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The Mission and Responsibility of the Church
The Mission and Responsibility
of the Church
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end
of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus Christ gave His Church-this body of spiritually transformed believers - a
responsibility to carry out. The Church's mission is to preach the gospel of the
Kingdom of God and make disciples throughout the world, teaching them exactly what
Jesus taught (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20).
The work of the Church continues; it did not cease when the original disciples died.
At first the job of the apostles, the Church's mission has passed to each generation
of God's people. Jesus promised to be with His followers as they accomplished that
work until He returns at the end of the age (verse 20).
Paul said Christ sent him into the world "to open (people's) eyes, in order
to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified
by faith in Me" (Acts 26:18).
Paul also said: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . ."
(Romans 1:16). The gospel is God's message of how salvation will be brought to mankind-starting
with His Church.
The Church plays many roles in the bringing of salvation to the world. It stands
as the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). It is the household or family of God (Ephesians 2:19; 1Peter 4:17, NIV). It is the mother who nurtures God's sons and daughters
(Galatians 4:26). It functions as the "pillar and ground of the truth"
in a spiritually confused world (1Timothy 3:15).
Let's look at the multifaceted responsibilities Christ gave His Church, His special
people.
Must the Church save the world?
Paul describes the Church's responsibility as "the ministry of reconciliation"
because "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their
trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation" (2Corinthians 5:18-19).
God's ultimate purpose is to gather-to reconcile - all mankind to Himself. The Church
plays an important role in that worthy effort. God has commissioned it to preach
how that reconciliation will occur. It is to baptize those who believe that message.
When will that reconciliation take place? A common misperception is that Jesus has
commissioned His Church to save the world in this age. But that is not what the Bible
teaches and is not what Paul meant in 2Corinthians 5.
The Church's ministry of reconciliation is only the beginning of a much greater phase
of God's plan for reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus Christ.
God has commissioned the Church to proclaim salvation to the nations. But proclaiming
Jesus' teaching about salvation is vastly different from bringing mankind to salvation.
The latter will necessitate bringing the entire world to repentance and conversion.
Only Jesus Christ can convert the world; that task will have to wait until He returns.
Why Christ must bring Israel to repentance
At His return Christ will begin God's reconciliation to the world by bringing the
descendants of Jacob-Israel - to repentance.
At that time, Paul explains, "all Israel will be saved." How? "The
Deliverer (Christ) will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from
Jacob" (Romans 11:26).
Then, as soon as the restored people of Israel learn obedience as a nation, many
peoples will come and say, according to the book of Isaiah, "'Come, let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us
his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.' The law will go out from Zion, the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3, NIV).
Zechariah tells us, "In those days ten men from every language of the nations
shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have
heard that God is with you'" (Zechariah 8:23).
Humanity will begin to realize that the law God gave to ancient Israel must still
be observed. Mankind will shed its prejudices and even begin keeping the biblical
festivals, which God gave to ancient Israel.
Those who remain unrepentant will soon find themselves in dire circumstances because
God will humble them by withholding rain from their crops until they change their
attitude. "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem
will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate
the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem
to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain" (Zechariah 14:16-17,
NIV).
Since Christ knows human nature, He will do what is needed at that time to change
the thinking of people-to bring them to repentance. But that is to occur in the future
after Christ returns.
Even though the Church is to proclaim a message to the world that includes a call
for repentance, Scripture tells us that relatively few people will truly repent before
Christ returns. Thus, bringing the world to repentance is not the Church's role for
this age.
A small group: the light of the world
To the contrary, Jesus said to His disciples: "In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). He also said,
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you
were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).
God's people have never been a popular or powerful force. Jesus describes their lot
in life: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is
easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow
and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14, NRSV).
Yes, only a few are willing to follow all the teachings of Jesus Christ once they
hear and understand them. Jesus comforted His disciples, "Do not fear, little
flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
God reveals that His people will be a little flock in this age. He is calling only
a few to be the living examples of His way of life to the rest of world.
Jesus says to His true disciples, "You are the light of the world . . .
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).
God commissioned the Church to set the example of His way
of life to the world. God is exposing humanity to His ways through the Church. Peter
exhorts the members of the Church: "Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,
so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and
glorify God when he comes to judge" (1Peter 2:12, NRSV).
The Church: God's firstfruits
During "this present evil age" (Galatians 1:4), the Church of God consists
of only the first small part of God's great harvest of people to eternal life.
