Reclaiming the Nations
The season of Epiphany is the season of revealing. It is celebrated after the birth of Jesus when we reflect on how God showed the world who he was in Christ. It is also a time when we unravel the fullness of God’s plan of salvation for humanity. We read the gospels as Jesus embarks on his earthly ministry, expanding the kingdom of God. He preaches, heals, and battles against evil spirits or demons. All this is the beginning of God’s plan to reclaim the nations for himself.
To understand the full narrative of the gospel, we must go back to Moses’ last will and testament to the Israelites before they entered the promised land, the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 32, we find the “Song of Moses.” This poem retells the story of Israel. In verses 8-9, Moses tells us the precise reason why God chose Israel.
At the Tower of Babel, the world had one language and one religion. The religion was a pagan apostasy against God. We know this because the Tower of Babel was a temple for pagan worship, not the skyscraper depicted in Medieval art. Moses tells us that the reason for the confusion of language was not because God wanted multiculturalism. It was to disperse the nations and give them over the sons of God, the demonic powers they worshiped. At this point, God disinherited all the nations except Israel. Moses says in Deuteronomy 32:9 that God kept Jacob as his allotment. God would use the nation he kept for Himself as the means to bring all people back to Himself.
We see this taking place when we get to Jesus’ birth and ministry. Through Christ, God dismantled the power given to the fallen sons of God by preaching the good news of the gospel. Jesus not only preaches to the Jews. He also goes into Gentile areas like the land of the Gerasenes, where he encounters a man possessed by a legion of evil spirits. His work to spread the kingdom of God and break the powers of darkness that had overtaken humanity was just the beginning of God’s plan.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he commands his disciples to continue this work. In Acts 1:8, he tells them they are to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. What began in Galilee was to go into every nation. Christ had defeated the powers that would have prevented this through his work on the cross and the power of the resurrection. Even now, Christ sits enthroned in heaven, making his enemies his footstool. He has done the hard work necessary to clear the way for the church to continue his mission to reclaim the nations and bring them back to God.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the church has been gifted with all that is necessary to complete this task. Our mission is to continue Christ's work in the world and reclaim the nations one heart at a time. It is not up to us individually to do all the work. It is up to the church collectively throughout the generations until Christ returns to win the world back incrementally. The powers of darkness have been defeated, but that does not mean they have gone away. They continue to battle the church through evil men and women. We must not be deterred or dismayed. God has given us all that we need to work for the kingdom. We must be willing to be used by God for this task if we do what God has called us to as his church.
