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The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative |  | Author: Christopher J. H. Wright
Publisher: IVP Academic
Category: Book
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Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 10020
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 581
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.9
ISBN: 0830825711
Dewey Decimal Number: 266.001
EAN: 9780830825714
ASIN: 0830825711
Publication Date: November 30, 2006
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Product Description
Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that mission is bigger than that there is in fact a missional basis for the Bible!
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
A Thorough Discussion of the Missional Theme in Salvation History November 29, 2009
C. Stephans
For Christopher Wright, mission does not represent a secondary element of Biblical theology or interpretation; rather mission is a "major key that unlocks the whole grand narrative of the canon of Scripture." (17) God's mission stands behind all of creation and salvation history. Wright asserts that mission, God's mission and his people's mission, propels the Biblical story forward to what will ultimately be the consummation of the kingdom of heaven on earth under the Lordship of Jesus. Mission serves as the bond that characterizes God's people as co-workers with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in reconciliation and restoration on earth through Jesus. Wright offers the following definition for mission which is also the essential thesis of the book:
"Fundamentally, our mission (if it is biblically informed and validated) means our committed participation as God's people, at God's invitation and command, in God's own mission within the history of God's world for the redemption of God's creation." (23)
Through his book, Wright explores the totality of the divine mission, God's people and God's creation, as these are revealed in Scripture. Wright exhaustively mines the Old Testament for insights to the Biblical basis for mission. He admits that because of his expertise on the Old Testament that his writing focuses more on it than the New Testament. Although he does discuss the topic of mission in the New Testament, I think much more could be written about how the New Testament encourages mission by individual Christians, families and communities of faith.
Wright challenges Christians to live in faithful obedience to God. He writes, "There is no blessing for ourselves or for others without faith and obedience." (207) The obedience of faith is necessary for people to be the agents for God's blessings to people. God's mission, like his love, is universal, but his mission is enacted through particular people. Through Jesus, people are called to be the particular agents of God's mission to others. As agents of God's mission, it is our duty, privilege and calling to participate in what Jesus accomplished on the cross and what will be completed in the new creation. For Wright, the cross is the core of any theology of mission. It establishes the new covenant in Jesus' blood that allows all people to come and worship God having their sins forgiven. There are no people who cannot be reconciled to God through the cross.
Wright issues a call for Christians to take their eyes off themselves and look to God and engage in his mission and not their own self-aggrandizement. Our words and our lives must declare to the world that Jesus is Lord.
Wright begins his assertion of the Biblical basis for mission by emphasizing that mission is primarily sourced in God. Mission for the church is foremost an act of advocating for God and worshipping God. The beginning, therefore, of mission for the church is doxology. Wright discusses the teaching of Jesus conveyed in Luke 24. Jesus begins empowering the church by unfolding how the Law, Prophets and Psalms bear witness to him and his mission to die and be raised to life. Wright concludes that God's mission is revealed in the Old Testament writings. Also present in this empowering of the church is the Trinitarian theology that includes the Father sending the Son and then the sending of the Holy Spirit to clothe the disciples in power that they might engage in God's mission. I appreciate how Wright delves into Scripture and thoroughly lays out a missional reading of the Old Testament. I would have like to see him also explore more fully what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit's role in empowering Christians for mission.
I think a key point that Wright makes is the close connection between mission and worship of God. He shows how it was to be Israel's worship of God that proclaimed his uniqueness and sovereignty to the nations. He writes that mission exists because praise of God does not exist among all people; while, in another sense, mission exists because praise does exist among God's people. He writes,
"The praise of the church is what energizes and characterizes it for mission, and also serves as a constant reminder we so much need, that all mission flows as obedient response to and participation in the prior mission of God." (134)
Wright asserts that praise must be the church's primary mode of mission. This is the act of inviting all the peoples of the earth "to hear the music of God's future and dance to it today." (134)
Requires a diligent reader July 16, 2009
Lee V. Cole Jr. (Denver, CO USA)
I had recommendations from friends that I respect that this is a great book. However, I found the opening pages to be academic and written above my level of interest. I am sure it is a great book, but not really up my alley so to speak. I think just reading the Bible would be easier! But I admire those scholarly people who can write books like this and admire those with stamina and determination who have the patience to read an extensive book like this.
