Transforming Christian Theology

In this short essay which is an excerpt from his lectures, the author presents a very eschatological description of the nature and purpose of the church. He also emphasizes the strong obligation that the church has towards missions. He starts off by describing the role of the church in God’s redemptive plan to restore the original purpose of creation. He goes on to emphasize the need to spread the Gospel of salvation to all mankind in order to enjoy the fullness of salvation. He makes a strong statement saying, “we cannot have it (salvation) in fullness until all for whom it is intended have it together”.1 This shows the obligation and the urgency with which he wants the church to operate with.
He describes that our experience of salvation is just a foretaste and emphasizes the eschatological perfection, which we are yet to attain. He also says that we can experience this only through the church and by ‘completing the missionary task’. He also stresses the need to, “go out into the world and make all men one with us in the fullness of His body”.2
He also emphasizes the need for the church to exemplify the message that it preaches. He points out that in order to properly communicate the message of restoration and reconciliation to the world, the community of believers must first embody these characteristics.
The author’s method in generating an obligation towards missions in the church is very effective. He indirectly makes use of the view that the Gospel must be preached throughout the world before the end comes, to create an urgency towards missions. Thus he gives a very missional description of the nature of the church and also describes the critical eschatological role of the church.