A THEOLOGY OF MISSIONS

by
Jay Smith

CONTENTS
Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
Support for Missions in the Old and New Testaments-----------------------------------------------1
Missions in Relationship to the Nature of God--------------------------------------------------------4
Mission Theology in Relationship to other Aspects of Theology-----------------------------------5
Key Themes of Mission Theology-------------------------------------------------------------------------7
Mission Theology in Relation to Christ's Disciples---------------------------------------------------8
Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9
Bibliography-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

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INTRODUCTION
The mandate for world missions is biblical and thus its foundation is certain and true.
The biblical theology of missions is heavily laced through both the Old Testament as well as the
New Testament. Because missions is biblical, it does not stand alone in and of itself, but is
related to and reflects the character and nature of God Himself as well as other aspects of biblical
theology. I will explain these premises as well as the key themes of missional theology and how
it relates to all of God's people. First, it is imperative to develop and establish a biblical basis of
missions before moving on to other relationships associated with and supporting missions.
SUPPORT FOR MISSIONS IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
One of the greatest misconceptions is that missions is omitted in the Old Testament.
Ralph Winter writes, "The greatest scandal in the Old Testament is that Israel tried to be blessed
without trying very hard to be a blessing."1 Instead, the reader finds a very different missional
story. The Old Testament begins with God's perfect creation of all things. Genesis chapter 1
repeatedly declares the goodness of God's creations (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). At the
completion of God's creation week, Genesis 1:30 declares, "God saw all that he had made, and it
was very good." After the creation came the fall of mankind and all of creation into sin in

Genesis chapter three. God would have been absolutely just to immediately punish mankind and
end all of history at the end of chapter three, however God graciously begins a process of
restoring fallen mankind back to Himself.

C. Gordon Olson, What in the World Is God Doing?: The Essentials of Global Missions : An
Introductory Guide. 5th ed. Cedar Knols, N.J.: Global Gospel Publishers, 2003. 21.

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The first glimpse of missions in the Old Testament is found in Genesis 3:15. It is of
significant interest that the first sighting of missions in all of Scripture is discovered in the exact
same chapter as the sinful fall of all humanity. "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his
heel. This verse is known as the proto-evangelium, or "the first Gospel". In the midst of the
curse to Adam, Eve, and the serpent, God communicates future hope and grace. Grisanti writes,
"God initiated the provision of reconciliation for fallen mankind. The salvation provided by this
reconciliation would enable Adam (and mankind) to return to his role as God's vice-regent."2
Even in the first stage of sin, God unveils and extends his unmerited grace toward reaching
humanity with Good News.
Secondly, missions is evident in Old Testament in the Lord's promises and blessings to
Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 ESV. This section is also part of what is known as the Abrahamic
Covenant, "Now the LORD said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your
fathers house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed.
In addition to promising to bless Abraham as a "Great nation" and giving him a new
promised land, God also promises to bless "all the families of the earth". God does this
ultimately through the coming Messiah Jesus Christ. In this passage, God includes not simply
Abraham's descendants, but people from every nation. God's eternal plan of salvation was to

Eugene H. Merrill, Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti. The World and the Word: An
Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2011. 185.

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include the reaching of all peoples with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many more
examples of missions in the Old Testament; too numerous to shared here, (Isaiah 56:7-8, Psalm
67, Jonah, etc).
The New Testament also includes powerful examples of the biblical mandate for
missions. Likely the most powerful example being Matthew 28:19-20 ESV, "Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with
you always, to the end of the age. This popular Great Commission passage is an example of
Jesus Christ declaring that there should be disciples made in every nation and that they must
learn to observe all that Christ Jesus taught. All of this for God's glory, and for the believers full
and complete joy.
This is missions; making disciples of Christ in all nations. This is also evident in Mark
16:15 where Jesus declares the same mandate, "He said to them, "Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to all creation." Reaching and preaching "all the world" and "all creation" is
Christ's command. Acts 1:8 also heralds the Great Commission to those who follow Christ
Jesus, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Finally, Jesus also spoke often about the entire world coming being the goal of God's
redemptive plans. Even in the popular example of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
There is no escaping the inclusion of all people groups of the world in the biblical wholeness of
missions.

