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From Every Nation to Every Nation: The Risen Christ and the Global Mission of the Church · Reformed Thinking

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So picture a frontline global missionary for a second.
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OK. Like if you grew up in the West,
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you probably have a very specific scene in your head.
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Oh, for sure, you see an earnest Westerner packing up their life
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into wooden crates. Right.
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Boarding a steamership. Heading off to some uncharted
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jungle to translate the Bible for a remote tribe.
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Yeah, that is the classic mental image that we all have.
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But if you look at the globe today, the most effective
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dynamic missionaries on Earth do not look anything like.
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That yeah, they really don't. The new frontline missionaries
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are Filipina maids working 14 hour shifts in the Middle East.
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Or, you know, Peruvian laborers migrating for construction jobs.
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Yes, or Bolivian migrants moving across borders.
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I mean, the entire map of global Christianity has flipped upside
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down. It really has.
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And today we're going to figure out how and why that happened.
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So welcome to reform thinking. Glad to be here.
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Today we're opening up a massive discussion, a real deep dive
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into the dramatic geographical shift of the visible church from
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the West to the Global South. And our mission for this deep
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dive is to investigate this demographic inversion and to
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examine the strict biblical mandates that anchor this global
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mission. Right.
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And we are drawing our insights from 2 highly detailed sources
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today. The first one is called From
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Every Nation to Every Nation. And the second source is the
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moving lampstands. So the visual of that Filipina
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domestic worker is a striking reality.
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But to establish the ground rules for our analysis today, we
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really need to set the theological stage right from the
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jump. Absolutely.
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The sources make it exceedingly clear that while demographic
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shifts are, you know, fascinating to observe on a
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graph, massive numbers never automatically equal doctrinal
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fidelity. Right, a big crowd doesn't mean
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a faithful church. Precisely the true mission of
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the Church, according to the text we are analyzing, must be
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grounded exclusively in the sovereign grace of God.
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And the absolute authority of the resurrected Christ.
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Yes, along with a rigorous adherence to the closed Canon of
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scripture, We are not looking at a sociological phenomenon today.
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No, we are looking at a theological mandate.
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So before we can thoroughly understand that biblical
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mandate, we have to look at the current reality of the world you
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live in. We.
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Have to recognize how Providence has shifted the center of the
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visible church. Let us look at the historical
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data the sources provide. OK, let's look at the numbers.
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A century ago, over 80% of professing Christians lived in
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Europe and North America. The West was the undisputed
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centralized headquarters of the faith.
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But today, the vitality of the visible Church is teeming in the
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global S spanning Africa, Asia and Latin America.
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The sources described this as the spontaneous expansion of the
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church. Which is such a great phrase.
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It is. It's a massive providential
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shift where mission flows from everywhere to everywhere.
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To understand the mechanics of this shift, the sources lean
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heavily on Samuel Escobar's thesis regarding this
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demographic inversion. Yeah, his work is really central
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here. The old assumption of a
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centralized Western sending body is obsolete.
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Completely Providence uses ordinary, gritty movement as the
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primary vehicle for spreading the Gospel today.
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Things like migration, international labor contracts
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and the tragic displacement of refugees.
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Right. The ascension of Christ means
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he's actively gathering his elect using what the secular
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world assumes are secondary socioeconomic factors.
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A person moving across the globe for a nursing job in a highly
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secularized European city? Well, that's not just economics.
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No or a domestic labor contract in a closed Islamic nation.
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Right within this theological framework, that person is
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actually a dispatched herald of the Gospel, entering a
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previously unreachable location. The economic need is simply the
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vehicle for the divine appointment.
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So let's make this concrete for a second.
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The secular economist looks at a massive wave of migration from
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South America to North America. Or from Southeast Asia to the
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middle. East and they see labor markets
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suggesting they see wage differentials in globalization.
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But the authors of these texts are arguing that God is using
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those exact same global supply chains and labor demands to
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plant his church in neighborhoods that would
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completely ban a traditional missionary.
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Yes, a government might absolutely deny A missionary
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visa. But they will gladly hand out
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1000 visas for migrant construction workers.
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That is the precise argument. The secular authorities
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unwittingly open the gates to the Gospel because they require
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the labor. The Filipina domestic worker,
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living in a country where evangelism is legally forbidden,
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quietly sings hymns to the children she cares for.
