The manifestation of the glory and grace of God
It was Voetius, the theologian who said that the first goal for mission work to the unconverted is the display or the manifestation of the glory and grace of God. All of creation exists for the glory of God. We see this truth all over Scripture. Everything that exists for glory of God: the star constellations, the sun and moon, the varieties of animal and bird and plant life, the insect world and all human beings. And the apex of God’s glory is his grace revealed is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:3-7 ESV)
The reason why we evangelize, the reason we go out and share the gospel with the world is that it glorifies God. God designed and planned it to be that way. The way God will save all his elect and the way He intended it and executed his plan in history, and the way he uses the means of preaching the gospel and the way he applies salvation to the human heart through the Holy Spirit gives him the greatest glory. We don’t evangelize so that we become glorious. We don’t evangelize so that we can get trophies and applause from the Christian community or the world. We don’t evangelize so that we can become famous. We don’t evangelize to be honoured by men. We evangelize because there is no other way people can be rescued from the power of sin and Satan and the wrath of God. We evangelize because God commands us to do so. We evangelize because God ordained that it would be through the preaching of the gospel that people would be saved for God’s glory (Romans 10:13-18).
The gospel humbles the pride of man. The gospel leaves no room for men to boast in their own achievements and titles and qualifications. The gospel leaves no room for a man to lift his head in pride and glory in his own righteousness.
The proclamation of the gospel leads to God extending his grace to vile sinners like you and me. God wants to display and manifest his grace to sinners, and he has chosen to do that through the proclamation of the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:21).
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)
God is most glorified through the gospel because it is through the gospel that people are united in fellowship with Himself. And God wants to extend this grace to all peoples, peoples from every nation and tribe and language group (Revelation 5:9). When people are united to God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, God achieves his purpose of being glorified. Let those who boast, boast in Christ, for God has made Christ to be our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Dear reader: Are you committed to be involved in the manifestation of God’s glory and grace? God seeks people to be committed to be his image-bearers, proclaiming his glorious gospel to a lost world. God is seeks for people to proclaim his gospel so that He might be glorified.
“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15 ESV)
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 