Calvin and Missions - World Evangelical Alliance

114 Calvin and World Mission
a witness against the rebellious to be remembered in the day of judgment
(Acts 13:46-47).
On the other hand, Jesus declares that His Father is glorified when His
disciples bear much fruit (John 15:8). To seek the glory of the Father is to
have fellowship in the mission of the Son, who could rejoice that the mysteries
of the kingdom were hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed
unto babes, for so it was well pleasing in the Father’s sight (Luke 10:21).
But that same Son of God pointed his disciples to the harvest and called
them to be fishers of men only after he had filled their nets with fish. Men
may prefer a simpler or more one-sided motivation, but Jesus knew the
awesome glory of his Father’s sovereign grace and reflected that glory in
all of his ministry.
The doxological mode in missions goes beyond a certain optimism in the
expectation of response. Rather it praises God for the assurance of the gathering
in of all the sheep of Christ to the eternal fold. The Psalms celebrate
God’s triumphs, past, present and future, and summon the nations to
join in the song. “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for God’s own possession, that he may show forth the excellencies
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet.
2:9). In a world of death, the church sings the joy of Christ’s resurrection;
in a world of despair, the church sings the sure hope of Christ’s return.
The Grace of God the Source of Missions
The doxology of missions is a rainbow of praise arching over the throne
of God. The end of that rainbow is the glory of God but its beginning is the
grace of God. If all things are unto him, all things must also be of mm. All
is to God’s glory because all is of God’s grace.
The Bible records, not man’s search for God, but God’s search for man.
The initiative in salvation is always his. God calls to Adam in the garden
after man’s first transgression, and God seeks for worshipers in the whole
history of redemption. Jesus grounds his final mission in his Father’s electing
purpose. He has other sheep that are not of this fold, and them also he
must bring. They are his sheep because they have been given him of the
Father; they are his because he gives his life for them. He must and will
bring them, for they will hear his voice (John 10:27). God’s choosing of his
sheep and God’s drawing diem to his Son (John 6:44) are the basis in Christ’s
own understanding for his death on the cross and his lifting up to
glory.