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Or she shares the gospel with the other migrant workers in the
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market. The mission from below subverts
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the geopolitical restrictions. It's amazing.
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It really is. But if you're listening to this
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and looking at the explosive, rapid growth of the church in
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the Global South, it's really tempting to think a certain way.
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Like whatever they are doing, we need to copy it immediately.
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Yeah, we should just celebrate the massive numbers and
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franchise their methods. But the sources put up a massive
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stop sign here a. Huge.
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One, if I can use an analogy, imagine a developer building a
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massive skyscraper. OK, I'm picturing it.
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If they throw up 90 stories of glass and steel in a matter of
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weeks, it looks incredibly impressive from the streets.
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Sure, it looks great. But if they bypass the months of
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boring, invisible work required to drill down to the bedrock and
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pour a solid foundation, well, that skyscraper is a death trap.
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Right the moment a hurricane hits or an earthquake strikes,
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the entire structure will collapse.
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Because the foundation cannot support the explosive vertical
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growth. So we have to ask, are we
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looking at a well founded skyscraper or a disaster waiting
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to happen in this global expansion?
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The authors of our sources share that concern.
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The texts argue that numerical growth does not equal
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theological health. The Western Church previously
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exported what the authors call an imperial missiology.
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That older model was based heavily on commerce, colonial
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expansion, and perceived cultural superiority.
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It was often tied directly to the political and military
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dominance of the sending nation. Now the danger is entirely
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different. The danger is that these newer,
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rapidly expanding movements in the global S lack the necessary
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theological bedrock. Right.
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Without rigorous doctrinal roots, these massive movements
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are susceptible to collapsing under the weight of heresy or
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cultural syncretism. This is why the authors insist
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that we cannot rely on sociology or impressive statistics.
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We have to return to the absolute core text of scripture
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to define what the mission actually is.
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So if the Church in the West exported this flawed imperial
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model of missions for centuries, and we want to prevent the
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exploding global S church from making a similar mistake, we
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have to go back to the blueprint.
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Because human strategy and pure numerical growth are
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insufficient metrics, we must turn to the ultimate
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constitutional document for global mission.
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Which is Christ's mandate in Matthew chapter 28.
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Yes, the setting here on the mountain in Galilee is vital
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context. We are looking at a group of
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weak, fearful disciples. These are the same men who
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abandoned Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane just a short time
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prior. They are gathered together, some
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of them worship, but the text explicitly says some of them
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actually hesitate. And then Jesus steps forward and
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makes the declaration. All authority in heaven and on
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earth has been given to me. Following that, he issues the
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commands to make disciples, baptize them in the singular
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Trinitarian name, and teach obedience.
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The exegesis provided in the sources regarding this passage
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is incredibly thorough. It really is.
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The authors unpack the Christological titles operating
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in the background of this scene on the mountain.
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Jesus is acting here as the son of David, the royal king who has
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secured the throne. He is acting as the son of
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Abraham, fulfilling the ancient covenantal promise that all
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nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham specific
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seed. And perhaps most staggeringly,
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he is acting as the Son of Man from Daniel Chapter 7.
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Let's pause and clarify that reference for a second, because
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that is huge. Yeah, let's break that down.
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When we hear Son of Man, we often think it just means Jesus
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was human. Right, but the sources are
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pointing back to a very specific apocalyptic vision in the Old
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Testament. In Daniel 7, there's a vision of
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the Ancient of Days seated on a flaming throne.
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And then someone like a son of man arrives on the clouds of
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heaven. This figure is given absolute
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universal dominion, glory, and a Kingdom, so that all people's
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nations and languages should serve him.
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When Jesus claims all authority in heaven and on earth in
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Matthew 28, he is directly claiming to be that cosmic
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conquering figure from Daniel's vision.
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He is asserting that the vision of Daniel 7 is now a present
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historical reality. The text makes a crucial point
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here. Mission is not an appendix to
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the resurrection. It is not an afterthought.
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It is the climax. The Commission rests entirely on
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accomplished redemption, not on any institutional strength or
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human cleverness. The disciples are not being sent
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out to help Jesus win a victory. No, they're being sent out to
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announce a victory that has already been entirely
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accomplished through his death and resurrection.
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I think it is crucial to stress the absolute disparity between
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the cosmic authority Jesus claim and the pathetic state of the
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men he is talking to. Oh, the contrast is incredible.
