We've been looking at the relevance of this blog by considering its purpose, which is reflected in its title: Mission Focused Men for the King. Today, we look at the 4th word in the podcast title, “FOR.” Mission Focused Men FOR Christ. Understanding who our mission is for is the key that unlocks our motivation—to keep devoting ourselves to the mission assigned to us by our Lord.
The question, “Who is this mission for?” really poses two sub-questions: First, “Who is sending us on this mission?” Second, “Who benefits from us completing this mission?” Let’s consider these two questions:
WHO CALLS US TO THIS MISSION?
A. The one calling us to our mission is THE CREATOR. Colossians 1:15-17 tells us that All things were created through and for Christ. As our creator, our Lord put us on planet earth with a mission and tells us in the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible what that mission is. In Genesis 1 we read.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”…. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:26-28).
What does God mean when he describes our creation calling as exercising dominion over the earth filling it and subduing it? The answer requires that we understand the context, which is God’s three stage work of creation being explained in Genesis 1. The first stage is described in verses 1-2. It is creation ex nihilo, out of nothing. In the beginning there was only God. He brings the stuff of creation into existence out of nothing. Having made this basic stuff, God’s creative work continues. Genesis 1:3-2:3 is stage two, diversification. God brings about order by distinguishing and separating. He separates the light from darkness, the atmosphere from the oceans, the dry land from the seas, the birds, fish, and animal kingdoms from each other. Finally, he makes Adam from the ground and Eve from Adam. Throughout this process God’s creative work is shown in ordering, separating, shaping the material of creation.
Although we might assume that God has now ended his creative process, God delegates the third stage of creation to his image bearers. Humankind is now assigned the task of generating life by reproducing, so that the earth is filled. As the ESV Study Bible notes point out, “God’s creation plan is that the whole earth should be populated by those who know him and who serve wisely as his vice-regents or representatives.” Adam is also to continue God’s creative work of ordering, i.e. shaping the material of creation by subduing the earth. To subdue the earth is to explore the created world and harness its laws for the good of mankind. The book, All of Life Redeemed explains this creation calling,
God places creation in the care of people who are to develop it. The potential God has created is to be released. The possibilities are to be explored. People are to explore these possibilities with honor and industry…. In fulfilling this responsibility, they found joy, meaning, and identity. It was no token job. They were to rule, fill, subdue, and cultivate as they were empowered by God. This was the third stage of creation. (All of Life Redeemed, by Frey and Ingram).
What we do from Monday morning through Friday afternoon is not simply earn money to provide for our families and give to the church. It is not even primarily having some platform for sharing the gospel. It is helping God develop the potential of this earth and that vocational calling is primary. God wants the potential of this world, including its people, developed. He wants humans to enjoy the playground of this world—kicking balls, writing and performing music, using the incredible array of color he built into the light spectrum to make beautiful art, writing and hearing stories, discovering how to make drones work, using FaceTime apps to communicate with loved ones from around the world. He wants us to enjoy loving, being loved, and making love. God’s goodness is revealed in his creation. He loves his world; it is a mirror of his glory. So, by enjoying it, we enjoy him.
This idea of enjoying the pleasures of creation, though, might seem worldly, the pursuit of non-Christians. Doesn’t Scripture say to believers, “Love not the world, neither the things of the world?” (1 John 2:15) But, John is not talking about enjoying creation. Rather, he is talking about the reign of evil in that creation. This becomes clear when he continues his thought in the next verse: For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. Sensuality is the misuse of what God created sex to be—not the enjoyment of married sexual pleasure. Covetousness (the desire of the eyes) is overly desiring creation blessings that you don’t have—not enjoying what you DO have. The pride of life is not the pleasure of fulfilling our God-given potential; it is thinking we have reached that success in our own strength.
So, our mission as Christ-followers begins with our CREATION mandate to develop the resources and culture of planet earth.
B. Second, our mission is for OUR DESIGNER. Psalm 139 not only tells us that we were perfectly knitted together in our mother’s womb, but it links the blueprint for us to the days (activities) of our lives: Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them (vs 16).
Think about the significance of this truth. We were designed perfectly for the unique mission Christ has for us, day in and day out. The jobs we fill are not random; God shaped you, providentially for that vocation and that job. He wants you to do your vocational work Christianly, i.e. in a way that honor’s Christ. I bet Jesus, who was probably a stone mason as well as carpenter, built the best tables you ever saw. You are in your workplace to try to shape the culture for the High King THERE. If you are married, it is this woman alone, with all her flaws and strengths that you are to devote yourself to loving well. If you have children, no matter whether five days or 50 years old, no other human can be the father to them that they need, but you The neighbors or work associates in your sphere are not there by accident; you may be the only gospel they read. Our mission overflows with significance, especially when we realize that we were perfectly designed for it before the foundation of the world.
