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God’s Mission to the Nations Begins in the Old Testament · Reformed Thinking

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Reformed thinking. Welcome to the deep dive.
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We're here to dive into a stack of scholarly sources and
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theological writings, really just to pull out the most
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insightful Nuggets of knowledge for you.
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Think of it as a shortcut to being truly well informed on
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some pretty deep topics. And today's deep dive, it
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focuses on a critical question within biblical theology.
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It's one of those questions that really organizes how you read
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the covenants, how you read the prophets.
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The question is this what was God's worldwide purpose and what
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precise function did he assign to Israel within that plan,
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especially before the nations? Our sources for this are all
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centered on a scholarly debate about that very role.
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So let's define the scope here by just jumping right into the
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core tension. OK?
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Was God's strategy for Israel primarily centrifugal?
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Meaning moving away from the center.
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Exactly. Were they mandated to move away
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from Zion, actively preaching Yahweh's message, going out and
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gathering converts? Or was it centripetal?
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Right the opposite was Israel, intended to be a center of
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attraction, a holy nation that would draw other nations inward
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to see the unique character of their God.
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And this distinction, it's it's crucial for understanding the
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methodology of redemption throughout history.
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Before we get into the specifics of Israel, though, we have to
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clarify some of the theological architecture.
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We really do. We need to define mission versus
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missions. These terms get used so loosely,
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but in this conversation the difference is everything.
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It is. Let's start with mission
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singular. Sometimes you'll see it with a
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capital M. Our sources define this as God's
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eternal sovereign plan. It's His divine agenda to
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resolve mankind's rebellion and sin problem.
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So this plan, it originates in the counsel of God Himself
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revealed right after the fall in Genesis 3.15.
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And it finds its climactic event in the person and work of Jesus
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Christ. Right.
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It's God's resolve to redeem a people for Himself and to
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restore all of creation to His righteous rule.
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Exactly. And then there's missions.
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Plural. This refers to the human
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activity, the things we do to participate in that overarching
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divine plan. So it's the methodology.
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It is the outward moving spread of the gospel, the training, the
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preparing, the sending of servants.
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This is where that centrifugal idea really finds its home.
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So our deep dive today is focused on how Old Testament
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Israel fit into the architecture of God's singular mission.
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And specifically whether their particular assignment at that
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time was to execute missions actively, A centrifugal idea, or
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to witness passively which is the centripetal model.
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OK, so let's unpack this by establishing the creation
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context first. Good place to start.
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Our sources universally stress that God's plan is framed by
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these two sets of bookends. Right, you have Genesis 1 and 2
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which records the original perfect creation.
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And then all the way at the other end, Revelation 21 and 22,
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describing the new heavens and the new earth.
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And this entire sweep of biblical history, that's the
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arena for God's plan. This framework, it shows that
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God's purpose for creation was always global, It was always
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focused on his own glory. You see this all over the place.
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Texts like Psalm 8.1 and 19.1, they proclaim the cosmic display
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of God's majesty. And Isaiah 43.7 states that God
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created man for his glory. This is so central to a Reformed
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understanding. God acts for himself and His
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purposes. His intention was to fill the
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earth with worshippers who reflect His perfect character.
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And central to that original order was the role assigned to
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humanity on the 6th day mankind was created, as Genesis 1.26
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says in our image, according to our likeness.
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And this wasn't just a status, it was functional.
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What do you mean by functional? Well, in the sense that man was
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created as an image bearer and a vice Regent.
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A physical representative of the invisible.
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King. That's it.
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In the ancient Near East, kings would set up statues of
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themselves to represent the rule in distant territories.
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Mankind, created in God's image, was meant to be the living,
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moving statue, the mediator of God's dominion over the earth.
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And that's where Genesis 1.28 comes in, that mandate to be
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fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.
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The whole earth was meant to be filled with God's presence,
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mediated through these human rulers.
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Adam's sin, though, fundamentally undermine this
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original rule. Oh, completely.
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The Fall was a catastrophic rebellion against Yahweh's
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stated intentions. It.
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Fractured the original relationship.
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It marred that perfect order. And it ensured humanity could no
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longer perfectly mediate God's rule.
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But what's so compelling is God's immediate response.
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Right in the middle of the curse placed upon the serpent, we get
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Genesis 3.15. The promise of the He, the seed
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of the woman who would strike the serpent's head.
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This is the very initiation of the redemptive provision.
