The Scriptures make it plain that Jesus Christ exercises a sovereignty over and above that which pertains to Him as the second person of the godhead. As was pointed out in the previous article, Jesus was highly exalted as a consequence of His obedience unto death (Phil. 2:8–9).

The fact of Christ’s mediatorial sovereignty rests not only on this statement in Philippians but also on many other passages of Scripture. It is prophetically announced in Daniel 7:14. With reference to the “son of man,” future sovereignty is ascribed to Him: “To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.”

Our Lord’s mediatorial sovereignty is celebrated in Revelation, where He is depicted as a warrior king riding a white horse and “on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16).

Global Mission Anticipated

When God established the covenant with Abraham, He majestically revealed, as an aspect of the covenant, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Later, the angel of the Lord confirmed this: “All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (Gen. 18:18). The gospel had been revealed to Abraham (Gal. 3:8), and he and his descendants were to make it known to the Gentiles: “Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” (Ps. 96:2–3). “Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” (Ps. 96:10).

Israel, for the most part, failed to fulfill her commission as is illustrated in Jonah’s reluctance to go and preach in Nineveh. Apart from the Ninevites, there was only a trickle of converts; for example, Rahab the Canaanite and Ruth the Moabitess. Throughout that period of redemptive history, Satan maintained his grip on the nations.

Global Mission Initiated

Shortly after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the climax of His mission, some Greeks asked “to see Jesus” (John 12:21). About this request Sinclair Ferguson comments, “It signaled to Him [Jesus] that the long-promised time when the gospel would break out into the gentile world had arrived.”

Jesus responded to the request from the Greeks by saying, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth [a reference to His crucifixion], will draw all people [all kinds of people from the Jewish and Gentile world] to myself” (John 12:31–32).

On verse 31, John Calvin makes the comment: “If anyone asks how Satan was cast out by Christ’s death, since he does not cease to go on making war, I reply that this casting out is not to be limited to any short time, but is a description of the remarkable effect of Christ’s death which appears daily.”

Jesus on one occasion described His mission in imaginative language, “Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Matt. 12:29).

Jesus, by His victory over Satan on the cross (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14), bound the strong man (the devil) and throughout His mediatorial reign continues to exercise dominion over him. That is why He is able to plunder his house and carry off the spoil; the spoil being all those given to Him by the Father (John 17:6), people from every nation under heaven.

Global Mission Commissioned

When Jesus spoke to His disciples prior to His ascension, He had already been enthroned as mediatorial king. That is why He could say to them: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” What He went on to say has profound significance for global mission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).

The disciples, and subsequently the Christian church in every generation, have been commissioned by King Jesus to evangelize the nations. In the name of Christ, they are to “plunder the strong man’s house” by preaching the Word. In the name of Christ, they are to make known the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners from every nation.

Opposition will be encountered by false religious systems, such as Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Roman Catholicism. The high priests of these religions may ask, What right have you to preach the message of Christ to our people? In reply, the Christian will say, Every right, for I have been authorized by the king of the universe.

Global Mission Empowered

The mandate of the risen, exalted Lord to evangelize the nations is unmistakable. But what about the power to fulfill it? Jesus took care of that. In Luke’s account of the Great Commission, he included Jesus’s words about the source of power: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Empowered by the Spirit at Pentecost, Peter preached with passion and authority to dramatic effect. Subsequently, we read of the disciples, emboldened by Christ’s mandate and empowered by the Spirit, proclaiming the good news about Jesus. With thousands coming to faith, it is evident how effective they were in “plundering the strong man’s house and carrying off the spoil.” This was true not only of Jews but also of Gentiles, as the report of Paul’s first missionary journey reveals: “When they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).

Although Satan is a defeated foe and has received a mortal wound, he still fights back. That is manifest in the hostility of the world to biblical Christianity. Satan’s malevolence is witnessed by missionaries generally, but especially as they seek to advance the gospel in nations historically dominated by false religious systems. In Afghanistan, converts to Christianity are currently fleeing for their lives because the new regime (the Taliban) has vowed to execute all Christians.

Under such persecution, Christians are comforted by the assurance that Christ continues to exercise dominion over the entire world. In the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Christ executeth the office of a king…in ruling and defending us and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies” (Q. 25). Under severe trial, believers know that His presence will be with them (Matt. 28:20) and that whatever happens to His people personally, nothing and no one can prevent the spread of the gospel and the upbuilding of the Christian church. “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed” (Isa. 54:17). “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not pre-vail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

Global Mission Realized

The vision for global mission is clearly rooted in the Old Testament. The servant of the Lord is de-scribed as “a light for the nations.” And for what purpose? “That my salvation may reach the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). Will the mission of God be effective? Will it accomplish the goal of bring-ing into the church everyone for whom Christ died? Yes, that is the assurance given by Jesus in John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” And also in John 18:9: “Of those whom you gave me I lost not one.”

In the light of the global nature of Christ’s mission, it comes as no surprise to read that those who make up the company of the redeemed in heaven will be “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7:9).

This is anticipated throughout the Old Testament. David in Psalm 22, after prophetically depicting the Lord’s suffering, also prophetically describes the success of His mission in verse 27. “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” Note that the success of Christ’s redemptive mission is directly linked in Psalm 22 to Christ’s mediatorial reign. Why do the ends of the earth “remember and turn to the Lord”? Why do “all the families of the nations…worship before you”? Answer: “For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations” (Ps. 22:28).

The mediatorial kingship of Christ ought to inspire the members of the church to be involved in and provide support for global mission in the 21st Century. The opposition faced by the church and her servants on the mission field may be immense, but the assurance of 1 John 4:4 is of monumental significance: “For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

With respect to global mission, Christ’s mediatorial reign changes everything. The climax of Christ’s mediatorial reign will be signaled by the redeemed in heaven as they sing: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”