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Biblical Foundations for Missions (BAH 936, MAH 936)
Rev. Julian Michael Zugg, LLB (Hons) Barrister, M. Div.
Belize Presbyterian Theological Seminary
CONTACT DETAILS:
Jzugg@mac.com
MissionBelize.org
Tel Belize 501 628 5404
Tel US 281 506 2833
OUTLINE
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
LESSON ONE.
LESSON TWO.
LESSON THREE.
LESSON FOUR.
LESSON FIVE.
LESSON SIX.
LESSON SEVEN.
LESSON EIGHT.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
INSTRUCTORS MANUAL
PREFACE
This 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
COURSE CONTENT
The 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.
COURSE MATERIALS
The principle course materials are the lecture notes. Additional reading is from
Roland Allens work, Missionary Methods.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The 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 information
and skill sets to their congregations.
This 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 REQUIREMENTS
Students 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,
Missionary Methods, St. Pauls 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
The 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.
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 not
bear 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. Then
he 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 identified
Himself 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 peoples representative. They are joined to the whole of
His life.
In Christs baptism we see the Father as Creator, Head, Innovator, and
Planner. 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
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 Him
for ministry. It was the same Spirit who was poured out upon the church at
Pentecost, equipping them to continue Christs work until He comes. Paul
summarized the work of each Person of the Trinity in Ephesians 1:1-14. In
Christs baptism, the mission of God was manifest.
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.
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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 is
immanent.
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 Christs rule? Israels Old Testament culture and cultural forms
have been superseded, something new has occurred. This was recognized by
the elders at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:18-21). The freeing of the Gospel
from Israels 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 the world. Due to
space we have only dealt with a few of these above due to space.
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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 Gods
revelation, Paul was a unique figure, the aide to the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah
42). Pauls 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 Pauls
unique status, no missionary is called to follow these principles exactly, but the
closer we can model our missionary methods upon these principles, the more
scripturally effective our position will be. It is a question of degree.
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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
incarnationthe 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 Pauls 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 Christs church bought
with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Paul founded churches and then committed
them to Christ.
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Lesson Two. The Fall, Abraham, Israel and the Fathers 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 Abrahams seedthe Christ.
In the Old Testament, one great theme is that God the Father is
working out His divine plan. The Old Testament illustrates the Fathers 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, Israels 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.
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This is the first promise of the Gospel and it lays down a paradigm for
Gods mission in the world. Notice the following:
1. In the Fall, men have swapped sides, leaving Gods blessing for Satan's
kingdom. 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 Satans side.
3. Out of the destruction of the Fall, God lays down a promise, a program of
deliverance in which He now attacks Satans 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
Satans head, a death blow, while Satan still strikes on the heel, a deadly but
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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 who
follow 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 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.
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It is in this context that God called Abraham out from amongst the
nations. God used Abraham to bring forth the seed.
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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 Godhe 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 Abrahams 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 just
a 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 Abrahams 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 world
will be blessed.
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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 the
relationship 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 Melchizedeks priesthood showed that he was
greater than Abraham and that although the stream of redemptive history in
Abraham had narrowed; Gods 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 Melchizedeks 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.
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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 Israels history. Christ is the only true mediator of grace to Israel and to the
nations.
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 Israels relationship to the Gentiles is dealt
with in Galatians 3 and Romans 9-11.
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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 God
who 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.
4.2.1. 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
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shall hear.
4.2.2. Paradox
Gods 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 revealed
Himself mightily to Israel, yet this just exposed Israels sin in a greater manner.
This principle can be illustrated from a number of key events in Israels
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 Israels 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
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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 Gods 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 Spiriton the 70 elders, the rest of
Israel does not receive the blessing (Num. 11:26-29).
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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 the
preaching. 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 Gods work in delivering Israel from Egypt and came to believe (Joshua 2-6).
The Queen of Sheba came to see the glory of Solomons court, a prefiguring of
the Gentiles coming to Christ (1 Kings 10:4). It is said that Israels 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 Jonah 4:1-3: 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
Gods 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.
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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 His
subsequent 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 Gentilesthe
Gospels 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 Gods subsequent act of raising Him from the dead, thus
vindicating Him, was the sign of their own judgment before God. The Ninevites
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who believed Gods message and messenger will stand and judge them on that
day.
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elect, and that the church is chosen in Him (Eph. 1:4). The church is predestined
according to Gods 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 true
Israel 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.
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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 Israels two principle sins?
10. How does Christ relate to Israel?
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ongoing communion with the risen Christ through the power of the Spirit
continues His life, mission, and kingdom on the earth.
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same nature. The churchs 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. John
was 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 Gods 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.
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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 and
even 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, nor
raise 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
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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. The hiddeness
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.
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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 him
by 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 6:6171).
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.
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40
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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 Christs mission
and he confused the things of God and the things of men. He sought Christs
and his own earthly good, rather than the Fathers will. Peter did not understand
the nature of Christs 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 Christs 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 Fathers plan, the church is not
to 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
churchs mission has been done in worldly powera way that stresses its worldly
success, power and privilegein 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.
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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. 1:1921). The great demonstration of power is already here. And yet, even here we
see that the power of God is still muted and concealed. Christs 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 Christs 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.
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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 the
Spirit. In the church, the presence and the kingdom of God are manifested in the
world.
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King and kingdom are an ever-present reality. Mission is the present reality of
the kingdom witnessing to the world.
The Lords Supper is a powerful illustration of the church in fellowship with
her 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.
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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 his
servants 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 who
will 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 LORDS 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 Christs death the nation of Israel rejected her King. In Christs 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 Matthews 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 Kings 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 is the idea that the kingdom is here; it is fully prepared, but the
church must still wait for the kingdom. In the Parable of the Talents, Matthew
25:14-30, the master gave his servants talents and then went on a journey. The
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journey delayed the masters return. The servants were to wait, wait until the
master returned. The implication of the parable is that there is a time in which
the kingdom is ready but we are to wait for it.
Conclusion
Mission is the earthly presence of Christ going out to the world. This was first
manifested in His own life upon earth. Christs life is currently in the church by
the power of the Spirit. At present the kingdom has come in weakness and
humility. It will disclose power on the last day.
Summary
The Old Testament prophecies of the servant point to the nature of Christs
kingdom. Christs kingdom came in weakness and humility. The nature of the
coming of the kingdom is difficult for both the church and the world to
understand. The nature of Gospel mission and the kingdom are a stumbling
block to the Gentiles. Because of the nature of the relationship between Christ
and the church, the presence of Christ continues in His church. Mission then is
the presence of Christ in the church meeting the world. It is not something that
the church does; it is something that the church is.
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48
49
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Acts 10:19: While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him,
Behold, three men are seeking you.'
Acts 15:28: For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no
greater burden than these necessary things:
Acts 18:5: When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was
compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
Each of these texts points to the fact that Christ through the Spirit is in
control of the church as she spreads the Gospel throughout the world. Christ is
leading the church.
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The powerful control that the Spirit exercised in Christs life was
evidenced by Jesus' own words in Luke 4:17. Jesus fulfilled His own ministry by
stating that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him. In fulfillment of this promise, the
Spirit led Him to the wilderness to be tested. Luke 4:1, Then Jesus, being filled
with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness. At the end of the temptation the power of the Spirit defined His
ministry. Luke 4:14, Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.
In Luke 4:16-18, Jesus defined His own ministry from Isaiah 62:1,2 in terms of
being filled with the Spirit for the task that He was to do.
The Spirit is also powerfully at work in Christs resurrection, Romans 1:4
states: and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. It is through this resurrection that
the new creation, Sonship, and the reign of the Spirit are introduced, followed
shortly by the pouring out of the Spirit upon the church.
The risen Christ also pours out the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Father
upon the church, But to each one of us grace was given according to the
measure of Christs gift. Therefore He says: When He ascended on high, He
led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men (Acts 2, Eph. 4:7).
This gift of the Spirit upon the church fulfilled the same role in the church
as it did upon Christ Himself, preparing and equipping her for ministry. The texts
all point to the simple fact, it is through the work of the Spirit that both Christ and
the church are set apart, equipped and directed in Mission.
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And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart
from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, you
have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come
together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel? And He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which
the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Promise of the Father, namely the
Spirit. He contrasted the outpouring of the Spirit with the baptism of John and
promised the disciples that through the Spirit's work they would bear witness of
Christ in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
First, the disciples were to wait upon the Spirit. They were not able
(witness their lack of understanding and courage) and must not go forward
without the same anointing that Christ Himself had. Even as the mission of
Christ was dependant upon the work of the Spirit even so the mission of the
church is also dependant upon the power of the Spirit (Newbegin 57-65).
