I trust you are very well Saints…. Anyone mind if I call you that?
When you see that term in the Scriptures, do you know what the literal translation should be?
Holy ones!
That’s right! Imagine that… we believers are referred to as Holy ones! Thanks be to our Lord Jesus who was made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Another question. How many know that God is eternal?
Without beginning, without end. Holding eternity past in one hand, and eternity future in the other.
How many know He is Omniscient? Big word… meaning all knowing. He knows it all, everything. He, in fact, declares the end from the beginning, and that He can’t be surprised.
One more question. What was man created for, why did this eternal and omniscient create and us?
Many have learned in the Westminster Confession that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is good. but let’s look at the creation of man in Genesis.
[Genesis 1:26-28 NASB95] 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Two things are immediately gleaned here from man’s creation in Genesis 1. Man was to be the image bearer of God on the earth. A physical manifestation of Him, if you will. And, He was to have dominion over all else, as he filled the earth.
It seems God’s purpose for man was, perhaps, a bit beyond a simple understanding of bringing Him glory and enjoying Him.
When did the fall take place? Genesis 3.
So, in the beginning man was created without need of a Savior or Redemption. Does that seem right?
Now, have you ever heard or contemplated the term God’s Eternal Purpose?
It is referenced only once in scripture:
[Ephesians 3:11 NASB95] 11 [This was] in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This makes it clear His eternal purpose was always wrapped up in Jesus.
God is eternal. He has no beginning and He has no end. He was not created. He is the I AM. And, being eternal and uncreated, He has an eternal purpose. Although Ephesians 3:11 is the place we see the specific term, many passages speak of His eternal nature and a time before creation and the foundation of the world.
Here are few referencing “before the foundation of the world”
Jesus speaking in prayer of the Fathers love for Him said:
[John 17:24 NASB95] 24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Paul writing of God’s blessing of us in Christ said:
[Ephesians 1:4 NASB95] 4 just as He (God) chose us in Him (Jesus)before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
Peter writing of Jesus said
[1Peter 1:20 NASB95] 20 For He (Jesus) was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you
These, without any other references, indicate God’s eternal nature, Jesus eternal being in/with Him, and God’s eternal purpose in Jesus with regard to us.
It is easy for us, particularly in Western culture, to think the gospel is about us and our individual comfort, our redemption, our salvation. It is also easy for us to get distracted by all kinds of “theological”, “doctrinal” issues, and “the how to’s of doing church”, government, leadership, gifts – signs and wonders, missions, evangelism, the poor etc. etc. These may all have their place in the church and our experience or mission, but they are not the reason we exist as the Body of Christ. We tend to focus on how we differ, and/or what we must do, rather than focusing on Him and His desire or purpose.
And, we think Jesus came only to save and redeem us, and that salvation is the end of that. But God’s eternal purpose for us existed before we had need of salvation and redemption, and Jesus’ intent in coming was wrapped up in the Father’s purpose, not simply us and our individual redemption alone.
The point is, if we miss the centrality of Jesus to, and in God’s, eternal purpose, by not living in and for Him, proclaiming Him as LORD, and testifying regarding Him, and staying focused on Him, we can miss co-laboring in the eternal purpose of God. That purpose, from eternity past and into eternity future, has been focused on Jesus. Giving ourselves to any other pursuit outside of Him is futility. God is summing up/reconciling all things in Christ Jesus. For that is, and has been, His purpose. And, as the Body of Christ,… those that are in Him…, we have a central place in what God is doing in Christ now.
As you read this scripture, please note the apostle’s focus on God’s purpose for us in Jesus here, and the use of the phrase “to the praise of His glory twice in these few lines.
[Ephesians 1:5-12 NASB95] 5 He (God) predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His (God’s) will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He (God) freely bestowed on us in the Beloved(Jesus). 7 In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His (God’s) grace 8 which He (God) lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He (God) made known to us the mystery of His (God’s) will, according to His(God’s) kind intention which He (God) purposed in Him (Jesus) 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, [that is,] the summing up of all things in Christ (Jesus), things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him (Jesus) 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His (God’s) purpose who works all things after the counsel of His (God’s) will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ (Jesus) would be to the praise of His glory.
As we consider this, we clearly see God’s intention toward us in the Beloved Son/Jesus was to have sons in, and through, Jesus. And His intention/purpose was, and is, wrapped up in the Son in Whom He would sum up, or bring all things, into unity/one. And, all to the praise of His glory.
