The theme of global evangelism spans the entire Bible, being present in the Old Testament as well as the New. Even from the beginnings of the Bible, it is clear that God has a plan for the entire world—all the nations of the Gentiles being included.
The blessing that God gave to Abraham included this phrase: “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). This is restated by Paul in Galatians 3:8, where he refers to this blessing as the gospel being preached to Abraham! From this concept in kernel form in the Old Testament we see that God planned and was working to graciously bless all nations, at least from the time of Abraham. It is certainly important to biblical theology that the initial blessing of Abraham laid the foundation for God blessing the Gentiles.
Another major statement of this plan comes in Numbers 14 after the people rebelled when the spies gave their report. Moses pleaded for the people, asking God to forgive (in line with His character), which He did. God then made this statement: “indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num. 14:21). The point was, God would display His great character and mighty name in all the earth abroad, whether through that generation or another. He spared that generation from immediate destruction to preserve the fame of His own name (vv.15-16), yet His plan for the ultimate glorification of His name was not sidetracked or derailed. He would proceed as planned.
This global plan is also clearly seen in the book of Psalms, where a number of clear references demonstrate that the nations are included in the plan of God’s Messiah. Psalm 22, clearly a Christological Psalm, echoes this plan, tying the worship of all the Gentile nations to the greatness of God’s sovereign rule (Ps. 22:27-28). It can be seen elsewhere, like Psalm 117. The whole Psalm consists of two short, pithy verses, commanding the nations to laud God for His magnificent character. This Psalm is picked up Paul in Romans 15 as one of several Old Testament passages that highlight God’s plan for self-glorification among the Gentiles, specifically through the means of Christ as the Servant (cf. Rom. 15:8-9ff).
This Servant is also described variously by Isaiah, who says that God would show His glory in the Servant (Is. 49:3). The Servant is the true Israel, though not to be identified with the people as a whole, as is clear from verse 5 (“And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,/ To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him…”), since this Servant would bring back the people of Israel. Isaiah also tells us that this Servant was worthy of great honor, greater honor than any mere human king could deserve. The honor due to the Servant was the honor of God Himself, since being merely the restorer of Israel would be too small a thing, so God granted that He would be a “light of the nations/ So that [God’s] salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Is. 49:6). God’s Servant deserves God’s honor in bringing God’s salvation to all the people groups on the planet.
It is because of passages like these that Jesus told the disciples that the Old Testament spoke about His suffering, resurrection, and the subsequent preaching of the gospel to the whole world, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:44-47). For Jesus, these passages formed the foundation of describing God’s plan for the world—and they do for us today as well.
--Dean of Admissions
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