Raymur J. Downey
When he was installed in the Arthur F. Glasser Chair of Biblical Theology of Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary on May 15, 1996, Charles Van Engen gave an address entitled The Gospel Story: Mission of, in and on the Way. In his address, he defined biblical theology of mission as “a multidisciplinary field where the Bible is read with missiological eyes and, based on this reading, continually reexamines, reevaluates, and redirects the church’s participation in God’s mission in God’s world.”
“My thesis,” Van Engen added, is “that biblical theology of mission must be centred in Jesus Christ – mission of the Way, happen among the peoples and cultures of our world – mission in the way, and move forward over time in the faith pilgrimage of God’s people as they anticipate Christ’s present and coming Kingdom – mission on the way.” My doctoral research took place in the School of World Mission at Fuller in the early 1980s, and I confess my life was profoundly affected by the Fuller faculty, including my mentor, Dean Gilliland, and professors such as Paul Hiebert, Robert Clinton, Paul Pierson, Donald McGavran, Peter Wagner, and others. Teachers impact lives!
Our family lived for a quarter-century in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we were primarily engaged in the leadership formation of students who intended to engage in roles wherever God might call them, whether it be in the Congo or elsewhere. My years on the African continent also have had a profound impact on who I am today. My African friends and colleagues, who are many, remind me one may leave Africa, but Africa will never leave you. I must agree! Two of our four children are African born, and all four have been profoundly shaped by their growing up years in Africa.
Biblical Theology of Mission has three main words, including an adjective, “biblical,” and two nouns, “theology” and “mission.” How may these three words be understood, and what is their relationship to one another? These questions will be addressed below in a document entitled, “A Biblical Theology of Mission: Defined, Analyzed, Applied.” Since “biblical” is a modifier of both theology and mission, let’s begin there.
Biblical – God’s Word
One of the non-negotiables of the evangelical Christian faith is the firm conviction that the Bible is God’s Word, and it provides the supreme and only authority for faith and practice. We are correct, therefore, in assuming if the mission enterprise has any validity, the validity will be found in God’s written Word.
Let me begin with some rather elementary definitions. A simple Bible definition of mission is “God gathering out of the nations a people for His name” (Acts 15:14). It is the declaration of God’s glory to all people (Psalm 96:3). The emphasis is on mission as God’s work, hence the Latin term, Missio Dei.
By contrast the plural term, missions, refers to the various organizations and structures (many) by which churches engage in God’s mission (one). Missionaries, or as they have come to be labelled, international workers (IWs), are ordinary people who take the call seriously to gather a people who bear God’s name from all nations.
For further clarification, one might say mission answers the question, “What?” What is God doing on the earth? Missions answers the question, “How?” How is the Missio Dei being accomplished? Missionaries answer the question, “Who?” Who are the human agents that God uses to accomplish the Missio Dei?
It is not the purpose of this essay to trace all the biblical references to mission. Not only does missions permeate all of Holy Scripture, but it is the primary theme. It provides the integrating theme of the biblical message from Genesis to Revelation.
The main focus of this section will be to discuss in some detail five all-Bible missional themes, summarized by Jesus in the Kingdom parable of the weeds (Matthew 13). I wish to bracket this amazingly succinct summary of mission theology with a brief reference to two other missional texts, one from the Old Testament (Genesis 12:1-3) and the other from the New Testament (Acts 1:8).
In Genesis 12:1-3, God promises to make Abram a great nation, a nation that would, in turn, bless all peoples of the earth. Christ’s incarnation fulfills the promise to bless all nations through Abram’s seed (cf. Galatians 3:16). The missiological implications of the Abrahamic covenant apply, using the language of a “top-line/ bottom-line” blessing formula where God blesses Abram (top-line) in order for his seed to bless all other nations (bottom-line).1 God blesses Abram’s family, which becomes the nation of Israel. In turn, all the world’s people groups are blessed through Abram’s seed, Jesus Christ. By extension, those who are blessed by the Good News have the privilege to pass on the blessing to others.
