The Missio Dei: The Commission
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
The Mission of God
Backstories are importnant
kids getting into trouble without knowing the back story
Good books and movies develop the backstories to the characters and plot
Inception: the whole movie is a backstory
The hymn ‘It is Well’ has a powerful backstory
How Horatio G. Spafford penned the lyrics over the site in the ocean where his four daughters died a few days earlier when their boat crashed.
Horatio G. Spafford
without back stories we fail to realize the power, the significance, and meaning of stories.
There are many bible stories and passages that people know without knowing the backstory.
So with this in mind look with me at the great commission in
Let me read it
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 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,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
I have heard countless sermons preached on this passage at church, mission conferences, evangelism training, youth conferences, church planting assessments and so on.
I’ve heard enough sermons on this passage they all start to blend together.
However, a sermon I have never heard on the Great Commission is one where the backstory is explained
Over the last two weeks I have begun to tell you the back story to the great commission, and this morning I will attempt to fill it out a bit more and we will see how the great commission is truly one of the most glorious texts in all the bible.
Over the last two weeks I have begun to tell you the back story to the great commission, and this morning I will attempt to fill it out a bit more and we will see how the great commission is truly one of the most glorious texts in all the bible.
lets pray.
So what is the mission of God?
The mission of God is to bring all things into subjection to Christ.
This was the mission given to Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were commissioned to be Fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue the earth, take dominion.
The original Fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue the earth, take dominion.
They were to take the glorious of Eden, the temple of God, the sanctuary of God, and expand its boarders not only to the rest of Eden, but to the whole world.
His image bearers reflecting the glory of God over all creation.
His image bearers reflecting the glory of God over all craetion.
All people, all societies, all culture, all creation was to be adorned with the majesty and glory of God.
and all things would be subjected to God in glory.
However, something happened.
Sin entered the world and the mission of God became difficult, painful, and even impossible.
There is now pain in childbirth
so being fruitful and multiplying and filling the earth with image bearers is no longer an easy task.
And the ground was cursed due to the sin of Adam, so the subduing and taking dominion of creation was now contentious.
for just as sin cursed the heart of man causing him to become a slave to sin and death, so creation likewise was cursed and is enslaved to sin and death.
So the mission of God given to Adam and Eve is now not only difficult, but impossible.
Rather than seeing men image God, we see cain murdering the image of God when he killed Able.
The world was suffering under the weight of the curse of sin, and death spread to all men.
The world became completely evil to the point that God sent a flood to judge all creation for their rebellion.
After the flood we see the same thing beginning to happen.
The Noah was a new Adam
And Noah’s son Ham became a new Cain who sought to pervert the image of God.
Rather than taking the image of God to the ends of the earth, humanity rebelled against God and gathered together.
In Babel we see humanity not wanting God to receive the glory, instead they wanted to make a name for themselves.
They wanted their image to be worshiped
They wanted to become like God on their own terms.
So God once again judged humanity for their rebellion and confused their languages
Thus the nations of the world were formed.
If the Mission of God was to succeed God would have to do it himself.
So God took for himself one man named Abram. He took him out of the desert land and the howling waste of the wilderness.
He chose Abram to be the apple of his eye and protected him and gave him a new name, Abraham.
It was through Abraham that God would continue his mission to bring all things into his subjection. To glorify all creation. To fuse together heaven and earth.
Abraham become the father of the Jewish people
And God made a covenant with Abraham - and it was a covenant or promise, that God promised to fulfill.
God promised Abraham that from his seed would come the promised one who would crush the head of the serpent.
How would Abraham bless and become the father of the nations?
Also, God promised that Abraham would be the father of a multitude of nations, and that all these nations would be blessed through his descendents.
We know that true blessing only comes from God, and for Abraham to become the father of nations means that the nations would have to
to give an idea of the scope of this promise, God took Abraham outside and told him to look up at the stars, and he said to him that his offspring would outnumber the stars in the sky.
BACK TO THE GARDEN
God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. However, due to sin they failed to do this as God commanded.
So Abraham and his wife Sarah are like a new Adam and Eve, God has told them that they too will fill the the earth with their offspring.
But God did not put all of this responsibility of Abraham, instead God told Abraham that He would be the one to do it.
For the curse of sin was so strong that for the mission to succeed. God would be the one to do it.
In fact, Abraham’s inability to advance the mission of God even one step was made obvious by the fact that he and his wife Sarah could not have kids.