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The. Apostles had 0 worldly
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advantages. At this moment they had no army.
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They had no wealth, no political influence, no social prestige
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and certainly no access to the halls of power in Rome.
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They were a ragtag group of Galilean fishermen and tax
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collectors. They had only the word of Christ
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and the promised Spirit. I was reading through the source
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material and the detail about the disciples hesitating right
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there on the mountain really caught my attention.
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Oh yeah, the Greek word indicates a kind of lingering
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doubt or wavering. If you are listening to this and
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you feel inadequate or you feel like your faith is weak, this
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detail is incredibly encouraging.
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It is Christ entrusts his cosmic mission to flawed, weak
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individuals. He creates faithful servants
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through his authoritative decree.
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He is not waiting around for a perfect, flawless instrument
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before he issues his command. That weakness highlights the
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fact that the authority resides in the sender, not the
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messenger. And the theological constraints
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placed upon this mission in Matthew 28 are severe.
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The authors explain why the specific phrase make disciples
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completely destroys the modern habit of curing quick emotional
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decisions. Right, the sources reject the
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idea of a hit and run evangelism.
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You know where an evangelist rolls into town, gets someone to
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say a quick, emotionally driven prayer, declares them saved, and
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then completely abandons them? Yeah, it's not about just
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getting a decision card signed. Precisely the opposite.
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The cycle making requires gathering people into visible
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physical communities. It requires baptizing them into
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the Triune God. Which implies bringing them
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under the authority and care of a local church.
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And it requires teaching rigorous doctrine.
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The command is to teach them to observe all that Christ
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commanded. This requires intense, sustained
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instruction in sound doctrine and ethical obedience over the
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course of a lifetime. It is a slow, methodical,
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heavily theological work. This moves us from the macro
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level royal authority found in Matthew 28 to the specific
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mechanics of how we are actually sent out.
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Which the sources locate in John chapter 20.
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Matthew gives us the royal mandate, but John reveals the
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pattern of the sending. Rooting the mission entirely in
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the physical reality of the cross.
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The setting here is the evening of the resurrection.
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The disciples are locked in a room out of absolute terror.
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They're afraid the Jewish leaders or the Roman authorities
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are coming to crucify them next. Christ appears bypassing the
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locked doors and declares peace be unto you.
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Or in the Greek Renee Hyman. He then immediately shows them
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his pierced hands inside and finally.
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He gives the sending. As the Father hath sent me, Even
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so send I you. The linguistic breakdown the
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sources provide here offers a massive point of contrast.
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Let us look at that Greek concept of irana, or peace.
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The authors contrast this with the dominant cultural
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understanding of peace at the time, which was the Roman
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concept of Pax Romana. Right.
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The Pax Romano was maintained by military threat, political
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coercion and the brutal use of the cross as an instrument of
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state terror. If you stepped out of line, the
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Roman legions would crush you, and that crushing secured the
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peace of the empire. Let's clarify what the sources
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mean when they say the peace Christ offers is different.
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They describe it as the Hebrew Shalom achieved through penal
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substitution. Penal substitution is a heavy
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theological term, so let's break it down.
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It's essentially a legal term. Penal refers to a penalty for
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breaking the law, and substitution means someone
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taking your place. The sources are saying that the
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peace Jesus springs isn't a subjective warm feeling in your
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heart. It's an objective legal reality
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in the courtroom of a holy God. The penalty for your rebellion
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was fully absorbed by a substitute Jesus on the cross.
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Because the wrath of God has been fully exhausted on the
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substitute, there is now true objective peace between God and
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the Sinner. He has absorbed the terror so he
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can offer true Shalom. That objective reality is why
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the display of the physical wounds is the apologetic bedrock
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of the faith. The sources spend considerable
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time analyzing why Jesus specifically draws attention to
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his mutilated flesh. The physical reality of Christ's
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resurrected body refutes the 1st century Gnostics.
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The Gnostics believed that all physical matter was inherently
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evil and only the spiritual realm was pure.
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So they denied that God could take on physical flesh or be
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physically resurrected. The sources bring this ancient
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heresy right into the present day.
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They argue this text refutes modern cults They specifically
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named Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses.
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Arguing that these groups deny the physical resurrection or the
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eternal deity of Christ in various ways.
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By showing the wounds, Jesus proves he is the exact same
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physical person who was crucified.
