The Biblical Theology of
Missions
Part One
What is Biblical Theology?
St. Thomas
Aquinas
Karl Barth
The History of “Biblical Theology”
For Centuries, Catholic theology was defined
by the philosophies of St. Augustine (4th
Century) and St. Thomas Aquinas (13th
Century)
With the Reformation (16th Century), Scripture
was re-established as the norma normans of
Christian Theology. Post-Reformation
scholars, however, recognized that Luther
and Calvin had taken a dogmatic agenda to
Scripture rather than letting it speak for itself
The term “Biblical Theology” was first used in
the 1787 by Johannes Gabler. After the
Reformation, Protestants looked to the Bible
for prooftexts. Gabler called for more
exegetical attention to the historical contexts
of the Bible.
J.C.K. von Hofman (1841)
First to propose that the unifying theme for understanding the
Bible was salvation history or Heilsgeschichte. Hofmann defined
“salvation history” in terms of its ultimate goal: “Jesus is the end,
and also the middle, of history; his appearance in the flesh is the
beginning of the end.” For Hofmann, salvation history was a
peculiar history, the understanding of whose witness took place
subjectively, according to the testimonium spiritus sancti
internum (“inner testimony of the Holy Spirit”). Thus its facticity
was, to this extent, not subject to historical criticism; it unified at
one and the same time individual pious experiences with the
historical perspective. This understanding of salvation history
had two facets: (1) as the history of God’s dealings with certain
people throughout history, a history in which Christ was both the
origin and the center; and (2) as the personal saving history of
all people.
The Biblical Theology Movement
A great step forward in
Biblical Theology was
the movement that
sprang forth after the
rise of Neo-Orthodox
theologians like Karl
Barth.
Aims of the BT Movement
(according to Brevard Childs)
rediscovery of the theological dimension
unity of the whole Bible
revelation of God in history, distinctiveness of
the biblical mentality (Hebrew thought in
contrast to Greek thought
the contrast of the Bible to its environment
Biblical Theology Today
1. the Bible is a theological book and cannot be
properly interpreted without reference to its
theology.
2. The subject-matter of biblical theology is the Bible
as a whole. Every individual text and theme should
be understood in the context of the whole.
3. Since its purpose is to establish the theology
contained in and expressed by the Bible, it employs
biblical exegesis which, by means of textual, literary
and historical criticism, establishes the intention of
specific texts.
4. Biblical theology is the intermediary between
exegesis and dogmatics.
Missions and the Creation
Genesis 1
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
There was a beginning. Creation is not
accomplished in a timeless, mythological
realm, but rather, it is hardwired into time and
even HISTORY, followed by days and nights
and weeks.
Creation: The First Salvific Act
The Bible does not deal with
creation in order to satisfy
philosophic [or scientific] concerns
regarding the origin of the world.
Its point of view is quite another
. . . The creation of the world
initiates history, the human
struggle, and the salvific
adventure of Yahweh. Faith in
creation does away with its
mythical and supernatural
character. It is the work of a God
who saves and acts in history.
─A Theology of Liberation (1971),
p. 154)
Gustavo Gutiérrez
GOD created the world without
interference.
Babylonian and
Canaanite
cosmologies
(creation myths)
tell of creation
out of conflict.
Marduk and
Tiamat
Baal and Rahab
Tiamat and Marduk
2 Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters.
Creation as an act of salvation from Chaos.
Jurgen Moltmann and “God-forsaken space”
From Disorder to Order, therefore a PLAN.
The Presence of the Holy Spirit. Beginnings of the
revelation of Trinitarian Community. 1:26 “let us
create”
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there
was light.
The Power of God’s Word
Nothing can resist the power of the word, not
even “nothing.”
The Invincibility of the purposes of God.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he
separated the light from the darkness.
The Creation is good,
and demonstrates
God’s good will toward
his creatures. Common
Grace has been poured
out for all.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit
with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it
was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing
seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with
seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it
was good.
Reproduction according to kind.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of
the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them
serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15
and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give
light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great
lights — the greater light to govern the day and the
lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light
on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to
separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was
good.
The inferiority of the stars and planets to God and
man.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the
expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great
creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing
with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw
that it was good.
The inferiority of the sea monsters. God has no
competition in all the created order.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our
image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground.”
imago dei. All of humanity
bears the image of God and
is the object of his love and
desire to save.
God’s desire for human
partnership in his mission in
the world.