How were they to fill the earth if they could not have kids?
They were unable to even do the first part of creation mandate of being fruitful and multiplying.
So God waited until his body was too old to have kids, and then showed his power and his faithfulness by allowing Abraham and Sarah to have a child.
This was to show them that it was indeed God who is fulfilling the mission.
However, through Abraham all the nations of the world would one day be blessed and call him father.
As the story of the bible continues there are hopes and dreams for the day when all the nations of the world would be rescued from the curse of sin that keeps them far from God. And that God would dwell in their midst like he did with Adam in the Garden.
God gives Abrahams decedents a taste of what it will be like when he raises up Moses to lead them out of slavery in Egypt.
They crossed through the waters of the red sea and entered a new creation or sorts as a redeemed people.
God then gave Moses directions on how to build the tabernacle, which was modeled after the Eden. And God came and dwelt in the tabernacles and the people of Israel camped all around it so that God would be in their midst.
As good as this was, it wasn’t Eden, and sin’s power still claimed authority over the hearts of men and the nations.
God then raises up King David, a descendent of Abraham, and the greatest king Israel ever had.
David fought against evil and advanced the boarders of Israel
Israel’s kingdom grew greatly under the rule of King David.
Near the end of David’s life God made a covenant with him, much like he did with Abraham before.
God promised David that his throne would be an eternal throne. That his descendents would rule the people of God for all eternity.
By promising David this eternal throne was to promise him that through his offspring the people of God would have dominion over all the earth.
This was not a localized promise, that his throne would rule Jerusalem for eternity, but it was cosmic in scale, that David’s offspring would subdue and have dominion over the entire created order for all eternity.
These are two huge promises in the OT that guarantee that the mission of God would indeed succeed
To Abraham God promised to make him the father of many nations
all those nations that are in rebellion, enslaved to sin, under the rule of dark powers will one day be blessed by the seed of Abraham, and all the nations of the world will one day call Abraham their father.
To David God promised to give him an eternal throne
The throne of David would be established for all eternity, and that a descendent of of David (and therefore Abraham) would sit upon the throne and rule and reign for all eternity as king over all!
If you continue to read the OT you will see the prophets longing for the day when these promises would be fulfilled,
waiting for creation to be restored,
waiting for the snake crusher,
waiting for the Son of Abraham who will bless the nations,
waiting for the son of David who will come and sit on the eternal throne subduing and taking dominion over all things.
yet, like the waters flowing from the temple in the mission of God is patient, gradual.
Starts with just a small trickle and then eventually turns into a creation restoring river.
We then turn to the first page of the NT in the first verse, of the first chapters of the first book we see this...
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
matthew begins his gospel by connecting Jesus Christ to the promise given to Abraham and the promise given to David.
Jesus is the son of David who will sit on the thorne
Jesus is the son of Abraham who will bless the nations.
The Gospel of Matthew goes on to tell the story of how Jesus is indeed the long awaited son of Abraham.
The Son of Abraham
The Son of Abraham
Matthew shows how through Christ the nations become grafted into the people of God, so that gentiles and those far from God may call Abraham their father. thus fulfilling the promise given to Abraham.
Now some might say you cannot be a son of Abraham unless you were born as an ethnic Jew, for he was the father of the Jewish people.
John the baptist actually address this presumption in when he was talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees who found great pride in the fact that they were “children of Abraham”
John says,
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
To be a child of Abraham has nothing to do with the blood flowing through your veins… Rather, we are called children of Abraham through faith in the God of Abraham.
Jesus says in
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
For the nations will come from the east and the west and recline with Abraham.
For in the kingdom of heaven which begun with Christ, we see the nations coming to the table to feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For this is the blessing the nations receive.
We are blessed because we are brought into the covenant family of God, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
For Jesus is the seed of Abraham who begins to restore what was lost in Eden. For the mission that was impossible for man is now being made possible in Christ.
Going back to
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
We see that Jesus is not only the son of Abraham, but also the son of David.
Son of David
Son of David
Matthew not only presents Jesus as the one who will be a blessing to the nations, but also the one who will rule
9 times in the gospel of Matthew Jesus is called the Son of David.
This connection is most clearly seen when Jesus rides into Jerusalem and is received as a King.
The people shouted to him and said
9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
matthew 21
Jesus is the son of David, the one who would sit on the eternal throne subduing and taking dominion over the whole world.