 Mission of God July 8, 2009
Daniel J. Doleys
The recent resurgence of younger evangelicals involvement in ministry and engagement of culture and produced much discussion on the Church's mission. Words like "missional" and "missiological" have become commonplace in churches looking to make in impact on their communities and the world. While this renaissance of mission orientation has spawned welcome enthusiasm, but confusion has also followed. What does it mean to be missional? What is the mission of the Church? Why should the Church be missional? What does the Bible say about mission, both God's and the His people's? Christopher Wright's The Mission of God (MOG) provides the answers to these questions and many more.
The purpose of the MOG is not simply to show why mission is important or how mission is a vital part of the identity of the Church, but to show that mission, in many ways, is the purpose for the Church and the priority in its identity. Therefore, MOG seeks to read the Bible as a story of God's mission to restore creation and his people's role and mission in that restoration.
In Part 1 "The Bible and Mission" Wright attempts to defend the necessity of reading the Bible missilogically. He admits that such a task is not new, but his approach differs from those who have come before. Instead of looking to proof-text with passages where mission is mentioned, Wright prefers to look at the biblical narrative on a macro-level and determine the missional thrust from there. This is done by recognizing the need for a global hermeneutic that does not discount non-Western interpreters, but values their own specific situations that lead to a different emphasis on the reading of the text, allowing the global mission of God to be seen. In addition, if the Bible is God's revelation to the world concerning His salvation, the Bible itself is a product of God's mission.
The second section focuses on how to understand God as a God of mission. Through three chapters, Wright moves from God's revelation in His acts of salvation and judgment, his ultimate revelation in Jesus Christ and the position of the true God over against the false gods of idolatry. The emphasis of the first chapter of these three is showing God as the one true God through his acts of salvation, the Exodus, and judgment, the Exile. The next chapter seeks to identify Jesus and His mission as the fulfillment of God's mission by identifying Jesus with the YHWH of the OT. Finally, the third chapter deals with God's mission in response to idolatry. After a discussion on the reality of false gods and imaginary figments or spiritual powers, Wright shows that the correct orientation toward the true God requires a mission that exposes false Gods in all their deceptive glory.
Now that the God of the mission has been seen, the people who take part in His mission are investigated. The third section "The People of Mission" is the longest of the four. The first two chapters of this section discuss the role of Abraham in God's mission and correctly recognize the Abrahamic Covenant as the foundation for the entire mission that follows. The choice of Abraham is described not only for salvation, but also for mission. Therefore, election must be understood in terms of missiology as much as it is stereologically. The two following chapters view God's mission of salvation in the OT in holistic manner. Here, Wright chides both conservative evangelicals for their lack of engagement with the sociological, political and economical aspects of God's salvation, seen most noticeably in the Exodus, and liberal (or Liberation) theologians for failing to recognize the massive spiritual significance. In this recognition, Wright recognizes that neither of these aspects has priority over the other, likening it to the chicken or the egg paradox.
The final section "The Arena of Mission" not only discusses the `where' of the mission but also the objective of God's mission activity. The three major topics make up the three chapters, God's mission to the Earth, to the Image of God and to the Nations. In the first chapter, the necessity to care for the Earth is likened to the anticipation of the resurrection in inaugurated eschatology of this age. The restoration of the image is applied to the AIDS epidemic and its destruction of humanity in the individual and society. Finally, the God's mission is one that goes to the nations and concurrently the whole world. This is best seen in the culmination of creation in Rev 21-22.
Wright's MOG as many of his other writings, bring high-level discussions into the realm of all people. Wright's discussion of mission is not an entirely new approach, but a reformulation of the historic approach to the teaching of the Bible. The Church has always seen the main thrust and grand narrative of the Bible as God's pursuit of restoration for his entire creation. It has always been about God's quest to reestablish himself as Lord of all, now reformulated, as before, to fit the needs of the current issues in the Church. The criticism I would have of Wright's missiological Biblical theology would be a lack of emphasis on the Gospels. While Wright does devote a chapter to Jesus' role as the fulfillment God's mission, but I would have like to have seen more discussion of Matthew's description of Jesus a the fulfillment of Israel of John's discussion of "sending". Even so, this text is an excellent walk through the entirety of Scripture. While the approach and title firmly establish MOG as a book on missiology, this book may be better classified as a Biblical theology formulated for the current Church.
