Joining God at Work in the World
By Curt Watke PhD
A Gospel-centered Mission
The verb "to send" occurs more than 1000 times in the scriptures. Of these, about 600 refer to the saving mission or "good news." God the Father sent the Son and the Holy Spirit on a redemptive mission for the world, (John 3:16-17). But what is the "world" into which Christ came to save? And why did it need saving? The world that the Apostle John discusses appears in scripture referring to four concepts: 1) the physical universe; 2) the evil spiritual forces; 3) the evilness of individual people, and 4) the collective evil of social systems that oppose the kingdom of God. The gospel message and mission is to see redemption, reconciliation, restoration, and renewal occur through the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in the world today. Thus the gospel message is central to any assignment for which we are sent.
Every Christian has Been Sent by God to Serve in His Mission
Christian believers have the unique opportunity to participate in the work of God in their families, neighborhoods, communities, and across the world. When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection (and before his ascension into heaven), he said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22, ESV). Here Jesus equated his sending by the Father with our being sent by him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
However, what are we sent to do exactly? The answer can be seen throughout the pages of scripture where we see God calling and sending his people to join in his mission. As we study the mission of God we can see that God continually sends his people to live a gospel-centered life in the context of one or more missional assignments based on the biblical precepts of the great commission, great commandment, great mandate, great requirement, and great stewardship.
Great Commission to Make Disciples
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
While all believers are sent to join the work of God in redemptive care, some believers are especially equipped by the spiritual gifts they have been given to be most effective in bringing the gospel to the community. However, making disciples is not a solo effort—instead, the scripture and early church history shows that God used teams of people, with different missional roles, to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. Every believer has been sent to participate in missonal multiplication.
Great Commandment to Love God and Others
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)
When asked by the Pharisees which commandment of the law was greatest, Jesus quoted the "shema" from Deuteronomy 6. The shema was the Jewish prayer that was central to the prayer services held in the morning and evening. Well known to the Jewish people and their leaders, observant Jews considered its recitation a twice-daily mitzvah (or religious commandment). However, it is one thing to recite something and quite something else to live it—as Jesus was pointing out to the Pharisees. Today Christians are sent to join in the work of God in the world by living out this central teaching.
Great Mandate to Represent God
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:27-28).
Because we are created in the image of God, we have the "likeness" of God himself. Although we are not identical to God, we are a reflection of God—a created analogy. Since human beings are the living, visible replica of God, everything that makes us human is involved in being in the image of God. Humankind finds mission, sociality, creativity, cultures, intellect, reasoning, and a host of other characteristics are rooted in the very nature of God. As image-bearers, our mission is to be the image of, to reflect, or represent God on earth. Our moral duty is to be like God, and to follow his example. Thus we are sent to be embedded in the created world around us to faithfully cultivate the earth as we reflect our "vice-regency" role—acting as caretakers of the created world on God's behalf.
Great Requirement to Live Righteously
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
In Micah, chapter 6, the prophet Micah states the case that God has against the people of God, Israel. In his frustration at Israel's failures, Micah summarizes what God requires of his people in verse 8. Here we see that the people of God should simply do what is right. They should act righteously in their relationships with others, not hurting anyone by word or deed because they love mercy and guide their conduct based on that loving-kindness. They should also walk humbly with God. Walking humbly with God means to live and act consciously aware of God’s daily presence with humility and obedience.
Great Stewardship to Serve Faithfully
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10)
Every Christian believer has received specific gifts from God—spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, resources, and relationships that God has entrusted to him or her. These have been given to believers to use as the basis of their missional service to others which they are to faithfully execute. Thus every believer has been sent to serve in the mission of God in unique ways. Since everything we own, including ourselves, was created by God and was given to us by God, therefore, we should understand that the stewardship of service impacts every single area of life. The Apostle Paul commends the Corinthian believers for their service when he writes in 2 Corinthians 9:12-14: "What you are doing is much more than a service that supplies God's people with what they need. It is something that will make many others thank God. The way in which you have proved yourselves by this service will bring honor and praise to God. You believed the message about Christ, and you obeyed it by sharing generously with God's people and with everyone else. Now they are praying for you and want to see you, because God used you to bless them so very much. Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words!" (CEV)
Your Assignment in the Mission of God
While certainly, every missional assignment includes elements of multiplication, ethics, representation, equitability, and service, most Christians find that the Holy Spirit leads them to primarily focus on one or more of these areas based on their unique gifting, background, and resources. As the Apostle Paul wrote: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work." 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Just as Abraham was justified by faith (Hebrews 11), so too all those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham. Abraham was not only the recipient of the blessing of the gospel but was also the mediator (or "conduit") of the gospel to others. We who are blessed with salvation by grace through faith should be a mediator of that blessing to those around us through our missional assignments.