Paul’s Theology of Mission: Christocentric, Eschatological, and Universally Inclusive
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Abstract
Apostle Paul’s theology of mission is crucial in the history of Christian faith. This essay argues that his theology is grounded in the idea that the church participates in the mission of God because mission is centered in Christ, framed in the “already and “not-yet” eschatology, and universal in scope. For Paul, Christ is the center of the gospel and this defines the content of mission. His eschatological framework generates the missional urgency and his inclusion of the Gentiles reveals the universal scope of God’s redemptive purpose. Paul’s encounter with Christ reoriented his understanding of God’s love and his apostolical calling. The essay explores how his understanding of mission is theologically grounded in defining its content, urgency, and scope.
Introduction
Apostle Paul is the most influential person in the early church movement, both as a missionary and as the greatest theologian. Michael Bird rightly says that if Martin Kähler’s understanding of mission as the ‘mother of all theology’ is true, then Paul’s theology is undoubtedly shaped and grounded in his mission.[1] As David Bosch argues, “for theology, rightly understood, has no reason to exist other than critically to accompany the missio Dei,”[2] Paul’s vision in his letters clearly reveals his inseparable integration of theology and God’s mission. Further, if New Testament theology is primarily missionary theology,[3] then Paul being its major contributor is certainly a missionary theologian. In fact, Paul’s theology of mission must be read as church’s participation in God’s mission rather than as a merely human activity because as Lalsangkima Pachuau insists “the church has no reason to exist outside God’s mission in the world.”[4] These insights call for a critical examination of Paul’s theology of mission and asks: what are its key theological foundations, and how do they shape its character, urgency, and scope?
I argue that Paul’s theology of mission is grounded on three interrelated pillars: Christ is the center of the gospel (content); an “already-not-yet” eschatological framework (urgency); and the inclusion of the Gentiles (scope). Together they reveal Paul’s mission as not merely a church activity but rather participation in God’s redemptive action in history. To argue this, I adopt a biblical-theological methodology integrating key Pauline texts with contemporary scholarship. Now, let me begin with the first pillar, the Christocentric content of Paul’s mission, by exploring how his encounter with Christ defined his understanding of the gospel and his apostolic calling.
Paul’s Encounter with Christ and the Formation of His Christocentric Gospel
Paul’s encounter with Christ on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:3; 22:6; 26:13) made such a great impact in his life that he believed in that supernatural experience as fundamental to what he later contemplated and achieved as an apostle. This Christophany defined his gospel as the revelation of God’s glory in Christ, and it deeply shaped his theological agenda. Paul’s conversion experience, with its physical and spiritual aspects, gave him the framework to interpret any Christian’s experience of conversion. In addition, it provided him the ability to withstand extreme suffering. Paul’s encounter with Christ determined the very nature of his mission and became the basis for his apostolic ministry (2 Cor. 4:6).[5]
As John B. Polhill rightly observes, Paul’s encounter with the resurrected Christ gave him the conviction that the last days had already begun and God is acting fundamentally in a new way with humanity. This conviction gave him the framework for his mission to the Gentiles. Despite various tensions, he stood strong in his conviction of a new humanity in Christ and a new creation and argued that there is no barrier that can stand in the way of God’s gracious new outreach to humanity.[6] In short, Paul’s transformative encounter with the risen Christ determined the very content of his message in his apostolic calling. For Paul, Christ, the source and substance of the gospel, is the center of his mission he proclaims.
For Paul, mission is essentially announcing God’s work through Jesus Christ. Therefore, proclaiming the gospel of Christ is the center of Paul’s theology of mission. This Christological focus, driven by his encounter and calling, is fundamental to his entire theological framework. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ serve as the foundation of Paul’s missionary proclamation (1 Cor. 15:3-5). Therefore, James D. G. Dunn rightly affirms that for Paul, the gospel is the proclamation of God’s saving act in Christ.[7] This proclamation is performative and not merely doctrinal because it results in creating communities who will enter into a new reality.
