“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor, and has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” Isaiah 61:1
The mission of Christ was that of Redemption, that eternal work of God, purchasing men out of the slave market of sin, self, and Satan, delivering them from “the power of darkness” and conveying them into “the kingdom of the Son of HIs love.” (Col. 1:13) The singular, monumental work of Christ on Calvary was accomplished because of sin, sin so grave with respect to its independence of God, and all that is holy, that to pay to a holy God the moral and spiritual debt for it, it would take the sacrifice of the “Darling of heaven, ” this “Son of the Father’s love.” No other price could expiate, or “extinguish the guilt, amend the wrong, and put a total end to it, but the blood of Christ, the slain Lamb of God. His sacrifice ALONE, before the holiness of His Father, a consuming Fire, is acceptable to God. Only by the blood of His cross can there be peace between sinful man and a holy God. The blood of Christ, the finished work of Christ on the Cross, and the confirmation of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice by the resurrection from the dead, is this “narrow gate,” this “narrow pathway,” this “pearl of greatest price,” and this treasure beyond measure. For by Christ is provided a total sacrifice to obtain a total salvation, one that fades not away with time and space, but endures into eternity, all for the glory and praise of the God who provided it for the world that He loves. Only a love that is not of this world can explain why the Eternal God would stoop so low, endure so much, and suffer so greatly in his heart as well as that of his soul, to save men. When Christ comes, by the new birth, the birth by the Spirit of God, to indwell the heart of the repentant, believing sinner, He comes personally, and not only Him but the Father also by the Spirit. He comes bringing with Him a new Life, a new nature, a salvation from the deadliness of sin, the destruction by Satan, and the desolation of total lostness from God. He comes not just by proclamation of a truth announcing His coming, but comes Himself in His fulness, by the Spirit, to not only dwell in the heart, but to fill the life. The gospel by which He comes, for its truths are the foundation and steppingstones to faith, is thus deemed “the power of God to salvation.” (Rom. 1:16) Christ comes not only bringing with Him the knowledge and reality of a Kingdom, over which He reigns, but with the will to fill the heart. Yes, He gives the knowledge of the truth concerning that kingdom, purposing to fill it with Himself, the King. This King is Life, Light, and Love, with no fault or blemish in Him. He is perfect and just in all of His ways, never ceasing to be in His fulness what He has declared Himself to be, especially to the one who has “lost” all to take Him as his all. Christ, the Father, by the Spirit, are worthy, indeed the triune God by the Spirit is worthy to fill the life, and lives of those who will truly believe, and respond to His call. His call is an everlasting call to LIVE, and this, by the Spirit of God, by Christ Himself.
What then is the mission of the church, Christ’s body, before He comes again? It is the same as that of the One who dwells eternally in the heart. It is one of reaching the world with the knowledge of His work of redemption, reconciliation, new beginning by the new birth, and the newness of an eternal life. This is the message and mission.
Dear Father, Grant us Thy zeal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.