In the western world, the church has a lot of meanings in the society. People seem to have found the meaning of the church about the communities they come from. John Wesley viewed the church not differently but the way the first Christian did. From the Wesleyan ecclesiology, a Christian hopes to find answers on what is the church what does it stand for and why the church. Today we also have the aspect of mission dei. People have given it a new meaning as just sending Christians overseas to pre-Christian communities. John Wesley had his aspect of the church and the mission of God or mission dei.
For the Wesleyan ecclesiology Christians was to have people live out the grace of God. The theological aspect here entails that as Christians we should live out of grace just as the first Christians lived out the grace. Wesley was fond of asking, “Show me where Christians Live” according to him the whole point of Methodism was to help people live the grace of God (Page, Johnson, In Leclerc, & Barker, pg 94 2014). Living the grace of God is considered as the biblical Christianity. The Bible itself affirms this kind of life. Christians need to experience Gods love, and the church can provide that to its members. The practical aspect here entails Christians showing love to one another.
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Wesleyan ecclesiology receives biblical and theological affirmations in that the church as an epitome of grace was to fulfill God’s mission to the world and embody Jesus Christ (Page, Johnson, In Leclerc, & Barker, pg 110, 2014). The Bible affirms that the church is the body of Christ in books such as Acts, Philippians and Colossians. The Wesleyan Ecclesiology also identifies Jesus Christ as the source and the head of the church. With that reasoning, the church is supposed to live as the body of Christ in whatever forms it takes. Practically live as Christ lived.
Today the church has evolved to taking different forms in the society. Traditions, human invention, history, and culture have led to the engineering of various forms of the church. The history of the Christian church clearly shows how the different churches exist and what differentiates them from other churches. Nonetheless, the one thing that still stands is the biblical aspect of the church. The Wesleyan ecclesiology still holds in most churches. The church has the sole purpose as to show God’s grace. The theological aspect is that, as Christians in the church, our sole purpose is to show others the grace of God and embody the body of Jesus Christ. In whatever form it takes the church has to live as the body of Christ. The New Testament affirms the notion where the church is the light of the world just as Christ is.
Alternatively, Wesleyan ecclesiology also emphasizes on spirituality. Theologically, the word of God and the spirit are resources of the church. In Christian missions, these resources used to fight the Christian war and spread God’s grace. Other resources such as education, skills, money and cultural forms are only secondary resources that the church can use. The Christian movement and wars that Christian fight is not from this world. The weapons Christian use are therefore from the kingdom of God. They have divine power that can demolish any strongholds that are not Godly. The resources are essential for church planting. Unlike other resources, the word and the spirit are resources available to all without discrimination. Even the poor have access to these resources as the Christian church welcomes everyone. Practically through prayer and preaching from the Bible the church is using its resources for its growth.
Christ began the work of the kingdom of God. He then left the work for Christians to continue. He preached God’s love and urged his disciples to spread the gospel. Hence the work of mission dei today. The mission dei or mission of God is a mission whose sole purpose is to spread God’s grace and to embody the Jesus Christ. The community of Christ reflects the holy trinity. The church is the community of outreaching mission, sharing love, mutual self-giving worshipping God and seeking to draw others to God.
The Christian missions are therefore not a church’s mission but the mission of God. (Maddix, & Akkerman, pg, 63 2013) In achieving the mission of God, Wesley puts into consideration the image of God. In the image of God, he explains of the will of God, freedom, and understanding. The humans are lost to God, and we are in bondage of sin. But God’s grace gives us the freedom that we may receive salvation and seek God in our endeavors. God also has a political image which gives humans the role of being stewards of creation which give us dominion over creation as an illustration of God’s love. The image of God gives Christians an insight of what the mission of God is all about.
The missions of God, begins with good news, that we are created in the image of God. Sin might have destined our image, but the grace of God restores us (Maddix, & Akkerman, pg 77, 2013). In Gods mission, therefore, Christians ought to spread the good news about God’s Grace. Wesley takes into consideration the grace of God in every aspect of Christianity, and so is the mission of God. He talks about God’s love and God’s grace. He focuses not on the problem of sin but the will of God on humanity. Wesley emphasizes on Gods intention on man as a result if God’s grace. The mission of God Therefore is not for the select few but all of the humanity. Even after the fall, God wants to redeem mankind so that they should be filled with love. Evidently, The Wesleyan ecclesiology focuses on God’s grace, God’s love and the mission of Good as a mission to spread the good news of God’s grace and love in Christian communities.
References
In Maddix, M. A., & In Akkerman, J. R. (2013). Missional Discipleship: Partners in God's redemptive mission .
Page, S., Johnson, N., In Leclerc, D., & Barker, J. T. (2014). Essential church: A Wesleyan ecclesiology .
