Think Biblically!

VIEWING THE NATIONS FROM
GOD’S PERSPECTIVE

MARK A. TATLOCK

Globalization, internationalism, multiculturalism, diversity, tolerance, and racial reconciliation are common references in today’s headlines. What do any of these words have to do with a Christian’s view of the world? Do these agendas relate at all to a biblical position on God’s sovereignty, creation, redemption, or the church? Do ethnic demographics, geopolitical shifts, or the internationalization of industry have any bearing on the believer’s understanding of the kingdom? Does global poverty, the increase of orphans due to AIDS, religious persecution, modern-day slavery, or injustice require a response by the Body of Christ?

. . . the body of Christ was, from the start, also meant to become a global community . . . long before the present process of technological and economic globalization began, God’s message of global Good News went forth and began its work. The idea of globalization therefore, is not foreign to the Bible.¹

It is critical that Christians possess a theologically informed, biblically principled world vision. The education of today’s church member must include a biblical response to peoples of the world. This requires that a theology of cross-cultural ministry be defined and articulated by the church. In doing so, the church can fully find its voice and express itself confidently among those secular opinions heard in today’s classrooms, boardrooms, and courtrooms.

From creation to the final consummation of the end times, God extends a message of hope, forgiveness, and reconciliation to those in every tribe, tongue, and nation. Scripture presents a solid case for unity, peace, justice, and love between people of all nations. The blueprint for the formation of the church is specifically sketched as cross-cultural in scope and intent. The implications of this message have a bearing on all contemporary attempts to deal with the effects of the Fall, particularly those of hate, fear, misunderstanding, prejudice, and injustice. When one examines the clear biblical teaching regarding creation, a biblical theology of cross-cultural ministry emerges. The ideas of creation, covenant, cultures, Christ, commission, church, and consummation provide a clear and concise way to discuss the dynamic reality of God’s view toward the nations.

CREATION

It is critical that any theologically informed worldview begin with the account of creation. Genesis 1:1 states clearly that there is only one Creator. Roger Hedlund explains, “Creation by God means that there is but one human race . . . and that Yahweh is no tribal deity but God and Father of all.”² Every man, woman, and child owes his or her very existence to this true God. The Fatherhood of God in a physical sense is inclusive by definition and biblical declaration (Mal 2:10). “Ethnic and cultural diversity is part of the creative design of God. . . . Racism is a perversion of creation.”³

There was no pantheon of gods involved in creation. The universe was not created by committee. In the obvious vacuum of multiple creators, any other false deity’s claim to creation rights is invalid. Any attempt by a false religion to ascribe authority or worship to a god other than Yahweh is an attempt to rob God of the glory that He alone deserves.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles . . . they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

—ROM 1:21-23, 25

Rejecting the Creator results in elevating the creation. Whether it be the idolatry of paganism or the self-deification of humanism, the result is the same. Unregenerate man will always attempt to draw glory away from the Creator and attribute it to something that falls into the creation category. But only the one, true Creator God deserves all worship.

The Rebellion of Satan

This principle is demonstrated in the account of Satan’s rebellion. Isaiah 14:14 describes how Satan asserted his independence and made his mission to be “like the Most High.” Here one witnesses the very essence of sin—the substitution of the creation as the object of worship. Revelation 12:4 reports that many other angels followed Satan, attributing supreme worth and honor—deserved only by God—to Satan. It is critical to observe that, at the very moment they made this choice, a second kingdom was established, the kingdom of this world. This two-kingdom reality constructed for man an alternative stage on which to play out his life and allowed for his choice to either follow God or embrace idolatry.

Scripture testifies that God Himself refuses to allow His authority to be assumed by any created being (Isa 42:8). History will play out the drama of Satan and man vying for God’s glory. The great white throne judgment will be the final event wherein all who have elevated an object of creation, including man, to a position of deity will be held accountable for their choice (Rev 20:11-15).

