What Does the Bible Say About Mission?

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The word “mission” is Latin and means “sent out”, like the Greek “apostello”, from which the word “apostle” comes. Mission is the sharing of the good news of God’s salvation. God has sent various people and groups to bring his message to the world, such as prophets, Israel, the Messiah, and the Church. The message is conveyed partly by witnessing in words, i.e., evangelism, to what one has experienced, but also by demonstrating in action, i.e., deaconry, God’s love for one’s fellow human beings. The foremost representative of mission is Jesus Christ, who was sent by God into the world to show us who God is and to demonstrate the kingdom of God by teaching, healing the sick, casting out demons and reconciling humanity, among other things. Until the return of Jesus, the Church has been commissioned by Jesus to continue God’s mission in the world in the power of the Spirit, so that people can come to faith and become part of the Church through baptism, and then in turn develop their own discipleship and testify about Jesus to new people.

Bible Verses

14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.(1 Jn 4:14)

18No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.(Jn 1:18)

43but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”(Lk 4:43)

18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(Mt 28:18–20)

21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.(Jn 20:21–22)

8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”(Ac 1:8)

10so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,(Eph 3:10–11)

14And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.(Mt 24:14)

Study Questions

  1. What do you think of when you hear the word “mission”?
  2. Is there a difference between God’s mission in the Old Testament versus the New Testament?
  3. What is the difference between “evangelism” and “mission”?
  4. In what ways can we do missionary work “in words”?
  5. In what ways can we do missionary work “in action”?
  6. Do you have to go abroad to do missionary work or can you do it at home?

Additional Bible Verses

John 17:18, Ex 19:5-6, 1 Kings 8:41-43, Ps 96:3, Zech 8:20-23, Isa 66:19, Isa 11:10, Isa 49:6, 1 Tim 1:15, Acts 2:41-42, 1 Pet 2:9, John 3:16

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