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He did not shed his humanity. He resurrected A glorified but
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distinctly physical human body bearing the scars of the
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crucifixion. The objective evidence of that
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propitiatory sacrifice is what creates the gladness in the
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disciples. The text in John notes that they
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were glad when they saw the Lord, specifically when they saw
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the wounds. Their joy was not a subjective,
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mystical feeling generated from within.
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It was a direct cognitive response to historical doctrinal
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truth standing right in front of them.
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If we think about those disciples hiding in that locked
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room, terrified and paralyzed, it is a perfect analogy for the
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doctrine of total depravity. It really is.
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We are completely paralyzed by our fear and rebellion.
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We are barricaded inside our own sin, utterly incapable of saving
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ourselves or initiating any kind of peace treaty with the Holy
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God. We are locked in until Christ
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unilaterally invades our reality.
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He bypasses our defenses to deliver His grace.
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It is a stunning picture of sovereign intervention.
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I was reading the Greek breakdown in the source material
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and the shift in the verbs blew my mind.
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Oh, me too. Jesus uses one specific tense
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for how the Father sent him, and a totally different tense for
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how he sends us. Am I reading this right?
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It seems to imply we have literally 0 authority to change
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the message. You are reading it completely
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right. The precise shift in the Greek
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verbs that the apostle John uses carries massive theological
15:23
weight. When Jesus says, as the Father
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hath sent me, the verb used is abes dawkin.
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This is the perfect tense. In Greek.
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The perfect tense indicates a past, permanently completed
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action that has ongoing, unchangeable results.
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The Father sent the Son, and that mission of redemption is
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eternally, perfectly, and unalterably accomplished.
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However, when Jesus says Even so, send I you, he switches to
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the verb pimpo. Kempo is in the present tense.
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This is the standard everyday word used for dispatching
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current heralds, messengers or ambassadors on an immediate,
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active errand. To put that into a modern
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analogy, it's like the difference between the CEO who
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founded a massive corporation and the regional sales
16:05
representative. Right, the CEO wrote.
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The permanent corporate charter established the product line and
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secured the funding. That work is done.
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It is permanently established in the perfect tense.
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The regional sales Rep is dispatched on a daily basis in
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the present tense to simply deliver the catalog to the
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clients. The sales Rep does not have the
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authority to invent new products.
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They do not get to rewrite the corporate charter, they just
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carry the message they were given.
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The consequence, according to our sources, is right along
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those lines. The Church possesses absolutely
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no independent authority. We are simply the dispatched
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heralds of the permanently sent King.
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Our mission is entirely derivative.
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The perfect majestic sending of the Son by the Father is the
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unshakable foundation for the President, intense dispatching
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of the Church. We cannot invent our own
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message. We cannot rely on our own clever
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methods. We are strictly bound to deliver
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the precise message of the sovereign who dispatched us.
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So if the Church is strictly bound to be a faithful messenger
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of the established truth, what happens when the messengers
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decide they don't like the message anymore?
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Or they want to try and improve it.
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The sources outline a massive theological crisis, identifying
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2 distinct dangerous ditches that the global church has
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fallen into. The authors point to a Western
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error and a global S error. To be clear for you listening,
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the authors of these papers are taking a very hard line stance
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here. Yes, we're going to impartially
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report on what the sources argue, focusing purely on how
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they view these movements as departures from the biblical
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source material. Let us examine the critique of
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the Western church first. The authors argue that the West
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has fallen heavily into liberal reductionism and pragmatic
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seeker sensitive models. The texts state that Western
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denominations have largely substituted the biblical concept
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of the wrath of God for a squishy, unbiblical
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universalism. They argue that the West has
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traded the offensive reality of the cross for corporate
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entertainment. The critique is that instead of
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relying on the pure preaching of the word, Western churches are
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relying on psychological manipulation, concert lighting
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and sociological strategies to gather massive crowds.
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They want to be culturally relevant, so they sand off all
18:16
the rough edges of the gospel. Furthermore, the sources
18:18
explicitly critique the widespread adoption of critical
18:21
race theory and the social gospel within Western
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institutions. The authors argue that these
18:27
frameworks attempt to diagnose and heal the condition of
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humanity with sociological theories and political
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grievance. Rather than relying on the
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substitutionary atonement of Christ.
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The texts view this as a complete abandonment of the
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spiritual mission for a temporal political agenda.
