Church On Mission: A Light for the Nations
About this series:
The opening lines or pages of a book are often designed to set the context for all that follows. For example:
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair’ (A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens).
‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen’ (1984, George Orwell).
The same is true of the Bible. The opening pages set the stage for all that follows; it’s long, unfolding story can invariably be traced back to these scenes. In particular, we see God eternally existing and then choosing to create all there is out of nothing. He commissions mankind - the pinnacle of his creation, made in his image - to, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule…” (Genesis 1:28). Then sin enters the world and there follows a spiralling downward away from harmony with God and with people. And yet there is the gospel promise of Genesis 3:15.
And then, following a restating (to Noah) of the commission to, “be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it” and the establishing of a covenant (Genesis 9:1-11), we’re introduced to Abram (from Genesis 11:26), called by God to become the one through whom he will accomplish the mission given to mankind and through whom God’s intended blessing of mankind will come about.
This series is designed to explore a few points in the biblical journey that flows from these opening scenes in the Bible, the story of how God’s blessing will fill the earth. It’s clearly only a very few of the many stages on that journey that we could talk about, but they will serve to show how God’s people have always been on mission and how the church today is still on mission today.
Importantly, it is God’s mission. Christopher Wright has said, ‘God doesn’t have a mission for his church, he has a church for his mission.’ God’s intent has always been to fill the earth with his blessing and his people have always been his means for bringing that to pass. It’s important that we have an understanding of the biblical storyline and that we see our involvement as being in God’s mission rather than imagining that we are asking God to bless our mission.
This eight-part series will begin with three practical steps we can all engage with in order to become people on mission - Prayer, Care and Share. These three words represent vital practical elements of a missional lifestyle and they contain a logical progression too. Please keep these three words in mind as we work through the series, especially as ways to apply what’s being said - for example:
What does it look like to be sent? Prayer, care & share.
How can we still be on mission against all the odds? Prayer, care & share.
About this talk:
Light is a consistent theme in Isaiah’s prophecies. In contrast to the darkness in the world and in the nation of Israel, there is always hope because God promises to bring light where there was darkness (for example 2:5; 9:2; 42:6,16; 49:6; 50:10; 51:4; 58:8; 60:1,19). In particular, the coming of the servant / chosen one will be “a light for the Gentiles” (42:6; 49:6).
Isaiah 49 is especially significant in that it draws together the twin themes of restoring God’s people and reaching those who are not yet God’s people, the Gentiles. These themes go hand-in-hand throughout the Bible - from Deuteronomy 4 where God’s people are commanded to follow his decrees and laws so that the nations around will marvel at what life looks like when God is at the centre, to Matthew 5 where being the light of the world means “let[ting] your light shine before others, [so] that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” The church engages most powerfully in mission when she is most closely following her Lord.
So in Isaiah 49:1-3 the servant of the Lord recounts his calling and having expressed his labour and reward in v 4, he expresses in a new way the development of his mission not only to Israel but also to the nations:
v 5: “And now the Lord says - he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength.” His mission has been to gather God’s people back to himself.
v 6: “he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’” But his mission extends beyond the restoration of God’s people and reaches to “the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” This is a global mission, reaching every nation on earth; which is what God made clear to Abram, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).
God’s mission was never simply to brighten up Israel, but to bring light to all nations. And it is exactly this mission the early church knew was now their mission, framed also as being witnesses to all nations (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8), as going to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-19) and as being sent just as Jesus had been sent (John 20:21-22). The significance of this is made explicit by Paul and Barnabas who, in Acts 13:46-47, take the prophecy of Isaiah 49 (about Jesus) and now apply it to themselves, as the church continues Christ’s mission - “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Though the “you” in v 47 is singular both times, it is clear that the apostles see themselves as now continuing the very same mission that the Servant had / has. God’s mission of, “making his Son a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” has become our mission.
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