Scripture tells the beautiful story of a God who so loves His creation that He designed a plan of redemption, calling man into a reconciled relationship with the Creator. Man was created to have perfect fellowship with God (Gen 2:4-25). It was God’s intent to see His creation experience an intimate relationship with Him centering on man’s willingness to honor the Creator for who He alone is. Redemption is the way to make right what went disastrously wrong in the Fall. The tragedy of Adam and Eve’s choice was the exchange of their intimate relationship with the awesome Creator for the lie that they too could possess some of the glory of the Creator. When they asserted their independence (Gen 3:1-7), they adopted the same mission as Satan: to elevate self to the position of ultimate authority and autonomy. This is evident when one examines what occurred in the dialogue between Satan and Eve.

The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:13 states that Eve was deceived by the Tempter (see also 2 Cor 11:3; 1 Tim 2:14). It is critically important to examine what lie Eve heard. For if the Fall hinged on the acceptance of a lie, then a more accurate understanding of the nature of disobedience can be better determined. Placed in dialogue format, the exchange between the Devil and Eve reveals that Eve was not as much a victim as is typically taught.

[Serpent:] “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

[Eve:] “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

[Serpent:] “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

—GEN 3:1-6

The two statements made by Satan give us the clearest understanding of what occurred at the Fall. The first statement, “You will not surely die,” is the lie that Eve chose to believe. This is a deceptive statement because it completely contradicts the warning God gave to Adam in Genesis 2:17, “. . . but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” The amazing thing to recognize is that Satan told the truth regarding the nature of the tree. It did represent the knowledge that only God possessed, until Eve ate. The real temptation for Eve was the idea that she could be like God.

This desire to rob God of the glory He alone deserves and to redirect it to oneself is the essence of the rebellion as described in Romans 1. This choice, motivated by the same idolatrous desire as that of Satan and the fallen angels, made necessary a God-initiated provision for enabling man to repent from sin. The mission of God, to restore Himself to the rightful place of worship by His creation, required a work of reconciliation that could not be accomplished by man (2 Cor 5:18-21). God acted swiftly to introduce this plan. In Genesis 3:14-15 the curse is pronounced upon Satan and man and includes the promised victory of God’s kingdom. Theologians refer to this passage as the “proto-evangel,” literally meaning “first Gospel.” In God’s pronouncement of judgment, He states that the Seed of the woman would wield a final defeating blow to the counterfeit kingdom established by Satan’s rebellion. Scripture then embarks on a sixty-six book account of how God has been at work throughout human history, reconciling men and women from every people group back to a pre-Fall relationship with Himself, the Creator. The promise of a coming Redeemer “was given to the entire human race. . . . Its racial scope must not be overlooked, for only as Christ becomes the Saviour of the total human race is Genesis 3:15 fulfilled.”⁴

COVENANT

The Old Testament is filled with passages in which people will stream to Mount Zion and seek the God of Israel because of His mighty deeds on behalf of His special people.⁵

When God called Abram to be the father of the Jewish nation, He stated the extent of influence that the Jews would have and what that influence specifically would be. In Genesis 12:1-3 God declares to Abram, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you . . . so that you will be a blessing . . . and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Though God was promising to establish a great nation, it is clear that it was to be a means to a larger, wider-reaching work, since “all the families of the earth” refers to God’s intent as Creator to be a Father to mankind. “All the families of the earth” must be understood as inclusive of people from every cultural context. This promise of blessing is a direct reference to God’s reconciling work of salvation, which is clarified in Galatians 3:8-9.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

This covenant explained that all Jews and Gentiles who would place their faith in the one true God are children of Abraham. Therefore, the word “blessed” here means “salvation.”

