Pastor Thomas Beneke, Newcastle
God fulfils his mission even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.
‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth […]”’ – Genesis 1:27f
A world where you encounter images or representatives of God at every turn is labelled ‘good’, even ‘very good’. At least as long as the representation goes well. Unfortunately, there are more and more scenarios where this is not the case: the Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, the Flood and then Babel.
‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’ – Genesis 11:4
The original mission: ‘to fill the earth with God’s representatives’ seemed too complex and exhausting for his people. Why should it be? You go to a lot of trouble – you do pioneering work, have children, colonise new areas – and someone else (God) gets the credit for it? We just remain representatives? This line of argument does not go down well with God. His will is to be done; his name is to be hallowed. He sends his people into the world against their will by confusing the language.
‘And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”’ – Matthew 28:18-20
This is ‘Creation 2.0’: The risen Lord repeats his original mission: the world is to be filled with his representatives, his children, those who bear his name and do his things, through baptism and teaching. We see what this looks like a little later in the Acts of the Apostles. Representatives of nations from all over the world hear about the great deeds of God, but also that they have brought his Son to the cross.
‘And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”’ – Acts 2:38f
Peter’s sermon has an effect. People are shocked. Thousands repent, are baptised and are driven by his spirit to go home/into the world as representatives/disciples/name bearers/children of God – impressive. But the Pentecostal harvest festival was actually a pre-harvest celebration. The harvest that followed was and is rich. We see this with John in his vision of the end, of the goal of God’s mission:
‘After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”’ – Revelation 7:9f
His representatives are countless – like the sands of the sea, like stars in the sky. And they give him the honour. World and mission fulfilled!
We pray with Luther: The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. Amen.
