How the Nature of God Relates to Theology of Missions - Research Paper Example

? Theology of Missions Contents Contents 2 Texts that relate to missions 3 Old Testament 3 New Testament 4 How the nature of God relates to mission theology 4 Mission theology, Ecclesiology and trinity 5 Themes of mission theology 6 Relationship of mission theology to missionary, church and lay men 7 Bibliography 8 Texts that relate to missions Old Testament Joseph was a young man loved and cherished by him father Jacob. The father’s approval provoked jealously that culminated in the attempts to kill him by his brothers. A late alternative caused his brothers to sell him to Egypt as a slave. However, this ended up being a divine plan for salvation. The integrity of Joseph made him a worthwhile missionary who was set to achieve a special purpose. According to the genesis 45 and 50, Joseph was never keen to revenge, rather he was swift to delivery him people from trouble. This is the making of any missionary sent by God in the history of the bible. Joseph confessed that what his brothers intended to evil, God intended for good to deliver the children of Israel from the danger of famine. This means that Joseph was commissioned by God to save the children1. The Old Testament records that for as long as Joseph was the prime minister, the children of Israel lived in Goshen, and had quality life. The role of Moses is crucial in the role of missions as accounted for in the holy bible. Prophet Moses was a leader sent by God to carry out an expansive mission to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. Moses became the voice of God to the Jewish people. Moses had a special purpose to counter the Egyptian gods and the tyranny of pharaoh. According to exodus chapter 12, God clearly sent Moses. This indicates that Moses was a missionary acting to represent the purposes of God. His was also to deliver a living God to Israelites in Egypt. Moses was explicit to the Egyptian authority on who sent him and His mission. According to Deuteronomy, Moses’ exhortatory appeal to the children of Israel stressed on the need to obey God and the divine law. New Testament According to Mathew 28, from verse 20 Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach the gospel. This text indicates the desire of the Lord Jesus to have His kingdom spread by the disciples and those who believe in His words. Jesus explained to role of the trinity in the great commission. Jesus commissioned disciples to make other disciples around the world. The text exposes a passionate desire for Jesus to have a generation believers to carry out His mission in His physical absentia. The disciples were empowered and legally duty bound to win souls to the kingdom of God. This was God’s plan of salvation. Act1:8 explains that the desire of Jesus to have the kingdom spread from Jerusalem to Judea, Samarian and the uttermost parts of the earth. This is a New Testament text that relates to mission. Jesus explained that His sole desire was to have the world evangelized through mission work. The text explained that Jesus was focused on winning souls across the world through mission initiatives. Later, in an encounter with Saul, Jesus said he was a chosen vessel to bear His name. How the nature of God relates to mission theology It is evidently vivid the nature of God related to missions. The house of Israel was termed as the people of God. Therefore, they were the object of God’s lessons to other nations. God spoke and explicitly intended the nations to know His might by considering His dealings with Israel2. According to Deuteronomy chapter 8, God had promised that he would lift the nation of Israel above all other nations on the face of the earth. In the sight of gentile nations, God wanted to be seen as both living and Holy, (Isaiah 61:9-11). The nature of God is revealed to the non-believers by the quality of life seen in those who are called by His Name. This is the reason God offered both blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The blessings indicated the desire for God to reveal His might through making the nation mighty and wealthy in every way. According to Ezekiel 36 verse 23, God promised to show Himself Holy through the nation of Israel. The missions by Joseph, Moses and others revealed the nature of God as One who uses His might to save and draw the attention of nations. God allowed difficult times to cause an adverse need for salvation. When God saved the children of Israel from Egypt, they gave out the Ten Commandments3. He identified Himself on the God who saved Israel from Egypt, the house of bondage. This was the first commandment. This revealed the nature of God as loving and jealous. God wants to be known and identified by the nations of the earth. Mission theology, Ecclesiology and trinity Mission theology relates to other aspects of theology. There is an integrating theme between biblical contexts, the faith community and missions. The theology of mission deals with many other theological themes. The theology of missions exposes