What we may conclude from the wording of Genesis 12:3 and its use in the New Testament is that God’s purpose for the world is that the blessing of Abraham would reach to all the ethnic people groups of the world. This would happen as people in each group put their faith in Christ and thus become “sons of Abraham” and “heirs of the promise.” This event of individual salvation as persons trust Christ will happen among “all the nations.”⁶

God changed Abram’s name to signal the intent of His redemptive strategy, for the new name, Abraham (“father of a multitude”), in Hebrew points to redemption. Based on the Hebrew word usage in the text, Michael Grisantiaffirms, “God’s program has worldwide implications and is not limited to Israel. . . . It is God’s intention to use Abraham to bless the nations. . . . This passage delineates God’s choice of an instrument through whom He will bless the world.”⁷ This covenant statement is repeated throughout multiple generations of Abraham’s descendants (Gen 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). We also see it repeated to the children of Israel after they had taken possession of the promised land under the leadership of Joshua (Josh 23—24).

CULTURES

Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens. . . .
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! . . .
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”

—PS 96:3-5, 7-10

Israel lived in a multicultural context. From the journeyings of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses in Egypt, to the constant engagement of the Philistines, Amorites, and Moabites, to the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities, the Israelites had opportunity to declare the glories of the one true God. Each book of the Bible refers to Israel’s responsibility to the nations (e.g., Ps 67; 98:2-3; Isa 49:6; Jer 33:7-9; Jon 4:1-11). In Exodus 19:5-6 God asks Moses to tell the Israelites that they are to serve in a priestly capacity, functioning as mediators between sinful men and a holy God. Two Old Testament accounts illustrate the opportunities that Israel was given to serve as priests: Solomon’s reign and Daniel’s captivity.

Solomon’s Reign

Solomon, gifted by God with unprecedented wisdom, was commissioned to construct the Temple. Solomon understood from the history of his own people that the Temple was to be a place of worship for Jehovah. It would herald the final settlement of the Israelite people in the land that God had promised to them in the Abrahamic Covenant. Solomon’s life provides us with a picture of how the Jews were to fulfill their priest-like role among the nations. We capture two glimpses of this priesthood principle—the first, a positive one, and the second, a devastating compromise of this responsibility.

In 1 Kings 8:22-61, Solomon is standing before the newly completed Temple. As he offers an extensive prayer of dedication, he includes a reference to Israel’s priest-like role to the Gentile nations. In verses 41-43 he prays:

Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

It is evident that Solomon understood that the blessing was to extend through Israel to all peoples. He knew God allowed the Moabite family of Moses’ wife to be joined to Israel by faith. He knew God allowed the Canaanite prostitute Rahab to be joined to Israel by faith. He knew God allowed Ruth to make the God of her mother-in-law Naomi her God. Obviously, God had great love and compassion for the Gentiles. And those who by faith embraced Jehovah were children of the covenant as well.

How tragic it is then to see this great and wise king violate God’s instructions. First Kings 11:1-13 unfolds the account of Solomon “lov[ing] many foreign women.”

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

—1 KGS 11:4-8

It is a dramatic contrast to watch Solomon compromise the priest-like responsibility of the nation and invite into the nation the very gods Joshua and the children of Israel had purged from the land. He who erected the most magnificent Temple for the world to come and worship Jehovah later erected temples to foreign idols.

Daniel’s Captivity

Even when the consequence for the nation’s idolatry was exile and captivity, God used the Israelites as an expansive covenant force. Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faithfully fulfilled their priestly role. As youths taken into Nebuchadnezzar’s court, they attempted to demonstrate that Jehovah was the powerful Creator. Their challenge to live not on the king’s finest food but on vegetables and water proved they understood the need to witness before idolatrous foreigners. Later when Nebuchadnezzar exposed his ambitions to be worshiped as only God deserved (Dan 3:4-5), the three friends refused to bow down and worship the statue he had placed on the plain of Dura. God protected them and showed Himself to be all-powerful.