In particular, Dunn observes that Paul’s instant response to human failure and sin centres on the sacrificial death of Jesus (Rom. 1:18-3:20; 3:24-25). While Adam’s disobedience has brought death into this world, the wages of sin, God resolved the issue of sin by condemning sin in the death of Christ, in the flesh. For Paul, the death of Christ is once for all and this provided him the motivation for reconciliation.[8] Dean Flemming, based on Phil. 2:6-11, similarly emphasizes that the gospel is Paul’s defining story and not merely a story. Flemming says that Paul’s story is a “V-shaped” narrative, in which “Christ travels from the heights of heavenly glory to the utter depths of death on a cross. But he is then exalted by God the Father to the highest possible status (Phil 2:6-11).”[9] Thus, Paul’s Christ-centered mission is not only about gospel proclamation but also about forming communities that reflect Christ in life and practice.
Furthermore, the message of “Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23) stands at the center of Paul’s mission. As Wright notes, through the crucifixion of Christ, God’s covenant faithfulness is revealed and sin is finally dealt with.[10] The victory of God is confirmed through the resurrection of Christ and the inauguration of the new creation. This is Paul’s doctrine of justification. According to Wright, for Paul, justification is not about how individuals get saved; rather it is about how God declares someone as a member of the covenant family. This is about who belongs to God’s family, and such an understanding of justification, as ecclesiological rather than primarily individual, shapes the missionary community.[11] Pachuau connects this belongingness with the idea of the church as “the Israel of God,” (Gal. 6:16) a “new covenanted people,” according to Paul, whose identity is rooted in God’s covenantal choice.[12] Church, therefore, exist as a people called and sent in God’s mission.
Moreover, by entering into God’s family, believers not only receive salvation but also become participants in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:1-11). This is Paul’s theology of participation in Christ, implying the missionary dimension of the gospel, whereby participants proclaim Christ and also embody his life. For instance, Paul’s letter to the Philippians emphasizes that the church is called to share Christ’s story, conforming to his humility through self-emptying, in order to exemplify God’s mission in the world.[13] Highlighting this thought, David Bosch insists that for Paul, the church is both witness and embodiment of the gospel. Thus, the mission for Paul is reflecting the character of Christ and not merely a verbal proclamation.[14]
Thus, for Paul, Christ is the center of the gospel, and that defines his mission. It is the proclamation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the saving work of God through which communities are formed to embody the gospel. Therefore, mission is inseparable from Christology and is essentially cruciform in shape.[15] This gospel has to be proclaimed in urgency because for Paul Christ-centered gospel is deeply embedded within an eschatological framework. In other words, Paul’s worldview is characterised by “already-not-yet” tension by which God’s saving work through Christ can be fully understood.
Eschatological Framework Motivates Missional Urgency
First of all, Paul’s theology of mission is deeply eschatological in its outlook. The resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, the judgment of God, Parousia, new creation, and final glory are key features of his eschatology (1 Thess. 4; 1 Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5; and Rom. 8).[16] Particularly, the idea of the imminent Parousia is spread in Pauline writings (1 Thess. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52). His understanding of Parousia is shaped by his reinterpretation of the Jewish idea of the Day of the Lord and he expected that it would happen when he was alive (1 Thess. 4:17).[17] He also believed in the consummation of the world (1 Cor. 7:29-31). Perhaps such eschatological worldview motivated a missional urgency in Paul. However, on certain occasions his eschatology is also futuristic (2 Thess. 2:3-12; 2 Cor. 4:12).[18] Particularly, his words in 1 Thes 5:10, “He [Christ] died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him” indicate the possibility of his own death before Parousia.[19] Therefore, Paul’s missional urgency did not emerge from his belief in an imminent end of the world. However, one question emerges: is Paul’s combination of imminent and future-oriented views a tension and an inconsistency in his eschatology?
Some scholars consider it a tension and inconsistency in Pauline eschatology. They even say that he changed his eschatological teachings during various stages of his life.[20] Refuting this, Michael Bird rightly observes that God did not automatically install the entire theological package into Paul at his conversion. Instead, Paul’s theology developed and matured over time amidst various situations and issues he faced in his ministry.[21] Further, Paul Woodbridge clarifies that a careful exegesis of Pauline eschatological texts would dissolve apparent contradictions and reveal Pauline eschatology as coherent when interpreted in an “already-not -yet” framework. He argues that while affirming the imminence of Christ’s return, Paul simultaneously affirmed the possibility of death and the future resurrection at the Parousia.[22] Therefore, this is not a tension but a coherent framework when eschatology is rightly understood within the framework of “already” and “not yet” tension.