The New Testament text, Acts 1:8, represents one of five occurrences of Christ’s Great Commission. The other four occur in the gospels, one in each. What is unique about the Acts text is the emphasis is on “being” as opposed to “doing” as the primary missional activity. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Though this text is familiar, it is frequently misunderstood and even misquoted. This text does not suggest an “either/or” choice of options, where one can serve either in Jerusalem or Judea and Samaria, or maybe even to the ends of the earth. Nor does it suggest some sort of a progression in time, first Jerusalem, then Judea, and so on. It happens simultaneously everywhere and at all times.
Let us look closely at a significant teaching text, Jesus’ parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43. It is one of seven parables found in chapter thirteen, the first of the so-called “Kingdom parables.” It is one of only two parables in the Gospels for which Christ provided an interpretation. The use of parables signals a time in Jesus’ ministry when He moved from synagogue preaching to outdoor preaching, mainly because of growing opposition by the Jewish religious leaders.
Jesus intentionally used parables, a simple story format. One reason for using parables, He tells His disciples, is to distinguish the true from phony followers. Counterfeit followers might listen, but they would easily be confused by the stories, as their false motives were exposed. However, genuine seekers would have their understanding increased. “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them” (13:12). Here is the parable of the weeds (Matthew13:24-30):
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Later, Jesus explained to His disciples the meaning of the parable (Matthew 13:36-43).
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
In my opinion, this is the clearest and most succinct explanation of a biblical basis for mission in the Scriptures. It has the advantage of being clear, concise, simple and profound all at once. It summarizes major Bible themes in short phrases.
This is a Kingdom parable. God’s Kingdom is a central theme running throughout the entire Bible. Kingdom refers to God’s reign in people’s individual lives, a reign to have its final fulfillment in Christ’s visible rule over all creation.
Parables have one central truth as the key to their understanding. The central truth of the parable of the weeds is good and evil exist side by side, often with little apparent difference between them. Ultimately, God Himself will oversee the triumph of good and the defeat of evil in His final Kingdom.
At first glance, this doesn’t look to be much more complicated than the plot of many movies, novels, and plays entertaining us today. But don’t be fooled. Mission is a much more serious business than mere conflict between good and evil. Let’s look quickly at the five major missional themes running through this parable.
- Mission is Christ’s principle activity: Mission is important because of the presence and activity of the Sovereign Sower. Mission is the central task of the Sovereign Lord. It is the Son of Man who sows. Notice, He plants in His own field! Other texts make explicit how not only is He the owner, but He is the maker of everything that is represented by the field, which leads to the second theme.
- Mission takes place in the whole inhabited world: Mission is important because the Lord plants seed in the world, the cosmos, the whole of the ordered universe, including the earth with its inhabitants and all creation. The world is the sphere into which Christ brings His Kingdom by preaching the good news. It is people who are found on all six continents. Therefore, the Gospel is to be extended worldwide, even though absolute domination of the world will not be experienced until Christ’s return. But it is the final sign before His return (Matthew 24:14). But who will carry the message? The answer leads to the third major theme.
- Mission is done by scattered people: Mission is important because the seed is planted throughout the whole world. The good seed stands for the sons of the Kingdom. Christians are to be planted throughout the entire inhabited world. They are the day-to-day disciples for whom Christ’s global cause becomes the integrating, overriding priority for all they do and all they are. Christians like medical doctor David Livingstone, who, although he spent most of his life in Africa, only had one known convert to the Christian faith. Yet largely by his efforts alone, Europe was alerted to the urgent need to bring the Gospel to Africa. Livingstone prayed, “Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever any tie but the tie that binds me to You.” Christians like James Fraser, trained engineer and concert pianist, spent the first seven years of his missionary career in China without one convert. Yet, thousands of Lisu people became Christians in the following years because he was willing to be planted wherever the Sovereign Sower willed. The bottom line is obedience, vividly illustrated by the Chinese character for the word, a combination of the character for “leaf” and for “river.” The leaf falling from the tree into the river goes wherever the river leads it. Obedience is being willing to flow with whatever God is doing in our world, letting Him take us wherever His current would lead us. Elizabeth Elliott calls obedience “the glad surrender.” In the imagery of this parable, it is bearing fruit wherever He plants us. But being planted wherever He desires is never easy, which leads to the fourth theme.
