The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative, 2nd ed.

by Christopher J. H. Wright

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2025

Overview

Tackle Key Questions from the Past Two Decades in this Fully Updated Edition

Engage with the latest scholarship on the biblical theology of mission and missional hermeneutics with Christopher J. H. Wright’s classic text—now fully revised and updated!

Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that there is a missional basis for the Bible itself. The entire Bible is generated by and is all about God’s mission. In order to understand the Scriptures, we need a missional hermeneutic, an interpretive perspective in sync with the beating heart of its great mission.

Wright gives us a new hermeneutical perspective on Scripture through an understanding of:

Who God is

What he has called his people to be and do

How the nations fit into God’s mission

In this revised edition of The Mission of God, Wright extends his classic discussion to consider the ways that the conversation on missional hermeneutics has developed since its original publication. With fully updated citations and additional chapters focused on gospel-centered holistic mission and on the issue of election and supersessionism, this new edition addresses the questions, criticisms, and insights that have emerged during the intervening two decades.

God’s mission is to reclaim the world, and God’s people have a designated role to play. Whether you’re a pastor, scholar, or student, The Mission of God will benefit your understanding of how the Bible shapes the story and purpose of God’s people.

Key Features

• Provides a basis for mission.
• Gives us a new hermeneutical perspective on Scripture.
• Addresses the questions, criticisms, and insights that have emerged.

Contents

• Preface to the Second Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• Introduction

  Part One: The Bible and Mission

• 1. Searching for a Missional Hermeneutic
• 2. Shaping a Missional Hermeneutic

Part Two: The God of Mission

• 3. The Living God Makes Himself Known in Israel
• 4. The Living God Makes Himself Known in Jesus Christ
• 5. The Living God Confronts Idolatry

Part Three: The People of Mission

• 6. God's Elect People: Chosen for Blessing
• 7. God's Particular People: Chosen for All
• 8. Election and Supersessionism
• 9. God's Model of Redemption: The Exodus
• 10. God's Model of Restoration: The Jubilee
• 11. The Missional Span of God's Covenant
• 12. The Missional Life of God's People
• 13. Gospel-Centered Integral Mission

Part Four: The Arena of Mission

• 14. Mission and God's Earth
• 15. Mission and God's Image
• 16. God and the Nations in Old Testament Vision
• 17. God and the Nations in New Testament Mission
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Name Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index

Praise for The Mission of God

Christopher Wright simply is one of our best scholars and writers today. His work on mission and missional readings of the Bible is peerless and vitally important. The Mission of God is a tour de force, and it is a delight to see it going into an updated second edition. This book deserves the widest possible reception and the closest study. It will enhance the mission of the church at this critical time.

—Craig Bartholomew, director of the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology

With this second edition, one of the best works of biblical theology is even better thanks to new chapters on the future of Israel and evangelism. Christopher Wright holds before us a vision of a God with a holistic mission who creates a church that is to join in this all-encompassing mission. Excited for the new edition to reach a new generation of students who will deeply resonate with this biblical vision.

—Andrew T. Abernethy, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and author of Savoring Scripture

Product Details

• Title: The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative, Second Edition
• Author: Christopher J. H. Wright
• Edition: SECOND EDITION
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2025
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 608
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Missions › Theory; God (Christianity) › Will; Mission of the church
• ISBNs: 9781514000045, 9781514000052, 1514000040, 1514000059
• Resource ID: LLS:TMSNGDBLGDNRTV
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-07-30T21:39:19Z

About Christopher J. H. Wright

Christopher J. H. Wright (PhD, Cambridge) is international ministries director of the Langham Partnership, providing literature, scholarships, and preaching training for pastors in Majority World churches and seminaries. He has written many books including commentaries on Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel, The Mission of God, Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, and Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. An ordained priest in the Church of England, Chris spent five years teaching the Old Testament at Union Biblical Seminary in India, and thirteen years as academic dean and then principal of All Nations Christian College, an international training center for cross-cultural mission in England. He was chair of the Lausanne Theology Working Group from 2005-2011 and the chief architect of The Cape Town Commitment from the Third Lausanne Congress, 2010.