And when we feel completely inadequate, to take a single step to accomplish that mission, we find strength in the truth that God chose us before the foundation of the world KNOWING ALL OF OUR SIN, WEAKNESSES, and INADEQUACIES, beforehand! His plan is to show his strength in our weakness!
C. Third, we are called to our mission by OUR MASTER; we are his disciples. The followers of Jesus had a much clearer picture of what a disciple was than we do today. Bands of disciples with their masters were quite common. Everyone knew that a disciple (the Greek word is mathetes) was a FOLLOWER of a master. The disciple had the deepest kind of personal friendship with the master because they did life together. The disciple patterned his whole life on the teaching and example of his master. The disciple’s greatest goal was to be like his master. And the disciple, as a “follower” went along with the master wherever the master went. He joined in his master’s mission, which points to another characteristic of the one who calls us to our mission.
D. He is the RIGHTFUL KING over planet earth. He took on human flesh, invaded the kingdom of earth to take back Adam’s kingdom from the usurpers, Satan, Sin, and Death, defeated them at the cross, and having been seated at the right hand of the Father has inaugurated the righteous reign of his kingdom over every square inch of planet earth, which he claims as his own. When he ascended, the Holy Spirit was poured out in fuller measure, who empowers us for our mission to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness in our own personal love and loyalty to Christ, in transforming the sinful attitudes of our hearts, and in helping us establish righteousness in every sphere of our lives and the culture. Simply stated, our mission, in following King Jesus is the overthrow of the kingdom of darkness and the establishment of his kingdom of light, through his resurrection power. That is a mission is worthy of every ounce of strength we can give it. What a great privilege, to know that our lives have eternal significance.
E. Finally, the one who assigns to us our mission is OUR REDEEMER. To “redeem” in the New Testament writer’s days, meant to purchase out of slavery. Jesus bought us out of our slavery to sin and freed us from the inevitable consequence that follows, just punishment for our transgressions. Paul saw the inherent contradiction in being set free from the power of sin by Christ, but then continuing to live in it. In Romans 6:2, he asks, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
It is a contradiction, but that is where we live. The reality is that we have already been set free from the penalty of sin and it’s right to condemn us. We have already been set free from the power of sin to enslave us. But during this age, we have not yet been set free from the presence of sin to tempt us. That will not happen until Christ returns.
Therefore, at the core of our mission will always be battling sin. Sin is the horrible, devasting moral cancer that defaces the image of God in humans, and which we are to hate. Peter urges us to find strength for battling our sinful tendencies in, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Pet 1:18-19). The one calling us to the tough everyday mission of dying to the sin that wants to destroy us is the one who himself DIED—giving his precious blood to set us free from sin’s destructive power.
These five descriptions of the one who sends us on our mission are important because our mission is not just a mere job description, it is personal. It is a call—words to you and me—from our Creator, Designer, Master, King, and Redeemer. It is the one who has assigned our mission—the one the mission is FOR who makes our mission so significant. No wonder, Paul challenges the Ephesian believers, Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (4:1). Jesus, our creator, designer, master, king, and redeemer is worthy of the best we can offer him.
WHO BENEFITS FROM US ACCOMPLISHING OUR MISSION?
The second way we want to think about the question, Who is our mission for? is to consider who benefits from accomplishing it. Part of the answer of course is that we do. We always benefit from obeying Christ’s will for us. It is we who will hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant,” and I believe find great joy in eternity remembering the many ways we have been faithful to the mission given to us by Christ. But I think it adds more motivation to our souls to remember the many ways that fulfilling our mission blesses Christ. Here are a few:
- Faithfulness to our mission is the way to love him back for all he has done for us. Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).
- Faithfulness to our mission brings pleasure to him. Scripture says, Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him (Col 1:10). Think of that! We can bring pleasure to our Lord!
- Faithfulness to his mission for us causes his name to be honored. Pray then like this, said Jesus…May your name be hallowed. May you kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:9-10. Staying focused on our mission magnifies God’s name!
- Faithfulness to our mission brings glory and pleasure to our Lord because we make his bride more radiant. Paul writes, Christ gave himself up for his bride so that he might sanctify her… and present the church to himself in splendor (Eph 5:26-27). Jesus finds pleasure in the moral beauty of his bride.
- Faithfulness to our mission fulfills the purpose of our Lord’s mission—to bring gory to the Father. By this is my father glorified, said Jesus, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples (John 15:8). We bring glory to the Father by bearing fruit in our mission.
Staying focused on our mission MATTERS—It matters because of who our mission is FOR and because by being faithful to it, we bring him great pleasure, honor, and glory.
