Another Meaning of Oikonomia
As we discussed in Chapter 1, oikonomia
(economy) also means “mission or dispensation (of spreading or preaching the
gospel)” (1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 3:2; Colossians 1:25). Paul in 1
Corinthians 9:17-18 states: “If I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but
if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my
reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge,
not making full use of my right in the gospel.” Paul in Colossians 1:25 speaks
of his apostleship (of spreading the good news to the Gentiles) and regards it
as “the divine office” that was given to him. The word apostle means ‘the one
who is sent’ and every time Paul mentions his apostleship, he reminds of his
duty/mission of spreading the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul uses the word, oikonomia
(economy), in defining his mission or commission of spreading the gospel to the
Gentiles, believing that his mission of spreading the good news is to bring
people to God for them to be saved.
Evangelism
Evangelism is an act of spreading the gospel
– good news – to others. The gospel in Greek is εὐαγγέλιον (euanggelion), the
compound word of εὐ (good) and αγγέλιον (news). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines
it as 1. a reward for good tidings; and 2. good tidings (2 Samuel 18:20 &
22). The word εὐαγγέλιον (euanggelion) occurs 76 times in the New Testament.
The verb form of εὐαγγέλιον
(euanggelion) is εὐαγγελίζω (euanggelizó), which means ‘announce good news’, ‘bring good news,’
‘preach good tidings.’ The word εὐαγγελίζω (euanggelizó) occurs 61
times in the New Testament, many times in Luke’s books – the Gospel of Luke and
Acts.
What is the gospel about? The
gospel – good news – is about the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s salvation plan
through Jesus Christ. In New Testament times, Jesus was the first person who
spread the gospel by teaching/preaching about the Kingdom of God during his
public ministry and even after his resurrection.
The Economy of Evangelism in the Gospels
Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark begins
his book with this statement: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the
son of God.” (Mark 1:1) The core of the four Gospels is the gospel of Jesus
Christ, that is, Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God. Matthew 4:23
states: “And he (=Jesus) went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every
infirmity among the people.” As we can see here, the gospel (good news) is
about the kingdom of God. Jesus began his preaching of the gospel even before
he called his disciples.
Matthew 9:35 states: “And
Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every
infirmity.” This is the scene of about the middle of Jesus’ three-plus-year
public ministry. He consistently preached the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus
mentioned more laborers of the gospel would be needed here: “37bThe
harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38pray therefore the
Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38) When
Jesus called his disciples, he wanted to make them to be fishermen of people
(cf. Luke 4:10)
Jesus in Matthew 11:4-6
describes his ministry of preaching the gospel, when John the Baptist sent his
disciples to him: “4Go back and report to John what you hear and
see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is
proclaimed to the poor. 6Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on
account of me.”
Jesus enters a synagogue at
Nazareth on the Sabbath day and reads the book of Isaiah, which prophesied
about the good news: “18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed, 19to proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61:1-2)
Jesus in Matthew 24:14 still
talks about the gospel: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached
throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end
will come.” (also, Mark 13:10) Jesus foretold that the gospel would continue to
be preached/spread throughout the whole world, knowing that his death was near.
According to Jesus, the end (eschaton) will come after the gospel is preached
throughout the whole world. Paul states this in Romans 11:25: “I want you to
understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel,
until the full number of the Gentiles come in” So, the gospel continued to be
preached by Jesus’ disciples in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and be expanded
to the end of the earth. Peter in Acts 15:7 states: “Brethren, you know that in
the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should
hear the word of the gospel and believe. …”
Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20
commands his disciples: “19Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” Mark’s version in
16:15-18 is: “15Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the
whole creation. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
he who does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will
accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will
speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up serpents, and if they
drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the
sick, and they will recover.” Again, Jesus in Acts 1:8 commands his disciples:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end
of the earth.” This command in Acts 1:8 may be a different Luke’s version of
the one in Matthew 28:19-20.
The Economy of Evangelism in Acts and Paul’s Letters
The apostles in the early church does not
cease preaching the gospel. Acts 5:42 states: “And every day in the temple and
at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” There
was a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). So,
Christians were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria,
except the apostles. Why did God let his church be persecuted? The persecution
of the church was probably the will of God so that the gospel could be heard
not only in Jerusalem but also in Judea and Samaria (refer to Acts 1:8)
There was more persecution
against the church in Jerusalem (Acts 12). James, brother of John and one of
the three primary apostles, was beheaded by Herod the king, and Peter was
imprisoned. He later was delivered from prison by the angel of God. The
continued persecution of the church in Jerusalem made Christians scattered all
over the world. However, this was not only the bad news to the church of God,
but it became an opportunity for the church to spread the good news to the end
of this earth. When Paul wrote a letter to the people in Rome, those readers of
Paul’s letter were already Christians although the Bible does not describe how
they became Christians. They probably heard the gospel by unknown Christian
teachers/preachers.
Paul in Acts 20:24 shows his
firm resolution to preach the gospel at the cost of his life: “But I do not
account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may
accomplish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to
testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Paul in Romans 1:1 describes that
he was called to be an apostle for the gospel of God, the gospel concerning his
Son, Jesus Christ. Paul in Romans 1:16 proclaims that the gospel is the power
of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.
Paul in Romans 10:16 praises
preaching of the gospel by citing Isaiah 52:7, “And how can men preach unless
they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who
preach good news!’” Paul in Romans 16:25 calls the message he proclaims about
Jesus Christ ‘my gospel’, which was hidden for long ages past but now is
revealed and made known.
Paul had founded several
churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia. The church at Corinth was one of
those churches Paul had founded. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:15 explains how his
relationship with people at the church in Corinth was established: “Even if you
had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in
Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” The economy of
evangelism is an expansion of the economy of God or God’s household. Through
evangelism more people come to God and enter the household of God – the Kingdom
of God.
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