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MISSIONS IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE NATURE OF GOD
The existence of missions is utterly dependent on who God is. The chasm that remains
between the absolute holiness of God and the sinfulness of humanity require that missions exist.
As John Piper famously said, "Missions exists because worship doesn't"3 or to put it another
way, we must be about missions because there are people who are not worshiping God.
God's perfection is evident in His totally sovereignty, supremacy, love, patience, peace,
joy, justice, wrath, kindness, unchangeableness, infinitude, etc This is what it means to be
God and it requires glorifying. Grudem explains, "God speaks of his sons and daughters from
the ends of the earth as "every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made" (Isa. 43:7)."4 God created the universe and everything in it to bring
Himself the utmost glory. Because all of creation is fallen in sin, including mankind, God is not
receiving this glorifying in the manner that He deserves. Most the world is lost, hurting, and
relationally separated from God.
The sinful separation from God has created a judgment of God's wrath, which hangs over
all sinners, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (John 3:38). God has demanded perfection as
a requirement for a right relationship with Himself, "You therefore must be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48).

John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003. 17.
4

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester,

England: Inter-Varsity Press ;, 1994. 162.

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Since this perfect righteousness is impossible for humanity to achieved, God willingly
sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to absorb all of God's imminent wrath, freeing believers from this
curse. Jesus Christ also produced that perfection which God required by living a perfect sinless
life in carrying out the will and all purposes of the Father, always doing that which please Him.
(John 5:19; John 12:49). Missions is related to the nature of God because God is a missional
God.
MISSION THEOLOGY IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ASPECTS OF THEOLOGY
Mission theology is so important to God, His attributes, and His glory that it is tied to
every other aspect of theology. By looking at some of the major topics of systematic theology,
one can see that God has threaded missions throughout the entirety of His eternal purposes.
Theology Proper is the study of God and His attributes. I have already discussed somewhat
above, how some of the aspects of missions relates to those virtues and qualities, which manifest
God supreme nature.
The doctrine of the Trinity is often cited as the most difficult of topics to explain. This is
true since it is impossible to fully encompass and explain the full nature of God in every detail.
As the author of 1 Chronicles wrote, "There is none like you, O LORD, and there is no God
besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears" (17:20). If one could fully
explain the nature of God and fully encompass Him to full satisfaction, it should be a warning
that this god does not exist but is manmade. This is what we see in all other world faiths and
religions manmade idols. Nevertheless, as difficult as the Trinity is, God has allowed us to
know some things about His triune nature.

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God is one God (Deut. 6:5-6), He eternally exists as three distinct persons, Father, Son
(Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are equal in nature; the Father is no more
divine than is the Son. Each are distinct in person; the Father is not the Son and the Son is not
the Holy Spirit, etc. They are submissive in their duties or undertakings; the Father sent the Son
(John 3:17, 6:29), the Son sent the Holy Spirit (John 1:33, 14:26). This teaches us that each
person of God has had a part in the mission of rescuing and restoring humanity to a right
relationship with God. There is also infinite fellowship within the Trinity, infinite power,
infinite energy, infinite joy, and infinite peace. This is the God of missions Missio Dei.
Missions is a call for believers to be unified in God just as Jesus Christ is in perfect unity
with the Father. The spilling over of joy in God allows believers to be in this same unity also.
Piper explains, "They called on God for unity and harmony in the ranks: "I do not ask for these
only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just
as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe
that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21)."5
The subject of Eschatology is the study of the end times. A study of the end times
reveals the final outcome and results of missions. Miller declares, "The glory of the nations will
be revealed and all man's relationships-with God, himself, and creation-will be restored."6 A
look into the book of Revelation shows us the consummation of all divine mission purposes,
Christian pursuits, resources, and efforts.

John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003. 61.
6

Darrow L. Miller, and Stan Guthrie. Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform
Cultures. 2nd ed. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 2001. 277.