James calls Christians: "a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). They are "redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and
to the Lamb" (Revelation 14:4).
The biblical usage of the term firstfruits was readily understood by members of the
early Church. "In acknowledgment of the fact that all the products of the land
came from God, and (in) thankfulness for His goodness, Israelites brought as an offering
to Him a portion of the fruits that ripened first, these being looked upon as an
earnest of the coming harvest" (Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1967,
"First Fruits").
The firstfruits were the first part of the harvest, which the Israelites set apart
for God. After they gathered them and dedicated them to their Creator, they harvested
the rest of the crops. The apostles and other members of the early Church understood
that, as firstfruits, the Church is the first part of God's harvest of humanity for
salvation. The vastly greater portion of the harvest will not take place until after
Jesus Christ's return.
Those whom God calls in this age will participate in the saving of the world-but
not at this time and not as human beings. At the return of Jesus Christ they will
become immortal spirit beings.
God will resurrect them to eternal life as the firstfruits of His harvest, receiving
immortality at Christ's return (1Corinthians 15:20-23,51-53). They will be kings
and priests in the Kingdom of God (Revelation 5:10).
As the immortal, resurrected children of God, they will assist Christ in teaching
God's way of obedience to the world for 1,000 years. "Blessed and holy is he
who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand
years" (Revelation 20:6). The resurrection of these faithful servants of Jesus
Christ to eternal life at the beginning of that 1,000 years is only the first resurrection
(verses 4,6).
All the dead will be resurrected
At the end of the 1,000 years, God will resurrect all others who have ever lived
throughout human history to stand before Him in judgment (Revelation 20:11-12). This
is far larger than the first resurrection; it is the resurrection of "the rest
of the dead" (verse 5). At that time God will raise from the dead people from
all nations, along with the people of Israel-all resurrected together (Matthew 11:20-24;
12:41-42).
"Do not marvel at this," Jesus said; "for the hour is coming in which
all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth-those who have done
good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection
of condemnation (judgment)" (John 5:28-29).
Those who rise in this general resurrection-the resurrection of judgment - will rise
as mortal, flesh-and-blood human beings (Ezekiel 37:1-10). Then they will learn God's
ways, acknowledge their sins and receive His Spirit. Then they, too, can receive
immortality.
Ezekiel describes their resurrection: "Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, O My
people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves . . .
I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own
land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,' says
the Lord" (verses 12-14). (For more information on this vital topic, please
request our free booklet What Happens After Death?)
Christians are the firstfruits of the redeemed. They live in a deceived world, and
they must strive to be "blameless and harmless, children of God without fault
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom (they) shine as lights
in the world" (Philippians 2:15).
The Church: The Body of Christ
We have already seen that Jesus Christ told His followers to go into all the world,
making disciples of all nations and teaching people God's way of life. This takes
cooperation and organization. To effectively describe the organized functioning of
the people of God, the apostles used the analogy of the human body.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in
the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help
others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds
of (languages)" (1Corinthians 12:27-28, NIV).
Directing the work of the Church as its living Head is Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18).
To emphasize how dependent the Church is on His leadership and inspiration, Jesus
compares Himself to a vine: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides
in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The success of the Church is dependent on the power and inspiration it receives
from Jesus Christ.
Functions within the Body of Christ are established by Him "to equip the saints
for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12,
NRSV).
Paul tells us that "there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there
are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities,
but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone" (1Corinthians 12:4-6, NRSV).
Spiritual leadership in the Church
Among the gifts Christ gives His Church are gifts of spiritual leadership: apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). They are entrusted
with the responsibility of teaching, nourishing, protecting and building the Church.
Godly character and exemplary spiritual qualifications are required of those entrusted
with spiritual leadership (1Timothy 3:1-10; Titus 1:5-9).
These are to lovingly shepherd God's flock (John 21:15-17) so that all members of
this spiritual body may "come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).
They are to lead the people of God to work together in unity-to love, respect and
support each other. "But God has combined the members of the body and has given
greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in
the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other" (1Corinthians 12:24-25, NIV).
Those who are led by Jesus Christ recognize a common Spirit in each other-the very
Spirit of God, which makes them the people of God.
It should lead them to work together in unity to accomplish the mission Christ gave
the Church as its ministry when He said: "Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . ."
(Matthew 28:19-20).
The Church that Christ built is that special body of people who, led by God's Spirit,
obey His commandments and are zealously committed to accomplishing the commission
Jesus Christ gave them.
©1999 United Church of God, an International Associtaion
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