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God didn't abandoned the plan, He immediately inaugurated the
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means for reconciliation. And what's crucial for our
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discussion today is that this salvation promised right there
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in Genesis 3.15 was designed specifically to enable redeemed
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humanity to eventually return to that original vice Regent role.
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So to mediate God's rule and extend his presence across the
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earth. Exactly.
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Even after the fall, God's original global intentions
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remained absolutely intact. Yet history immediately shows
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that humanity just couldn't stick the landing, could they?
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Not at all. Man's rebellion flared up again,
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leading to the devastating judgment of the Flood.
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And after that you see the incident at the Tower of Babel.
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Where instead of fulfilling the mandate to fill the earth,
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humanity tried to centralized their power and build a name for
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themselves. It was a direct reversal of the
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creation mandate. And our sources detail that
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God's response to these severe rebellions was judgment
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dispersion at Babel, reversing their attempt to centralized.
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Which creates a natural tension with this repeated failure.
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Does God just give up on humanity?
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No, absolutely not. Yahweh maintains His redemptive
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design by raising up new figures, new mediators to carry
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out His purposes after each of these severe judgments.
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First Noah and then Abram. This constant pattern of working
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through chosen figures, it demonstrates the continuation of
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his redemptive purpose. It ensures the promise of
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Genesis 3.15 proceeds toward its fulfillment.
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And this brings us to the pivotal and really dramatic
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shift in Genesis 12, what scholars call the Abrahamic
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narrowing. You have to imagine the world
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after Babel. It's characterized by chaos,
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polytheism, dispersion. And in this environment, God
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seems to abandon the entire world to focus his redemptive
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attention on one man, Abram and his descendants.
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It's a radical moment in this covenant relationship with
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Abram. Yahweh makes three key promises
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A. Land a nation and blessing to
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the world through him. And the promises of a nation,
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the seed, and a land Israel are the necessary means to secure
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the ultimate fulfillment of God's plan.
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Which is the Messiah and the restoration of creation.
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Right. Their ultimate fulfillment is
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eschatological. You see it prophesied later by
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Isaiah and Amos. But the immediate application
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involved Israel living lives of singular loyalty on the land.
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A display of ethical and covenantal adherents that would
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advertise Yahweh's character. Genesis 18.1 C 19 is so key
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here. God essentially says I'm not
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going to hide what I'm about to do from Abraham, for I've chosen
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him that he may command his children and his household after
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him to keep the way of Yahweh by doing righteousness and justice.
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And that phrase doing righteousness and justice, it
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provides the concrete definition of the centripetal witness.
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It wasn't just about ritual worship.
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No, it was a visible sociological holiness.
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If Abraham's descendants lived righteously, it would contrast
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starkly with the chaos of the surrounding cultures.
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And that contrast is the heart of their witness.
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It is. And the worldwide context of
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this relationship is found right there in Genesis 12.3.
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The promise that in you all the families of the earth will be
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blessed. That provides the global scope.
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Our sources make it clear that this promise ensures the gospel
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based on Christ's work would eventually reach all nations.
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But in the Old Testament period, this blessing was intrinsically
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linked to Israel, displaying Yahweh's character.
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It sets the stage perfectly. God's intention for Abraham's
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descendants was never just local.
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Never. It was always tied to blessing
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the entire created world. But the method for achieving
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that blessing in the time of the Old covenant, that's what we
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need to investigate now. Was their job to go out or to
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stay put and draw people in? This brings us squarely to the
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strong scholarly consensus surrounding Israel's function,
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the centripetal argument. The idea is that primary
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function was as a passive witness nation, a sort of
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spiritual magnet through whom others would be drawn to God and
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His truth. So they weren't mandated to go,
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but to be faithful. Exactly this view posits Israel
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as a nation that, by its very existence and its distinct
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covenant loyalty, beckoned other nations to observe the
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incomparable nature of Yahweh. They were to come to the
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geographical center Jerusalem, to see and hear truth.
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And when you look at the theological bookends of the
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Mosaic lot, this perspective is just powerfully supported.
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OK, let's dedicate some serious time to those bookends, because
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they really do define Israel's role.
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We're talking about Exodus 19.46 and Deuteronomy 26.1619.
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So after God redeemed Israel out of Egyptian slavery,
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demonstrating His sovereign rule to the whole earth in the
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process, he led them to Sinai. Right, and at Sinai God
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establishes the covenant relationship.
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Exodus 19.5 to 6 is the charter statement.
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Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my
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covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all
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peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a
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Kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
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That phrase Kingdom of priests is just so loaded with meaning.
