Missio Dei

Excerpts from Ed Stetzer post: Musings on the Manifesto, Part 4: The Mission

It's time for another installment of "Musings on the Missional Manifesto." So far, we have looked at the first three affirmations on Scripture, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God. Also, you may want to see Alan Hirsch and I discuss the Manifesto here.

I hope you've begun to see the heart behind the manifesto from the posts in this series. We are excited about the impact the manifesto could have on the work of God's mission in the world. Further, I want to think more about each of the affirmations. The affirmations are the work of the framers, but I wanted to weigh in with some of my own thoughts here at the blog. That is why we are taking the time to "muse" about them. I invite you to join the conversation in the comment section.

Today, we look at the fourth affirmation on mission. Here is how it reads:

We affirm that the missio Dei is the mission of the triune God to glorify Himself. God does so in this world by redeeming sinful humans and, in the future, restoring corrupted creation. The Father sent the Son to accomplish this redemption and sends the Spirit to apply this redemption to the hearts of men and women. Included in God's mission is the missio ecclesia whereby He empowers the church for witness and service that leads to witness. Believers are called to share the gospel with people so they can come to know Christ. Moving from God, through the church, to the world, God's redemptive work results in people of every tribe, tongue and nation responding in lifelong worship of the God. Ultimately the missio Dei will encompass all of creation when God creates a new heaven and new earth.

When we begin to talk about "the mission of the triune God to glorify Himself," it must start with the idea of the missio Dei. This important concept is a Latin phrase for the "sending of God" or the "mission of God."

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This divine missionary activity includes yet another noteworthy shift in thought: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. Mission is therefore God's work in the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is a church because there is a mission, not vice versa.

As the manifesto states, "Moving from God, through the church, to the world, God's redemptive work results in people of every tribe, tongue and nation responding in lifelong worship of the God. Ultimately the missio Dei will encompass all of creation when God creates a new heaven and new earth." This is the end game of the missio Dei: a redeemed people dwelling with God in a redeemed creation.

Now the missio Dei concept has not been without its problems. As I mentioned in my introductory post for this series, some took this idea in the 1960s and it shipwrecked much of the world mission enterprise by claiming that the missio Dei was larger than (or even in spite of) the church. Their concern was that the mission of God was more than church extension-- and they were partially right. Unfortunately, some began to define the mission of God outside the instrument of the local church and exclusively in the world and thus, usurped mission completely.

I think that Christians must focus more on the missio Dei but they must do so while avoiding the errors of those who discussed similar truths in an earlier generation. The New Testament undoubtedly places the mission of the church within the larger context of God's purpose to restore the whole creation (Rom. 8:18-25; Col. 1:20). But it also gives the church a focal occupation in the life of the Kingdom: God's biblically mandated vessel for His redemptive agenda in the world.

Is God at work in the world outside of the church? Yes. But, is God working savingly outside of the proclamation of the gospel (from people who make up the church)? No. Common grace is extended to all, and God is sovereignly working throughout the world in every age to accomplish his purposes. But Kingdom work is also mission work, and the church is essential for Kingdom work. The gospel is the source for redemption and the church is God's instrument to extend His Kingdom mission.

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