The Church in the Mission of God 8 The Church in the Mission of God

Introduction What is the church? How is the church to function? The Bible answers are usually vague on practices and heavy on doctrine

The Church and God’s Grand Story The church is God’s Kingdom community It portrays Kingdom life It proclaims the story of God’s power calling out a people for himself, forgiving them, and pouring out his spirit on them The giving of the Spirit at Pentecost Parallels the giving of the law to Moses Fulfills that law Formed a new international community of the Kingdom

The Church and the Kingdom of God “The Kingdom of God is where God rules in glory” The Kingdom is greater than the church; more extensive The Kingdom is to be expressed by the church The Kingdom is not here in all its fullness, that awaits Christ’s return

The Church and its Worship The mandate to worship goes beyond specific events The church is a community who have experienced God’s redemption and declare His worth-ship. The focus of worship is God, not the community itself. Worship is an end in itself, not to be coopted by other purposes, however noble We exist to bring the world back to its proper object of worship: Yahweh

The Church and its Prophetic call Devoted to the one God Worshipping from genuine devotion Creating a community that embraces the poor

The Church and its Mission The church is not an “add-on.” Rather, individual believers live out their life as part of the Body of Christ The extreme individualism of the West can warp our understanding of Christian community The business bias of the West can turn the church into an organization with self-serving and utilitarian goals The Biblical notion of church includes testimony, fellowship, and service

The Church and its Mission A three-fold description of the church Martyria – testimony: giving a faithful testimony of God’s acts, even to the point of death Koinonia – the fellowship of the body, centered in Christ and his indwelling Spirit Diakonia – service first as Christ’s servants, and secondly at His Spirit’s direction to a hurting world The church has become internationalized and indigenous; no longer tied to the West.

Conclusion The church is God’s kingdom community, the vehicle for his mission to all the nations To be a true church, a community must give up its own agenda and live for God’s mission to the nations