His will, my purpose
THIS WEEK, we are going to look at unravelling the mystery of purpose – God’s purpose, my part in His purpose, and overcoming opposition to, or things that stand in the way of us achieving our purpose. For this, we are going to visit the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:9-10 NIV says, “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
From this we see that God had a purpose in Christ, but this was a mystery until the time was right. The mystery referred to here is some doctrine or fact that has been hidden or which was not fully revealed. Also, it suggests that the mystery of God was not done reluctantly, but rather that God took great pleasure in effecting this mystery.
To understand this plan, we will have to consider what occurred in Genesis between God, Adam, Eve and Satan.
In the book of Genesis, God gave Adam authority over all the earth. But Adam fell for Satan’s deceit and without realising it gave away the authority God had given to him over creation.
So Jesus came as Adam did, innocent of sin and committed himself to win the battle. Jesus as a human being won this battle in His life and death and now God has placed all things under His feet. In Jesus, God has reclaimed for mankind godly authority to rule the earth. Those who submit to God now have in Jesus His delegated authority that Adam was intended to have.
HEAD OVER EVERYTHING
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything FOR the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:22-23 NIV.
If you are in Christ, you belong to the church over which Jesus is Lord and gives you all the resources you need to succeed.
Now, what is the purpose of the Body (the church)? It is to be “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” Ephesians 1:23 NIV. In other words, the church is intended to express and perform the desires of the head. As His body, we should be filled with Him and demonstrate Him to the world. The question therefore is – are you representing the King of Kings, according to his will?
...through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
Through the church, God’s wisdom in its infinite variety is to be displayed that His glory would be seen on earth through our lives.
Some of this is hard for us to accept or even comprehend but it is found in Ephesians: Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
How we behave is critical because we represent the King on the earth – to people around us, in the heavenly realms – to angels and demons. We must, therefore:
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace...
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need ...
In other words, we must build a character that represents the King. Is your behaviour different from those people in the world? The Bible indicates that by our fruit people will know we are Christians. Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in you? If so, the Holy Spirit will reveal to you all the mystery, and is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.