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It is a priest mediates between God and man.
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So if Israel is a Kingdom of priests, it means they are
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collectively meant to mediate God's presence and revelation to
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the world. But critically, they mediated
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from their center, from their location, rather than dispersing
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to the nation's. They are God's special
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possession set apart by their unique relationship and law
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code. The intention was clear.
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By receiving and obeying the law, Yahweh intended for His
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people to put His glory on active physical and ethical
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display. Their internal loyalty was the
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external advertisement. And Deuteronomy 4.5 to 8 is
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absolutely essential here. It really is, Moses reminds
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them. See, I have taught you statutes
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and ordinances. Keep them and do them, for that
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will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of
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the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say,
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surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
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This passage is a direct mandate for centripetal witness.
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It couldn't be clear. The nations don't see Israel by
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Israel traveling to them. They see Israel's statutes and
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ordinances and are drawn to inquire about them.
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The law itself, in its structure and ethics, was meant to be
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their primary witness mechanism. You have to think about the
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ethical differences embedded in the Mosaic Law compared to other
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ancient Near Eastern laws. Like the provision for the poor,
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the treatment of slaves, the concept of a Sabbath rest, the
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equitable legal system. A nation that faithfully lived
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by this law show righteousness and justice would look utterly
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unique and profoundly appealing to its chaotic neighbors.
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And that display of holiness, that was the mechanism for
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centripetal attraction. Deuteronomy 26.1619 then acts as
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the reiteration of this promise. It reminds Israel that if they
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remain loyal to Yahweh, He would set them high above all nations
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as His representative people. Their spiritual status was
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defined by their obedience, which would then be publicly
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witnessed by others. The insight drawn from these
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theological bookends Exodus 19, Deuteronomy 4 and 26.
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It's defining for the centripetal argument.
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Our sources, including Christopher Wright, point out
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that these passages, which define Israel's Commission,
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never refer to Israel going to the nation's the.
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Focus is entirely on their presence and loyalty on the
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land. Yahweh's mission for Israel
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primarily involve them being a faithful center.
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This position explains why scholars like Wright assert that
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God did not mandate Israel to send missionaries.
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He argues that the entire purpose was to show the nation's
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what a life under the rule of the true God looked like.
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And that required their focus to be inward and downward on
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keeping the covenant in the Promised Land.
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Furthermore, other scholars like OTT and Strauss observe that the
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Old Testament consistently depicts the worship of the Lord
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as geographically centralized in Zion.
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The nations were to abandon their idols and come to
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Jerusalem. They weren't meant to have local
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synagogues or missionary outposts spread across the
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Fertile Crescent. And the prophetic promises of
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worldwide blessing often frame the fulfillment as an in
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gathering right. Eckhart Schnabel confirms this
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centripetal emphasis when he studies the Servant songs in
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Isaiah, which we'll get to later.
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And what does he argue? Schnabel argues that the prophet
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doesn't speak of Israel actively being sent.
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Rather, the nations are expected to congregate in Jerusalem as a
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result of Yahweh's powerful display of redemption.
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OK, let's circle back to that original promise in Genesis 12.3
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that the nations will be blessed in Abraham.
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The grammatical structure itself reinforces this passive
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centripetal nature. An analysis by Kyle C Dunham
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notes that the verb used for will be blessed is passive.
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And that detail is more than just linguistic trivia.
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It's theologically defining. It is the passive verb keeps the
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focus squarely on God as the ultimate source and producer of
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the blessing. So it's not dependent on
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Israel's active capacity to generate or deliver a message.
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Nor does it hinge on the nation's capacity to
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independently find salvation. The blessing flows from God
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mediated through the presence of a loyal Israel.
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But God is the agent who ensures that blessing happens.
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And this view is powerfully evidenced in historical reality
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throughout the Old Testament. You see repeated instances of
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non Israelites assimilating inward the centripetal model in
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action. The most famous early example is
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the mixed multitude that left Egypt with the Israelites in
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Exodus 12.38. They chose to align their
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destiny with Yahweh's people after witnessing the 10 plagues.
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We also see highly notable individuals.
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Rahab, the Canaanite woman, wasn't sought out by an Israeli,
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no. She witnessed the irresistible
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power of Yahweh from her position in Jericho and made a
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decision to join herself to Israel.
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And of course, the Book of Ruth is an entire narrative dedicated
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to this centripetal movement. Right.
