A personal Missio Dei God’s mission has always been to reach the world with the Gospel, to save and redeem the lost, the broken, the hurting, and to bring them to repentance. This theme can be clearly seen not only throughout the New Testament, but the Old Testament and even Church History.The goal of this paper is to explore what the “Missio Dei” means, and its implications for Christians today. The Missio Dei is a latin term for the mission of God. Everything that God has done aligns with His mission and who He is. This mission is God’s universal reaching out to all of mankind, to people of every ethnicity, culture, religion, and language in history. When God dispersed the known earth at Babylon in Genesis 11 He had a mission in mind to …show more content…
The heart of God and how He accomplished the Missio Dei in the Old Testament was primarily pointing to the sufferings and resurrection of Christ. All scripture points to Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and most importantly resurrection. Large parts of Isaiah and Psalms directly reference this. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted (Isaiah 53:4). It is clear in the Old Testament about who Jesus was, what He came to do, and how He would do it. Despite this, it is interesting that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and a large part of the Jews disagreed about this and thought of Him only as a blasphemer. Jesus’s redemption of mankind was pointed to many times in the Old Testament starting with the first two human beings in Genesis …show more content…
It is split into two parts, top line (blessed), and bottom line (be a blessing). “Now the Lord said to Abram “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Notice after “make your name great” the blessing goes from one that goes to Abram and to one that flows through him to the world. This is how God chose to reach the world, with men and women that would obey Him. Considering the area he was from Abram was most likely an idol worshiper and yet God still called him. This shows God wanting somebody to obey Him, not somebody that already had all the qualifications to follow
“The other Jesus”; a book that reveals the true meaning of being a Christian and gives another view on the characteristics on Jesus, Garrett shows the beauty of the Gospel and how it differs from other religions views on Jesus. In studying the Christianity of the American society he gives his own personal rendition of how this chase for the true meaning of Jesus started: “When, after twenty-five years of wondering, I came back to church, I finally encountered the Other Jesus. I discovered an authentic message of love and acceptance, the one that the Other Jesus seems to be exemplifying in the Christian Testament….I discovered believers who were trying to live lives that reflected the change this Other Jesus had wrought in them. I discovered people who practiced faith as well as preached it.” (Garrett. 8)
Brown, David, D, D. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. John. Crosswalk Inc. 1996.Byzantine Greek Translation of the Book of John.Harris, Hall. Commentary on the Gospel of John. Biblical Studies Press. 1996. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry Complete Commentary. www.biblestudytools.net1996.Johnson, Barton W. People's New Testament Commentary. Crosswalk Inc. 1999. www.biblestudytools.net.1999.Bryant, Beauford. Krause, Mark. The College Press NIV Commentary John. College Press. 1998.
Due to Joseph’s exile from his family in Cannon, this resulted in his executive office in Egypt, first under Pharaoh, by God which allowed him to be the redeemer for his family, all of the Egyptians, and surrounding countries during the time of famine. Joseph was able to see the big picture of God working in his life as he states in Genesis 45:5-8. What they intended for harm, God intended for good. Similarly, through the horrific death and punishment Jesus took upon Himself, He alone choose to bear God’s just wrath and punishment that all men deserve for their sins. In doing so, He has become the Redeemer to all mankind for the forgiveness of sins and only hope for eternal life. Jesus foretold of the exact treatment He must suffer in Matthew 21:42, which referenced Psalm 118:22. Again in Isaiah 53:3, it was prophesized of Jesus’ rejection by men.
Many people believe that today’s Christians are too sheltered and oblivious to the real world around them. When asked, many outsiders compared today’s Christians to “The Titanic - a ship about to sink, but unaware of its fate” or “a hobby that diverts people’s attention” (Kinnaman 120). It is important Christians to not just stay secluded in one group (church group), but to be talking to others (outsiders) so we are aware of the problems and thing that are going on in the world around us. As Christians we are called to be disciples of Jesus by reaching out to those in need, praying for those around us, and calling people to become the church. In “Unchristian” David Kinnaman outlines three main things we as Christians should include in our lives: accepting responsibility, not being fearful, helping the desperate, being prepared, and keeping a balance.
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
The Bible shows God constantly pursuing His people and man rejecting him over and over again. This passage displays this ongoing struggle by showing all Jesus did for us and how the people still shunned and rejected him. However, this passage also gives reassurance that it is never too late to repent and accept the Lord. This passage displays some important themes of the Bible: man’s redemption, God’s forgiveness and grace, and the blessing of a relationship with God. This passage is essentially the message of the Bible in one small
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible. Eds. Dom Bernand Orchard, Rev. R. V. Fuller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1966. Print.
Of all the debates that concern the Christian faith, the most important lies in the understanding of the very one whom the faith professes to follow: Jesus Christ. Who was Jesus Christ, and what did He do here on this earth? In noting the importance of these issues the apostle Paul goes so far as to make the startling claim that the Christian faith is useless if predicated on a false assumption of Christ’s saving work (1 Cor. 15:14). Indeed, there are no truths more central to our faith than the personhood and work of Jesus Christ, and yet serious disagreements exist regarding the nature of these tenets. Jesus lived here on earth as fully divine and yet fully human in one and the same person, and His death on the cross served as a perfect sacrifice and substitute for the necessary punishment of death that all sinners deserve.
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus endorses agape, or selfless love (in contrast to eros, or possessive love), which consists of dedication to another person’s good, even at the expense of our own good and happiness. People should practice peace and nonviolence, return good for evil and love for suffering (“turn the other cheek”). This leads to a special conception of justice, called the “divine justice”, which is based on giving a person what he or she needs rather than deserves (e.g., in case of a crime, redemption rather getting even).
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
“The salvation of God is the cure: sin is the disease” (Kevan, Ernest F. Salvation. Michigan: Baker, 1963. Print.), when I first saw this quote it really stuck out to me, the statement is true in my opinion. The only way to get rid of a disease is to find the cure. Salvation is what we need to be spiritually whole, that is why we are made new when we accept God into our heart, and we get “saved”. Throughout this paper I will explain what is means to be “saved”, for what we are saved, and through what?
God and the Bible’s teachings are used as a framework to find meaning in life and purpose of human presence. Purpose resides in every human’s potential to strive for peace, seek equality, nurture relationships and the environment to achieve harmony with the earth (Valk, 2012). “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25:5). The Holy Spirit, known as God’s active force and His power in action (Lk 1:35), is used as a guide by Christians to ascertain and determine what is right. “We choose to act based on good thinking, scripture and prayer, and the Holy Spirit helps us discern the right alternatives” (Shelly & Miller, 2006, p. 89). In seeing others as the image of God, choosing what is right from wrong is influenced by beliefs cultural background and respect for one another. In this religious culture, the tendency to do wrong is seen as sinfulness. However, it is the admission of sin that leads Christians to Jesus Christ to find and experience God’s forgiveness (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The recognition of sin and eventual redemption strengthens the relationship with God which directs a life of service to humanity (Shelly & Miller,
God calls Abram while he is in Ur. He commands him to leave the country with his family to a land God has chosen. He promises to bless Abram and make his descendants form a great nation. This promise will be fulfilled in the Mosaic Covenant. God makes a promise to bless Abrams personally, and also promises that his name will be well known. This promise will later be fulfilled in the Davidic Covenant. God will bless anyone who blesses Abram, but will place a curse on anyone who attempts to cur...
Class notes. Man’s Desperate Need of Righteousness and God’s Glorious Provision of Righteousness. Faith Christian University. Orlando, Florida. August 2011.