Second. The water baptism of John contrasted with that of the Spirit.
John came baptizing with water in anticipation of the coming of the kingdom.
The baptism was of water alone. When Jesus came, He baptized with the Spirit.
In the baptism of Christ, the sign and the reality metthe Spirit was linked to
John's water baptism and the two baptisms were now one (Luke 3:21). In John
3:5 we are told Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is
born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
The reason for the initial water baptism of John and the full baptism by
the Spirit into Christ was that until the cross, Jesus baptism was not complete
(Luke 12:50). Once Jesus ministry was complete, the Spirit was poured out
upon His Church. In the coming of the baptism of the Spirit, the disciples/church
now shared Christ's baptism and His kingdom. This is not yet poured out in its
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fullness but rather in the anticipatory power of the Spirit that goes out to the
entire world (Acts 1:8)
We see this explained in Acts 19:1-7: It happened, while Apollos was at
Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.
And finding some disciples he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed? So they said to him, We have not so much as heard
whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them, Into what then were you
baptized? So they said, Into Johns baptism. Then Paul said, John indeed
baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should
believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they
heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul
had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with
tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all.
The baptism of the Spirit is not yet complete. The church has been given
the down payment, the initial payment, the foretaste, but not the full amount (2
Cor. 1:22, Eph 1:14).
Third, it is in and through the power of the Spirit that the church will go out
to all the nations. When speaking on Acts 1:8 Newbegin states that this verse is
not a command, it is a promise to the church. Through the powerful work of the
Spirit, the witness of Christ through His church will go to all nations (58). The
indwelling of the power of Christ's own life will lead to kingdom life, kingdom
community, unity and a witness from the church to the world.
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Spirit was poured out on the church and the church had the capacity to take the
Gospel to all nations. Through the gift of the Spirit, the church is now on the
offensive.
The Spirit begins the work of the church, the Spirit maintains the work,
and the Spirit controls the work of the church in going to the entire world. The
powerful controlling work of the Spirit is also illustrated two other places. In Acts
5 we see that powerful indwelling of the Spirit in the church. When Ananias and
Sapphira lied to Peter and the church, Peter stated that they had lied not to men
but to the Holy Spirit who is God.
Acts 5:3,4, But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie
to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it
remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own
control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to
men but to God.
A second powerful illustration of the control of the Spirit is in the opening
up of church to the Gentiles, the evangelism of the church. We see this in Acts
8:26-40, particularly verses 29 and 39. Verse 29 states: Then the Spirit said to
Phillip, Go near and overtake this chariot. Phillip is directed by the Spirit in
order to speaking to the Eunuch. We see the same control by the Spirit in verse
39, Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught
Phillip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way
rejoicing. The Spirit is in control throughout the discourse.
In Acts 10 the Spirit is again in control in bringing in the Gospel to the
Gentiles. In Acts 10, Peter was given a vision. The Spirit commanded Peter to
go with the men to Corneliuss house. It is the Spirit who fell upon the household
and through His power they speak in tongues, magnifying God (10:44). Peter
later defended his breach of Jewish law by presenting the operation of the Spirit
and asking, Who was I that could withstand God (Acts 11:17)?
The Spirit is in charge of mission. The church is subject to the leading of
the Spirit in mission. The Spirit has authority in the church. In the words of John,
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It is the Spirit who will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment
(John 16:8).
The powerful work of the Spirit continued in the book of Acts. It was the
Spirit who set Paul aside (Acts 13:1,2). It was the Spirit who led him and
directed him in that mission (Acts 16:7).
The Spirit enables the church to do its work and the work of the church
cannot and should not be attempted without the aid of the Spirit. Without the aid
of the Spirit, there is nothing we can do that will matter in Gods kingdom. A
great deal of time, effort and energy are often involved in teaching programs and
mission that are not commanded by the Spirit and therefore are ultimately
useless.
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fulfilled in the New Testament. Jesus Christ stated that He is the temple of God,
the dwelling place of God upon the earth and the place where God and man
meet. In Acts 15 the Jerusalem council described the church as the fulfillment of
the tabernacle of David being rebuilt (Acts 15:12-16). In letters to the Corinthians
and Ephesians, and in Romans 15 above, Paul stated that the church indwelt by
the Spirit is the temple of God.
1 Cor. 3:16,17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit
of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.
For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
1Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
2 Cor. 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are
the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk
among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Eph. 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy
temple in the Lord
The reality is that the church is the dwelling place of God, the place
where God and man meet. This is still true even when there is great sin in the
church. Paul wrote many of these verses about the indwelling of Gods Spirit to
the church in Corinth, a church riddled with sin. Paul knew the church was full of
weakness and failure and yet he still stated that the church is Gods temple.
You corporately, he said to the whole church, are God's Temple, and
God's Spirit dwells within you (3.16). That's why the unity of the church matters
so much. Your bodies, he said to them one by one, are temples of the Holy
Spirit within you (6.19). That is why bodily holiness, not least sexual holiness,
matters so much. Unity and holiness have been two great problems for the
church in the last generation. Could it be that we need to recapture Paul's
bracing teaching about our vocation to be Temples of the Holy Spirit (Tom
Wright Supra)?
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It is important for the life of the church and for mission that the church
recognizes her role and status in the world. She is a body controlled and indwelt
by the power of the Spirit. Without the Spirits aid, she can neither work nor
function in this world. If she is filled with the Spirit, she becomes the dwelling
place of God and the place where God meets men in the fallen world.
Conclusion
The above shows that the person of the Holy Spirit is vital to missions. He
was vital in the life of Christ, equipping, leading and guiding Him and He is vital
in the ongoing life of the church. Through the Spirit, the church is the dwelling
place of God, Christ in us.
Summary
The Spirit's work is to affect the work of the Father. Christ is the Messiah,
the Anointed One, and the Spirit prepared Him for that task. In addition to
preparing a body for Christ; He came in power in Christs baptism and led His
ministry while Christ was upon the earth. He effected Christ's resurrection from
the dead and He was poured out at Pentecost so the church could continue
Christs work and extend it to the uttermost parts of the earth. The Spirit now
dwells within the sinful, fallen churchthe dwelling place of God upon the earth
and the meeting place between God and the world.
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7. If the resurrection of Christ brings in the new creation, the Spirits outpouring
does what?
8. Explain the significance of Acts 8:26-40.
9. Explain the significance of 2 Cor. 6:19.
10. Why does Tom Wright say the churchs understanding of its indwelling is
important?
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61
62
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4. The word calling seems to refer to both to his conversion and call into
apostleship.
Christ revealed Himself to Paul or was revealed to Paul by the Spirit so that
Paul could preach Him amongst the Gentiles. Romans 1:5, Through Him we have
received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His
name. Rom. 15:15,16, Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on
some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might
be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God, that the
offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
5. Paul said that Gods calling was to Reveal His Son in Paul. On the
Damascus road, Gods Son was revealed to Paul and was revealed in Paul. This seems
to be the beginning of the Pauline phrase in Christ.
Each of these events showed that Pauls personal conversion was a perfect
illustration of the very Gospel he taught. This was another evidence of Gods particular
care in preparing Paul for this ministry.
3.2. Paul Fulfills a Unique Role between the Old and New
Testaments
Paul saw himself as a bridge between the Gospel being for and to Israel and
going out to all the world. In Gods history of revelation Paul had a unique position. In
Galatians 1:15, 16 Paul linked himself with Isaiah 49:1-5, the Servant of the Lord. The
servant is called, equipped, and sent as a light to the Gentiles. While it is clear that the
principle identification of the servant is Christ, Paul also identified himself as the servant
as he took the Gospel to the nations.
In Galatians 3, Paul continued to develop his own ministry in light of the
promise to Abraham. 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 (Gal. 3:8). Paul identified himself as the fulfillment of those Old
Testament prophecies that the promise of Abraham would go to the nations.
Principle 3. Paul was a unique individual in the history of redemption; Paul
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was called to take the Gospel message from Israel to the nations. Since Paul was
unique, we cannot apply the principles that Paul used in exactly the way he did, but
these principles are important guides in developing a missionary model.
In Romans 15:14-21, Paul linked his ministry in spreading the Gospel with
the Old Testament priestly ministry.
Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are
full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding
you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ
to the Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be
acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus
in the things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things
which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles
obedient in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from
Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ. And
so I have made it my aim to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I
should build on another mans foundation, but as it is written: To whom He was not
announced, they shall see;
This passage makes a number of claims.
