If a missionary does not fully comprehend the concept of the mission of God, he can be said to live a second or third dimension of a missiological life. Thus, he always worries about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear, and the mission of God cannot be fulfilled when he is tempted with these worries. The Will of God which constantly processes from the Genesis until present day surpasses the third dimension, meaning that it exceeds a line formed by connecting a dot and dot, the surface formed by these lines, and the space formed through those surfaces. In the midst of this, the Will of God should be comprehended under the universal concept that surpasses the time and space. The writer names this as the Holistic Missio Dei, or something that goes over, for “finite human mind cannot fully comprehend infinite and eternal God.” When the Will of God comprehended under the universal notion is applied to His creatures, the true mission of God can be accomplished. Through this, we can find out every element relating to mission, such as the principal agent, purpose, direction, strategy, and more. The first chapter of Genesis, which belongs to the introduction of the Old Testament, clearly demonstrates that God is the agent of mission. In the Holy Bible, New Korean Revised Version, the subject of every sentence is God. For 32 times, God is expressed in subjective or possessive. Considering that the first chapter of Genesis consists of 31 verses, every verse includes the word ‘God,’ and here, the word ‘God’ indicates Elohim. In this point of view, the Bible and church history clearly demonstrate us that God created the world and that in the midst of this, the Church was developed. The writer acknowledges that “Today’s Salvation,” which was discussed together with conservative mission perspective in the late 20th Century, should be established as the theme of mission. The conservative mission perspective always was ‘God ⟶ Church ⟶ World.’ Yet, as this proceeded to the modern mission perspectives, it was changed to ‘God ⟶ World ⟶ Church.’ In the conservative mission perspective, modern church was always a community of people with callings and an agent of dispatch. Nonetheless, in the mission of God, the agent of dispatch is God the Trinity, and Church is a community that gathers and scatters as Charles Van Engen asserts. The writer perceives that, by going one step further from the conservative mission perspective and by interpreting the mission in a declaration and participation perspective of the Gospel, the true mission can be erecting the church in the world—where Gospel is declared and God exists— and changing the world through Church. The chart based on the comparison of aforementioned mission of God and biblical foundation of the Old Testament with conservative mission perspective illustrates how missionaries should carry out the ministry work in 21st century mission field.Moreover, God’s work of salvation can not be restrained by a continent, cultural characteristic, or group. Thus, the incarnation of Christ or the declaration of Gospel should be accomplished in a place where includes all nations and races, from one person to the whole ethical group and the world. There, people who confess Jesus as Christ the Lord should have a relationship and love in the name of the Lord by establishing a community of faith such as ל 󰕗󰙌(Kahal) or ekv klhsia, and should live for the glory of God by rejoicing in the grace of Salvation. To understand the mission of God, the comprehension of the Gospel is required. The mission which Jesus Christ, who is the Gospel Himself, claims is the mission of God. Jesus Christ had a clear recognition of both the concept of God and the mission of God. Hence, that same God and the mission of God which Jesus comprehended should be appreciated. Jesus Christ perceived God as Elohim. Especially, based on Deuteronomy 6:4, He said, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD”. From the beginning, Jesus Christ incarnated to accomplish the mission of God manifested in Elohim. Philippians 2:6-11 illustrates God the Father who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped and incarnated. Jews did not understand Christ who descended to the world with the heart of God the Father. They did not apprehend the heart of Elohim, but rather said, ‘Luke 23:21.’ Christ prayed at the cross, ‘Matthew 27:46.’ Jesus Christ did not pray to God Yahweh but to God the Father Elohim. With the heart of God and through the Will of God the Father, the mission of Christ can be comprehended. The ministry of accomplishing the Will of God the Father, who earnestly desired the salvation of the world even before the Old and New Testaments were determined as Scriptures, is indeed the mission of God.

• 김종성(주안대학원대학교, 선교학) | Abraham J. S. Kim