The elevation of Daniel to a position of great influence in the court proves to be a most powerful illustration of this principle. Nebuchadnezzar, evidencing his desire to be worshiped as the Most High, was plagued by a dream. Daniel, asked to interpret the dream, warned Nebuchadnezzar of his need to repent and honor Jehovah. Daniel 4:28-37 describes the account of God’s changing the heart of this king. “At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, ‘Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?’” (vv. 29-30). God immediately struck Nebuchadnezzar down to crawl on his belly like an animal for seven years, until he would recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of all mankind. This is an amazing picture of God’s grace, extended even to this foreign, self-deifying king.

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever. . . . Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

—DAN 4:34, 37

Whether during the period of the Exodus, the judges, or the prophets, the recurring theme is that of the Creator calling back His chosen people to loyalty and obedience to their covenant responsibility. God consistently demonstrated that the intent of the covenant blessing was global, and not limited to the nation of Israel.

[Israel] was marked out long ago in the time of Abraham, “to be a covenant to the people” of the earth. Once the word “people” is shown to be equal to the Gentile nations of the earth, then it must mean that all the Gentiles and peoples of the world are to be consolidated in the very same covenant that Yahweh had made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David and that Jeremiah spelled out in the New Covenant. . . . [The covenants] were initially given to Israel so that Israel could share them with the peoples of the earth.⁸

This reality informs every believer’s understanding of God’s ultimate plan for history: the loving reconciliation of men and women from every tribe and nation back to a pre-Fall garden walk with Him. This is the hope of eternity. It proves to be the mission of Christ, it proves to be the commission of the church, and it proves to be the promise of eternity future.

CHRIST

In the New Covenant, Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to extend the blessing of salvation to all the nations. In Him, the consistency of God’s plan to offer salvation to the Jews first, but also to the Gentiles (Rom 1:16-17) is recognized. The nativity narrative includes two bold allusions to the broad scope of God’s plan. Luke 2 tells of the angels’ appearance to the Jewish shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem. But also included in the narrative is the account of Magi or wise men traveling from the East to find the promised Messiah. These men, most probably from the area of ancient Babylon, were searching the heavens for the promised sign of one who would come and rule. Their eventual arrival at the Child’s home, bearing valuable gifts, resulted in their active worship of Christ. The fact that both Jews and Gentiles are included in this narrative account hints that from the very beginning of Christ’s earthly life, God’s commitment to reconcile all men to Himself was evident.

The second allusion to God’s multicultural program comes eight days after Christ’s birth. Mary and Joseph, obeying the command to dedicate their child at the Temple, were met by a man named Simeon. Luke 2:25-26 reveals that God had promised Simeon he would not die until he had seen the promised Savior. Simeon, upon seeing Mary and Joseph enter the Temple court, immediately recognizes the Child as the fulfillment of God’s promise. He made a critical statement as he took the child into his arms and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (vv. 29-32). Here is an obvious emphasis on the multiethnic scope of redemption.

The fact that Christ was born a Jew is consistent with God’s covenant plan to work through the Jewish nation to offer salvation. Unfortunately, most of the Jews failed to understand the scope of God’s kingdom plan. Particularly during the lifetime of Christ, they were adamant that the blessing of the covenant would be limited, aimed only at benefiting the Jewish people. This blind perspective resulted in Christ’s repeated confrontation of the Jews in His earthly ministry and proved to be a source of their hatred for Him. Luke 4:24-27 records Christ’s first sermon in the city of Nazareth.

And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

Christ specifically chose two Old Testament references to the faith of non-Jewish individuals. Both the widow of Zarephath and Naaman are illustrations of the intended scope of God’s covenant plan. To the Jews, looking for an earthly Messiah with nationalistic intentions, these references to Gentile individuals were perceived as inconsistent with their expectation of the Messiah. This failure on the Jews’ part to understand God’s redemptive plan and their role in it led to continual conflict with Christ during His earthly ministry.