God’s eternal purpose was not merely to be your personal Savior. Yes! He is your personal Savior! How glorious is that? But, God’s design and purpose in Christ Jesus was far more sown into the Father’s desire and purpose. And, establishing a corporate compliment of Himself in the earth to the praise of His glory. Jesus came to deliver to the Father His (God’s) inheritance in the saints/holy ones. An inheritance comes only after the death of someone. We receive adoption as sons in righteousness and eternal life, by Jesus’ death and resurrection. But, the Father received His inheritance of sons/daughters/holy ones.
Then Paul prays
[Ephesians 1:17-21 NASB95] 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 [I pray that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His (God’s) calling, what are the riches of the glory of His (God’s) inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His (God’s) power toward us who believe. [These are] in accordance with the working of the strength of His (God’s) might 20 which He (God) brought about in Christ (Jesus), when He (God) raised Him (Jesus) from the dead and seated Him (Jesus) at His (God’s) right hand in the heavenly [places,] 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
The work of Jesus in the will of the Father, and eternal purpose, is seen here reaching from before the foundation of the world to beyond the present age into that which is yet to come.
(much could be said about the final adversary being death and His victory of it to deliver eternal life…but another time)
Jesus also prayed regarding His Father’s purpose regarding eternal life, and being in a place of His glory, before the foundation of the world.
[John 17:1-5 NASB95] 1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
Jesus glorified His Father giving glory by living, and dying, to the praise of His glory. In going to the right hand of His Father, he would leave a corporate man, a complement of Himself, on the earth to live, and to die if needed, and express His Lordship and dominion over even death by giving eternal life, to the praise of His glory. Then Jeus prayed for them:
[John 17:9-11, 18-24 NASB95] 9 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 “I am no longer in the world; and [yet] they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, [the name] which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We [are.] …
18 “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, [are] in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Yes, Jesus raised up and trained disciples, fed the hungry, healed the sick, did signs and wonders, drew men to Himself. But, it seems His steadfast desire was really focused on drawing men into a fellowship and unity with the Father Jesus had known and shared from eternity past, that revealed the fullness of His grace and love and exhibited His glory.
Years ago, in the early 80’s, I heard Ralph Martin speak on the Body of Christ from Ephesians 1. His message was one of those life changing moments, where my paradigm got a major adjustment from the Holy Spirit, as I listened to him share and then followed up in following weeks personally searching the scriptures.
With that paradigm adjustment, I began to understand God’s purpose in sending Jesus had an eternal perspective, and went far beyond my focus on the personal salvation and redemption of men. Yes, the gospel of salvation and its accompanying redemption were a part of His plan! But, His purpose was much deeper than simply being my personal savior. Salvation is simply the entry point, the portal to His purpose and comprehending His Kingdom.
Jesus conversation with Nicodemus became much more and very enlightening
[John 3:3-16 NASB95] 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see (comprehend) the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.‘ 8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Without great exposition here, Jesus simply speaks of eternal and heavenly things to Nicodemus. Things not seen or understood in the natural, but requiring being born again, born from above, born of the Spirit. Things Jesus knew of and had seen before the foundation of the world, things of, and from, where He came from. Eternal things leading to eternal life. Jesus would reveal and manifest such, and then call His disciples to them.
Paul had also received a revelation, a download if you will, regarding God’s purpose in Christ, and His design to reveal and manifest it in Jesus, through His body, the church, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23). He spoke of a mystery, or the mystery, he had been given understanding of, and that was being revealed in the ekklesia/church
[Ephesians 3:8-12 NASB95] 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly [places.] 11 [This was] in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
May our hearts be captured, like Paul’s, that we may be consumed with revealing the mystery of His eternal purpose in Jesus.
I wrote many years ago, as my paradigm shifted, of the the nature and purpose of the church/ ekklesia:
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus and His ascension and exaltation, and the subsequent sending of The Helper (The Holy Spirit), resulted in the exaltation of the Church as well. Now, I don’t mean exaltation in the sense that we, the local church, are to be worshipped. I just mean that when Jesus was here He could be in one place at one time. The Church consisted of a few followers and disciples without complete understanding of their commission, authority, and without the power He said would come with the Holy Spirit (as witnessed in Acts 2). When He ascended that changed. He left a compliment of Himself (a corporate expression of Himself), His Body, the Church that would manifest His presence, love, and power in many places and go “into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). And this manifestation of Himself was intended to do “even greater works…because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). The nature of the Church changed, and the Holy Spirit was given as a Helper to empower and lead us under His Headship/Lordship (as a community of His servants – loving and serving one another and thosein the world around us.)