1. Paul reasserted that by grace he was an apostle to the Gentiles (16).
2. He stated that he had been used to bring in the offering of the Gentiles
(Rom. 15:6). Paul described his apostolic ministry using the image of the Old Testament
priest. His ministry, like the Priest in the Old Testament, was a duty to proclaim the
Gospel of God. The priest declared to Israel. Paul declared it to the Gentiles. The
offering of the Gentiles was both the Gentiles themselves and the works they did, for
example the collections for the saints. Paul saw himself as a priest, in the world, not in
the temple, to the Jews and the Gentiles. In the Gospel, the uncleanness of the Gentiles
had been taken away through the Holy Spirit. By using this imagery, Paul was stressing
both the continuity between his own ministry and the ministry of Israel and its newness.
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3. Paul was given the priestly task of bringing the Gentiles to obedience. In
Romans the obedience of the Gentiles forms an inclusio with the opening statement in
Romans 1:5: Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the
faith among all nations for His name. This inclusio frames the whole of the letter
(Romans 1:5, 15:18, 16:26). In Romans, Paul saw himself as acting as an Old
Testament priest bringing the Gentile nations to obedience.
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church based. In his teaching ministry Paul entered a city, preached from 6 months to 2
years, built a church, taught and preached from house to house, established it with
elders and officers and then left it to the care of God and the Holy Spirit. Because of this
method, Paul could say, I have fully preached the Gospel.
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one and half years in Corinth (Acts 18:11, 18) and two and a half years in Ephesus
(Acts 19:8, 10). God allowed Paul to thoroughly instruct and influence these key
churches in important cities. By the time Paul left Ephesus, he had taught them the
whole council of God (Acts 20:28); something he would not have said in Thessalonica
and other cities.
Since Paul only had a short period of time to preach and teach, Rolland Allen
has suggested that Paul must have focused upon fundamentals. What did Paul preach?
Allen argues that Paul began with a clear presentation of the facts of the Gospelthe
story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the acknowledgement of the reality
that the Jews rejected their Messiah. He called the Jews to recognize the cross, even
though it was a stumbling block. In this ministry, Paul appealed to the spiritual needs of
man, the need for pardon, assurance, peace and confidence. Pauls preaching included
a definite call to decision, coupled by a warning that the way of salvation can and is
often rejected, and that there will be judgment. To Paul the Gospel challenge was
immanent. In times past, God had been long suffering and yet now He called upon all
men everywhere to repent, because the Day of Judgment was at hand. Paul preached
for closure. Pauls preaching met with both acceptance and rejection. When it was
rejected, Paul did not simply leave, he shook the dust from his feet (Acts 18:6, Matthew
10:14) showing them that they had been rejected. Pauls preaching of the Gospel
demanded a moral response (Missionary Methods 63).
Allen argues that the key theological content of Pauls preaching can be seen
in his letter to the Thessalonians (68). Allen argues that since Paul was only there for a
short time (he preached at the synagogue for three Sabbaths), his follow-up epistle to
them would have focused upon the essentials of the faith. Allen argues the letter reflects
a summary of Pauls preaching.
1. There is only one true and living God (1:9).
2. Idolatry is sinful and must be forsaken (1:9).
3 The wrath of God is revealed against the heathen for their impurity (4.6) and against
the Jews for their rejection of the Christ and their opposition to the Gospel (2:15,16).
4 The judgment will come suddenly and unexpectedly (5:2, 3).
5. Jesus the Son of God (1:10), given over to death (5:10) and raised from the dead
(4:14), is the Savior from the wrath of God (1:10).
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6. The kingdom of Jesus is now set up and all men are invited to enter it (2:12).
7. Those who believe and turn to God are now expecting the coming of the Savior who
will return from heaven to receive them (1:10, 4:15-17).
8. Meanwhile their life must be pure (4:1-8), useful (4:11, 12), and watchful (5:4-8).
9. To that end God has given them the Holy Spirit (4:8, 5:19).
The book of Acts also shows that Paul preached in different ways to different
audiences. Paul had two audiences, the Jews at the synagogues who knew the
Scriptures and the Greeks who did not. While Paul preached the same Gospel, the
manner in which he preached it was not the same. When preaching to the Jews
(Antioch) he stressed the Old Testament Scriptures and fulfillment. When preaching to
the Gentiles (Lystra and Athens) Paul stressed natural revelation, the sovereignty of
God, the resurrection, and the final judgment. We will look at this again in lesson 8.
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1-11; Eph. 5:1). P.T Obrien (83) writes: Four times in the epistle to the Philippians he
calls upon his own Christian friends to emulate his own example: He wants them to have
the same attitude of mind in relations to their ultimate goals (Phil. 3:15), to be united in
imitating him and to pay careful attention to others, following the apostolic pattern (3:17).
Finally, he urged them to put into practice the things that they had learned and received
from him (4:9; cf 2:17). As he writes to Christian friends at Thessalonica he positively
claimed: you became imitators of us and of the Lord (1Thess. 1:6). Additional examples
of the apostles letters could be cited to illustrate the point that Paul presented himself as
a model to be followed, not only by his fellow workers but also in his churches (cf. 1 Cor.
4:16,10:31-11:1; Eph 5:1; 1 Thess. 2:14; 2 Thess. 3:7-9).
Paul not only preached the Gospel, he also self-consciously tried to model
the Gospel in his life. Paul preached free grace and physically demonstrated this by
never burdening his converts. He preached free grace and he preached the Gospel for
free. The fact that Paul never sought to be a burden and was always careful never to
give the appearance that he was using the Gospel for wealth pointed to his own
sincerity and the free and gracious nature of the Gospel. By his life and conduct he
sought to show the Gospel. Paul supported himself by tent making and by gifts from
other churches in the work; he never sought payment for his work from the group to
which he was bringing the Gospel.
The modeling of the Gospel was more than Paul trying to be consistent with
the message; it was a distinct teaching tool. P.T. Obrien (83, 84) quotes A J Malherbe
Pauls method of shaping a community was to gather converts around himself and by
his own behavior to demonstrate what he taught. 7 Pauls desire was that he would show
the Gospel in his life allowing that others could follow his example even as he followed
Christs example (1 Cor. 11:1). Paul never desires that they follow him personally; rather,
he desires that they follow him as he followed Christ.
There are a number of practical ways that Paul modeled Christ.
1. He took no ones bread; he worked for free so he could not be accused of being in the
ministry for money. Although Paul believed that a minister is worthy of his wages, as a
missionary he sought never to be burden upon the churches to which he ministered.
2. He lived and taught amongst the converts for a period. He was not remote from them.
7 P.T. Obrien A.L Malherber, Paul and the Thessalonians. Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 52
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understand how he saw the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles. Paul explained
the role of Israel and the Gentiles in Romans 9-11. This is a complex area and I will just
offer a short overview. God chose Israel. Even though Israel rejected God (11), He still
maintained a remnant. The rejection of Israel was still part of Gods plan. Through the
rejection of Christ, the Gentiles were brought in. The process of the hardening of Israel
led to the bringing in of the Gentiles. This can be illustrated from Acts 13:44-47: On the
next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when
the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and
blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew
bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but
since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to
the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: I have set you as a light to the
Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.
The acceptance of the Gospel by the Gentiles then led to Israels jealousy.
Through her jealousy they are in turn converted. Through this process salvation is for
the Jews and the Gentiles.
The ingrafting of the Gentiles: The rejection of Israel and the Gospel going to the
world did not end Gods relationship with Israel and it did not create two different
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entities, Israel and the church. The Gentile church was ingrafted into Israel. In lesson
2.7. above we saw that the nation of Israel pointed to and was fulfilled in Christ. The
Gentiles were grafted into Christ and so into Israel. The boast of the Gentiles is not that
they have replaced the Jews, rather it is that the Gentiles have been grafted into the
Jewish root: Romans 11:16-18 states: For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy;
and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off,
and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a
partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But
if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Paul saw Gentile mission as an extension of Israel. The preaching of the Gospel
to the nations did not mean that Israel was rejected; rather it meant that Israel would be
jealous and return to God. This framework explains why Paul, the apostle to the
Gentiles, preached the Gospel to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. In Acts we see
Paul applied this principle in his own evangelismPaul preached the Gospel first to
Israel, then to the Gentiles. This was motivated by his love for Israel and his
understanding of Gods sovereign purpose.
