The Mission

The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom to all nations without exception until Jesus returns. Jesus commanded us to announce the same message he preached. He summarized it as the “Good News of the Kingdom of God.” His Church is to spread this Kingdom on Earth. However, this will occur in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Christ’s sovereignty will be established, and his “enemies” will be subdued by the day of his return. Until then, we as his disciples are summoned to proclaim his message to the “ends of the Earth.”

All men are invited to accept his offer of life and salvation while the door remains open. The day will come when it will be too late, and all men and women who reject his gracious gift will find their names excluded from the “Lamb’s Book of Life.”

[Photo by Nejc Soklič on Unsplash]

Embracing his message means a complete reorientation of life. Absolute commitment to him is mandatory. Nothing is more important than responding to his call to believe the “Good News,” take up the cross, and follow him “wherever he leads.”

Through his Death and Resurrection, Jesus defeated the forces that were hostile to God, including Satan, Death, the “powers and principalities,” and Sin. His Resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of his reign and the period known as the “Last Days”:

• “It will be in the last days, says God, I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh” - (Acts 2:15-22, Joel 2:28-32).

• “David, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins he would sit upon His Throne; he foreseeing this spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up of whom we all are witnesses. Being, therefore, exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this, which you see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens: but he said himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” - (Psalm 2:2-8, 110:1, Acts 2:30-36).

Since the “Last Days” began following Christ’s Death and Resurrection, the “forms of this age have been passing away.” Sin and Death may persist for a time, but the decisive victory was achieved on the Cross. The Gift of the Spirit is irrefutable evidence of his victory over death, sin, and Satan. Moreover, the Spirit is the foretaste and the “earnest” of our future resurrection from the dead – (Romans 8:23, Ephesians 1:13-14).

God confirmed Satan's defeat by raising Jesus from the Dead. Since then, he has been putting down the “powers and principalities” that oppose him. He will continue doing so until all that remains is the unopposed rule of God when Jesus arrives “on the clouds of heaven” to gather his people - (“And then God will be all in all” – Matthe 24:29-31, 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Hebrews 1:5-14, Revelation 1:4-6).

PREACH THE GOOD NEWS

Before he ascended, Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until “they received power after the Holy Spirit came upon them.” They would then be his “witnesses… to the uttermost parts of the Earth” - (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 24:45-48, Acts 1:7-9, 3:19-21).

His disciples are his envoys commissioned to call all men to enter his Kingdom and submit to his lordship, and to preach “repentance and the remission of sins in his name among all the nations.” This mission must continue until the “end” when he appears on the clouds.

None of this means we should disengage from the world. Far from it! But we are called to help humanity by preaching the Gospel and living cruciform lives. Without his salvation, the world would remain forever in darkness and without hope.

Before his death, Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In response, the disciples asked when that would occur, and what will be the “sign” of the “coming of the Son of Man.”

To the first question, he replied, before the end of the generation contemporary with him. To the second, he warned, no one except God alone knows the hour, day, “season,” “seasons” or “times” of his return - (Mark 13:30-33, Acts 1:6-9).

The one factor that will determine “when” he returns is the completion of the Gospel mission by the Body of Christ - “This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole habitable earth for a testimony for all nations, and then the end will come” - (Matthew 24:14, 24:36, Acts 1:6-8).

Finishing this task is the “sign” of the “end” since it will not come until our mission is complete. It is not optional but paramount for the consummation of all things and the redemption of humanity.

The fact that the “end” has not arrived is indisputable evidence that our mission remains unfinished. Jesus will not return until his message has reached the furthest corners of the Earth, “as a testimony.” Therefore, all who wait anxiously for his “appearance” must, above all, preach the Gospel!

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SEE ALSO:

• Wait in Jerusalem - (Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Spirit, empowering them to be his witnesses on the earth- Acts 1:1-11)

• To the Nations Also - (Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the promise to bless all nations in Abraham. Christ is the Patriarch’s Heir and “Seed”)

• My Witnesses - (The Gift of the Spirit equips the Assembly to bear witness to Jesus, especially concerning his Resurrection from the dead)

• Mes Témoins - (Le Don de l'Esprit équipe l'Assemblée pour rendre témoignage à Jésus, en particulier en ce qui concerne sa Résurrection d'entre les morts)