LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

THE THEOLGY OF MISSIONS

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO

DR. H. EDWARD PRUITT
GLST 500 GLOBAL STUDIES SURVEY

BY
SHAWN HUNT

CLARKSVILLE, TN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
2
Old and New Testament Verses that Support the Theology of Missions
2
Nature of God as Related to Missions
4

4
Theology of Missions and Other Aspects of Theology
5

5
Key Themes of the Theology of Missions
6

Missionaries, Church Leaders, Lay People and Theology of Missions

7
7
Conclusion
8

88

Introduction
The theology of missions is one of many aspect of the overall study of scriptures.
Missions are one of if not the most important task that the church has been tasked with
accomplishing. Because of the importance of missions and mission theology it must be ensured
that there is a firm foundation for it to rest. Mission passion fueled by the power of the Holy
Spirit is the locomotive pulling the train of Christian mission. Theology of mission, however,
provides the rails upon which the train should ride.1 These rails can be seen in other areas of
Biblical study and areas of Christian life. The purpose of this paper is to show how theology of
missions is enhanced and solidified by Old and New Testament scriptures, the Nature of God,
other aspects of Christian theology and the people who support missions.

Old and New Testament Verses that Support Missions Theology

When we look to understand the theology of mission as it pertains to scripture,
Old Testament and New Testament verses can be found throughout the Bible. The prevailing
habit is to look in the New Testament to find scripture that will help Christians explain missions
to people who do not know or understand what the word missions means in a Biblical sense. But
there is a strong argument in saying that without the Old Testament scripture relating to missions
there would be a lack of it in the New Testament.
Just start at the very beginning of the Bible with Genesis to see that the need to
reach all peoples with the word of God. Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am
1Craig Ott and Stephen J. Strauss with Timothy C. Tennent, Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical
Developments, and Contemporary Issues, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group,2010), xiii.

confirming with all the creatures on earth. (Gen 9:17) From the very start God wanted everyone
to know of his glory and his love. Continue to the book of Exodus to again see that God set a
precedent for his word to reach across the world. And you will be my kingdom of Priest, my
holy nation. (Ex 19:6) God had rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt for a purpose, as
part of his plan for mankind. That purpose was for Israel to be a holy nation where anyone could
approach God freely. This set the stage not only for premise of missions in the New Testament
but set in motion the placement of the Messiah with in the nation of Israel.
More than once verses spoke not just Israel but to all the nations. Publish his
glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. (1Ch 16:24)
Come here and listen, O nations of the Earth. Let the world and everything hear my words. (Is
34:1) All nations will come to your light mighty kings will come to see your radiance. (Is 60:3)
All three of these and a multitude of other Old Testament verses reference all nations, meaning
that from the very beginning God was not willing to allow anyone to perish in eternal damnation
just as God is unwilling now. Just by looking at a few verses it can be said that the Old Testament
laid the ground work for missions in the New Testament.
The New Testament is abounding with mission theology and it takes a step further
in the way of showing us it is our purpose to go out and make disciples. Scripture that relates to
missions can be seen from the Gospel of Matthew Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (MT
28:19) to Revelations After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before
the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. In
the American Standard Version of the Gospels the word sent can be found ninety five times and

