resurrected Christ dwells in this church,

the full measure of that power, as well as its full nature, has not yet been seen.

As such, the kingdom exists within a fallen world, and is itself still affected by

weakness, corruption and folly. The church continues to exist in both grace and

corruption, in the power of the Spirit, and in the fallenness of sin and the

weakness of the flesh. She remains a group of forgiven sinners, joined together

in weakness– not in power and judgment– around their Lord, having fellowship,

the fellowship of the cross, of sin and forgiveness. The kingdom is one of

patience and tribulation in this world.

The nature of the present kingdom is seen most clearly upon the cross. In it

the king is present upon the earth in a work of suffering, humiliation and death.

The very high point of the kingdom is also the lowest point, the point of Christ's

great humiliation. This paradoxical nature of the King and the kingdom is also

the paradox of the present position of the church.

The church must understand this if it is to understand her call to mission. To

those outside, the mission and kingdom of God is not attractive: it has nothing to

commend itself, it offers no world position of success, power or privilege. It only

offers a placed of humiliation and brokenness. The visible representation of

Jesus upon the earth is not one of power and glory; rather, it is one of

humiliation and suffering. This is the great stumbling block for the mission of the

church. To the Jews, it was not the sign they were looking for, to the Gentiles, it

was foolishness. As Christ’s position changed at the resurrection, from one of

humility to glory, even so the position of the church will also change from

humility to one of glory.

39


40/133

4.4. Sin, the Church and the Kingdom

We see the weakness and foolishness of the church being manifested within

her own life in the area of sin. We can see this from God’s inclusion of Judas

within the church and the confession and rebuke of Peter. In John 6 we saw that

only the 12 disciples continued to follow Jesus. In God’s wisdom this included

Judas, the one who eventually betrayed Jesus. Judas’ inclusion shows that God

ordained that sin would be in the midst of His church from the outset.

Peter is the second illustration of sin and weakness in the Church. In

Matthew 16: 15-28, Peter stated:“He said to them,‘But who do you say that I

am?’ Simon Peter answered and said,‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living

God.’ Jesus answered and said to him,‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah, for

flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church,

and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of

the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,

and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then He

commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the

Christ. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to

Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began

to rebuke Him, saying,‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’

But He turned and said to Peter,‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to

Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’ Then

Jesus said to His disciples,‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny

himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his

life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is

it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a

man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of

His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death

till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’”

Peter's great profession and Christ’s blessing upon him was followed

40


41/133

immediately by his rebuke. Even as Peter reached a high point in confessing his

Master, he then immediately fell into sin. He failed to understand Christ’s mission

and he confused the things of God and the things of men. He sought Christ’s

and his own earthly good, rather than the Father’s will. Peter did not understandthe nature of Christ’s mission and His kingdom. The enormity of the sin was

seen in Jesus' rebuke, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you

are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men”. Peter illustrated that

even believers are weak, fallen, sinful and lacking in understanding as to the

nature of Christ’s mission.

Jesus then went on to explain that if anyone would follow Him, he must walk

in the same way. They too must deny themselves and be prepared to lose their

lives. According to the power and wisdom of the Father’s plan, the church is notto be perfect in this world. She is His church, on His mission, and yet she is

sinful, fallen, and broken, with sin in her midst. This is the way that God has

ordained that His presence in history, in the world, and in the church is

manifested. In all these things, the Gospel is open to His church and yet hidden

to the world.

When the church goes forth, she must look like her Master. Far too often, the

church’s mission has been done in worldly power–a way that stresses its worldly

success, power and privilege–in order to make herself more attractive to the

world. Health, wealth and prosperity are not the way of the church upon the

earth, and they should not be offered in the kingdom.

4.5. Is This a Complete Representation of the Kingdom?

It might be asked if this is a complete or fair representation of the kingdom.

Was not Jesus raised in power, so giving the sign to the Jews and confounding

the wisdom of the Greeks? In the light of Christ’s resurrection is it right to talk

only of the kingdom of God coming in humility, lowliness and weakness? Should

we not also speak of the kingdom of God coming in power in the resurrection?

Although Jesus was crucified in weakness, He was raised by the power of God

in the Spirit and declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection of

the dead.

41


42/133

The basis of mission is not just the death of Christ; it is the death,

resurrection and session of Christ. It is in the resurrection, ascension and

session of Christ that that the power of God is manifested (Rom. 1:4, Eph. 1:19-21). The great demonstration of power is already here. And yet, even here we

see that the power of God is still muted and concealed. Christ’s public death was

only witnessed by a few and His rule is not open but it is currently hidden in

heaven (Col. 3:1-5). These facts mean that Christ’s current resurrection power

also takes on a hidden aspect. He has chosen that it is the disciples, the

apostles and the church who take the news of the resurrected Christ to the

world. It is still a kingdom to be received by faith. Christ kingdom is still a hidden

kingdom. As long as the church is in this world, she will reflect the pattern of her

Master when He was in this world.