Mission of God December 11, 2008
M. Brown (Texas)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Christopher Wright is an Old Testament scholar who has written this book to show that the Bible as a whole can be read with a missional hermeneutic. Wright clearly has a great Biblical mind and shows this by using at least one (usually several) passage to back all of his points. Wright prefaces the work by telling of a class he taught at Cambridge University saying: "the more I taught that course, the more I used to introduce it by telling my students that I would like to rename it from `The Biblical Basis of Mission' to `The Missional Basis of the Bible.' I wanted them to see not just that the Bible contains a number of texts, which happen to provide a rationale for missionary endeavor but that the whole Bible is itself a missional phenomenon (p.22). This statement sets the tone for the book and Wright takes off from there.
Throughout the book Wright discusses several topics that are crucial to understanding the Bible as having a missional mandate. Wright discusses how God sought to make him known to the people of Israel in the Old Testament and to the world through Jesus in the New Testament. God seeks to make himself known to all the nations of the world, as well as be worshiped by these nations. Wright goes on to discuss who the people of mission are and that all Christians are called to play a part in redeeming and restoring God's kingdom. The last part of the book is dedicated to what Wright entitles "The Arena of Mission" and deals with how God's image and missional mandate include taking care of the earth that God has given us.
Wright's abundant use of scripture gives his arguments and points of view very strong support and it is easy to see where his ideas are coming from. Although lengthy, Wright writes in such a way that is much easier to understand and digest than many other theology books. I find that Wrights take on balancing social action and evangelism to be a great strength in the book. Wright not only states that he believes a balance of these two aspects is necessary, he also goes on to show what happens if missions becomes too one sided in either direction. The only problem that I had was in the parts where he tries to flesh out meanings of Hebrew words and phrases. These descriptions were still interesting to me although I know nothing about the Hebrew language, but at times were too heavy to the average reader. This book does require basic knowledge of the Bible and is defiantly aimed for an audience of college level students interested in religion and especially missions. However, I think anyone involved with missions, interested in mission, or interested in theology can benefit from Christopher Wright.
Excellent Insights, important reading for all believers. Gets better as you go. December 11, 2008
Joshua A. Gotfried (Grants Pass, OR USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Christopher Wright is an esteemed Old Testament scholar, so it might come as a surprise to some that he chose to compose "The Mission of God," this massive work on the biblical and theological foundations for mission. Nevertheless this is what he does and he does it with admirable scholarship and incredible insight. The book targets a Christian evangelical audience, specifically those who would be pro-missions in the first place. His goal is to reshape the basic understanding of what mission is all about. Rather than understanding it merely as a component of what it is to be a Christian and to serve God, Wright presents mission as the central premise behind God's very character. He argues that God is missional, meaning that all of God's words and actions are garnered towards the specific purpose of fulfilling His mission. And God's mission is to make Himself known to His people, to each and every nation on the face of the earth.
Making use of the entire biblical canon, Wright attempts to tie together the Old and New Testaments showing a consistent theme of a missional God who is attempting to reveal Himself to His creation. Based on what the Bible tells us, God created mankind in His own image, as caretaker of His earthly creation. The relationship between man and God was broken during the fall and man's subsequent departure from obedience unto God. Therefore, in describing the Bible, Wright says that "in terms of the overall argument of this book, Genesis 3-11 sets the problem that the mission of God addresses from Genesis 12 to Revelation 22" (195/2). And thus goes Wright's understanding of the biblical narrative.
Naturally, having been written by an Old Testament scholar, one of the book's greatest strengths lies in its insights into how the OT functions within the larger biblical canon. It can sometimes be difficult to understand how the apparent exclusivism of Israel's election can relate to the all-inclusive universalism of the Great Commission, but Wright brings this out brilliantly. He simply has a way of making sense of the Bible as a whole, which is no easy task considering the diversity of its writings. As far as weaknesses go, one could argue that at some points Wright's interpretive lens inevitably falls into the category of works righteousness. It places a lot emphasis on human response and reaction to God's call, ultimately taking some credit away from God. However this is undoubtedly unintentional, and for the most part Wright does well in covering all his bases through sound interpretations and scholarship.
Obviously this book will be of significant interest to any biblical scholar or missionary, but I would also recommend this book to anyone who wishes to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the biblical narrative as a whole. Anyone who desires to spread the message of God's love and learn more about what God's will is for our lives will benefit and enjoy reading this book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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