Principle 7. Pauls method was to take the Gospel to the Jewish synagogues first
and then to the Gentiles (See Cyprus, 13:5; Psidion Antioch 13,14; Lystra 14:1; Philippi
16:10; Beria 17:1,10; Corinth 17:16; Athens 18:4. See the summary statement in Act
14:1,17:2). Since Paul was unique, we are not under the same obligations. He was a
Jew, sent from the Jews, but we must always remember Gods promises to Israel have
not been forsaken and we must always seek for ways to bring the Gospel to the Jews.
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been more of a teacher and he was used by God to build up existing church.
Conclusion
Paul was uniquely chosen by God to be the missionary to the Gentiles. Paul
was both unique and also a paradigm for mission. Paul laid down many important
principles for Missions in the New Testament and we should follow his model as closely
as possible.
Summary
Paul was called to take the Fathers plan of salvation to the Gentiles. Paul
saw himself primarily as an evangelist who was to take the Word to those who had not
heard. Pauls aim was to found churches, to evangelize them and build them up. The
obedience of the Gentiles refers to conversion but also to their actual obedience to
Christ, even as Christ was obedient to the Father. Because Paul had established church
in major centers, Paul could say that he had fully preached the Gospel in Asia.
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3.1. Cyprus
3.1.1. The Link between Antioch and Cyprus
The first mission journey began on the island of Cyprus. We are not told
expressly why Cyprus was chosen but we do know that there were strong links between
Antioch and Cyprus. Barnabas and many others in the church at Antioch were from
Cyprus so they knew the area and probably felt a debt to their homeland.
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13:2,7). After the incident with the Jew Elymas Bar-Jesus (or certainly by the end of this
chapter) Luke begins to speak of Paul and his party: Now Paul and his companions set
sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13). This is significant for
two reasons: First Paul has emerged as the leader of the group. This was Pauls calling
as an apostle and so it was natural that he would take precedence, it must also have
reflected something of his strength and leadership ability. He takes the lead role in the
incident with Elymas the Sorcerer (Acts 13:6-12). Secondly, Sauls name was changed
(see Acts 13:9) to Paul. Saul was his Jewish identity, and yet as a Roman citizen Paul
was his Roman name. Saul the Jew became Paul the missionary in a non-Jewish
Roman world.
Principle 14. Paul changed his name to better identify with the Greeks. He did
what he could to better communicate the Gospel.
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fulfillment. He stressed that the promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Christ. 8
We will briefly outline the sermon and refer to it again in Lesson 8. Pauls sermon was a
model for Jewish evangelism (Donnelley).
The sermon divides into three parts. Paul began by stressing Gods historical
dealing with the Jews (17-22). He then stressed that Christ was the fulfillment of the Old
Testament (23-37). Finally he challenged the hearers to accept or reject the message.
The sermon was tailored to his Jewish audience. The key to Pauls message was that
God from the family of David had raised up the Messianic Deliverer, and that His name
was Jesus. When preaching to Jews, Paul closed the sermon with direct application, the
offer of forgiveness in Christ that was not available through the Law of Moses (38,39)
and a warning if the Gospel was rejected (40,41).
Principle 15. Paul preached differently to the Jews and to the Gentiles. He
adapted his message to his audience.
Principle 16. To the Jews Paul focused upon how Jesus fulfilled the Old
Testament Scriptures.
8 The events and sermon at Pisidian are very close to Peters on the day of Pentecost. If we
compare Peters and Pauls sermons the similarities are striking, indicating this was a common
way for the Gospel to be preached to the Jews, whether by Paul or any of the apostles.
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3.3. Iconium
Paul traveled 90 miles to Iconium, a town built upon a strategic road junction.
There preaching had better results but the Jews rose up in opposition again. Luke
summarized the ministry as follows:
Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the
Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the
brethren. Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was
bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by
9 For Pauls own commentary on this, see Romans 9-11; lesson 5, section 6
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their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part
with the apostles. And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews,
with their rulers, to abuse and stone them (Acts 14:1-7).
Acts 14:5 shows an attempt was to be made on their lives by Greeks and
Jews and so they continued onward.
3.4. Lystra
3.4.1. Evangelizing Those with no Jewish Background
Lystra was important. Here Paul and Barnabas evangelized a group with little
Jewish background and Gentiles who did not speak Greek as a first language. (Donnelly
notes that Timothy came from Lystra and may have been converted on this visit, Acts
16:1) This was extreme cross-cultural ministry; Paul was reaching across both linguistic
and cultural divides to a group without any biblical background (11).
Paul healed a man and due to the barrier noted above, the act is immediately
misinterpreted. Pauls actions were ascribed to local gods, rather than to the power of
the Gospel. Barnabas was called Zeus and Paul was called Hermes. The Lystrians had
taken the Gospel signs and message and had reworked it into their own cultural
background. This event shows the real danger and difficulty of cross-cultural ministry
and is a warning to all missionaries, particularly those going to totally unevangelized
areas. Paul realized what was happening and corrected them. Luke recorded his
teaching in Acts 14:14-18. Paul exhortation here was similar to his teaching before the
completely Gentile audience of the Jews in Athens (Acts 17:22-34). These two
passages need to be studied together to understand Pauls method of purely Gentile
evangelism.
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one of extreme hardship. He suffered terribly, even to the point of death. Pauls mission
showed the foolishness of the kingdom even as it was revealed in Christs own life.
Principle 17. Paul suffered great persecution in his ministry, yet he continued.
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laws? A group called the Judaisers pressed these issues. In Acts 15:1 we are told they
came down from Jerusalem. In Acts 15:5 they are called some of the sect of the
Pharisees who believed. From this we understand that they were believing Jews
(Christians) who were sincere but very wrong on these issues. The issue came to a
head at Antioch. Peter and Barnabas were influenced by the group who had come to
Jerusalem. They withdraw from the Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-16). Paul stepped in to correct
Peter (he challenged Peter as to his hypocrisy indicating that Peter did not really believe
this teaching but he went along with the Jews from Jerusalem). Paul also wrote to the
church rejecting their teaching in the harshest terms, Galatians 1. To clarify the matter,
the church in Antioch appointed and sent Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem to
address the issue (Acts 15:1, 2).
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idolatry, immortally and meat that still contained its blood. The Jerusalem council was a
major step forward in the mission of the church. The church was now free to go into all
the world unhampered by Jewish cultural requirements and Jew and Gentiles were seen
as equal in Christ in the church.
Conclusion
The first missionary journey was a major step forward for the church. For the
first time the church at Antioch began a mission program. The mission was successful
but both unconverted Jews and Jews within the church itself opposed it.
Summary
The church at Antioch began the fist formal mission. Paul and Barnabas were
sent by the church and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. Paul
became the leader. He preached first to the Jews and then to the Greeks. He was
successful but suffered extreme persecution by the Jews. They founded churches and
then retuned to their sending church.
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The Apostle Paul was not independent; rather Paul honored the authority of the
church. The Holy Spirit spoke to the church telling her to separate Paul and Barnabas
and the church obeyed. She prayed, fasted and then laid hands upon them. Pauls
mission was based upon both the churchs authority and Christs direct commission.
This stressed the centrality of the church in mission. Mission was from the church and
aimed to found church. The church also played a central role in mission in Acts 15, the
Jerusalem Council. At the council the church, the elder, and the apostles formulated a
vision and theology for mission for the church. Both Acts 13 and Acts 15 show the
authority and centrality of the church in every aspect of mission.
Principle 20. Paul never acted independently of the church.
2. The centrality of the church in mission is evident from Pauls evangelism.
Paul did not stop at personal evangelism; he sought to plant churches. He did not
establish schools or medical missions; he founded churches. Once a church was
founded, he expected that the church would then become the focusthe Gospel
spreading from it into the area (1Thess.1:8). Paul worked that the church would grow to
maturity (Eph. 4:6-14). Pauls great desire was that she should be independent and
mature as soon as possible. In contrast, many missionaries feel the need to hold on to
and control the mission work. They forget that the church, as well as their own life, is
only carried on through the Spirit. Paul did not forget. He believed that conversion and
the ongoing health of the church was not dependent upon him but rather it was
dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
Principle 21. Paul planted churches.
Paul did not spend long in founding churches. Because he was forced to
leave due to persecution, his stops were often short. Despite this, the churches survived
and grew. Even in Ephesus and Corinth, Paul only stayed for 3 years and 18 months
respectively. This was enough time for Paul to start and develop churches, appoint
elders and continue his mission. Paul did send helpersTimothy, Titus, Epaphrasfrom
time to time, but his supervision and visits and letters were occasional. The reality that
the church is Christs kingdom upon the earth, ruled by the Holy Spirit, allowed Paul to
commit it into Christs care and move on. The churches took responsibility for their own
actions and grew to maturity quickly.
