The Mission of the Church

“The Mission of the Church”
Tallinn Leadership – October 25, 2009  
by Valdur Koha
 

Introduction 
 

What is the purpose of the church?

è Planning process in Boston “Radiant Church” 
 

1. Reading through the Bible to get God’s big picture

Getting the big picture …

Excitement about reading the Bible?  Studying Hebrews …

Adam – Abel – Enoch  (Jude 14!) – Noah – Abraham (see Hebrews 11) 
 

Look at some milestones in God’s “big strategy”. 
 

2. Abraham – the father of the faith and “God’s friend”

Genesis 12:1-3

Galatians 3:26-29 
 
 

3. Moses – “whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10)

Numbers 14:13-20 
 
 

4. Solomon – the builder of the temple, the dwelling place of the Lord

    1 Kings 8 
 

5. Jesus had a very clear purpose

    Luke 19:10 
 

6. We are created to do the good works of ambassadorship of Christ

    Acts 1:8

   2 Corinthians 5

   Ephesians 2:10

   Ephesians 3:7-13 
 
 

Closure 
 

What is the purpose of the church?

è God’s mission is the single, overriding purpose of the church 
Introduction 
 

What is the purpose of the church? 
 

Does the church have a singular purpose? 
 

Westminster Catechism: “To glorify God” 
 

è Planning process in Boston “Radiant Church”

è New England Staff Retreat 
 
 

1. Reading through the Bible to get God’s big picture

How is you excitement about reading the Bible?   
 

Studying the book of Hebrews …  
 

Different approaches in reading the Bible: 

1. Books
2. Verse by Verse
3. Topical
4. Reading through the Bible ….

Look at some milestones in God’s “big strategy”. 

Why choose a people as His people?

Why covenants?

Why come up with a new covenant replacing an old covenant? 
 

I believe that God had a singular purpose in mind – in everything He did.  I believe that the Bible describes this extremely well.   
 

Study of “some essential milestones” of God’s big strategy. 
 

The beginning was the creation of the earth and creation of man.  “And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1).   “So God created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27).

 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

God saw that it was “not good” for man to be alone (relationships!), and he created woman (Genesis 2).

 
The Fall of Man comes next (Genesis 3).  Did God fail?  Genesis 4: Beginning of God’s strategy.  One part of God’s strategy: identify individuals who would be totally devoted to him and who would have much faith!  è Hebrews 11 
 

Adam – Abel – Enoch  (Jude 14!) – Noah – Abraham

 
Abraham – the father of the faith and “God’s friend” 
 
 

It began with God’s promise to Abraham . 
 

Genesis 12:1-3 
¹ The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.  
² "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  
³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."  
 
 

Galatians 3:26-29 
²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,  
²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  
²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  
²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.  
 

God had a clear purpose in mind when he decided to talk to Abraham!

 
Everything that God did and everything He does is in pursuit of His great plan. 
 

1 Timothy 2:4 
⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  
 

Are you clear about God’s purpose in your life, for your region, for your church?

2. Moses – “whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10)

The lesson for Pharaoh was visible – to Israel and to the nations. 
 

Of course the people of Israel didn’t play their part well.   They kept missing the big picture! 
 

One of the worst moments in Israel’s history: lack of courage to enter the Promised Land. 

 
Why was it important to God for them to take over Canaan?

è To live in a land of peace?

è To live in convenience and happiness?

NOPE!!!! 
 

The people rebel (Numbers 14:1-4).

Moses and Aaron get very scared about their behavior (Numbers 14:5) and plead with them: “Only do not rebel!” (Numbers 14:9).  But the people don’t listen to them. 
 

God was very angry with the people of Israel.  He was completely “fed up.”  (Numbers 14:10-12) 
 

Moses knew that there was only one way to change God’s mind.  To “remind” Him of His bigger picture!  The other nations! 
 

Numbers 14:13-20 
¹³ Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.  
¹⁴ And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  
¹⁵ If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say,  
¹⁶ 'The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.'  
¹⁷ "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared:  
¹⁸ 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'  
¹⁹ In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."  
²⁰ The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked.

Moses’ argument “worked … J, because it was consistent with God’s “bigger picture.”  è Are my prayers and requests consistent with God’s bigger picture? 
 

3. Solomon – the builder of the temple, the dwelling place of the Lord

1 Kings 8:22-24 
²² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven  
²³ and said: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.  
²⁴ You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it--as it is today.

1 Kings 8:41-43 
⁴¹ "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name--  
⁴² for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm--when he comes and prays toward this temple,  
⁴³ then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

è Solomon asks God to do for foreigners what God had not even guaranteed to do for Israel. 
 

1 Kings 8:54-61 
⁵⁴ When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.  
⁵⁵ He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:  
⁵⁶ "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.  
⁵⁷ May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us.  
⁵⁸ May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.  
⁵⁹ And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need,  
⁶⁰ so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.  
⁶¹ But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."  
 

What was the purpose of Israel?

God had one purpose for Israel: to make Himself known to the nations!

God had always planned for Jesus’ role in His big plan.

One of the “latest” great insights of theology: “Jesus in the OT.”  J

4. Jesus had a very clear purpose – for Himself and for us

Luke 19:10 
¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Matthew 26:50-54 
⁵⁰ Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.  
⁵¹ With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.  
⁵² "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.  
⁵³ Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?  
⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

Why did Scripture had to be fulfilled?

è God’s plan of salvation needed to happen. 
 
 

Mark 1:16-18 
¹⁶ As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  
¹⁷ "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  
¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.

Matthew 28:18-20 
¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  
²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  
 
 

So what is the main purpose of today’s church?

è To meet the needs of the disciples??

è To help disciples mature??

NO! 
 

5. We are created to do the good works of ambassadorship of Christ

Acts 1:8 
⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

What was the purpose of the Holy Spirit? 
 

2 Corinthians 5:7-10 
⁷ We live by faith, not by sight.  
⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  
⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  
¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

How do we please God?  è Fulfill our role in His strategy. 
 

2 Corinthians 5:11 
¹¹ Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.

2 Corinthians 5:16-2 
¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  
¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  
¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  
²⁰ We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.  
²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 
¹ As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.  
² For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

Purpose of God’s grace? 
 

Ephesians 2:10 
¹⁰ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What is this “good work?” 
 

Ephesians 3:7-13 
⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.  
⁸ Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,  
⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.  
¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,  
¹¹ according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.  
¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.  
¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.  
 
 

Conclusion 
 

What is the purpose of the church?

è God’s mission is the single, overriding purpose of the church