- An enemy is in active opposition to the mission enterprise. Mission is critical because there is an enemy who is doing everything within his power to thwart God’s plan. The enemy is identified as the Devil. Inthe parable, there is no logical reason why an enemy would plant “bastard wheat,” so-called because it so resembles the wheat that it is impossible to tell them apart in the early stages. However, when the wheat forms heads, the distinction is clear. The theme of opposition to God’s rule appears throughout Scripture. The Old Testament largely is a record of the failure of God’s people to overcome the opposition. Here, the enemy is clearly identified as a spiritual enemy. Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus they were not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). The weapons we fight with, Paul reminds us, are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). The ability to recognize satanic opposition as a significant obstacle in presenting the good news helps clarify many mission factors that would otherwise be totally baffling. For instance, Paul suggested sacrifices offered to idols are, in reality, being offered to demons. This puts a whole new slant on dealing with people who practice idol worship. Nevertheless, we are to remember the world belongs to the Lord. We are engaged in returning to the rightful owner that which belongs to Him. The Kingdom is far from being in a perfect state, but the day is coming when this will occur, which leads to the final point.
- Mission focuses on a triumphant finale. Mission is important because there is an end in sight when God’s triumph will be declared over all the earth. In this parable, it is the harvest, the end of the age. The reapers are the angels. Look what happens. The weeds are tied up and destroyed by fire. The wheat is gathered into the treasury (barn) of the Sower. God’s rule is always directed towards a future. The day is coming when Christ “hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). The all-Bible basis for missions is aptly summarized by this parable, told and explained by Jesus Himself. It underscores a prominent Bible theme running through both the Old and New Testaments: God is building a Kingdom, and this is a summary of what His Kingdom is. Let me repeat the main points. A Sovereign Lord is planting believers throughout the whole inhabited earth. This seed, however, is growing in very adverse conditions because an enemy, the devil, has maliciously planted people under bondage to him to strangle and thwart any fruit-bearing by the good seed. Often it is difficult to distinguish between thechildren of the King and the children of the evil one. But owner rights to the field belong to the Sower alone, and despite appearances to the contrary, all opposition to His authority will finally be overcome. God’s rule is always directed towards a future. The role of His servants is simply to bear fruit wherever they have been planted. And the desire of the Master Sower is to plant them over the whole earth so no part of His field will be characterized only by weeds.
Whole Bible and Mission
Mission is based on the whole message of the entire Bible because biblical theology is primarily a theology of mission, the Missio Dei. Mission has existed in the mind of the Godhead from the creation of the heavens and the earth, when God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness” Genesis 1:26. God gave them dominion over all of His creation, but there were some bumps along the way, thanks to the humans He created. Adam and Eve fell by listening to the serpent’s lie and eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, something God had explicitly forbidden.2 The result was their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
When they ate the forbidden fruit, God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). A fatal blow to Satanic forces, but a temporary but non-fatal blow to the woman’s future offspring, Jesus.3 This is the first of many Messianic promises in the Bible which occur in both the Old and New Testaments.
The story continues through several different scenarios before a special covenant is established with Abram (Genesis 12:1-4). These events include Cain’s murder of his brother Abel, then the Great Flood where only Noah and his family are saved, the destruction of the Tower of Babel (humanity’s futile attempt to make a name for themselves), resulting in the confusion of languages (God intended unity in diversity, not unity in uniformity), followed by the scattering of peoples and nations throughout the whole world (Genesis 4-11). Genesis 12-50 provides a fascinating and entertainingly miraculous drama of the outworking of the Abrahamic covenant, including a host of main characters,
Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, Jacob’s twelve sons, and my favourite story, Joseph. It is beyond the scope of this study to elaborate on the amazing Old Testament drama tracing the outworking of God’s plan accomplished through His fallible prophets, priests, and kings. God’s way is not hindered by the use of imperfect people to nevertheless accomplish His perfect plan! Thank God! Then there is the Book of Exodus, starring Moses and Joshua, and later the story of David, a man after God’s own heart despite his glaring weaknesses.
The New Testament and Jesus
When we get to the New Testament, the whole biblical aspect turns up a notch as first Jesus and His followers and then Paul and his companions dominate the drama. The Great Commission spelled out, particularly in Matthew 28:16- 20 and Acts 1:8, clarifies the missional aspect of theology. The Matthew account emphasizes the command to “make disciples” by going, baptizing, and teaching. In contrast, the Acts account emphasizes being rather than doing, meaning being witnesses to all people everywhere.