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Principle 22. Paul believed in the power and authority of the local church, not
the missionary.
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not academic. When we focus upon the academic, we often focus on the wrong things.
The need to train to our standard can also mean that we delay the proper appointment
of elders unduly. If this persists, the church will not be established and its dependence
upon missionaries will continue.
Principle 23. Paul sought to establish the organization, baptism and elders of
the local church as quickly as possible in order for the church to take responsibility as
soon as possible.
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There are many practical benefits from this course of action. It helps the
offender, as it is his peers who challenge him concerning his actions. Allen states:
[W]hat is needed is the public censure of the majority of the fellow churchman to
awaken his conscience (123). It calls the church to exercise lordship in spiritual matters,
to grow in maturity, to follow after Christ (1 Cor. 5:1-2). By these actions, the local body
makes a statement to the community about its own standards, rather than the
missionary making a statement about his standards. Rolland Allen states: but of course
it is quite impossible for us to exercise any real discipline unless the common
conscience of the church is really injured by the offence. That conscience needs to be
quickened. By throwing the responsibility on the majority St Paul stirred and educated
the conscience of the whole Christian church (124). Paul appealed to the corporate
conscience to check the serious and growing evils in the church, arguing and pleading
that the Holy Spirit might enlighten and strengthen his converts .When we exercise
discipline we leave the church undisciplined. He disciplines the church: we discipline the
individuals. He left the church, and it stood, tottered on its feet, but still standing: we
leave the church without any power of standing at all (124).
If this is true of Paul, it must be even truer of the local missionary. The local
missionary is not an apostle. He does not speak directly for Christ as Paul did. He has
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Third, Paul wished to use his own life as an example of Gospel life. He modeled
hard work and giving as part of the Gospel call.
Fourth, Paul did not take financial support form his converts. As we have
already notes in lesson 5, in the use of money Paul self-consciously modeled the
Gospel.
Principle 25. Paul as a missionary did not ask for money when he was
founding a church.
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Principle 27. Paul provided for himself by tent making to support his ministry
The church, once established, should support mission in the same way it
supports the elder/pastors. Paul took gifts from the churches that had been established
to help in his mission to new churches. I robbed other churches, taking wages from
them to minister to you (2 Cor.11:8).
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churches are distracted and end up taking resources from the Gospel ministry. In many
cases the local church is left with maintaining the buildings and other expenses the
church cannot bear and so the mission then becomes secular and business focused
instead of reaching out to save souls.
The danger of losing focus is as old as the church itself. In Acts 6 the apostles
were involved in the work of feeding and distributing food to the poor. A dispute led the
apostles to recognize that their job was to minister the Word and be in prayer, not spend
time administering food, no matter how important.
The use of money in this way also misplaces our witness. The focus upon
buildings and material things that are seen as important in the West leads us to
misrepresent the essence of what is important in ministry. This also makes the passing
on of the mission impossible. With such a high financial aim, there is no room for the
local church to take over. The focus on the material and educational gives a false view
of what the Gospel ministry really is.
In these situations we need to reaffirm the primary importance of the Word
and the Spirit and prayer. The Holy Spirit works in His church. The success of Gospel
ministry is not dependant upon the wealth of the mission.
The above discussion shows Paul had a very high view of the authority and
the work of the Spirit in the church. Paul stressed that the church was in Christ, indwelt
by the Spirit. His desire was that those in the church mature as fast as possible. Allen
makes the following important point on Pauls ministry. He states: He did not trust them
because he believed in their natural virtue or intellectual sufficiency. He believed in the
Holy Spirit within them (125). Any missionary must have faith in the Spirit. It is accepted
that there will be degrees of growth. The author in Hebrews 6 referred to them as
children and yet that is principally the work of the Spirit who dwells in the churches.
Pauls principles humbled the missionary. All too often the missionary comes
with a sense of superiority over the new mission church. Allen points out that this is
incorrect: Mission is not something that the missionary does because we are complete
and we wish to take what we have found to others. Of the mission church of his day he
says, we have not learned the lesson that it is not for righteousness that we have been
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entrusted with the Gospel but that we may be instruments in Gods hands for revealing
the universal salvation of this Son in all the world .. We have not learned the lesson
that our own hope, our own salvation, our own glory, lie in the completion of the temple
of the Lord. We have not understood that as members of the body of Christ we have
been scattered in all lands, and that we without them, are not made perfect. We have
thought of the temple of the Lord as complete in us, of the body of Christ as consisting
of us, and we have thought conversion of the heathen as the extension of the body to
which we are members. Consequently we have preached the Gospel from the point of
view of the wealthy man who casts a might into the lap of the devil, rather than from the
point of view of the husbandman who casts his seed into the earth, knowing that his life
and the lives of all connected with him depend upon the crop that will result from his
labor (142,143).
Conclusion
The church is central to mission. The missionary is an agent of the church
and his aim should be to found churches. Paul models the role of the missionary in his
conduct towards the church in questions of authority, discipline, oversight and finances.
Summary
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The relationship between the missionary and the mission church is very
important. Paul gave a great deal of responsibility, power, and authority to the local
churches, even to young churches. He did this because he believed that the church was
only founded, kept, maintained, and could only grow through the work of the Spirit. Allen
writes, It is not a question of our faith in them: it is still more a question of our faith in
the Holy Ghost. We look too much at our converts as they are by nature. St Paul looked
at his converts as they were by grace (125). Paul believed in the power of the local
church, that they should take responsibility in all major ecclesiastical matters and that
they should be responsible for their own finances.
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2.1. Acts 10
Initially the early church continued to operate in the culture in which it was
born. It continued to observe Jewish customs and to meet at the temple (Acts 4); it also
continued to observe the food laws (Acts 10) and to practice circumcision (Acts 15).
Although these things were no longer theologically necessary, the church existed and
operated within that culture and saw no need to change. This changed with Stephens
martyrdom.
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Until the time of Stephens martyrdom, most of the mission work had been
carried out in Jerusalem. When persecution forced the church to scatter, the process of
taking the Gospel to the world began (Acts 8:1). The Gospel was preached in Judea
and Samaria and into the whole world. With the spread of the Gospel, the nature of the
converts changed. The conversion of Samarians and others from further afield led to
new theological and cultural issues.
Corneliuss conversion in Acts 10 illustrates this shift. Through the conversion
of Cornelius, Peter, and later the whole church, was forced to radically rethink their
theology, life, and mission. As a faithful Jew, Peter kept the food laws, laws given to
teach the Jews the distinction between clean and unclean and as part of this; it
prevented Jews from mixing with the immoral and culturally unclean Gentiles. Then God
commanded Peter to go with the three Gentile men sent by Cornelius (10:15, 19, 10:2429). Peter obeyed. He preached the Gospel (Acts10: 34-43) and the Holy Spirit was
poured out, bringing salvation to the Gentiles. Peter then baptized them (10:47, 48).
Through these actions, God changed both the cultural and theological nature of the
church and the convert.
First, Peter, representing the Jewish church, was taught to not call anything
unclean. With the outpouring of the Spirit, Bruce remarks, Actually in terms of the vision
on the housetop at Joppa taught him to call no food profane or unclean if God
pronounced it clean: but he was quick to grasp the analogy between the ceremonial
food laws and the conventions affecting intercourse with non-Jews. It was largely
because of their lack of scruples in food matters that Gentiles were ritually unsafe
people for a pious Jew to meet socially. Intercourse with Gentiles was not categorically
forbidden: but it was liable to render a Jew ceremonially unclean. As was entering a
Gentile building or the handling of articles belonging to Gentiles.hence, all forms of
intercourse with Gentiles, to accept their hospitality and sit at a table with them was
most intolerable. Peters lesson was so impressed upon his mind that he accompanied
Corneliuss messengers without scruples or protest (210).
Second, the full acceptance of the Gentiles into Gods people was now
based, not upon the cleanliness regulations, but upon the Holy Spirit being poured out
upon them. Peter saw that the external code of laws for purity that separated clean from
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unclean, was now replaced by a new work, that of the Spirit. Now those who had the
inward work of the Spirit within their hearts were considered clean and accepted. No
further act or rituals were needed. This was a new concept for Peter. Peter was being
taught that true separation unto God and cleanliness come through the world of the
Spirit, not through the Old Testament laws and regulations. The outpouring of the Spirit
made Peter think about the law, the Spirit and holiness in a new manner. Peter was
forced to think about his own theology. Newbegin states, The implication of this
mission changes not just the world but it also changes the church. In this case there is
the conversion of the church as well as the conversion of Cornelius (XX). Through the
conversion of Cornelius, the church was forced to wrestle with the situation.