the word send can be found fifty two times. This is important because God sent Jesus and in turn
Jesus sent the Disciples and all who followed then to reach the world. From the Gospels to Acts
it can be seen that those that choose to put their faith in Christ have been chosen by God to be a
part of His plan to reach the world. There is a ripple effect to the gospel thats inevitable.
Theres a ripple effect to true grace. It doesnt lead us to only sit and contemplate what happened
to us. It leads us to proclaim whats happened to usand what can happen to anybody and
everybody on the planet.2 Acts demonstrates that by love and faith we will have the Holy Spirit
to help us in this plan.
From Acts into Romans Paul demonstrates the basis of what missions are by moving
through the known world establishing churches and bringing salvation through Christ to the
people. The one of the very first verses of Romans is as powerful as any about missions.
Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles
everywhere what God has done for them so that they will believe and obey him bringing glory to
his name. (Ro 1:5) Paul says this knowing that because God forgives us of our sins when we
trust our life to Jesus that we in turn have a new life that should center on reaching others with
the Gospel. At least five separate versus in Revelations speak about or to the nations. The Lamb
is the lamp; the nations will walk by its light. (Rev 23-24) Jesus is coming to gather his faithful
from all the nations and they will follow him by his glorious radiance.
Nature of God as Related to Missions
It can be seen how the Bible; Gods Holy Word; relates to missions but how does
His very nature relate to missions. To understand this it is noteworthy to understand the
definition between missions and mission. Missions are one of the many tasks that have been

2 John Piper, Finish the mission: bringing the Gospel to the unreached and unengaged, (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012), 31

established for his faithful to accomplish; meaning to bring His word to the nonbeliever or the
unreached. The mission of God; mission dei in Latin; is all the task combined that He has set for
us to accomplish; help the poor, widows, orphans, witnessing. The mission of God
encompassing everything God does in relation to the kingdom and everything the church is sent
to do on earth.3 If the whole Bible is looked at in the context of missions can be seen that God
is the initiator of His missions4 that mission being the salvation of all people of all nations
through Christ Jesus.

Theology Missions and Other Aspects of Theology

There are multiple main categories of theology and also multiple sub-categories.
One of the sub-categories is Christology which is defined as the study of the person and work of
Jesus Christ. This study ties closely to missions since Christology focuses on showing Christ as
who He is and what He accomplished. In the Gospel of John Jesus is described as the instrument
of creation, In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was
God. (John 1:1) Further on John describes Jesus as the mediator for redemption But to all who
believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12) Jesus is also

known as the fascinator of revelation as seen in Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for
the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.( Ezek 33:7) These are three

aspects to focus on when working in a mission field to help teach and ultimately help the lost
come to Christ. Ecclesiology is a second sub-category that is closely related to missions.
Ecclesiology is the study of the church and more importantly it encompasses specific areas that
are directly tied to missions. One of those areas is what the church actually is or what makes it
3John A. McIntosh, Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. A ScottMoreau, s.v. Missio Dei. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000)
4Van Sanders, The Mission of God and the Local Church, in Pursuing the Mission of God in Church Planting, ed. John M. Bailey,
(Alpharetta: North American Mission Board, 2006), 24.

the church. If a nonbeliever is asked what the church is they would more than likely say a
building. But those that are followers of Christ know that the church constitutes the people that
believe in and worship the Lord. If every building that is known as a church disappeared today
would the church be gone? Of course believers know that this is not the case. But if the church;
the people; fails to tie its actions to mission then the church body will not grow and the church as
a whole will diminish.
Because of the close relationship of Christology to missions and missions to
Ecclesiology one can see the flow of one to the other and back. Our Christology informs our
missiology, which in turn determines our ecclesiology. If we get this the wrong way around and
allow our notions of the church to qualify our sense of purpose and mission, we can never be
disciples of Jesus, and we will never be an authentic missional church. Churches that have got
this basic formula wrong never really engage in mission and so lose touch with Jesus. These
churches spend all their time discussing (or arguing) about the forms of worship, the church
furniture, and the timing of services and programs, and fail to recognize that our ecclesiology
flows more naturally out of our sense of mission.5 The knowledge of who Christ is and of what
He did and can do for someone shapes the missions of the church. When the missions of the
church are conducted with that knowledge the church will see a growth of believers. As more
believers come into the church there is a larger body of people to study and understand Christ.
This continual process can and should grow to the point where every nation has heard and
understands the truth of Jesus; that He is our Lord and Savior.

