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Triumph of the Warrior-King: A Theology of the Great Commission, Part 1

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Too many of us think of the Great Commission as little more than Jesus’ way of promoting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering or of marketing the Jesus video.  With such the case, theologians tend to ignore the Great Commission.  After all, they reason, it is a “practical” exhortation, better left to denominational bureaucrats and women’s missionary auxiliary leaders.

At the same time, missionaries and evangelists are sometimes expected to ignore theology.  After all, what does abstract theorizing have to do with Jesus’ ultimate church-wide missions emphasis–the Great Commission?

As a result, we are left with theologians who lust more for recognition by the American Academy of Religion than for the global expansion of the gospel.  At the same time, far too many of us see missionaries, evangelists, and church planters as the ecclesial equivalent of the civil service, organizing initiatives and promoting programs.  The problem, for both groups, is the eclipse of Jesus in evangelical theology and missiology.

Evangelical Protestants talk tirelessly about the Great Commission, but rarely do we grasp what it means in the cosmic purposes of God in forming a Kingdom for His Messiah. The Scriptures, however, reveal an entirely different vision of the Great Commission.  When Jesus announced the Commission to his disciples (Matt 28:16-20), he was not launching a global public relations campaign.  He was declaring war.

When Jesus grants the Great Commission, he is signaling the onset of the last days: the expansion of the gospel to the ends of the earth means that God has indeed granted him the nations as his inheritance.

Thus, the Great Commission is a decisive stage in the warfare of God against the serpent of Eden.  There is nothing programmatic about leading sinners to faith in Christ.  Instead the expansion of global missions represents the plundering of the kingdom of Satan (Mark 3:27; John 12:31-32; 2 Tim 2:25-26).  The embrace of the gospel by sinners is more than just persuasion; it is the kingly activity of Jesus as the Son of David calling together a “flock” over which he rules as Shepherd (John 10:15-16; cf. Ezek 37:24).

The Great Commission points to faith in Christ and the forgiveness of sins as the vehicle for cosmic restoration and the salvation of the world.  Those reconciled to God through Christ are receiving more than personal freedom from guilt–they are becoming “sons of God” who share with Jesus in an inheritance that includes the entire created order (Ps 89; Rom 4:13, 8:15-17; Gal 3:27-4:7).  The Great Commission is a theology of cosmic warfare, a theology centering on the unveiling of the long-hidden mystery of Christ and his church.

It means the overthrow of the ancient powers that have long held the creation captive through sin and death.  It means the triumph of a resurrected Messiah over every principality and power hostile to the reign of the Creator.  It means that God is keeping his promises to his anointed King.

It means war.

Only when we see how lost we are, we can find our way again. Only when we bury what’s dead can we experience life again. Only when we lose our religion can we be amazed by grace again.

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About Russell Moore

Russell Moore is Editor in Chief of Christianity Today and is the author of the forthcoming book Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America (Penguin Random House).

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