the roles of Trinity in the salvation of man. The faithful intentions of God are brought into context when missions meet with ecclesiology. Ecclesiology refers to a theological analysis of the church in the Christian faith. Ecclesiology is not dispensable when it comes to mission theology. Missions are conducted in the light of a theological understanding. The discipline of the church demands Christian get involved in the missions to strengthen the pillars of the church. At the same time, trinity is viewed in the light of power and salvation to consolidate the Christian destiny. Ecclesiology exclusively focuses on how the church relates with Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior4. In addition, His role in the trinity is exposed and analyzed to strengthen the understanding and the role of the holy trinity in the eternal plan of salvation. According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus Christ ascribed all authority and power to His Father. He later left His followers with the Holy Spirit as a gift. The plan of salvation is clearly executed by the trinity through an ecclesiological focus. Ecclessiology also tends to focus on the leadership ethics of the church or the body of Christ5. The aim is to nature the church to get to its place of destiny. Christian faith explains that the church cannot get to the place of its destiny without the leadership and faith in the holy Trinity. These are the reason the meaning of the term-ecclesiology-had to evolve from a mere decoration of church building to matters to destiny in the Christian faith. The desire of God and church is spread through the right understanding of mission theology. Themes of mission theology The two principal themes of mission theology are to spread the kingdom of God and establish His purposes. The theology of missions draws incarnation nature from Jesus Christ and His ministry. Jesus established the Kingdom of God on earth. He also made it clear that he understands people. Mission theology integrates the human identity to hermeneutics of God’s world. In this sense, the church must participate in God’s missions. Through mission theology, spirituality and purposes of the church are explained and the kingdom of God is demystified through the person of Jesus Christ. Mission theology is a multidisciplinary field. The mission theology explains how the person of Jesus exposes the kingdom and glory of God. It also explains how the person of Jesus, through an integrative circle, connects to Shalom. The concept of shalom indicates the relationship of Jesus with people through crucifixion narratives. Mission theology exposes the Shalom relationships at the cross. Shalom is simply viewed as the way God wants the world to be6. The mission theology explains from the connection between Jesus Christ and the integrative attributes including the kingdom and shalom. The mission theology deals with the traditional themes of theology and social –science disciplines. The theme of shalom indicates God’s desire to have a peaceful kingdom on each. The term has been repeated over five hundred times. Shalom is the uniqueness of the kingdom of God as established in His word. Relationship of mission theology to missionary, church and lay men The mission theology relates the role of Jesus Christ to the limits of cognate attributes of the theology. This happens through constant integration and mutual enrichment. The missionaries have been charged with the duty to expand the influence of church by teaching its disciplines. Church refers to those who have believed in the lordship of Jesus Christ. This group is also referred to as the body of Christ. Mission theology is presented at the prerogative of the church. This happens through sending out the missionaries and funding missionary campaigns. The church is supposed to understand the interaction between the person of Jesus Christ the great commission, church growth and liberation. The mission theology empowers the lay men who are not in fulltime ministry to offer social, material and psychological support to the missionary purposes of the church. This is consistent with the great commission in Mathew 28. The ordinary people have a humongous role when it comes to policy and implementation of the mission theology targets. The relationship between mission theology, lay men and church is interdependent and crucial. Bibliography Culver, Robert Duncan. Systematic Theology: Biblical and Historical. Great Britain: Mentor Imprint, 2005. Kostenberger, Andreas J. and O?Brien, Peter T. New Studies in Biblical Theology 11, Series Editor: D.A. Carson. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 2001. Moreau, A. Scott.; Corwin, Gary R.; McGee Gary B. Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004. Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003. Ware, Bruce. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005. Winter, Ralph D. and Hawthorne, Steven C., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th edition, Pasadena: Williams Carey Library, 2009. Read More