3. Third, since a Roman was now accepted as a full member of the church
without having to be a cultural Jew, the very nature of the church was changed. Spiritsanctified Roman culture now coexisted with spirit-sanctified Jewish culture. To
paraphrase Newbegin, it is not as though the church opened it gates to admit a new
person into its company and then closed them again, remaining unchanged except for
an addition to a name upon its roll or members.
Corneliuss conversion illustrated that mission was not just church extension;
it was something more costly and more revolutionary. Peters mission defined his
theology and forced theological and cultural changes.
Newbegin notes: Theologically, Peter begins by rejecting what seems to be
an assault on his fidelity to the Law (10:9-16). His whole identity as a son of Israel is
bound up with the strict obedience to the commandments. But despite these scruples he
is persuaded to go to the home of the heathen officer and to tell him the Gospel story.
Before he could finish the situation passes out of his control. Cornelius and his
household are caught up in a way that cannot be gainsaid, to the same freedom and joy
that Peter and others has known since Pentecost. Peter understands that he is not in
control. A power greater than his own has broken the hedge that protects devoted Jews
from the uncleanness of the heathen worlds. Peter can do nothing but humbly accept
the fact and receive these uncircumcised pagans by baptism into the fellowship of the
church (10:47-48) and it is the Spirit who leads the church into a greater fullness of the
truth, a truth that she has not yet fully grasped.
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The challenge to the mission church can be put in this manner: Will the
church simply try to stamp its own identity upon the new converts or will the Spirits
leading cause it to reflect upon its own spiritual life and conduct?
Principle 29. The New Testament church struggled with integration. Integration did not
occur easily or naturally; rather, it was something that had to be taught by the Spirit of
God.
Principle 30. Mission churches must understand that the mission of the church not only
blesses the nations but also brings blessings to the church. By the Holy Spirits leading,
salvation is brought and the missionaries are lead into a deeper understanding of the
truth. This mutual and reciprocal process is led by the Holy Spirit.
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the shock might have been even more severe. The Corinthian in Judea found himself in
a society that was stiff, uncouth, formal, and pedantic. The Jewish Christians in Corinth
must have thought that the church was given over to unbridled license. Uncircumcised
Christians attended the feasts of their pagan friends in heaven temples. Every letter of
the ceremonial law was apparently broken without rebuke. Even in the meeting of the
church, preaching and prayers were built upon a strange system of thought which could
hardly be called Christian, and there was the most undignified freedom of conducted
(124).
The difference in cultures led the Jews and Greeks to suspicions of one
another. Could the Jews really trust the Gentiles? Would this new Jewish culture not
swap out the old Jewish ways? What would happen if some of the old Jewish
safeguards were removed? Would this lead to immorality and idolatry entering the
church? How could Jews have fellowship with these Gentiles? Allen also suggests that
there was a great dangerif the churches did not culturally conform, they could be
excommunicated. This was the radical context of mission in the New Testament.
Paul noted and accepted this distinction. Paul believed that each of the
churches could and should develop independently, and that new Gentile converts
should not be forced into following Jewish customs. At the same time, Paul was eager
not to give offense to either group and he actively tried to maintain the unity of the
church.
We will consider this under the heading of Pauls preaching and practical
approach to theological and cultural practices.
Paul preached in different ways when addressing the Jews or the Gentiles
(Acts 14, acts 17). Pauls content remained the same, even though the way he spoke to
both groups was different. Paul tailored his message to fit his audience; he was
sensitive to their backgrounds. In Acts 14, his first recorded address in the Pisidian
Antioch synagogue, Paul stressed the Old Testament promises and their fulfillment in
Christ. Since the Jews possessed and were familiar with the Scriptures, Paul could
assume their knowledge and thus focus on proving that Jesus was the Christ from the
Old Covenant. His method was to show the Old Testament promises and their
fulfillment.
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A culture is a way of living, an outlook and practice that is shaped by and shapes a local
community. This culture comprises of language, and ideas and practices, laws and social
customs. These cultures are learned by the community and passed down from generation
to generation. Language is a powerful aspect of the culture as it influences and controls the
concept and idea of the community. Different languages have different words that define
and limit the ability to communicate other ideas into the community. A culture is not static; it
is always changing. It changes vertically from generation to generation (through time) and it
changes horizontally as it comes into contact with other cultures. The difficulty for the
missionary is to respect the local expression of culture while still changing the culture by the
power of the Gospel. He must also be able to distinguish between his own culture and
Gospel principles. He must remember that his own culture is not neutral and that all
cultures, including his own, must be brought under the Lordship of Christ.
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presented in the Scripture for our believing is Lord over all cultures, and His purpose is
to unite all of every culture to Himself in a unity that transcends, without negation the
diversity of culture (149).
A way that the missionary can assess different cultures, including his own,
Newbegin suggests, is through the triangle of the Scriptures, the missionarys culture
and the mission culture.
Scripture
Missionary culture
Convert Culture.
Principle 34. The cultures of the world are all subject to the Scriptures.
As the two cultures interact, the cultural and theological differences of each
culture will be exposed. This is a positive process as once exposed, the Scripture can
then examine the cultures. The missionary in the process of entering another culture will
be exposed to new ideas. This may expose things that he had accepted, things he had
taken for grant. This then forces him into the Scriptures and allows them to shed light
upon those issues, thus leading him into a deeper understanding of the truth. He will be
forced to reevaluate his own culture as well as the culture into which he is going. Culture
examination will be an ongoing process in the missionarys life. A deeper understanding
of the culture forces a deeper understanding of the true scriptural principles. In both
Acts 10 and Acts 15 the church was forced to confront and eventually reassess aspects
of her culture and theology. The mission to the Gentiles self-consciously forced the
church to reevaluate.
Newbegins triangle can also be more specifically expressed in old creation, new
creation terms. Paul recognized that Israel was part of the old creation, even as the
Gentiles were. These cultures were both part of the old creation, both were passing
away, and only the things of the new creation would remain. Due to this, neither the
missionarys nor the converts cultures were dominant. Neither could claim supremacy.
In fact, Paul argued that both cultures were in a real sense irrelevant. If it was helpful to
the Gospel, the culture could be followed, if it not, it should be rejected. Paul said that
food is for the stomach, the stomach is for food, but God will destroy both. Due to this,
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New Creation
Principle 32. The cultures of the world are all part of the old creation.
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such commandment it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send
chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their
lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas,
who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy
Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that
you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from
sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell
(Acts 15:23-29).
The churchs decision had the following implications: 1. The church refused to
set up a central administrative authority from which the whole church was to receive
directions in the conduct of local affairs. 2. They declined to establish an apriori test of
orthodoxy that would satisfy us for all time. They also declined to set a fixed list of rules,
preferring the broad application of principles of the Scriptures. 3. Each of the churches
was free to develop their own cultures under the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:27).
The mission of Paul and the Jerusalem Decree set the direction for mission
in the New Testament. While the primary issue was theological, it carried with it huge
cultural implications. By rejecting the need to impose circumcision and the law, it also
rejected transplanting Jewish culture over the Gentile churches. The importance of this
cannot be overestimated. The one church of Christ was now free to take a very different
form in Jewish and Gentile worlds. The old Jewish model, drawn from centuries of
worship, would not control the Gentile churches. They would be expected to develop
within their own culture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This decree meant that
Jewish and Gentile churches would develop in very different ways.
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be one as the body and the temple. Unity in Christ broke down the great cultural barrier
between the Jew and the Gentile and so it breaks down all cultural barriers.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle
wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from
the two, thus making peace, Eph. 2:14-15.
2. He kept the churches informed about one another. Paul made sure that the various
churches knew about each other. After the Jerusalem Council, Paul traveled around to
the churches to explain the decree. Paul made sure that he kept the individual churches
informed of his activities. But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing,
Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known
to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs,
and that he may comfort your hearts (Eph. 6:21). When Paul could not go, he sent one
of his messengers to tell the churches how he was doing.
Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you
all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know
your circumstances and comfort your hearts (Col. 4:7-8). This frequent flow of
information promoted unity.
3. Paul promoted the unity of the church through practical means. Paul was concerned
about the poor, particularly those in Jerusalem. Early in Pauls ministry Paul took famine
relief from Antioch to the church in Jerusalem. Later, on the third mission journey, Paul
used famine relief to unite the Gentiles and Jews. Paul deliberately organized a
collection from all the Gentile churches to collect money for the impoverished Jerusalem
church. Paul did this to provide help, but also to promote unity between both churches.