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After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every
nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying
out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb! And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the
four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped
God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and
power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. (Rev. 7:9-12).
The culmination of all efforts of missions is displayed in this joyfully exciting passage. In the
end, this great multitude from every nation and language will stand before the throne of God.
They will return glory, admiration, and praise to the One who set the covenant plan of
redemption into motion and also single handedly accomplish all that must be done to be right
with God.
KEY THEMES OF MISSION THEOLOGY
There have been many endeavors to lay out patterns or motifs for mission theology. A
few of the patterns that support and supplement missions are The Kingdom of God, Jesus Christ,
The Holy Spirit, The Church, Shalom, and The Return of Jesus Christ.7 The Kingdom of God is
a key theme that is threaded throughout the life and ministry of Christ. Jesus Christ Himself
refers repeatedly to "The Kingdom of God". In Matthew 6:10, Jesus mentions it in the Lord's
Prayer, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus uses the
Kingdom of God in many parables to explain how life and thinking should be accomplished now
and also in the future. Or to put it simply, a calibrating of our corrupt thinking with God's holy
thinking. The kingdom of God as a motif runs through every layer of the foundational mission
focus. Moreau states, "It grows or is increased by evangelistic and church-planting activities. It
7

Scott A. Moreau, and Gary Corwin. "Encountering Mission Theology." In Introducing World
Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey, 79-89. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic,
2004.

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represents and attitude toward life that puts God first in all that Christians do enabling personal
and corporate growth."8
Secondly, Jesus is the ultimate reality by which missions is centered. The fact that Jesus
Christ took on flesh, laid down His life by willingly embracing the cross, and then commands the
Great Commission of missions, declares how central He really is to missions. The author of
Hebrews points to the triumph of Christ in writing, "Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." He is the Word and Gospel that is being
heralded by so many Christians around the globe, "Christ, then, is the one to whom Christians
turn for understanding mission in his name."9
MISSION THEOLOGY IN RELATION TO CHRIST'S DISCIPLES
Mission theology relates to missionaries, church leaders, and lay people alike in several
encouraging ways. First, knowing that your supreme God is a missional God gives hope that all
efforts and energies placed into missional work can and will never fail. Whichever way one
participates in missions, it must be known that each specific task of supporting, or going will
accomplish all of God's eternal purposes in drawing people to Himself. God is sovereign and
supreme over all of His plans. Notice the sovereignty of His plans in Isaiah chapter 46:
Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former
things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird
of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I
will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46: 8-11).
8

Ibid., 81.

Ibid., 82.

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God will not allow His plans to be thwarted. In this passage, He repeatedly announces, "I am
God" inspiring and persuading the reader to yield to the full grasp of what it means for God to be
God. God contains the power in "Declaring the end from the beginning". God knows the
beginning from the end because He is God He ordains the beginnings through to the end.
Next, God's counsel shall stand, and He will accomplish all of His purposes. God purposes to
send disciples to the to the lost and hurting both in local communities out as far as the uttermost
parts of the world for the sake of making the name of Jesus Christ known and glorified (Acts
1:8), thus God will accomplish all of His purposes in every facet, including missions.
CONCLUSION
Mission theology is laced and threaded throughout all of Scripture from the Old
Testament through the New Testament. It reflects the supreme and consistent nature of our
triune God who is unchanging and limitless. He is supreme over all missions to all peoples in all
nations. Mission theology is pointing to Jesus Christ and the future consummation of all efforts,
labors, and resources when God will restore all of fallen creation to Himself in His coming
Kingdom. Missions is God's work to bring the maximum number of people to Himself to
display His own glory for eternity. It is according to His purposes and we are privileged to
joyfully partake in it.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester,
England: Inter-Varsity Press ;, 1994.
Merrill, Eugene H., Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti. The World and the Word: An
Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2011.
Miller, Darrow L., and Stan Guthrie. Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform
Cultures. 2nd ed. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 2001.
Moreau, A. Scott, and Gary Corwin. "Encountering Mission Theology." In Introducing World
Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey, 79-89. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Baker Academic, 2004.
Olson, C. Gordon. What in the World Is God Doing?: The Essentials of Global Missions : An
Introductory Guide. 5th ed. Cedar Knols, N.J.: Global Gospel Publishers, 2003.
Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions. 2nd ed. Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003.