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On the other side of the globe, the authors of our sources
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outline the severe errors prevalent in the rapidly
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expanding Global South. While they celebrate the
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numerical growth and the vitality of the believers there,
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the authors warn against the massive rise of Pentecostalism,
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charismatic mysticism and prosperity preaching.
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The texts argue that these movements often rely on
19:05
uninhibited emotionalism and claims of continuing Apostolic
19:09
revelation. You hear leaders claiming they
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received a new subjective dream or a vision directly from God
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that dictates what the church should do.
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The authors take a firm historical confessional stance
19:20
here. Asserting that the Canon of
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Scripture is permanently closed and the Apostolic age has
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definitively ceased. Therefore, any messiology that
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relies on new continuous revelation violates the absolute
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sufficiency of the biblical text.
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Think about it like a finished compiled piece of software code.
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OK, I like that analogy. If you have a brilliant,
19:43
flawless operating system and some rogue developer comes along
19:48
and tries to inject their own random lines of code into the
19:50
middle of it, it crashes the whole system.
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The sources argue that seeking new revelations or trying to
19:55
graft modern sociological theories onto the Gospel does
19:59
that to the closed Canon of Scripture.
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It corrupts the system. Additionally, the sources
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strongly condemn the prosperity gospel.
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They argue this theology falsely promises physical health and
20:09
financial wealth to believers. Essentially turning Christ into
20:12
a cosmic Butler who exists to provide earthly comfort rather
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than a savior who rescues rebels from the wrath of God.
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Both the Western pragmatism and the global S mysticism attempt
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to add unauthorized material to the finished work of Christ.
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The authors maintain that true mission must remain intensely
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doctrinal. It must be grounded entirely in
20:32
the substitutionary atonement, not in human psychology,
20:35
political activism or mystical hype.
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Rejecting these false alternatives leads us to the
20:41
necessary solution presented in the sources.
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A total reclamation of the theology of the cross and a
20:47
strict adherence to biblical ecclesiology.
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The sources argue that the mission of the Church is
20:52
primarily spiritual, doctrinal and ecclesial.
20:55
It operates under the shadow of the cross.
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What does that mean practically? It means the Church should
20:59
expect persecution, mockery and suffering.
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It should not expect to build a human engineered utopia.
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The sources tie this heavily into an eschatological horizon.
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Let's break down that terminology.
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Yeah, eschatology just refers to the theology of the end times,
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or the final destiny of humanity.
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The sources framed the Church's mission within a very specific
21:19
eschatological context. We are operating in the era
21:22
between the resurrection of Christ and his imminent per
21:26
tribulational return. We need to explain what they're
21:28
pushing back against here. There is a ideological view
21:31
called post millennialism. Which essentially believes that
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the Church will eventually Christianize all global
21:37
governments, fix society, and usher in a golden age of utopian
21:41
peace through human effort before Christ returns.
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The sources completely reject that view.
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They do. The authors argue that the
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biblical picture is that the world is ripening for judgement,
21:52
not progressing toward utopia. The goal of the Church is not to
21:55
take over the government or redeem the culture in a broad
21:58
sense. The goal is to snatch brands
22:00
from the fire by preaching repentance.
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The Church must recognize that it will face intense suffering
22:06
and rejection from the world, mirroring the path of the
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suffering servant, Jesus Christ. As we look at how this mission
22:12
operates on a practical level, the sources also note the
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specific parameters for ordinary believers, specifically
22:18
mentioning complementarianism. Let's talk about how the authors
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view the roles of men and women in this global mission.
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The texts heavily celebrate the vital, courageous witness of
22:28
women on the mission field. They use the example of the
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Filipina domestic worker evangelizing enclosed Islamic
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nations as a glorious, necessary example of mission from below.
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Her witness is essential, however, the authors are very
22:43
strict in defining the biblical order within the church
22:45
structure. According to the sources, while
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the daily evangelistic witness of women is vital to the spread
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of the Gospel, the ordained office of Elder and the
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authoritative preaching of the Word during the gathered worship
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service remains strictly reserved for qualified men.
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The authors point directly to the Pastoral Epistles,
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specifically the letters to Timothy, to defend this
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framework. The texts insists that true
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mission never violates biblical ecclesiology.
