God's Plan Unfolded

Introduction

There are three kinds of planners—those who plan with great details, those who plan with flexibility, and those who plan not to plan. God plans, and his planning is perfect. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4 that God planned before the beginning of time for us to be holy and blameless. Before the sun, moon, and stars were placed into space, before the first budding of spring or the first snowfall of winter, before light ever displaced darkness, God made plans for us.

This plan includes spiritual blessings or favor in God’s kingdom. Such blessings are found in Christ. In Ephesians 1:9–10, Paul says that God’s desire was to reveal his plan when the time was right. And what was this great plan? That all things in heaven and on earth would be under the headship of Jesus. God’s plan was always about Jesus, and Jesus’ job was to bring us all under his headship. This one body would be composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:15–16). No longer would there be distinction made because of nationality, culture, or race, but all who come to Jesus through the cross would be part of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19).

In Ephesians 3:1–6, Paul states that it is his privilege to reveal this great plan to all. It is through the gospel that the Gentiles together with Jews are able to be heirs of God’s blessings. Both Jew and Gentile share together in the promise of Jesus—the promise of eternal life, forgiveness, and all spiritual blessings. Paul’s opportunity was to present this great plan to the Gentiles so that they could come and be partakers in the household of God. It is in Ephesians 3:10 that Paul now calls this household the church. Over the next four weeks, Dwight and I will be talking about the church—her purpose, how one comes into God’s household, what will happen to the church, and God’s desire for the church. In many ways this will be a review. But each generation needs to hear God’s intent afresh, and it is our desire for us to hear God’s word again when we talk about the church.

Purpose of the Church

We often equate the word “church” with a building or a meeting place, but this isn’t the meaning of the word as Paul uses it in Ephesians 3:10. The church is something created by God. It is composed of those who belong to God’s household. The church are those who are experiencing the spiritual blessings in Christ. The church is the result of reconciliation. Those who have come to God through the cross become the church. Paul says that God is using the church to reveal his wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Notice that Paul does not say here that the church reveals God’s wisdom to others, but rather that the church reveals God’s wisdom to heavenly beings.

Who are these rulers and authorities? We don’t know for sure. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul says that the forces of evil, including rulers and authorities, exist in the heavenly realms. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul says that our spiritual blessings are in the heavenly realms. It appears that the point Paul is wanting his readers to understand is that the church—those who by faith have come to the cross to be at peace with God—play an important role in the heavenly realms. The heavenly realms include, according to Ephesians 6:12, evil beings and according to Ephesians 1:3, good.

In other words, God uses the church to demonstrate his wisdom. The word “manifold” is found only here in the New Testament. It is used in other writings to describe the rich variety of colors in cloth, flowers, or paintings. It means “multifaceted” or, as translated in the Goodspeed translation, “many-sided.” What’s Paul’s point? Only God could bring together different thoughts, races, and cultures. Only God could separate the masses through confusing the languages in Genesis 11 and then reconcile them in his Son, Jesus. Only God could expand his family to include all those who expressed faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. God’s wisdom is amazing. What is even more amazing is that the church—God’s children—is being used to demonstrate this wisdom to good and evil forces who are wondering about God’s planning.

The wisdom of God includes not only the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles but the means by which that reconciliation took place as well as the length of time in which God’s plan unfolded. Reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles took place through the death of Jesus. Before the beginning of time, God planned for Jesus to come to earth and die on a cross. God’s wisdom is seen in unfolding his plan in his own time. While the rulers and authorities of darkness believed that Jesus’ death was an end to God’s plan, the church is the validation that God’s wisdom is far beyond all others. When Jesus died, the forces of evil believed the plan of God was thwarted. But God was using death to bring victory. Out of despair came joy. Out of the resurrection came reconciliation.

So What?

Paul is writing to a group who is struggling to know who they are in Christ. They are struggling to understand their identity as God’s children. Paul spends the first three chapters giving the theological skeleton to what it means to be the church. The final three chapters give muscle and flesh to the first three chapters. To this congregation who struggled with the Jew and Gentile relationship, Paul wants to put an end once and for all to disharmony. The point is clear: God has brought you together in Christ. Do all you can to maintain the unity which God has already given you. The church demonstrates God’s wise plan to spiritual forces. We have a purpose for existing which goes beyond attending assemblies and developing ministries.

Look around. Do you notice that we are multicultural? Do you notice that we have multiple races? Do you notice that the differences of language and culture have not prevented us from coming together as a representation of God’s wisdom? Our unity is a demonstration of God’s wisdom to spiritual forces. We often express thanks for our unity and pray that it can be maintained. We aren’t perfect, but when God brings together a diverse group such as this, it more fully reveals his plan. Our identity is found in our differences. For it is in our differences that God’s wise planning is expressed.

Second, being the church means that we can approach God with freedom and confidence. The word “freedom” is the idea of freedom of speech or boldness. The word “confidence” comes from the word persuade and carries the idea of being fully persuaded. In other words, because our faith is in Jesus, because we are in Jesus, because we are the household of God, then we approach God expressing ourselves fully persuaded, speaking what is on our heart. Confidence and boldness are ours because we belong to God. There is no fear. There is no hesitancy. We are part of God’s plan. We are demonstrating his wisdom to spiritual forces. If you doubt where you stand with God, then you aren’t listening to him. Any doubt that you have about your relationship with God says something about you rather than about God.

He is the perfect planner. His planning is full of wisdom. Before time began, he planned for those who through faith in the death of Jesus would be his church. His church demonstrates his wisdom. The spiritual forces watch us to see the wisdom of God. Don’t doubt the significance of being God’s family. Don’t shrink back from God. God is using you to reveal his plan. Just as no one would have thought that Jesus could be our Savior in his death, so some believe that imperfect people cannot reveal God’s wisdom and planning. God uses imperfection to reveal his wisdom. You play a significant role in revealing God’s wisdom to spiritual forces both good and evil. And with our imperfection, we approach God with confidence and freedom. Have you placed your faith in Jesus? Do you belong to God’s church?

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