A. What Is Biblical Mission? “Biblical mission means more than simply going overseas to plant churches or spread civilization. It means the church participating in the ‘mission of God (Missio Dei)’ and seeking the restoration of God’s rule and glory throughout the whole earth. Mission is not a program that begins with human enthusiasm; rather, it is the heart of God that runs throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and is a fundamental reason for the church’s existence. Let me clearly summarize five essential principles of true mission as presented in Scripture. 🌍 1. The Mission of God (Missio Dei) The subject and initiator of mission is not human beings but God. In order to save fallen humanity, God first comes to us, sends His Son, and sends the Holy Spirit. He is the “missionary God” who sends. Biblical basis: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21) Key meaning: The church acknowledges that God has the initiative in mission and serves as His agent, obed...
In our sight, there was
nothing about Jesus that would attract us to him.
“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root
out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look
upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him"
(Isaiah 53:2).
To us, Jesus appeared without elegance or majesty; nothing about his appearance made him desirable. In today's terms, we might say Jesus lacked any charm, so we paid him no attention. But this was only in our sight. How then does Father God see Jesus?
In Father God's sight, Jesus is beautiful. Why is Jesus beautiful to God? Because Jesus obeyed God's will, even to the point of dying on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Therefore, the obedient Son, Jesus, is beautiful in the eyes of God the Father.
The beauty of Jesus' disciples lies in obeying the Lord's words. Though we may appear weak and lacking in worldly charm, our beauty before God lies in our obedience to the Lord's words. Even as we face
persecution in this world, like Jesus, we can draw strength from God's comfort, living in obedience to His will. Although outwardly we may not seem appealing to the world, as disciples of Jesus, we should pursue inner beauty. Apostle Peter admonishes in 1 Peter 3:3-4, "Don’t be concerned about the outward
beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."
May we cultivate the inner person of great value before God, striving to be beautiful in His sight through
obedience.
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