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We cannot abandoned the biblical structure of the church just
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because a pragmatic shortcut might yield faster numerical
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growth. This theology of the cross, as
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outlined by the authors, provides a massive paradigm
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shift for how we view success. It means the Church is not
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called to conquer with the sword.
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It is not called to build massive political empires or
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secure cultural dominance. The mission is defined by
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faithful, enduring witness, a willingness to suffer, and a
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total reliance on the invincible strength of the Gospel message
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itself. The burden of success is
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completely removed from the shoulders of the individual
23:45
Christian. Precisely if you're listening
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right now, this theology of the cross frees you from the
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crushing pressure of trying to achieve measurable success by
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the world's standards. You do not have to have the
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biggest crowd. You do not need a flashy
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presentation. You do not need the approval of
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the secular culture. Your sole duty is faithful,
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clear. The results, the conversions,
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the numbers, those belong entirely to sovereign grace.
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So how does this massive global theology land directly on your
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doorstep? How do you act on this mandate
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tomorrow morning? The sources brilliantly
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transition from the macro level of global demographics to the
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micro level of your individual vocation.
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The authors argue that the providential movement of
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People's Migration International Students Refugees has brought
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the global mission field directly to your neighborhood,
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your workplace, and your university.
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You do not have to cross an ocean to find unreached people.
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They are in line with you at the grocery store.
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To drive this point home, the texts apply the biblical concept
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of the law in two specific ways, the first use of the law and the
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third use of the law. Let's explain that framework.
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The first use of the law functions like a mirror.
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You look into the holy requirements of God and it
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exposes your failure, your apathy and your cowardice
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regarding mission. It shows you how often you stay
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silent when you should speak. It drives you to repent of
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thinking that just throwing money at a missionary agency
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excuses you from personal evangelism.
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It convicts you of hiding behind a cowardly cultural false
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tolerance. But then there's the third use
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of the law. For the person who has been
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forgiven by Christ, the law now functions like a map.
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It guides grateful obedience. You don't obey to get saved.
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You obey because you are saved and you want to know how to
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please the King. It calls us to action.
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It forces you to ask who has Providence placed near me?
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Who is the international students struggling in my class?
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Who is the refugee family down the street?
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Who is the nominally religious Co worker sitting in the next
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cubicle? The sources stressed that
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engaging with those individuals requires a specific kind of
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courage. True mission requires speaking
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the truth with tears to secularists, Muslims, Hindus and
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nominal Christians. The texts argue that we must
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clearly declare that salvation is found exclusively in Christ.
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The authors assert that we cannot hide behind a cowardice
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disguised as polite tolerance. The pluralistic lies of the age
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tell us that all paths lead to God.
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But the mandate requires offering the pure, unyielding
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truth of the biblical gospel, knowing it will offend the
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culture. I want to bring this right to
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you. If you have passed through the
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waters of believers baptism, the sources argue that you are a
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dispatched herald. You have your orders.
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The Pagan mission field is sitting right outside your front
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door. The texts highlight the absolute
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necessity of prayerful dependence on the Spirit, the
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need for intense training and rigorous theology so you
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actually know what you were talking about.
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And a total willingness to risk your your social reputation to
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proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to your neighbor and
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family members. The authors conclude by noting
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that the Lord of the harvest is actively, sovereignly sending
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laborers. The global patterns, the moving
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lampstands are striking to observe, but beneath all those
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visible demographic shifts stands the invisible, unshakable
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Providence of God. The Church must labor with open
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Bibles and bent knees, trusting completely that the King has not
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changed his command and he has not withdrawn his presence.
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We want to thank you for joining this deep dive into the true
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nature of global mission. We have covered the massive
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demographic shifts, the rigorous exegesis of the royal mandate in
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Matthew and the sending in John, the theological crises facing
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the modern church, and the call to faithful cross bearing
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witness right where you live. But before we sign off, I want
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to leave you with a final concept to Mull over.
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It builds on the sources but wasn't explicitly covered today.
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If the very foundation of our global mission rests on the
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physical wounds and the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
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And if Our Calling is to gather believers into physical, visible
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communities for water baptism and the physical teaching of the
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Word. How should we view the rising
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trend of virtual reality or purely online churches?
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Can a digital avatar truly participate in a faith that was
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anchored by blood, flesh, and the physical gathered assembly
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of the Saints that. Is something to think.
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About keep your Bibles open and your knees bent until next time.