Our part in God’s plan for his church
/It’s clear that universal unity will not be realised until Christ comes again. But this does not mean that God is sitting around idly twiddling his thumbs until the time set for Christ’s return.
No: God is actively at work now, reconciling people to himself through Christ.
And we (and our churches) have a role in that work.
Our patient and generous God
The reason Jesus has not yet returned to completely establish his rule and bring universal unity is that there are still more people who need to come to repentance.
Paul writes: ‘I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation’ (2 Corinthians 6:2).
We live in the time of ‘God’s favour’ between Jesus’ first and second coming – the time when people can still escape the judgement they deserve and be reconciled to God.
And the Apostle Peter says:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
This leads us to our purpose for being here on earth. What is remarkable, and in many ways very surprising, is that God uses us to reconcile people to himself.
God chooses the weak
God has chosen to use Christians, weak, frail and sinful as we are, to bring about these glorious, eternal purposes as we call people to come back to God through Jesus and help them to serve him with their lives.
Before Jesus returned to heaven, after his resurrection, he gave his disciples this charge:
‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:18–20)
The 11 disciples standing there that day with Jesus did not complete this charge. How could they? They did not live to ‘the end of the age’ and see Jesus return.
So this charge has been passed on from one generation of Christians to the next. The job is not yet finished. There are more to be saved.
To assist us in our weakness, God poured out the Holy Spirit to strengthen and equip us for the task.
And how is this task accomplished? How does God save people? Through those who have become disciples of Jesus, as they obey Jesus’ command and go on to make other disciples.
A great and glorious task
So we have been given a great and glorious task that has eternal implications.
As we obey Jesus’ command, we find ourselves caught up in God’s work of rescuing people from hell, reconciling people to himself and bringing people from death to eternal life.
Ultimately, we are playing a part in God’s eternal purpose of bringing unity to all things under Christ. There is no greater or more glorious activity that we finite human beings can participate in.
In John’s Gospel, as Jesus prays to his Father for his disciples, he says:
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:22–23)
As disciples of Christ today, we too are to be examples to the world of God’s ultimate purpose: that all people, from all backgrounds, no matter how diverse, will be brought to unity under Christ.
And this raises challenging questions about our church life …
What does true unity in our age look like?
What’s the difference between true unity and homogeneity?
How are those of us in Reformed evangelical churches going at carrying out the Great Commission in Matthew 28?
How are we going at demonstrating the kind of unity in our churches that Christ is ultimately bringing to the universe?
Are our churches healthy, functioning ‘bodies of Christ’ with all the parts they need?
This article is one of a series that I’ve written about making disciples of ‘everyday people’.
It can be read on its own, but if you’d like to gain a greater understanding of how my thoughts around this important topic have developed, you may wish to read the full series of articles in order.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™