Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 1 | FOUNDATIONS FOR CHRISTIAN MISSION: VISION AND BIBLICAL FOUNDATION / 367

Foundations for Christian Mission The Vision and Biblical Foundation for Christian Mission

LESSON 1

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Welcome in the strong name of Jesus Christ! After your reading, study, discussion, and application of the materials in this lesson, you will be able to: • Outline the motif of Mission as the War of the Spheres , which is perhaps the most dynamic image of mission in Scripture, the proclamation of God’s kingdom rule in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. • Give an overview of the reign of God in Scripture, beginning with the Lord as creator and sustainer of all, and the mystery of iniquity (the satanic rebellion in the heavenlies), which resulted in the temptation and fall of humankind, and the curse, yet ended with God’s promise to crush the head of the serpent through the Seed of the woman. As a result of the Fall, the universe is at war and God is a warrior. • Lay out the major points of God as the divine warrior in the OT, including God as warrior defeating evil in its symbolism as a river and sea, defeating Pharaoh and his armies, who led his people into victory as the great Lord of armies, and who fought against his own people because of their disobedience and rebellion. Also, Israel’s prophets pictured God as a divine warrior who through his Messiah would finally destroy all evil once and for all time. • Show how the promise of the Messiah in David’s heir represented God’s intent to provide a king who would restore the reign to his people, rule the nations with justice and righteousness, and bring a knowledge of God to the entire earth as Lord and King. • Argue from Scripture how God’s promised rule has been inaugurated through the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the one from the Davidic line who will restore the reign of God. In him and the various aspects of his birth, teaching, miracles, exorcisms, deeds, death, and resurrection, the Kingdom of God is now here, already present in the life of the Church. • Explain the “already/not yet dimension” of the Kingdom of God; although the Kingdom of God has come in the fulfillment of the

Lesson Objectives

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U rban M i s s i on