On the Emmaus Road account in Luke 24, how enlightening it would have been to be privy to the risen Christ’s review of Old Testament passages beginning with the books of Moses and on the prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures referring to Him (cf. 24:25-27). David Bosch states, “theology ceases to be theology if it loses its missionary character.”4 It is the biblical theology of mission being highlighted.
One significant document in my personal library is a short book of 70 pages by J. Andrew Kirk entitled “The Mission of Theology and Theology as Mission” (1997). It clarifies many things for me. The title itself gives some indication of the missiological position the author adopts in this, the final of six booklets in the Christian Mission and Modern Culture series by Trinity Press International. Kirk defines theology as follows:
It is a reflective, intellectual process carried out by a community of faith whose concern is with God and His relationship to the entire universe. This process gives a privileged place to certain sources of knowledge, namely, the Bible, ecumenical creeds, and other historical confessions of faith. It has two fundamental tasks: to make sense of the whole of life by reference to God, and to be an agent of transformation to the whole of life so that it might reflect God’s intentions (1997, 8).
Further along, Kirk adds,
My thesis is that it is impossible to conceive of theology apart from mission. All our theology is, by definition, missionary theology, for it has as its object the study of the ways of God who is by nature missionary and a foundation text written by and for missionaries.5
Rereading this relatively brief booklet has been a fresh reminder of how much his study has shaped my own approach to a biblical theology of mission. Kirk concludes with this statement:
What I have been trying to describe is a pattern of learning that consciously operates within four major points of reference: 1) the Christian message, 2) the participant’s own pilgrimage, 3) the life and witness of the Christian community, and 4) the society in which she or he will be called to mission in Christ’s way….that authentic theology at the end of the second millennium can only be theology for the sake of mission.6
The New Testament and Paul
As indicated above, Paul, originally known as Saul, is the second New Testament individual to profoundly impact the mission story. Paul’s story dominates the second half of the Book of Acts. The New Testament also includes thirteen letters Paul wrote to churches and to his ministry companions scattered throughout Asia and Europe.
Paul’s story does not start well. However, he is introduced to the scene after Stephen’s stoning, where he is a willing witness to Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7). Shortly after this, Saul enters house after house in Jerusalem, dragging off both men and women and committing them to prison. It does not stop there.
He asks and receives letters from the high priest in Jerusalem, addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, Syria, authorizing him and his companions to go there and, if they found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, to bring them back bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1). Jesus had other plans for Paul, however.
Just before reaching his destination, Saul falls to the ground, blinded by a light, and hears Jesus’ voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (9:4). His companions subsequently lead him to Damascus, where he is told to meet with a disciple named Ananias. A reluctant Ananias, who has already been warned of Saul’s mission, is told to go and lay hands on Saul to restore his sight. He is reassured in a vision with the words, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (9:15, 16). Paul is converted, baptized, and filled with the Holy Spirit. He soon begins to preach in the synagogues of Damascus of Jesus being the Messiah. The rest is history!
Paul becomes a church planter and mentor of ministry companions in settings where he would suffer for the name of Jesus throughout the west Asian and European sub-continent. Paul proves himself as a gifted writer, preacher, and mentor. He identified himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle with a special focus on the Gentiles. 7 In Romans 11:13, Paul identifies himself as an apostle to the Gentiles. In fact, Romans 9-11 is the record of an impassioned sea change that occurred in Paul, a proud Jew, opening the door for one and all as never before for the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to be freely offered to all humanity. It is no small thing, as Paul writes in Romans 15:14-29, especially verses 18-19:
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
Great news for all nations, us included!
Conclusion
The above study has been a humble attempt to define, analyze, and apply a biblical theology of mission as I perceive it. I have included below a list of books for further study for those who might wish to go deeper into this subject. To God be the glory!
This is an excerpt from the book, On Mission Volume 5. Download your free copy today.
- See Bless the People, Bless the Nations: Miriam Charter for more information.
- cf. Genesis 2:15.
- cf. Galatians 3:16.
- Bosch, 1991, 494.
- Kirk, 1997, 50.
- Kirk, 1997, 61.
- Romans 1:1-6; 15:18-20; cf. Galatians 1:15-16; Ephesians 3:1-6.