This is obvious when Paul sees himself and his communities as living in the overlap of the “already” of God’s kingdom inaugurated through Christ’s victory and the “not-yet” of its full consummation. He says in 2 Cor. 5:17 that the new age has already begun, and the believers are participate in the new creation. Simultaneously, he affirms in 1 Cor. 10:11 that believers are those “on whom the ends of the ages have come.” This is inaugurated eschatology, “the anticipation in the present of what is to come in the future.”[23] Moreover, New Testament mission is grounded in the already-inaugurated rule of God present in Christ and the Spirit.[24]
Paul’s eschatology, therefore, should not be interpreted of a literal apocalyptic worldview of an imminent expectation because his theology of mission is not shaped by an eschatological crisis. Instead, as David Bosch contends, Paul’s eschatology moves within the “already” and “not-yet” tension. Bosch describes it as bifocal because it is “coming from God’s past act in Christ it moves toward God’s future act.” Pointing to 1 Cor. 11:26, Bosch affirms that the present and the future may stand or fall together and both meet in the present Christian life. Such tension is an inescapable wavering between joy and pain. While we rejoice in the Lord in our sufferings believing in what Christ has done for us, we also become deeply troubled by suffering and weakness because the “not-yet” terrifies and increases our pain.[25]
This eschatological perspective provided Paul with both the missional urgency and motivation. Therefore, he declares in 2 Cor. 6:2 that “now is the day of salvation.” This implies his belief that the present moment is significant. Simultaneously, his eschatology is characterized by hope grounded in the resurrection of Christ, which serves as the “first fruits” of the new creation (1 Cor. 15:20). Further, the Holy Spirit is central in such an eschatological framework because Paul describes the Spirit as the “guarantee” of what is to come (Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 1:22).[26] According to Pachuau, this Spirit-shaped, eschatological orientation makes the church a “Spirit-led servant-herald of God’s kingdom.”[27] Church, therefore, witnesses to God’s future in the present through its life and mission. Paul’s ‘already-not-yet’ eschatology thus motivates missional urgency and broadens its scope to the whole world, naturally leading to the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s salvific work.
In sum, for Paul, the “already” and “not yet” eschatological framework provides both the motivation and urgency for his mission. Such a framework determines its scope as well. If Christ and the Spirit already inaugurated the new age, then its effects are not limited to a particular people. The inbreaking of God’s kingdom will be inherently universal. Moreover, if the new age has already begun in Christ, then scope is not limited to Israel, but extends universally. This provides the theological basis for Paul’s Gentile mission.