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Prose to Poetry
Humanity as the Climax of Creation and the
revelation of its purpose
Men and women as complements in the
display of God’s image and “fellowship
nature”. 2:18ff.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and
subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air and over every living creature that
moves on the ground.”
The first blessing: sexuality and reproduction. God’s
desire to have many sons and daughters through our
partnership.
The blessing of God as necessary for human
fulfillment—a concept fully developed later.
The Dominion Mandate and the inexorable
spread of God’s Kingdom in the World. After
the Fall, the dominion mandate will include
not only the tending of the earth (2:15) but
also the restoration of humanity as “subjects”
of God’s Kingdom.
The First Command of God. Obedience to
God is the first duty of humanity. Later the
Great Commission will make the spiritual task
of the Dominion mandate crystal clear, and
our duty to obey it is clear.
Genesis 2
1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all
their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished
the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he
rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh
day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all
the work of creating that he had done.
God’s Sabbath Rest. The object of work is to enjoy
its fruits, and God establishes here the value of rest
as more than just the replenishment of spent forces.
Not just rest at the end, but satisfaction in the
process. Every Sabbath is a prolepsis of heaven.
7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust
of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath (spirit) of life, and the man became a
living being.
Humans are
spiritual beings,
different from the
animals.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and
they felt no shame.
God’s desire for transparent fellowship with
us and among us.
Creation and Missions
God created the world with a plan to bless humanity.
Every human being bears the imago dei and is
included in the missio dei.
God desires to bring both men and women into
partnership for the fulfillment of the missio dei.
Our first duty is to obey the mandates of God,
including the Dominion Mandate and the Great
Commission.
God’s purposes are inexorable and no enemy can
destroy them.
Rest and satisfaction are part of the mission.
The Fall of Humanity
Gen 2:25-3:1
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and
they felt no shame. 3:1 Now the serpent was
more crafty than any of the wild animals the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman,
"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any
tree in the garden'?"
The Promise of the Woman’s Seed
Genesis 3:14-15
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because
you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the
livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on
your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your
life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your offspring and hers; he
will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
What did Eve understand?
Genesis 4:1
Kaiser’s exegesis is a bit too creative
hwhyÁta ! Vya] ytynq rmaTw
The Flood and Covenant Promise
Genesis 8:21-22
21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said
in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground
because of man, even though every inclination of his
heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I
destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
22 "As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."
The Token of God’s Covenant
Genesis 9:12-16
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making
between me and you and every living creature with you, a
covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow
in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me
and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and
the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my
covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every
kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all
life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it
and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all
living creatures of every kind on the earth."
The Table of the Nations
Genesis 10:1-11:1
10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. 5(From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations,
each with its own language.)
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca.The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like
Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. 11 From
that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great
city.
13 Mizraim was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. 15 Canaan was the
father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and
Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom,
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech. 24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan. 26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph,
Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after
the flood.
The Biblical Theology of Diversity
A Biblical View of
Diversity
Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and behold, a
great multitude which no man could
number, from every nation, from all
tribes and peoples and tongues,
standing before the throne and
before the lamb, clothed in white
robes with palm branches in their
hands, and crying with a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God who
sits upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb.”
It is the manifest will of God that
human diversity should persist forever.
The role of human diversity in God’s plan is
first established in Genesis 11:1-9, the story
of the Builders of Babel.
Their plan of
salvation was a
magnet city and a
high tower that
would stop the
scattering by
drawing the whole
world into their
hegemony.
“In New York I have always felt I was
at the center of the world, in a modern
Babylon, a sort of Borgesian aleph
with representation of all the
languages, religions and cultures of
the planet, and from which, as from a
giant heart to the extremities, there
circulate to the globe all fashions and
vices, values and nonvalues, usages,
customs, music, images and
prototypes resulting from the incredible
mixtures in this city.” --Peruvian
novelist and Nobel Prize winner for
literature Mario Vargas Llosa
God resists the proud, but gives grace
to the humble.
The arrogance of
the magnet city was struck
down, not to condemn the
people, but rather to humble
them and make them eligible for
grace.
Human diversity is a means by which God
communicates grace to us, keeping us humble. As
such, it is sacramental.
Pentecost has often been seen as a reversal of
Babel—in fact it is its most powerful
reaffirmation.
Every time we
speak in
tongues, we
declare our
agreement that
all peoples (and
their languages)
have been
created for the
praise of God
and that they
must be
evangelized.