Principle 35. While Paul respected the diversity of the church, Paul also did
everything in his power to promote unity through acts of sacrificial love.
Conclusion
Cross-cultural ministry is a major theme in Acts and the New Testament. The
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Jewish church was forced to meet cross-cultural challenges as she emerged from Israel
to evangelize the Gentile nations. This was a process, and the church grew into it.
Summary
In the New Testament, the Gospel that had been confined to Israel, went out
into the world. A major step occurred in Corneliuss conversion. Through bringing the
Gospel to the Gentiles, the Jewish church deepened her own theological understanding.
Paul was very conscious of the cross-cultural ministry. He reflected this in the way he
preached and the way he dealt with issues of circumcision and meat offered to idols.
The Jerusalem Council not only affirmed the basis of salvation but its decision also
meant that the Gentile churches could develop within their own culture.
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Bibliography
Allen, Roland, The Ministry of the Spirit. Cambridge, Lutterworth Press, 2006.
Allen, Roland, Missionary Methods. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2001.
Allen, Roland, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, Cambridge,
Lutterworth Press, 2006.
Bavinck, J.H., An Introduction to the Science of Missions. Philipsburg:
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1960; Edinburgh, Scotland: Banner of
Truth Trust, 1984.
Berkhoff, Lois, Systematic Theology, Edinburgh, Banner of Truth, 1984
Bruce, F.F., The Book of Acts, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988.
Donnelley, Edward, Unpublished Lectures, Trinity Pulpit, No Date.
Hendrickson, William, Survey of the Bible, Welwyn, Evangelical Press, 1977.
Luther, Martin. A Commentary on Saint Pauls Epistle to the Galatians, Michigan,
Baker Book House, 1979.
OBrien, P.T. Gospel and Mission in the Writing of Paul. Grand Rapids, Baker
Books, 2001.
Newbegin, Leslie, The Open Secret, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1995.
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Ed. Green, J.B. McKnight, S, Marshall,
I.H,. Downers Grove, Inter Varsity Press, 1992
Ramsey,
Richard.
St
Paul
the
www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html.
Traveler,
online
at
115
Wright, N.T. The Resurrection and the Son of God, Minneapolis, Fortress Press,
2003.
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117
Principle 6. Missionary activity was not to be done alone. Early missionaries traveled in
groups for a witness and support.
Principle 7. Paul was unique in this: Pauls method was to take the Gospel to the Jewish
synagogues first and then to the Gentiles.
Principle 8. While Paul is an important paradigm for mission, there were a number of
other missionaries upon whom we can model missions.
Principle 9. Mission is Spirit-driven and the Spirit acts through the church.
Principle 10. Mission is the activity of churches; they should send out their missionaries.
Churches are the only New Testament sending agencies recognized by the Scriptures.
Principle 11. There is a strong presumption that missionaries need to be recognized
leaders (probably officers) in the local church before going to the field.
Principle 12. Paul centered upon major centersPisidian Antioch, Ephesus, Athens, and
Corinthwhere he could reach the maximum number of people and the maximum
number of people could reach others.
Principle 13. Paul went to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles.
Principle 14. Paul changed his name to better identify with the Greeks. He did what he
could to better communicate the Gospel.
Principle 15. Paul preached differently to the Jews than he did to the Gentiles. He
adapted his message to his audience.
Principe 16. To the Jews, Paul focused upon how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament
Scriptures.
Principle 17. Paul suffered great persecution in his ministry, yet he continued.
Principle 18. Paul always returned to visit the churches.
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Principle 19. The elders made decisions in Jerusalem. The decisions were based upon
Scriptures and the evidence.
Principle 20. Paul never acted independently of the church.
Principle 21. Paul planted churches.
Principle 22. Paul believed in the power and authority of the local church, not the
missionary.
Principle 23. Paul sought to establish the organization, baptism and elders of the local
church as quickly as possible in order for them to take responsibility as soon as
possible.
Principle 24. Paul used his power in the church sparingly. He encouraged the church to
deal with problems themselves.
Principle 25. Paul, as a missionary, did not ask for money when he was founding a
church.
Principle 26. Pauls mission focused upon preaching and teaching.
Principle 27. Paul provided for himself by tent making to support his ministry.
Principle 28. Paul did not bring regular financial aid to the churches.
Principle 29. The New Testament church struggled with integration; it did not occur
easily or naturally. It was something that they had to be taught by the Spirit of God.
Principle 30. Mission churches must understand that the mission of the church is for
their own blessing as well as to bless the nations. Mission is not the haves bringing the
Gospel to the have-nots. Mission is led by the Holy Spirit in order that salvation is
brought, and in doing that mission, the missionaries are led into a deeper understanding
of the truth. This is a mutual and reciprocal process led by the Holy Spirit.
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Principle 31. While missionaries are free to accept or reject cultures, they are not bound
to them.
Principle 32. Although a missionary is not bound to the culture, he can and should take
up trappings of that culture so as not to make offense.
Principle 33. Often the key issue is not the act; it is the motivation behind the act.
Principle 34. The cultures of the world are all subject to the Scriptures.
Principle 35. While Paul respected the diversity of the church, he also did everything in
his power to promote unity through acts of sacrificial love.
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flourished, and then died. In these same decades, a Chinese church was borna
church that is today growing incredibly rapidly. From 1900 to 1950, Christianity in China
forsook its foreign origins and put on Chinese dress. The turbulent forces of history,
which shaped all aspects of China's politics, economy, and culture, also burst upon
foreign missionaries and Chinese Christians. If we take a historical telescope and focus
just on two years, 1932-1934, we can see the transformation of Christianity in China in
mid-stream. And it began with a transformation of the missionary endeavor itself. On an
autumn day in 1932, Pearl Buck, born in China of missionary parents and herself a
famous missionary there, strode to the podium in the ballroom of New York City's Hotel
Astor to address 2,000 Presbyterian women. Buck had just received the Pulitzer Prize
for her novel The Good Earth. Now she addressed the topic "Is There a Case for
Foreign Missions?" Her answer was technically "yes," but it was so qualified and
unenthusiastic, and her criticisms of missionaries for being arrogant, ignorant, and
narrow-minded were so trenchant, that she left her audience stunned. This event ignited
a firestorm of agitated comments by both critics and defenders of foreign missions in
almost all quarters of American Protestantism. It was a sign of the times.
Another sign of the times was the publication of Rethinking Missions: A Laymen's
Inquiry After One Hundred Years, commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr., the
foremost individual financial supporter of missions in the U.S. Widely circulated and
read, the Laymen's Report advocated an overhaul of missionary thinking, especially on
such questions as the exclusivity of Christianity. Also in 1932-33, Robert Service, the
former UC-Berkeley track star who had pioneered the establishment of YMCAs in
western China, was unexpectedly sacked. In the midst of the Great Depression and
dwindling contributions, the YMCA and other well-established missions in China had a
massive financial crunch in the early 1930s. Their expensive institution-heavy facilities,
especially hospitals, schools, and colleges, swamped the mission budgets. Many
missionaries headed home. The missions movement was clearly on the defensive.
