
The Mission of God
Unlocking The Bible's Grand Narrative
Christopher J. H. Wright(Author)
Inter-Varsity Press
Published on 17. November 2006
Book
Hardback
584 pages
978-1-84474-152-6 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
Winner, 2007 Christianity Today Missions/Global Affairs Book
The Bible doesn't just provide a basis for mission. Mission is much bigger! Mission is the basis for the whole Bible - it is generated by, and is all about, God's mission.
In order to understand the Bible, we need an interpretative perspective that is in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see the 'big picture' of God's mission and how all parts of Scripture fit into its grand narrative.
In this comprehensive and accessible study, Chris Wright begins with the Old Testament understanding of who God is, what he has called his people to be and to do, and where the nations belong within God's mission. These themes are followed into the New Testament. Throughout, Wright emphasizes that biblically-defined mission is intrinsically holistic. God's mission is to redeem his whole creation from all that sin and evil have inflicted upon it, and the mission of God's people must reflect the breadth of God's righteous and saving love for all he has made.
The Bible doesn't just provide a basis for mission. Mission is much bigger! Mission is the basis for the whole Bible - it is generated by, and is all about, God's mission.
In order to understand the Bible, we need an interpretative perspective that is in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see the 'big picture' of God's mission and how all parts of Scripture fit into its grand narrative.
In this comprehensive and accessible study, Chris Wright begins with the Old Testament understanding of who God is, what he has called his people to be and to do, and where the nations belong within God's mission. These themes are followed into the New Testament. Throughout, Wright emphasizes that biblically-defined mission is intrinsically holistic. God's mission is to redeem his whole creation from all that sin and evil have inflicted upon it, and the mission of God's people must reflect the breadth of God's righteous and saving love for all he has made.
Reviews / Votes
To an already impressive list of publications dealing with the Bible and mission, Chris Wright now adds what must surely be his magnum opus. This remarkably comprehensive work does nothing less than point the way ahead for the global Christian movement in the twenty-first century, and in the process it challenges a host of received assumptions in biblical scholarship, Christian theology, and missionary practice. I believe Wright's book will be seen as the most important work of its kind since David Bosch's contribution in the 1990s and, like that work, it is likely to be read, discussed and, hopefully, applied to practice for years to come. A rich and most impressive work. It is a splendid exposition of a comprehensive biblical theology of mission, and will have to be taken seriously by every student of the subject. -- Andrew F. Walls * University of Edinburgh * Wright has truly laid a cornerstone in the edifice of mission, one on which a biblical theology of mission would be wise to build. -- Michael J. Glodo * Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, June 2009 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Nottingham
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
1064 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84474-152-6 (9781844741526)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Book
10/2025
2nd Edition
Apollos
€62.50
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Person
Christopher Wright is International Ministries Director of the Langham Partnership International. Previously he taught at Union Biblical Seminary in India, and acted as Academic Dean and then Principal of All Nations Christian College, UK. He travels widely, is married to Liz (also from Northern Ireland), and they live in London.
His 30+ years of friendship with John Stott he describes as 'a delightful privilege for which I am immensely grateful to God'. He worked with several of the organizations that Stott founded, and was invited by him in 2001 to take over the leadership of the LPI (known in the US as John Stott Ministries).
His 30+ years of friendship with John Stott he describes as 'a delightful privilege for which I am immensely grateful to God'. He worked with several of the organizations that Stott founded, and was invited by him in 2001 to take over the leadership of the LPI (known in the US as John Stott Ministries).
Content
Part 1. The Bible and Mission
1 Searching for a Missional Hermeneutic
2 Shaping a Missional Hermeneutic
Part 2. The God of Mission
3 The Living God Makes Himself Known in Israel
4 The Living God Makes Himself Known in Jesus Christ
5 The Living God Confronts Idolatry
Part 3. The People of Mission
6 God's Elect People: Chosen for Blessing
7 God's Particular People: Chosen for All
8 God's Model of Redemption: The Exodus
9 God's Model of Restoration: The Jubilee
10 The Span of God's Missional Covenant
11 The Life of God's Missional People
Part 4. The Arena of Mission
12 Mission and God's Earth
13 Mission and God's Image
14 God and the Nations in Old Testament Vision
15 God and the Nations in New Testament Mission
1 Searching for a Missional Hermeneutic
2 Shaping a Missional Hermeneutic
Part 2. The God of Mission
3 The Living God Makes Himself Known in Israel
4 The Living God Makes Himself Known in Jesus Christ
5 The Living God Confronts Idolatry
Part 3. The People of Mission
6 God's Elect People: Chosen for Blessing
7 God's Particular People: Chosen for All
8 God's Model of Redemption: The Exodus
9 God's Model of Restoration: The Jubilee
10 The Span of God's Missional Covenant
11 The Life of God's Missional People
Part 4. The Arena of Mission
12 Mission and God's Earth
13 Mission and God's Image
14 God and the Nations in Old Testament Vision
15 God and the Nations in New Testament Mission