Universal Mission with the Inclusion of Gentiles
The unique characteristic of Paul’s theology of mission is his inclusion of the Gentiles. His apostolic claim for the Gentiles in Romans 11:13 and Galatians 2:7-9 defines the scope of his mission and discloses the universal nature of the gospel. Christopher Little rightly observes that Paul’s Gentile mission is a conscious participation in God’s original mission to bless the whole world. He argues that mission in the Old Testament is primarily centrifugal in nature because God’s purpose for electing Israel is that it serves the Gentile nations. God’s promise to bless all the nations through Abraham proves that God is God of all. The Gentile world came face to face with the God of Israel during the intertestamental period as Jews scattered throughout the world and established synagogues. Therefore, Little says that Paul understood his own calling within the framework of God’s promise to Abraham. It is indeed the key moment in which God’s purpose for the world is finally fulfilled.[28]
Further, Paul’s inclusion of the Gentiles is theologically grounded in the work of Christ. He declares in Ephesians 2:14-16 that Christ created one new humanity by breaking down the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles. This is reconciliation, both vertically (between God and man) and horizontally (between man and man). Paul’s mission included the Gentiles because he is convinced that one is justified by grace through faith alone. Based on the Scriptures and his own personal experience, he contended that Gentiles are saved without being circumcised and apart from the works of the law. Therefore, if salvation is by faith alone, then it is available for all and the gospel has to be proclaimed to the Gentiles.[29]
Some scholars, like Oscar Cullman and Johannes Munck, argue that Paul’s mission to Gentiles should be understood in an apocalyptic framework. They say that Paul considered Gentile mission a task of the end times and a necessary requirement for Christ’s second coming. Polhill observes that such a conclusion naturally comes from the servant psalms and their connection to the servant as a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). Even Jesus’ command to preach to the Gentiles in Mark’s Gospel is found within the apocalyptic framework and interpreted as an essential requirement for the Parousia.[30]
However, in my opinion, Paul’s inclusion of the Gentiles should not be limited merely to an apocalyptic framework; rather, it is best understood from a Christocentric Trinitarian framework. While Paul consistently presents mission in the triadic structure of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16, Ephesians 2:18, and Galatians 4:4-6), he affirms that one becomes a child of God if he or she belongs to Christ (Galatians 3:26, 29). He makes it clear in Romans 10:12-13 that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. In view of these Pauline texts, Christopher Wright says that Paul “preached and taught a message with universal claims: one universal God, one universal Savior, one universal climax to history for the entire creation.”[31] But how does God accept Jews and Gentiles equally? For this Paul says that justification is by faith alone in Christ Jesus.[32] Therefore, Paul’s inclusion of Gentiles is built on his conviction that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone and it is the work of God through the Spirit once for all.
Such an inclusion of Gentiles resulted in the formation of a new, multi-ethnic people of God. It breaks all barriers and encapsulates the vision of unity in diversity. Paul toiled to make known ““to all the nations, the obedience of faith” in order that “the only wise God, through Jesus Christ” would receive “glory forever” (Rom. 16:27).””[33] Christopher Little observes that Paul labored to unite Jewish and Gentile believers so that all of them together with one voice would glorify the Triune God (Rom. 15:6). Paul also desired to spread the good news of God’s grace through Christ so that more people from across the world would give thanks to God and glorify Him. This is his ultimate goal.[34]
Thus, Paul’s inclusion of the Gentiles defines the scope of His mission. It discloses the universal nature of the gospel, calling the church to embody unity in diversity. Finally, when the above three pillars are taken together, they provide a unified Paul’s theology of mission. It is obvious from the above discussion that for Paul, mission is participating in God’s redemptive work in history, both now and in the coming age. Such an understanding of mission has significant implications for the church today.
Missional Implications
Paul’s theology of mission is crucial for the contemporary church’s understanding of missio Dei. While several implications could be drawn from the above discussion, I briefly point out the three most significant drawing from the three pillars discussed above. First, Paul’s Christ-centered mission demands the church to proclaim the gospel of Christ both in word and deed. This proclamation is not an option for the church or limited to certain professionals. It is the responsibility of all people of God because the church exists to participate in God’s mission to create communities that enter the new reality in Christ. Further, church’s mission should mirror the humility of Christ because the gospel is centered on Christ’s sacrificial death. The church should recover a Christ-centered understanding of mission that Paul considered as the central feature of the gospel. Therefore, mission should not be reduced to either institutional expansion or social action.
Second, Paul’s understanding of mission in an eschatological framework challenges the church to live with urgency and hope. Therefore, mission is participating in God’s unfolding purpose and not merely a task that needs to be completed with an apocalyptic panic. This encourages the church to have perseverance and resilience while facing persecution and uncertainty. Particularly, the church operates between the resurrection of Christ and the final consummation of the world, holding the vision of God’s coming kingdom in its fullness. Finally, Paul’s Gentile inclusion implies that the church should embrace diversity and strive for peace. The world today is marked by divisions and geo-political tensions. In such a context, church should be a sign of the foretaste of God’s kingdom by being united in the mission of God to the broken and vulnerable people. Further, the inclusion of Gentiles demands cultural sensitivity and a willingness to cross boundaries. Such mission practice aligns with the idea of contextualization as seen in Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 that he becomes all things to all people. As a whole, these implications show how Paul’s theology of mission continues to challenge the church’s mission today.
