God gave a missionary mandate to the very first people He created. In Genesis 1:28 we read, “God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'"

In the case of Adam and Eve this mandate referred to the whole of creation around them. Later on it had to do with their descendants and their responsibility of reaching out to people who were separated from God; people who needed to be rescued from wickedness and destruction. Only a very few righteous people are mentioned in the history of the first generations of humanity. Those few were people such as Abel, Enoch and Noa (Genesis 4:4; 5:25; 6:8-9). All the way through Bible history, we find that God raises up men and women in their generation to stand forth in His name (on His behalf) and call people to a personal relationship to Him and to a life of righteousness.

The number of such people has grown to such an extent, that they can unite in churches and mission-groups, and together take up their responsibility for those that are in their immediate vicinity, as well as for those that are further away.

In order to explain the Biblical mandate for mission, we will first of all examine four subjects:

God’s Universal Plan, Rescue and Salvation, The Missionary Plan, and Opposition against God’s Plans.

I. GOD’S UNIVERSAL PLAN

God is the God of all the earth, He is God of the nations
We often forget this. We human beings often tend to think of God as being far away. The closest thing we might accept is that He is the God of the Jews, or a God of a “distant past”. Otherwise in the various denominations we might go to the other extreme and proclaim that we are the ones who have come closest to Him. But God loves all people; He loves all nations! The nations are not incidental; they are part of God’s plan and activities in the relationship between all of humanity and Himself. In Genesis 10:32 we read about "nations spread out over the earth after the flood.”

All the way through the Bible, from the first to the last book, we discover how interested God is in people, and how much He invested in them. “…and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5: 9). His final objective is to see them gathered around His throne.

Israel, chosen by God for a mission among the nations
God called Abraham to stand forth as a righteous man, and make the way for a whole people who would get to know God. This people was Israel, the descendants of Abraham, and God’s plan with the Israelites was that they should be His people among the other nations. Israel was a minority that was called to serve the majority (Genesis 12: 2-3).

II. RESCUE AND SALVATION

God proved Himself as Israel’s saviour by freeing the people from the bonds of slavery. “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you…” (Deuteronomy 15:15). Later on it became increasingly clear, especially for the prophets in Israel, that God’s rescue missions and His plan of salvation would not be limited to Israel, but would also be for all the other nations of the earth. (See Isaiah 2:1-4), God says to His people, Israel, “…the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.”

God’s way of salvation
There are six chapters in the book of Isaiah, 40 to 55, that are written in a beautiful, poetic style in the form of songs. These point to the coming “Servant-Saviour”, whom we know today to be Jesus Christ. God’s plan of salvation was to send His “Servant” (His son, Jesus Christ) to bring salvation to the whole earth.

III. THE MISSIONARY PLAN

The same prophet, Isaiah, says in chapter 49, verse 6, of his book:”…I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” This message was to the people of Israel. However the prophet also saw, long before the prophecy was fulfilled, that from this people God would raise His “Servant”, THE MISSIONARY FROM HEAVEN, who would bring salvation to all the peoples of the earth. From my personal experience, having worked among people of all sorts of backgrounds, from the bustling cities of Africa to the extremely remote villages, I can witness that God’s plan works! When we succeed in presenting Christ to them, so they readily can hear and understand the message, there are a great number of people who decide to put their trust in Him.

IV. OPPOSITION AGAINST GOD’S PLANS

We must be prepared for a bitter resistance against God’s plans for humanity. When Moses embarked upon the difficult task of leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, he encountered much opposition. He cried to God: “Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all” (Exodus 5:23). Poor Moses! Later on he witnessed God’s great salvation.

The New Testament also describes the spiritual battle, which all Christians must be ready for. See the letter of Paul to the Ephesians 6:10-18. Among other things it declares: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” It sounds vicious. AND SO IT IS! Without God’s protection and His power no Christian would be able to take a stand on the arena of spiritual warfare. And it must be mentioned that the mentioned armor doesn’t just mysteriously come to fasten itself nicely on us. We need to put it on personally, as Paul says in the indicated passage.

If you desire to take part in rescuing people from eternal destruction, whether it be in the vicinity of you home congregation, or on a distant mission-field, you must be ready to meet opposition. But remember, you have authority from Jesus Christ to wage spiritual war against the enemy. And furthermore He gives you all you need in order to win it, when you ask him for it.