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Ruth A Moabitus pledges allegiance to Yahweh and the
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people of Israel, famously saying, Your people shall be my
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people and your God, my God. She assimilated, married Boaz,
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and became an ancestor of King David, demonstrating that the
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avenue for the nations to receive blessing was by coming
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inward to the covenant community.
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But perhaps the most concrete day-to-day mechanism for this
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centripetal witness was the laws governing the gore.
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The resident alien or sojourner residing within Israel.
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Yes, and this is a topic that requires much more attention
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because it connects the theoretical mandate to practical
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ethics. So if Israel's primary job was
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to reflect God's character by being a holy nation, the
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ultimate test of their holiness was how they treated those who
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are not fully integrated into the tribal structure.
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Exactly the gore. The Torah contained numerous
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stipulations demonstrating special kindness and justice
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toward them. Deuteronomy 10 point on Teen,
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for instance, requires Israel to show exceptional kindness to
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these strangers, referencing God's own justice for the
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sojourner and the widow. And Leviticus 19.3334 is even
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more forceful. It says, when a stranger
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sojourns with you in your land, you shall not oppress him.
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You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native
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among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were
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strangers in the land of Egypt. That theological framing is so
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potent. It is Israel was commanded to
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remember its own past as oppressed sojourners and
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therefore provide social and legal protection to the GAR.
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So if the centripetal witness was operating correctly, the
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sojourner residing among them would see and benefit from the
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unparalleled justice and mercy of Yahweh's law.
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And that would prompt their devotion.
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This focus on ethical presence and mediation powerfully
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fortifies the centripetal model. It does.
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Israel centralizes God's presence and nations experience
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this blessing by coming and joining with God's people in
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submission to Yahweh. So the GAR was the constant
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visible proof of whether Israel was faithfully executing its
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witness role. A failure to treat the alien
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justly was a failure in the national mission.
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Despite the overwhelming scholarly consensus regarding
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Israel's centripetal function, we have to dedicate some time to
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addressing the counter argument. Right, the idea that Israel was
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also called to an active centrifugal role.
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This viewpoint often finds its support in powerful prophetic
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declarations and some specific historical anecdotes.
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And this tension forces us to reconcile God's universal intent
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with Israel's localized Commission.
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You see scholars like Walter Kaiser pushing the centrifugal
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assertion very. Hard he does.
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He argues that the Old Testament should be viewed as a missions
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book par excellence because the worldwide purpose is its central
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driving force. His assertion is based on the
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undeniable global scope of God's redemptive plan throughout the
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Old Testament. And he argues that the prophets,
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particularly Isaiah, essentially called the nation to function
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actively in declaring God to the Gentiles.
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For proponents of this model, the sheer scale of the vision
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implies an active mandate. But doesn't that confuse the
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ultimate purpose of God's mission, which we know is
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global, with the methodology of missions, the human execution?
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That is the precise theological sticking point.
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Just because the Old Testament is constantly looking forward to
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a future time when the nations will be saved, that doesn't
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necessarily mean Israel was the one tasked with actively
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delivering the message before the Messiah arrived.
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That's the counter. Proponents of the Active Model,
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however, often point to anecdotal examples.
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Like the story of Jonah? Jonah sent to Nineveh is the
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prime example or the witness of Naaman's servant girl in 2 Kings
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Five, who directs her Syrian master to the prophet Elisha in
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Israel. But if we look at those examples
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to the lens of the centripetal consensus, they appear less like
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evidence of a sustained national mandate for Israel to send
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missionaries. And more like exceptional,
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divinely directed instances of God saving grace reaching beyond
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Israel's borders. The Jonah story in particular,
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seems to highlight Israel's reluctance and failure to
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embrace the Trephugal mandate rather than celebrating its
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success. I think that's right.
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Johnny is forced by God to go preach to Nineveh, the capital
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of Israel's enemies. The story's power lies not in
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demonstrating Israel's missionary obedience.
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But in demonstrating Yahweh's sovereign compassion that
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extends even to those outside the covenant, it serves as a
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rebuke to the narrowness of Israel's heart, not a model for
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their national strategy. So when we look at the grand
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scope of the prophetic vision, even when promising worldwide
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blessing, the fulfillment is usually framed as an in
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gathering to Zion. Which places it firmly in the
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distant or eschatological future.
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And that reinforces the centripetal destiny even while
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affirming the global goal. Exactly.
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The nations are promised to come to Zion.
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You think of Isaiah 2.2 for four, which is mirrored in Micah
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4.1 to 4. They depict the nation saying,
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Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the
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House of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways.