In the death burial, resurrection, ascension of Christ, and the subsequent sending of the Holy Spirit to the Church, The Father was bringing about His eternal purpose in Christ to manifest His Son in us. As the first fruits of the restoration of all creation, He would exhibit His love, power, and kingdom in, and through, us. His rule and authority, His love, as well as His power, are to be seen in us as those redeemed from the fall.
Ephesians 1:22 & 23 Paul says “And He (God) put all things in subjection under His (Jesus) feet and gave Him (Jesus) as head over all things to the church (His rule and reign, Kingdom, is to be seen first in us) which is His body (a physical vessel for his presence), the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
We are to be the practical manifestation of Christ on the face of the planet. Again, this does not make us a deity to be worshiped! It does, however, make us, under His Headship, His body (the arms – hands – feet – the fullness of Him). The body, a practical manifestation of the Living Christ. We are the vehicle and the instrument through which God will reveal the Son and impact the world and accomplish His purpose!
We must understand that the outcome and fate of the world does not rest in the actions of mad-men Ayatollahs, the economy, governments/politics or any other such thing or institution. The outcome and fate of the world rest in the eternal purpose of God! And we, His Church, are at the center or that purpose! Militant Muslims, and wars, and economic and political factors, are a part of the consequences of the times, but the prime determining factor on the face of the planet is Jesus and the complement of Himself He left in, and is raising up in, the Ekklesia/Church!
God is summing up all things in Jesus as that has been His purpose from eternity past, and we are the manifestation of that in our times to each other, the world around us, and principalities and powers above us.
Most of us live our lives asking ourselves, and the Lord, about our purpose and consumed with the activity of our daily lives. It would appear that is what everyday life is all about. But it is not about us! It is about Him!
[Ephesians 1:9-12 NASB95] 9 He (God) made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Jesus) 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, [that is,] the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him (Jesus) 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His (God’s) purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory..
As believers we are first fruits, and bear the first fruits of the Spirit, manifesting His purpose.
[James 1:18 NASB95] 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
[Romans 8:19-23 NASB95] 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for [our] adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
As first fruits we have moved out of subjection to futility to be subjected to His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. Delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son He loves. (Colossians 1:13)
Our everyday lives are lived in the process of His purpose. That process is to produce His purpose in Jesus, which will have a culmination.
[1Corinthians 15:28 NASB] 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
The purpose in me/us today, and every day, is that Jesus, the Son, has intimate fellowship (Koinonia) with the Father, and that God be All in all. The Father and the Son enjoyed intimate fellowship from eternity past. Jesus laid that down for our redemption. The Father’s ultimate purpose has always been to have fellowship with the Son in His image and likeness. That purpose goes far beyond my personal redemption and salvation, although that is a part of it. It goes far beyond just establishing His reign and Kingdom on the earth, although, again, that is an important part of His plan.
I have shared for years that God has always desired a people with whom He could dwell and be comfortable with. The end of both covenants has been having a right relationship and obedience. In the old covenant, we worked at gaining a right relationship (righteousness) through obedience. In the new covenant we have been given a right relationship (righteousness) in Jesus that we might learn obedience. In each case, God has been looking for a people that are in a right relationship and with whom He can be comfortable and, who will be given to obedience to His word for the accomplishment of His purpose. Another word for a right relationship is simply FELLOWSHIP.
[1John 1:1-3 NASB] 1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– (John speaking of Jesus)2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us– 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
I pray this lengthy piece may inspire you to some thought and investigation regarding eternal purpose and the importance of the church, His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all, in our times today. The world is in need of the witness of His Body, as a community of servant saints functioning in love and practical service under His Lordship.
You may now ask, as I did many years ago, why have I not seen this perspective, or why has it not been shared more frequently, or why isn’t the church given to exhibiting this eternal purpose? Next opportunity, I will, perhaps as He leads, touch on those questions as I look at believers’ choices of places to dwell: You can live in Egypt, the Wilderness, the Promised Land, ….or in captivity in Babylon.