Conclusion
Paul’s unique encounter with Christ shaped his understanding of theology and mission as inseparable realities. It also formed the content of the gospel and gave him the direction of his apostolic ministry. His theology of mission is both coherent and compelling. It is gospel centered, eschatologically framed, and universally inclusive. These are interconnected pillars that define the nature of Paul’s missional theology. Such theology compels the church to proclaim the gospel with Christ as its central content with urgency and without any barriers. As a whole, Paul’s theology of mission reveals that mission is ultimately belonging to Christ and the church is invited to participate in it through Christ’s redemptive work. It challenges the church today to embody the gospel of Christ and live faithfully amidst the tension of the present age. Additionally, it motivates the church for a dynamic participation in God’s redemptive purpose for all creation. In a nutshell, Paul’s theology of mission is Christocentric, eschatologically urgent, and universally inclusive.
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———. Why Mission? Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015. EBSCOhost.
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Wright, N. T. Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013.
———. What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
[1] Michael F. Bird, Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission, and His Message (Illinois: IVP Academic, 2008), 17-20.
[2] David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991), 494.
[3] Dean Flemming, Why Mission? (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), “Introduction, The New Testament as a Witness to God’s Mission,” EBSCOhost.
[4] Lalsangkima Pachuau, God at Work in the World: Theology and Mission in the Global Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022), “Chapter 4, The Living Church in God’s Mission,” EBSCOhost.
[5] Christopher R. Little, Mission in the Way of Paul: Biblical Mission for the Church in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Peter Lang, 2005), 52-55.
[6] John B. Polhill, “Paul: Theology Born of Mission,” Review & Expositor 78, no. 2 (Spring 1981): 246.
[7] James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 231-233.
[8] Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 183.
[9] Flemming, Why Mission?, “Chapter 4, Living Out the Story: Mission in Philippians.”
[10] N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013), 763.
[11] Wright critiques the traditional understanding of Paul’s theology of justification in terms of individual salvation and argues for justification as covenant membership. He does this by closely reading Paul’s letters and analyzing key terms and framing it in Paul’s eschatology. N. T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 119.
[12] Pachuau, God at Work in the World, “Chapter 4, The Living Church in God’s Mission.”
[13] Dean Flemming, Recovering the Full Mission of God: A Biblical Perspective on Being, Doing and Telling (Illinois: IVP Academic, 2013), 205.
[14] Bosch, Transforming Mission, 140-143.
[15] Michael J. Gorman, Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015), 5-6, 85.
[16] Archibald M. Hunter, The Hope of Glory: The Relevancy of Pauline Eschatology (), 131.
[17] Isaiah S. David “PAROUSIA.” BTSK Insight 16, no. 2 (2019): 250. EBSCOhost.
[18] Paul Woodbridge, “Did Paul Change His Mind?: An Examination of Some Aspects of Pauline Eschatology.” Themelios 28, no. 3 (2003): 5–6. EBSCOhost.
[19] David, “PAROUSIA,” 260.
[20] Bird, Introducing Paul, 22.
[21] Bird, Introducing Paul, 22-23.
[22] Woodbridge, “Did Paul Change His Mind?,” 17.
[23] Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 132.
[24] Bosch, Transforming Mission, 30-75.
[25] Bosch, Transforming Mission, 141-145.
[26] Bosch, Transforming Mission, 143.
[27] Pachuau, God at Work in the World, “Chapter 4, The Living Church in God’s Mission.”
[28] Christopher R. Little, Mission in the Way of Paul: Biblical Mission for the Church in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Peter Lang, 2005), 97-98.
[29] Robert L. Reymond, Paul, Missionary Theologian: A Survey of His Missionary Labours and Theology (United Kingdom: Mentor, 2000), 141.
[30] Polhill, “Paul: Theology Born of Mission,” 237.
[31] Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Illinois: IVP Academic, 2006), 248-249.
[32] Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 340.
[33] Little, Mission in the Way of Paul, 56.
[34] Little, Mission in the Way of Paul, 56.
Sukeerthy Voola 