The Mission
The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom to all Nations without exception until the moment Jesus returns.
Jesus commanded his followers to announce the same message he
preached: He summarized it as the “Good News of the Kingdom of God.” His
Church will establish this Kingdom in unexpected and paradoxical ways. By his
return, his sovereignty over all nations will be established and his “enemies”
will be subdued, including the “Last Enemy, death.” Until then, his
disciples must proclaim his message to the “Ends of the Earth.”
All men are invited to accept his
offer of life and salvation while the door remains open. The day will come when
it will be too late, and the men and women who reject his gracious gift will
find their names excluded from the “Lamb’s Book of Life.”
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| [Photo by Nejc Soklič on Unsplash] |
Embracing his message requires a complete reorientation of life. Absolute commitment to him is required to enter his Kingdom. Nothing is more important than responding to his call to believe the “Good News,” take up the cross, and follow him “wherever he leads.”
Through his Death and Resurrection,
Jesus defeated the forces that were hostile to God, including Satan, Death, the
“powers and principalities,” and sin. His Resurrection and the
outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost signaled the start of the “Last Days”
during which the Son reigns from the “right hand of God” - (Psalm 2:2-8,
110:1).
His Death and Resurrection
meant the arrival of the “ends of the ages.” The “forms of this age
are now in the process of passing away.” Sin and Death may continue for a
time, but the decisive victory was achieved already on the Cross. The Gift of
the Spirit granted to the Church is irrefutable evidence of his conquest of his
enemies.
The defeat of Satan was secured on
Calvary and confirmed when God raised Jesus from the Dead, and so, the Son of
God is putting down all the “powers and principalities” that oppose him
and oppress his people. He will continue to do so until all that remains is the
unopposed rule of God when the “Son of Man” appears “on the clouds of
Heaven” - (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Hebrews 1:5-14, Revelation 1:4-6).
Before he ascended
to Heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to wait until “they received power
after the Holy Spirit came upon them.” They would then become his “witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the Ends of the Earth”
- (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 24:45-48, Acts 1:7-9, 3:19-21).
- “Go and teach all nations… to observe all things I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you even unto the end of the age.”
His disciples are his envoys commissioned to call all men to enter his Kingdom, and to preach “repentance and the remission of sins in his name among all the nations.”
This mission must continue until
he returns. We must preach his Gospel and prepare others for life in the coming
age, teaching them how to become disciples of Jesus. Sin and death may persist
for now, but Death will not have the final word.
THE ASSIGNMENT
None of this means his followers
should disengage from the world. Far from it! But we are called to help humanity
by preaching the Gospel and living cruciform lives. Without his salvation, the
world would remain forever in darkness and without hope.
Before his death on the Cross, Jesus
predicted the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In response, the
disciples asked when
that would occur, and what would be the “sign” of the “Coming of the Son of Man.”
To the first question, he replied,
before the end of the generation contemporary with him. To the second, he
warned, no one except God alone knows the hour, day, “season,”
“seasons” or “times” of his return - (also, Mark 13:30-33, Acts
1:6-9).
The one factor that will determine
“when” he returns is the completion of the Gospel mission by the Body of
Christ:
- “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole habitable earth for a testimony for all nations, and then shall the end come” - (Matthew 24:14, 24:36, Acts 1:6-8).
Finishing this task is the “sign”
of the “end” since the end of this age will not come until the completion
of the Church’s mission. It is not optional but pivotal to the
consummation of all things, the redemption of humanity, and even the Creation.
Based on Christ’s logic, the fact
that the “end” has not arrived is indisputable evidence that our mission
remains incomplete. He will not return until his message has reached the
furthest corners of the Earth - “As a testimony.” Therefore, all who
wait anxiously for his “arrival” must, above all else, preach the Gospel!
RELATED POSTS:
- The Sign of the End - (According to Jesus. the End will not come until this Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed to all nations – Matthew 24:14)
- Era of Salvation - (The Gospel of the Kingdom announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)
- WHO and WHEN - (The Church is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and the Ancient Serpent, the Devil)
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