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And the law will go forth from Zion.
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The nations recognize Israel's spiritual supremacy, and they
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come to the geographic center to learn.
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It's a powerful vision. These prophecies foresee a time
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when nations, entirely of their own initiative, would proceed on
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Mass to worship the true God by bringing tribute and submitting
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themselves to His Law. Zechariah 14, for instance,
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speaks of all the nations that went against Jerusalem,
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ultimately coming up to worship the king Yahweh of hosts.
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The action originates from the nations drawn to God's dwelling
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place. Yet even within this future
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centripetal framework, the Old Testament consistently proclaims
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God's intent to bring salvation to the nation's It's laying the
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spiritual groundwork for future expansion.
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And this is where we see the immense scope of God's mission
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so vividly in the songs. The Psalms repeatedly celebrate
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God and His salvation, being exalted throughout the world.
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Psalm 46, by an end declares in the context of global conflict,
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be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the
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nations. I will be exalted in the earth.
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That's a statement of God's decree.
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It's guaranteeing his own glory will be acknowledged globally.
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And Psalm 22.2728 is even more powerful in connecting the
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nation's salvation to God's inherent sovereignty.
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All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Yahweh, and
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all the families of the nations will worship before you, for the
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Kingdom is Yahweh's and He rules over the nations.
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The movement of the nations toward Yahweh is presented as an
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inevitable consequence of his existing universal dominion.
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And then Psalm 57 expresses the psalmist desire to participate
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in that future reality. I will give thanks to you, a
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Lord among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among
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the nations. This full conviction that Yahweh
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will orchestrate the spread of the message of eternal
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forgiveness to the entire world. It just permeates the Psalter.
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Israel's immediate role was singing the praises of this
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future global God. OK, so moving to the prophets,
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we find these powerful oracles that clearly depict God dealing
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directly with the nation's regarding salvation.
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This is particularly evident in the Servant passages in Isaiah,
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chapters 40 through 55. Now, the identity of the Servant
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in Isaiah is a subject of scholarly discussion, right?
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Is it corporate Israel or is it the Messiah?
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It is, but regardless of the immediate reference, the servant
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passages undeniably place the international scope front and
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center. For example, the servant is
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declared to bring forth justice to the nations and to be a light
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to the nations. And even if the servant is
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interpreted as faithful Israel, their role as a light is still
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centered on attracting attention through their visible
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distinction. So illuminating God's standard
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so the nations might come to the source of the light.
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Precisely. And if the Servant is the
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Messiah, the promise confirms that his saving work is
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universally applicable. Isaiah 56.6 to 7 explicitly
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addresses the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh.
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And God promises to bring them to his holy mountain and make
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them glad in his House of prayer.
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He declares A definitive end to exclusion.
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For my house will be called a House of prayer for all the
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peoples. It's an unmistakable statement
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of future voluntary inclusion from all backgrounds.
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Malachi 1.11 proclaims that God's name will be great among
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the nations from the rising of the sun even to its setting.
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And Habakkuk 2.14 states that the earth will be filled with
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the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh as the waters cover the
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sea. These are universal promises
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that confirm the global nature of God's plan, regardless of the
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methodology Israel used at the time.
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This is critical. These passages show that God's
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eventual purpose is universal, but they often speak of a future
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day. Isaiah 45.20 and 22 is perhaps
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the clearest explicit invitation for Gentiles.
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It serves as a powerful forward-looking statement.
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Isaiah 45.22 is a direct address to non Israelites.
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Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God
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and there is no other. This signals the eventual
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extension of salvation beyond Israel's immediate borders.
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It's looking forward to the New Testament era when Gentiles
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would receive fuller and more direct access to salvation, not
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contingent on 1st assimilating to the geopolitical entity of
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Israel. So if we synthesize everything,
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the Old Testament shows Israel acting as the preparatory ground
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for God's saving plan. Right.
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They paved the way for the coming Gospel of Christ to
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spread throughout the earth by being a loyal, passive witness.
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A physical manifestation of God's covenant rule in one
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place. That's the consensus take away.
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While the Old Testament does not provide a Great Commission
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meeting, it lacks a national explicit outward sending mandate
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for the pre messianic era. It absolutely lays the necessary
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groundwork for it. It accomplishes this by
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continually promising future salvation for the nation's, thus
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guaranteeing the necessity of the eventual centrifugal act.
