The Cosmic Mission of the Church
Think church is boring? You couldn't be more wrong! It's God's cosmic frontline assault against hell's gates, conquering evil through making disciples. Join the most epic, inevitably victorious spiritual battle in human history.
Nearly every musical has what composers call an “I Want” song. This is generally the second song in the soundtrack, will occur within the first fifteen minutes, and is sung by the main character to express their desire for something bigger and better in life. Arielle sings “Part of Your World,” Simba, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” Hamilton, “My Shot,”—the list can go on. Though we might not break into song about it, I imagine many of us have shared that feeling of wanting to be part of something bigger. My suggestion in this article is that the church is actually the place you will find it. If that sounds surprising, it’s likely because we do not fully appreciate the cosmic realities that unfold in and around the church. There is nothing bigger in this world than the church, because truly this church is involved in that which is out of this world. Consider that, specifically, in terms of the church’s mission: The mission of the church is to be a faithful outpost of God’s heavenly kingdom on earth.
In Matthew 16:18—one of the primary passages about the mission of the church—Jesus announces, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The important thing to glean from this verse is the active, offensive nature of the church’s mission. Jesus does not say that the gates of heaven will not crumble to the onslaught of evil (though that is certainly true). Rather, it is the defensive strongholds of evil that He has in His sights. In other words, God is going to launch an attack against all that is evil—and the church is means by which He carries it out! To belong to the church is to belong to God’s work in the world of fighting sin and conquering the evil attempts of Satan to overcome his plan. Did you know the church was involved in something that—and I mean this in the truest sense of the term—awesome?
Notice also that the successful mission of the church is inevitable. Jesus guarantees that He is overseeing this battle plan: “I will build my church,” He says. No wonder the gates of hell will not prevail against the church—when has any work that God gets behind failed? It is the church, therefore, that gets to be on the front lines of God’s victorious conquest. What a thrill! Though involvement in the church might initially seem quite mundane, the Bible suggests it is anything but. The church is where you go to play a part in the inevitable defeat of the devil. The church is where you go be a victor: “thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession” (2 Cor. 2:14). The church, when true to its mission, is the primary means Christ uses to advance His cause in the world and crush the strongholds of Satan and sin.
Now, if that’s what the church exists for, how does it happen? How do we actually advance the cause of Christ, shine the light of heaven, and stamp out the powers of hell? The answer might surprise you. In one of the most well-known passages in the whole Bible, Jesus tells his disciples the battle strategy for the church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
If you were expecting swords or sniper rifles, sorry to disappoint. As Paul reminds us, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:10). “Rulers” and “authorities” is Paul-speak for demonic forces. Since the church’s enemy is a spiritual one, her weapons are spiritual, too. Hence, when Jesus gives the mission statement of the church, armaments and ammo are absent. Instead, He speaks of spiritual formation.
The church is called to go into the world and “make disciples.” We are called to speak—not even to shout, but simply to tell. That’s because this discipling mission requires instruction in the ways of the Lord (“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”). Furthermore, that instruction is meant to take place in the life and fellowship of a local church (hence, the mission to first baptize disciples—more on this in chapter four). In other words, the church gains victory over her enemies, not by conquering them, but by converting them.
For some people, perhaps this sounds more terrifying than all-out combat! But even as we are called to faithfully witness to the Lord Jesus, He again promises us assured victory through His abiding presence: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” One of the places we find proof of this profound promise is in the Book of Acts. There we read about the multiplication of disciples, starting in Jerusalem and then reaching to the far-flung places of the then-known world. Men who should be fearful are faithful, those who would be otherwise timid are bold in the face of a mocking and persecuting world. Because Jesus is with them, they preach. And as the Word goes, the church grows: “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly” (Acts 6:7). One thinks of the brilliant response the Reformer Martin Luther gave when asked how it was he caused such an amazing revival in sixteenth-century Germany: “I did nothing … The Word did everything.”
As foolish as it might seem to us, it is in God’s infinite wisdom that the church would be his plan for world history. Paul writes that “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 3:10). The spiritual forces have a better grasp on the relevancy of the church than many believers do! To them it has been revealed that God’s perfect plan unfolds through the church. Let’s learn the lesson, too. If you want to be a part of God’s inevitably victorious work in the world, you must be part of His church.