When Christ attempted to explain the concept of loving your brother, using the example of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), it was the Jews in the story who neglected to love one of their own who had suffered the injustice of robbery and abuse. The hero in Christ’s account is the hated Samaritan. Jews, who despised Samaritans because of their ethnically-mixed heritage, heard Christ elevating him over Jews as an example of kingdom faith. In an even bolder fashion, Christ emphasized the failure of the Jews to embrace God’s plan when He was approached by a Roman centurion (Matt 8:5-13). The centurion’s faith-based request to have his servant healed by Christ provided our Savior with an opportunity to contrast what saving faith looks like compared to the national and religious pride of the Jews.

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

—MATT 8:10-12

Here another Gentile is elevated as one who will partake in the promised kingdom, and it is revealed that many Jews will be excluded.

On several other occasions, Christ confronted the pride and ethnocentrism of the Jews (e.g., Matt 12:38-42; 15:21-28; John 4:9). One of the most interesting instances is the expulsion of the moneylenders and vendors from the Temple courts. Mark 11:15-17 portrays the anger of Christ directed at those who had compromised the function of the Temple as a place for reconciliation and worship. It is significant that this occurred in the area of the Temple referred to as “the Court of the Gentiles.” In the design of the Temple, God had intended for there to be a recognized place of worship for the foreigner. This is consistent with Solomon’s prayer of dedication in 1 Kings 8. Not only was Christ cleansing the Temple from those who were violating its consecrated purpose, He was also illustrating that the Jews had come to disregard the rightful place of a foreigner to worship their God. By His expression of anger, He affirmed the significance of this dedicated place of worship for the nations.

COMMISSION

When Christ prepared to ascend to heaven, He revealed to His followers what would be His intended pattern for ministry. The following statements comprise the essence of Christ’s commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:18-20); “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15-16); “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47); “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8b). In declaring that His followers should make disciples of all men, He uses the explicit phrase “of all nations.” This phrase translated “all nations” or “all peoples” (panta ta ethne) in Matthew 28:19 relates directly to the “all the families of the earth” phrase in the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:3).

The sweep of all the [linguistic] evidence makes it abundantly clear that God’s gift of a blessing through the instrumentality of Abraham was to be experienced by nations, clans, tribes, people groups, and individuals. It would be for every size group, from the smallest people group to the greatest nation.⁹

The interaction with secular nations meant interaction with man-made deities. The goal of missions is a rejection of idolatry, including man himself, and the reconciliation of true worshipers to God. “Worship launches mission outreach, and worship is the outcome of this outreach as new believers join in honoring our Lord. Active witness connects the starting line with the goal.”¹⁰

CHURCH

Acts 1:8 explains how God’s redemptive plan for all peoples would be geographically implemented. Beginning in Jerusalem, extending throughout Judea, to Samaria, it would go forth to every other nation—i.e., “the end of the earth.” This order honors God’s promise to offer salvation first to the Jew and then to the Gentile.

Mission takes place in a world of cultures. The book of Acts shows the progression of the gospel from the “Jewish” Jews of Jerusalem into the Judean countryside, then to the Samaritans and to the Hellenized Jews, and from the latter to the Gentiles at Antioch, and finally to the multiple cultures of the Roman Empire and the world.¹¹

Acts provides a historical narrative of the emerging growth of the early church, demonstrating how first Peter and James, then Philip, and finally Paul and his partners follow the explicit command of Christ to geographically extend His salvific mission. The book of Acts introduces the church as God’s primary vehicle for extending His redemptive plan.

Witnesses in Jerusalem

Peter, the apostle to whom Christ personally expressed His vision for the church (Matt 16:18), was entrusted with preaching the first gospel sermon inaugurating the church (Acts 2:14-40). This occurred during the time of Pentecost, just ten days after the ascension of Christ. Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks or Harvest, required that every Jewish male appear at the sanctuary for this feast. Because of the scattering of the Jews due to persecution during the Intertestamental period, Jews had occupied many countries in the Roman Empire. These Jewish men (not native speakers of Aramaic or Hebrew, but speakers of their native country’s language) witnessed the coming of the Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the Gospel (Acts 2:1-41). “People from every continent of the then known world were there. Asia, Africa, and Europe were represented. . . . From its inception, the church had a focus as big as the world.”¹² In His great wisdom and power, God demonstrated His far-reaching plan for redemption. Men who would return to their home countries following the feast heard the Gospel in their own language. The fact that these men were Jewish again affirms God’s covenant plan to extend salvation, beginning first with the Jewish people. Through them, Gentiles of other nations would be confronted in their idolatry.