However, that great enemy that derailed the mission of God in Genesis is still present and as strong as ever.
You see, Satan, Sin, and Death still have a hold on the nations.
The nations are outside the covenant people of God and are still in bondage to their sin.
For where sin exists there is death and slavery.
The chains of death and the curse of sin still have a legal hold on the nations.
For the power of death belongs to the devil, thus everyone who sins is condemned.
So for Jesus rule and bless the nations Satan, Sin, and Death must be defeated.
In his death:
Through his death he destroyed the power of death
by his shed blood he cleansed the guilt of the nations
He took the curse of the law and nailed it to the cross
from his side came the water that would heal the nations
In his Resurrection
he defeated the power of death
he gives us life
he gives us life
in his resurection he was the firstborn of the new creation
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
This is what Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection.
The Cross:
on the cross he took upon himself the wages of our sins, which is death
by his shed blood he cleansed the guilt of the nations
He took the curse of the law and nailed it to the cross
from his side came the water that would heal the nations
He was the final sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins
In his death he begun reconciling all things to himself
We are healed through his death
We find our peace through his death
We are reconciled and redeemed through his death
He tore the curtain that kept us from the glory of God.
He tore the curtain that kept us from the glory of God.
In his Resurrection
he defeated the power of death by conquering over it
in his resurrection he was raised victorious having won the battle
in his resurrection he was the firstborn of the new creation
because of the resurrection Jesus was vindicated as the eternal king who has destroyed the works of the devil
Transition**
So this is the backstory that brings us to the Jesus’ final words to his disciples in Matthews gospel.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Jesus is telling them that the eternal throne of David is his.
He has been given all authority both in heaven and on earth.
All authority, he is ruler over the seen and the unseen
He is the king over all creation
He has been given an eternal throne, an eternal kingdom, and has been given dominion over all things.
In his death and resurrection Jesus has been given kingship over all creation.
This is the kingship Adam lost due to sin. Adam was to have dominion over all creation, but now the second Adam, the one who defeated death and sin has been given the eternal throne.
Now the mission of God can continue, for we have a new Adam, one who succeeded where the original Adam failed.
And this cosmic King, the new Adam, the one who sits on the throne has given us our marching orders.
19 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,
Make Disciples:
because Jesus has all authority, we are to go under the banner of his kingship and authority and make disciples of all the nations.
for there is not a square inch of this earth that was not purchased by the blood of Christ -
It is all his, and now he is sending us into his creation to bring the blessing and hope of the gospel.
He tells us to make disciples
disciples are those who have by the grace of God been forgiven of their sin, redeemed from their slaver, and reconciled to God.
Disciples have, through faith, been brought into the covenant people of God.
To be a disciple is to belong to king Jesus, and if you are His, then you are Abraham’s offspring.
Thus in Christ every disciple represents the stars in the sky that God showed Abraham.
And how are we to make disciples?
By Baptizing them
For the waters that flow from Ezekiels temple bring healing to the nations, they make old things new.
And it is these waters we are baptized into as the people of God.
Our old sinful state has been washed by the water that flows from Christ and we are, like the trees and fish in Ezekiel 47, made into new creations.
Not only do we baptize disciples but we also teach them
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We are to teach the nations who the true king is
We are to teach the nations what it is to follow Christ, to worship God, to live our lives on mission to bring all things into subjection to Christ.
We do this by bringing them in to the community of believers, the church, and instruct them in the ways of the Lord.
We teach them in the church how to have godly families, how to be men and women of character and integrity.
We train them in the weapons of spiritual warfare, how to read the bible, how to pray, how to raise children, how to be faithful followers of Christ.
All Authority is Given to Jesus
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
And the more we baptize and train the more who go out into the world making more disciples.
And this is how the mission of God advances.
And as he was with Abraham, and as he was with David, so he promises to be with us.
Matthew 29 18
He does not send us out on our own, but rather he goes with us.
The Spirit of Christ is at work among the people of God as we bring the good news of the gospel to a lost and dying world.
Make Disciples of all nations
He will never leave us nor forsake us, for the mission that God started He will be the one to complete it.
And it is the highest calling of our lives to join him in this mission, to bring all things into subjection to King Jesus.
Church, this is our calling, this is our mission. Let us go sent by king Jesus and bring the good news of the gospel to the nations. Starting in your backyard.
