Edward Irving was invited by the London Missionary Society, in 1824, to preach one of their anniversary sermons. Normally, this would be an occasion where the minister was expected to present to donors the worthiness and needs of the Missionary Society. Irving saw it as a divine call to investigate the Bible teaching about the Missionary office.
What opened to his mind, and was afterwards presented in the sermon, was a faithful account of the Missionary office, as Jesus instituted it. It was so radically different from the way Missionary work was practiced that the sermon caused great dismay, and quite a bit of indignation.
Irving presented the Missionary as a person without any earthly attachments; unbound from the world, as a living representative of the reality of spiritual connection and sustenance, so that the teachings of the Missionary, and his personal example, were in complete harmony, and both designed to break the spell of the world and worldly attachments from the mind of the hearers, and lift them to fasten their faith on heavenly things instead.
And this is just the way Jesus sent out the apostles, without “scrip, or bread, or money.” (Mark 6:8) And therefore, it is the God-approved Biblical way. In this unique volume, Irving explores the reasons why it must be so, in order to fulfill the purpose of God, and have His blessing and the full cooperation and manifestation of the Divine powers. 132p