Key Themes of the Theology Missions

5 Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The shaping of things to come: innovation and mission for the 21st-century church, (Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 209

The themes of mission theology cover a broad area of the overall study of mission
theology; the kingdom of God, Jesus, the return of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Resurrection
and the church. Two that tie closely to missions are the return of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
Missions are conducted with one purpose in mind, to reach the lost with the
Gospel and help the lost see the need for Christ. Christ is the central theme of mission theology
because He said I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. (John 14:6) The real purpose is not just for someone to know Christ; as important
as that is; but more importantly the purpose is for someone to live for Christ and prepare
themselves and other for His return. Because believes understands what is in store for mankind
just prior to the return of Christ; the time of tribulations; should be the catalyst to increase efforts
to reach more numbers of the lost. The return of Christ will usher in the final and most important
theme of missions theology and that is the kingdom of God, Grame Goldworthy defines the
kingdom of God as "God's people in God's place under God's rule."6 Believers are empowered by
the Holy Spirit to testify for Christ, the relationship with God is rebuilt by Christs blood and this
rebuilt relationship opens the way to the kingdom of God. Ultimately being able to see, live and
worship in the kingdom of God is the reward all people should strive to attain. For the lost to
receive this reward missions have to be out in the world ministering and leading the way to God
through Jesus.

Missionaries, Church Leaders, Lay People and Missions theology

The theology of missions brings all its aspects and rests them on the shoulders of the
missionary, the church leader, and the lay people; better known as the body of Christ. It takes all

6Graeme Goldworthy, Gospel and Kingdom: A Christian Interpretation of the Old Testament, (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1981), 53

three of these types of people to successfully complete the vision of Biblical missions. There has
to be level of understanding by the lay person for the church leader and missionary to
successfully complete their part of missions. William Carey stated that we should all be
acquainted with the religious state of the world, gaining in knowledge of those we intend on
serving.7 It is possible for the lay person to support missions without knowing a thing about the
people that will be served by a particular missionary. This can be accomplished by donating
money, supplies, helping prepare things for the missionary or mission team to take. But to truly
support missions a lay person should know and pray for the people that will be served by the
missionary or mission team; of all things someone can do to support missions is prayer. The
church leader is closely connected to missions theology in the sense that they are the conduits
between the lay person and the missionary. The church leader needs to have a strong
understanding of Biblical missions in order to articulate the need for them and the need to
support them; both physical and spiritual. The church leader has to have the doctrinal knowledge
to help the congregation understand that it is its duty to support missions. Lastly the church
leader has to have the ability to see the need for small missions within the local churches sphere
of influence. They have to be able to see the opportunities that are sitting right outside their
building and take advantage of them by gathering the church body and moving to the unreached.
The missionary is out on the front lines of the global spiritual war, so it is easy to see the need for
them to know and live the theology of missions. Because global missionaries are away from their
church base in countries that sometimes are not open to receiving the Gospel and sometimes
outright hostile to anyone that attempts to minister it is important for missionaries to be grounded
in missions theology so they can preserver in tough times that are inevitable to arise.
7 William Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, To Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens,(London:
Leicester, 1792), 8

Conclusion
The act of conducting missions or supporting the theology of mission is something that is
all around the Christian life. It is something that will continue to be a task set to us by the Father
until the day the Son returns to the world. It is the responsibility of the believer to reach the lost
to the very end until are relinquished of the task.

BIBLOGRAPHY
Piper, John. Finish the mission: bringing the Gospel to the unreached and unengaged. Wheaton:
Crossway, 2012.
McIntosh, John. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. A Scott Moreau, s.v. Missio
Dei. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000.
Sanders, Van. The Mission of God and the Local Church, in Pursuing the Mission of God in
Church Planting, ed. John M. Bailey, Alpharetta: Mission Board, 2006.
Frost, Michael, and Alan Hirsch. The shaping of things to come: innovation and mission for the
21st-century church. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003.
Goldsmith, Graeme. Gospel and Kingdom: A Christian Interpretation of the Old Testament.
Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1981
William Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, To Use Means for the Conversion
of the Heathens. London: Leicester, 1792.