Les Henson
The God of the Bible is a missionary God. Consequently, the entire Bible is missionary by its very nature. It is the revelation of God's purpose and action in mission. The Old and New Testaments are interconnected and substantiate God's redemptive activity, endeavouring to reconcile the world unto Himself, first through Israel, then in Christ. Thus, the Bible, in its fulness, is the revelation of God's worldwide redemptive purpose and missionary activity.
God summarized His mission at the very beginning of Scripture, in Gen 1-3. These chapters are a narrative description of the divine mission that is extended in the rest of Scripture. At the heart of this missionary, account dwells the truth of missio Dei—the mission of God. Genesis 1-3 shows that the triune God's mission came long before any form of Christian missions. There is just one mission, and that is God's mission! So, the people of God are drawn to participate in this one divine mission.
God's mission is universal in scope and global in nature. Thus, the foundation for understanding the universality of God's mission is stated in Gen 1-11. From the creation of the world until Babel's judgment, the human race was one in creation, fall, judgment, and dispersion. Likewise, God's offer of salvation is addressed to all the people in all the families of the earth who would believe. Thus, from the very beginning, God's purpose of salvation has been linked to all creation.
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