The Mission of the Triune God with Patrick Schreiner
Today we get to hear from Patrick Schreiner on the mission of the Triune God. Patrick is associate professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of a number of books, including The Mission of the Triune God: A Theology of Acts (January 2022). We pray this conversation with Patrick moves you to join God in his mission by going and telling others about Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
What is the mission of the triune God?
Where can we look in Scripture to see what God’s mission is?
Did God’s mission change between the Old Testament and the New Testament? Or between the early church in the New Testament and now?
What is the role of each member of the Trinity in the mission of God?
What are some of the means by which God carries out his mission?
What role does the Word of God play in his mission?
How does the church (global and local) play into the mission of God?
What efforts have there been to overthrow the plan of God? How has God ensured that his mission has continued despite opposition?
When will God’s mission be completed?
How does God’s mission impact our day to day lives?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“The mission of God is to make himself known...and that we might be with him forever.”
“He has communicated with us and he wants to be known, that’s why he has revealed himself to us in the Scriptures.”
“God’s mission is to restore all of creation.”
“God’s mission is a restoration project: he’s rebuilding everything.”
“In Acts more specifically, God’s mission is to spread resurrection power and salvation in Jesus’ name to all nations.”
“The resurrection power of Jesus is here with us now, and it’s still to come.”
“God’s mission—and our mission—is to spread that new creation; to make him known.”
“There is a child coming who's going to defeat evil forever, and the whole Old Testament is set up waiting for that child.”
“We are supposed to join God in his mission of the recreating of all things. He is primarily doing that through the work of the Holy Spirit, but he’s using us as instruments.”
“In the Old Testament it’s a lot more ‘come and see,’ and in the New Testament it’s a lot more ‘go and tell.’”
“In the Old Testament God is establishing a people so that they might look like him and look like this new creation.”
“The mission to the nations does not begin in Acts… In the Old Testament you already have the nations coming in to the people of God, the people of Israel, saying ‘I want to worship your God as well.’”
“Jesus is calling us to be different than the world around us.”
“This is God’s mission and we’re joining him; it’s not the other way around.”
“In Ephesians 1 it’s the Father who predestines, it’s the Son who redeems, and it’s the Spirit who seals. They have different economies of what they do. The Father plans this, the Son accomplishes this, and the Spirit makes it actually happen in our hearts.”
“God has ultimately planned this whole thing. God’s plan from creation was to bring redemption, and that was through his Son.”
“The Spirit comes and the Spirit actually brings us the presence of Jesus so that we might spread the presence of Jesus.”
“The Father has planned this redemption project, the Son accomplished it, and now the Spirit applies it.”
“The Word becomes an agent of the Triune God, acting upon people.”
“God’s Word is so tied to who he is that it actually becomes an agent in renewal.”
“The local church corporately is joining God on this mission… We gather together to be sent out again.”
“[At church] you’re feeding from God’s presence so that you might spread his presence to others.”
“You don’t have a mission without the local church; the local church is the mission.”
“The dark supernatural forces want to bring death not life, so they will do everything they can to stop this message from going forth.”
“Wherever we are, God calls us to join him in the mission of loving God and loving our neighbor.”
“Whenever you can, spend time with God in his Word and become reacquainted with him so that when you walk around and see people you want to tell other people about him.”
“What is God doing in this world? He’s recreating all things. That’s the biggest vision you can ever have.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Visual Word: Illustrated Outlines of The New Testament Books by Patrick Schreiner
The Mission of the Triune God: A Theology of Acts by Patrick Schreiner (forthcoming Jan 2022)
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
SIMPLE JOYS
Contemplative prayer and meditating on the God’s Word
Sitting in silence
Walking our kids to school
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How does it comfort you to know that God’s mission cannot be overthrown or thwarted?
What are some specific ways you can join God in his mission—in your workplace, your home, your neighborhood, your church, or your city?
Where in Scripture do you see evidence of God’s mission? Consider memorizing one of those passages.
How might you press into and serve your local church as a way to join God in his mission?
What might you do or implement based on what you learned in this week’s episode?
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!
FOR MORE OF JOURNEYWOMEN
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook
Support the podcast by writing a review