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It confirms that the entire Bible is permeated with God's
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own great mission, the divine plan for eternal forgiveness,
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which is global in scope. And Israel's participation in
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that plan was to maintain the lineage and provide the visible
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ethical standard that would attract the nations and
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demonstrate the unique nature of their God.
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This structure allows us to properly understand the profound
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shift that happens with the inauguration of the New
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Covenant. Exactly when Jesus arrived, he
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inaugurated the last days and immediately showed concern for
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non Jews, indicating the breadth of the plan had arrived.
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We see him ministering to the Syrophoenician woman and her
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daughter, demonstrating that covenant blessings were
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available to Gentiles through faith.
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And he ministered to the Geracines Demoniac and the
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Samaritans, actively crossing cultural and theological
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boundaries. He also asserted that the temple
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should be a House of prayer for all the nations, which Mark
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records an 11.17 echoing Isaiah 56.
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So even as the temple system was drawing to a close, Christ
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confirmed that the ultimate destiny of God's dwelling place
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was universal access. These instances foreshadow the
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profound methodological change that Christ's death and
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resurrection would bring. The New Testament transforms the
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execution of the mission. It moves it from the preparatory
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stage to the implementation stage.
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This is what our sources refer to as the methodological
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reversal. Christ's mandate to the Church,
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the Great Commission found in Matthew 28 and Luke 24 brings
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the culmination of God's plan and transforms the methodology
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from passive attraction to act of propagation.
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So the core shift is from a primarily inward impulse to a
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primarily outward impulse. Israel's mandate was
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characterized by come and see based on their covenant
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allegiance and presence on the geographically centralized as
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land of promise. The Church's mandate, however,
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is characterized by go and make disciples of all nations,
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utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit to scatter the Gospel
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globally. The New Testament church
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composed of both Jews and Gentiles, and here's the role of
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Israel, but with an explicit, active centrifugal thrust added
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to it. In this way, the Church now
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possesses both characteristics. It is still a passive witness
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like Israel, displaying God's character through righteous,
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ethically distinct living in local community.
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And it is an active one, explicitly commanded to send
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missionaries and proclaim the Gospel cross culturally, thereby
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extending God's rule through proclamation.
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And it is significant that both Old Testament Israel and the New
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Testament church received the divine exhortation.
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You are my witnesses. Isaiah 43 applied this to
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Israel, asking them to witness to God's singularity based on
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their historical experience and Acts 1. .8 applied this to the
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apostles and the Church, promising the power to witness
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globally. So the difference lies not in
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the goal, which is always to point to Yahweh as the true God
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and source of salvation, but in the manner God commanded that
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task to happen. Israel was commissioned to bear
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witness to God's incomparable character through heartfelt
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covenant allegiance, preparing the path for the Messiah.
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And then, after Christ's finished earthly ministry, God
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added the active, scattering, missionary enterprise to his
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expectations of the Church. Recognizing this clear
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distinction, centripetal, paving the way for centrifugal, is
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vital for interpreting passages throughout the Bible.
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This unified truth reveals God's constant burden that the
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potential for a saving relationship with Him was made
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available to all humanity consistent with His plan from
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the moment He first created mankind in His image.
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As we conclude this deep dive, the distinction between Israel's
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centripetal passive witness and the church's centrifugal active
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mandate is absolutely key to reading Scripture correctly.
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The Old Testament grounds the hope of salvation for the
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nation's the New Testament commissions the execution of the
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proclamation to the nation's. We see that Israel's primary
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role was not primarily military or political, but to centralized
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God's presence and demonstrate what it looked like to live
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under His righteous rule through obedience to the law.
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And if the nations were drawn to Zion by Israel's obedience and
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the visible display of Yahweh's character, that was the sign
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that God's plan was progressing toward its universal goal.
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Which leads us back to the practical application for
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believers today. If the centripetal idea requires
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a physical, visible display of God's character, the
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righteousness and justice Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 4 to
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draw nations in, what does that say about the continuing passive
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witness required of the church today?
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That's a great question. We have the active go and make
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mandate, which is non negotiable.
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But what does a Witness community look like in a
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scattered world where the nations don't physically
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congregate in Jerusalem? If ancient Israel's obedience to
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the laws governing the gore was the concrete mechanism for
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attraction, how must our ethical loyalty and collective character
29:13
still draw people in today, even while we pursue the act of
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calling to go out? That balance between being holy
29:20
witnesses and active Proclaimers is something for you to consider
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as you reflect on God's eternal plan.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into God's
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worldwide plan. We will see you next time.