In his sermon, Peter rehearses God’s promise to the nation of Israel, that through them the promised Messiah would come (Acts 2:29-36). Peter would later serve as the lead counsel for the Jerusalem church when they were tempted to exclude any Gentiles from true fellowship as equals in the kingdom. God prepares Peter in Acts 10:1—11:18 by giving him a vision and sending him to the home of the Roman centurion Cornelius. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Peter recognizes the meaning of the vision to be that all people, Jews and Gentiles, are to be considered equal hearers of the covenant promise of salvation. This incident is critical because Peter, the “apostle to the Jews,” now understood that the church was to include people from all ethnic races. He subsequently led the Jewish church to accept Gentile believers as equals at the Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15.

Witnesses in Judea and Samaria

Judea and Samaria represent the second phase of the church’s expansion. Philip played a key role in this expansion by preaching the kingdom to the Samaritans (Acts 8:5-25). He was joined by Peter and John (v. 14), who prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit. Here the church was extended through their witness to this previously rejected people. Philip was then called by an angel of the Lord to leave Samaria and journey to the southern part of Judea. On this journey he encountered not a Jew, but an African. This man, referred to most often as the Ethiopian eunuch, was a high-ranking official in the court of Candace, queen of Ethiopia. It is no mistake that this account of an African being led to Christ through the Old Testament writings of Isaiah is included in the book of Acts. It perfectly illustrates God’s inclusion of peoples from the full breadth of nations in His redemptive plan. As well, it is prophetic in anticipating the next phase of church expansion—unto the uttermost parts.

Witnesses to the Ends of the Earth

Paul’s journeys manifest his understanding of God’s prescribed missionary method. By entering a city and proceeding directly to the synagogue, Paul showed God’s desire that the Jew be given first opportunity to receive the gospel message. Met with direct hostility and persecution, Paul would then proceed to Gentile forums such as Tyrannus’ classroom in Ephesus, the marketplace such as that in Corinth, or the center of philosophical debate such as that in Athens. His authorship of multiple church epistles during these trips helps us to understand these books of the Bible not only as general or pastoral epistles, but as letters to missionary church plants, each one a picture of God’s redeeming work among primarily non-Jewish peoples.

Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:20 is useful as an overarching theme for his life: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” The allusion to an ambassador as a picture of Paul’s church-planting ministry provides an effective connotation. It is an ambassador who is tasked primarily with brokering peace between warring kingdoms. Man, representing the fallen kingdom of this world, and God, representing His perfect, righteous heavenly kingdom, find their agents of peace in those who are functioning as spiritual ambassadors. Christ Himself serves as the ultimate ambassador, and the church as His commissioned representatives. For it is in His authority, and His alone, that the followers of Christ proclaim the hope-filled message of reconciliation and peace (Matt 12:18). “Paul says much about missions and evangelism. Supremely an exponent and propagator of the gospel, he expected the early churches to be of like mind (Rom 10:12-18; 1 Cor 9:16-18; Eph 3:1-12; Phil 2:15-16; 1 Tm 2:1-7).”¹³

In infinite wisdom God designed salvation; in infinite grace and at infinite cost God procured salvation in Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son; in infinite power God sent forth the Holy Spirit to actualize salvation in the individual and in history; in infinite compassion God instituted mission and missions—first through Israel and now through His church—in order that hopeless mankind might hear, know and believe the good news at the infinite salvation of God for mankind.¹⁴

Today’s church finds itself central to this epoch of the mission mandate that continues to look toward the extension of the Gospel around the world, penetrating every people group on the globe.