Hopeful Signs
Despite these negative portents, however, there were still enthusiastic young people
answering the "call" to China. The China Inland Mission (CIM), that remarkable
multinational creation of J. Hudson Taylor, continued the dramatic growth it had enjoyed
since the late 1800s. Its "faith mission" principles (no denominational or other regular
financial support) managed to adapt to the new climate of scarcity. Even as other
missions were shrinking because of discouragement or shrinking budgets, the CIM
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that many other Chinese in 1900-1902. It was a disaster for China. Yet paradoxically,
this national trauma triggered a national reform movement. For a short time, the
xenophobia of the past was discredited and China was more open to the West. (Later,
the Communists would praise the Boxers as patriots.) This gave Christian missions in
China the largest opportunity they had ever hadtruly a "Golden Age." Mission schools
suddenly had high prestige and waiting lists. Members of the elite class became
Christians. Rates of growth skyrocketed, especially for Protestants. After the revolution
which overthrew the feeble Manchu dynasty in 1911-1912, the provisional president of
the young Republic was Sun Yat-sen, a baptized Christian. In 1913, the Republic's
second president asked the foreign missionary community in China to pray for the
nation. Protestant missionary numbers soared from more than 1,300 in 1905 to 8,000 in
1925. Many Christians were confident that events were moving inexorably towards the
"Christianization" of China. It was not to be. The Golden Age lasted less than two
decades, until the mid-1920s. What went wrong? During that time, practically all
missions in China failed to sufficiently cultivate a Chinese leadership in their mission
structures and to permit that leadership to shepherd the flock into independent and selfsupporting local churches. The rhetoric of moving from (foreign) mission to (Chinese)
church was always present, but it was mainly hollow. At times it appeared that the
foreign mission establishment had given way to Chinese leadership. The national
missionary conference of 1907 had only half a dozen Chinese delegates out of more
than a thousand; the next major conference in 1924 was called the "Christian" (not
"missionary") conference, and more than half the delegates were Chinese. But looks
were misleading. It was at best a partnership, and an imbalanced one at that. In almost
all cases, missionaries still controlled the purse-strings. The result was that the best
Chinese leaders nurtured by the Protestantssuch as Cheng Jingyi, respected head of
the Church of Christ in China, and Yu Richang (David Z. T. Yui), gifted national secretary
of the YMCAnever shed the image of being subordinate to foreign missionaries. The
Protestants put Chinese in leadership roles where they at least had the appearance of
responsibility and power, even if that power was limited by close association with foreign
missions. The Roman Catholic Church in China suffered even more from tokenism. The
Catholic hierarchies in China had for decades permitted (and closely supervised) the
training of Chinese priests, who were given mundane tasks and little responsibility. But
no Chinese bishops were consecrated until 1926, after a couple of maverick European
missionary priests, in particular Fr. Vincent Lebbe, convinced the pope to break the
stranglehold that the European hierarchy had over the Chinese clergy. Even so, Chinese
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priests still continued to be largely relegated to secondary roles in the local parishes,
and the new Chinese bishops were shunted into subsidiary functions.
Tainted by Association
There was almost certainly no conscious conspiracy among foreign missionaries to
deprive Chinese leaders of the means of emerging and flourishing. There was often
respect, genuine friendship, and collegial cooperation between missionaries and
Chinese priests and pastors. But in the new political atmosphere that was brewing after
1920 in China, such ties were fatally compromising to the Chinese involved. In the
1920s, popular resentment against foreigners' legal privileges in China, which dated
back to treaties signed by the Manchu government in the mid-1800s, boiled over. This
popular nationalism fueled the rapid rise of two major political parties that have
dominated Chinese politics from the 1920s to the present: the Kuomintang (the
Nationalists) and the Communists, which became bitter rivals and then mortal enemies.
The leader of the Nationalists was Chiang Kai-shek, himself a Christian convert and
married to Soong Mei-ling, the daughter of one of China's most prominent Christian
families. Under Chiang, there were several other Christians in government positions and
polite, even cordial relations with the foreign mission establishment. But even Chiang
agreed that foreign privileges should be eliminated as soon as possible, especially
immunity from Chinese laws. Missionaries were among those who enjoyed these
privileges. There had been the occasional missionary prophet (for example, Frank
Rawlinson, editor of the Shanghai missionary journal The Chinese Recorder) who
warned that the seeds of the "treaty system," as it was called, might bring a harvest of
wrath someday. That day arrived in the mid 1920s, and the most radical elements of
Chinese opinion considered missionaries, and for that matter Chinese Christians as
well, lackeys of foreign governments and of "world capitalist exploitation." These
attitudes, which pervaded the Communist Party, continued strong until the last foreign
missionaries were expelled from China in 1951-1952 by the new government. The
missionary community, and the mission project as a whole, paid a high price for its
failure to distance itself from at least some aspects of Western political, military, and
economic power in China. This portrayal of the missionary record may seem unfair to
some. Missions had brought many blessings to China. Chinese Christian schools had
been the first places where Chinese could receive a modern education, and the first to
permit enrollment of girls and to employ women teachers. Missionary hospitals and
clinics had saved tens of thousands of lives, and missionary-coordinated famine relief
saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Missionaries had been leaders in the
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movements to abolish the opium trade and to end the custom of binding and crippling
the feet of young girls as a means of increasing their desirability for marriage. All in all,
the missionaries' contribution to the making of modern China was considerable. Though
they were reviled and demonized by the new regime after 1949, they are quietly given
credit for their accomplishments and warmly welcomed back to visit China today.
Homegrown Faith
If missions were anathema to many Chinese, and many Chinese Christians were tainted
by their identification with foreign missionaries, how did Christianity enter the
Communist period with enough resilience to survive the dark valley of 30 years and to
flourish since 1980? After Japan went to war with China in 1937, most missionaries left,
but hundreds stayed in "Free China," beyond Japanese reach, and ministered during the
Pacific War. About 1000 others were interned in camps by the Japanese, where many
died, including Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire fame. Chinese Christians who remained
under Japanese rule now suddenly had full responsibility for their churches and
fellowships, and many rose to the challenge, developing leadership skills that were later
useful under Communism. In the brief period between the Japanese surrender in
August 1945 and the Communist victory in 1949, a few thousand missionaries returned
(including David Adeney). By this time the hated treaties were gone, and foreigners
were under Chinese law. But after the Communists took the upper hand in the civil war
and established their new government, they decided in 1951, in the context of the
Korean War, to expel all foreign missionaries. Dramatic stories abound about the
extrication of the last missionaries from the remote hinterlands of China. Thus ended the
foreign missions movement in China, but not the Christian movement. From the 1920s
on, there had been another, very healthy development: the growth of independent,
wholly Chinese-led movements that had roots deep enough for believers to hold fast
when the storms came. By 1949, it is likely that 25% of Chinese Protestants were in
these independent churches. They constitute a surprisingly little-known story, with some
fascinating personalities. The fiery evangelist John Sung traveled the country and drew
huge crowds. Fundamentalist pastor Wang Mingdao (who would have a fateful clash
with the new regime in the 1950s) built his own "tabernacle" for services in Beijing in
addition to speaking all over China (see page 21). Watchman Nee was working out his
Holy-Spirit-centered theology. Paul Wei, a Beijing cloth dealer, founded the True Jesus
Church, which grew explosively. Jing Dianying developed and ruled rural Christian
communities of the "Jesus Family," based on the principles of common ownership and
group-directed life. There were important female leaders as well, including Mary Stone.
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Her Bethel Seminary in Shanghai produced the "Bethel Band" of zealous young
musician-evangelists, who spread revival all over China. Resilient groups of believers
carried on, both in the missionary-related and the independent churches. The
missionaries were flawed but sincere sowers of the seed; it was left to the Chinese
Christians to take their faith into the last half of the 20th century and reap a bountiful
harvest in the 1980s and beyond.
Daniel Bays is professor of history and director of the Asian studies program at Calvin
College.
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Instructors Manual
Lesson One Answers
1.
Genesis 3:15
2.
Mission is Gods work
3.
Each Member of the Trinity is involved in Mission
4.
Matthew 3:1-17
5.
Father plans, the Son acts and is present, the Spirit applies the
The
Sons work.
6.
New Covenant brings in a new creation, the outpouring of the Spirit
The
and
Sonship.
7.
Circumcision and the old creation no longer matter.
8.
This reverses the Tower of Babel.
9.
Paul is a historically redemptive figure and yet he is also a model for
us.
10.
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funds.
No,
7.
129
8.
The Jews looked for a powerful deliverance from Rome; the Greeks sought
wisdom.
9.
effective.
3.
Jesus commanded them to wait until the Spirit was given.
4.
This is not a command; it is a promise of what God will do.
5.
John baptized with water, Acts 19. He looked forward to the later
outpouring
of the Spirit with Christ in Acts 2.
6.
God the Spirit is personally present in the church.
7.
It is a mark of Sonship.
8.
Acts 8:26-40 shows the Spirits control over the churchs mission.
9.
God dwells in His church; the church is now His temple.
10.
The Spirit is the basis of her unity, holiness and she lives by the power of
the
Spirit.
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7.
the
God called Israel. She rejected the Gospel and then the Gospel went to
nations. The conversion of the nations led to jealousy of the Jews and
their
8.
9.
10.
own conversion.
The church, the Spirit and Christ.
He was a skillful teacher. He strengthened the church.
The elders set the direction of New Testament mission.
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The exam is to be taken from the material outlined above. The examining instructor is to
take 30 questions from the questions at the end of each week and to administer a final
exam. I have provided an example exam, but the local examining instructor is
encouraged to set his own exam from the questions in order to meet local needs.
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25. What was the relationship between the apostle and the church as defined in Acts
13?
26. How many elders did Paul appoint in a new church? Why?
27. What is the advantage of making the church enforce its own discipline?
28. What did God teach Peter from the mission events?
29. According to Allen, what cultural barriers would the Jews and Gentiles have faced in
fellowship?
30. Describe the importance of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 in the context of mission.