5.The Ongoing Presence of Christ in the Church

We have already alluded to the ongoing presence of Christ in His church,

and that mission is the presence of Christ in His church coming into contact with

the world. The church is a spiritual unity; it is united in Christ, her Divine

Husband and Head through His Spirit. The very Spirit of Christ gives her life,

maintains her, keeps her and equips her for the hidden life of the present

kingdom in this world. In and through the Spirit, the lordship is effective in the

church. The closeness of the identification is seen from a number of passages.

Acts 9:4:Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul,

Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Ephesians 1:19-22:and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us

who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in

Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in

the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and

dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that

which is to come.And He put allthings under His feet, and gave Himto be head

over allthings to the church

42


43/133

2 Cor. 4:10:always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that

the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We must stress that Christ, through His spirit is still in His church through theSpirit. In the church, the presence and the kingdom of God are manifested in the

world.

5.1. Communion, a Visible Expression of Unity

Leslie Newbigin, arguing from John 14-16, makes the point that communion

is a particular place in which we see the ongoing life of Christ in the church. He

writes: “The bread they break will be His body given for them. The cup they

share will be His blood shed for them. The repeated sharing of this commonmeal will be a continually renewed participation of His dying, and therefore of

His victorious life. – the Gospel of His life and death will be lived by them. In this

way as they keep fellowship in worship with Him, they will always be carrying in

their body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifest in our

bodies.”

“This is an exposition of the meaning of the supper, and it is upon the

institution of the supper itself that we can most surely ground our certainty about

Jesus’ intention for the future of His cause. Put briefly, it shows clearly that He

entrusted the future of His cause to the group of disciples, gave Himself

completely to them, admitted them into the intimacy of His union with the Father,

bound them to Himself in the sharing of a meal that, having been part of His

shared life, they would continue after His death, and sent them out, not only to

be teachers of His truth but bearers of the glory that He had from the Father. In

them, the reign of God would not only be proclaimed, it would be present” (47).

God first reveled Himself to Israel, then in Christ, and now through Christ to

the church. In Christ the church, as the mission of God, moves out into the

world. In communion with Christ, she bears the sufferings of Christ to the world.

In Christ's coming, the kingdom of God arrived. In the church, the very life of the

King and the kingdom continues to be manifest to the world. Due to the intimacy

of union, in her life the ongoing presence of Christ is continued in the world. The

43


44/133

King and kingdom are an ever-present reality. Mission is the present reality of

the kingdom witnessing to the world.

The Lord’s Supper is a powerful illustration of the church in fellowship withher risen Lord. She sits in communion with Him and draws heavenly life from

Him. This is a witness to the world that she is His bride. She is a community

based upon Him and His work, and drawing life from Him alone.

6. The Kingdom: To the Jews First, then to the Gentiles

Jesus’ ministry was to Israel. From the beginning He preached to the Jews and

sent the disciples to them. His focus upon Israel was put expressly in Matthew

10:5, “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ‘Do not go

into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go

rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’” (Matt.10:5,6). At the beginning of

His ministry, Jesus’ clear focus was to Israel.

To be balanced, we need to understand that this focus was never absolute. Early

in His ministry there were instances in which the Gentiles responded to the

Gospel message and came to Him. Over the course of the Gospels it is clear

that Israel was beginning to reject His ministry and so He prophesied that theunbelief of Israel was so great that the blessing and privileges that they had

would be taken from them and given to the Gentiles. “The centurion answered

and said,‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only

speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under

authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, “Go” and he goes;

and to another, “Come” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this”, and he

does it.’ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed,

‘ Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And

I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be

cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Then

Jesus said to the centurion,‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be

done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour” (Matt. 8:8-10).

44


45/133

The story of the wicked vinedressers is of the same nature.“Hear another

parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge

around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers

and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent hisservants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the

vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again

he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then

last of all he sent his son to them, saying,‘They will respect my son.’ But when

the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves,‘This is the heir.

Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him

out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard

comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They said to Him,‘He will destroy

those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers whowill render to him the fruits in their seasons.’ Jesus said to them,‘Have you never

read in the Scriptures: “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the

chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes?”

‘Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a

nation bearing the fruits of it’”(Matt.23: 33-43).

In Christ’s death the nation of Israel rejected her King. In Christ’s resurrection He

is raised not only as the King of the Jews, but also as the King over the nations.

Since He is King over the nations, the power of His kingdom is extended (Matt.28:18-20). Bavink in dealing with this theme in Matthew’s Gospel states: “the

Gospel of Matthew bases the command of mission strongly upon the power and

authority given to Jesus because of His finished mediatorial work. The

redemptive power must be proclaimed and people must bow before it:“go ye

therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” The Gospel contains something

of the glory of the King’s commission. It must therefore end with a summons to

proclaim the kingship of Christ over the whole world” (35).

7. The Timing and Delay of the Kingdom

Our final point

bam010 biblical foundation of mission - zugg

Documents