The book of Acts demonstrates the progression of the message of Christ to “the end of the earth,” which for Luke is Rome, the center of the Roman Empire. The “all nations” of Luke 24:47, however, do not receive the preaching of the Gospel in the book of Acts, and this dimension of the Old Testament promise is still not completely fulfilled today. That the fulfillment of this command is promised in the Old Testament should give the church confidence and urgency as it moves forward to accomplish the task.¹⁵

The reader of Scripture should recognize the picture of eternity drawn at the consummation of all human eras to be the reestablishment of God’s one kingdom. In this kingdom, men and women from every people group will manifest the realization of God’s covenant plan and great commission assignment.

CONSUMMATION

There is an end to God’s redemptive timeline. There will come a day when the opportunity to respond to God’s invitation for reconciliation will no longer be available, and He will judge every man’s confession. This future day is what inspires Christians to have hope and faith in this lifetime. This same future should be considered with dread by those who reject His loving offer. Regardless of man’s acceptance or rejection, every human will affirm the truth of who Christ is. Isaiah 45:23 states, “‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’” This prediction, made also in Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:9-11, makes it clear that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

In the beautiful picture of the eternal state described by John, one views the fulfillment of all God’s redemptive plans.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

—REV 21:22-26

From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, this theme of God’s eternal plan for His creation to worship Him alone demands His perfect, grace-based provision for the forgiveness of sins. “Thus this theme of a mission to the whole world forms one giant envelope framing the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.”¹⁶

INTERCULTURAL MINISTRY TODAY

The overwhelmingly consistent and bold theme in Scripture is that all men and women, from either Jewish or non-Jewish descent, are valued in God’s sight. His love is not limited to one people; it is exhaustively demonstrated to all peoples. This multi-ethnic emphasis leads the Christian to make the following observations:

• God created men and women of every cultural group.

• God’s love is extended to people from every cultural group.

• Because of God’s expansive love, every church member should demonstrate a commitment to love people from every cultural group.

• All believers must reject the idolatry represented within any cultural group.

• Every church should reflect a vision to reach the nations as part of its mission.

• All believers should recognize their primary identity as citizens of heaven, even above their own national citizenship.

The missions movement of today no longer thinks in terms of foreign missions alone. A student of global, national, and local demographics will quickly recognize that cross-cultural ministry can occur anywhere today due to modern communication and transportation capabilities. This change in missionary thinking means that every local church must do more than just support missionaries sent overseas to fulfill their role in God’s redemptive plan.

Intentional local outreach programs should look at individuals from other ethnic backgrounds as primary emphases in evangelism and discipleship. Groups such as new immigrants, international university students, nonnative English speakers, international businesspeople, and refugees deserve the church’s immediate attention. It is often the case that these people groups represent the most impoverished and needy. An effective strategy to reach out to these peoples must include practical expressions of Christ’s love. By meeting both physical and spiritual needs, the church manifests the clearest picture of Christ’s method of mission.

Confronting issues of racial and economic prejudice is part of missions work, the work of the church. Left without a Christian response, advocates for the poor or minorities must turn to political means for relief. Unfortunately, they must rely on a rights-based approach rather than a biblical love-based approach. Without the church leading the way, secular agendas of multiculturalism, diversity, tolerance, and racial reconciliation provide only a humanistic, man-centered solution. Each of these fall far short of the eternal love and unity promised by God for those from every nation who believe in Christ. Thus today’s church must evaluate its priorities.

If God has such affection for His creation, then every contemporary church and church member must understand their role in this master plan of God. They will in turn be forced to look at cross-cultural ministry as the consistently historical and future work of God. Our God has a heart for the nations. He views them as equal to each other and important to His king dom. Any church or church member who neglects to prioritize a gospel witness to men and women of all ethnic people groups neglects to fully understand the very heart of God Himself and misses His perspective of the nations.