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Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:9-10; 3:9-11; 1 Pet. 1:20; Heb. 1:2; Col. 1:18; 2:2; 3:11
Before the foundation of the world, that is, in eternity past, God had a plan, which He purposed in Himself according to His good pleasure (Eph. 1:9). In eternity past, before time began and before the creation of the universe, God’s eternal plan was according to the good pleasure of His will. Based on this plan, He created all things in the universe, but He did not reveal His plan to man or to any creature. His plan was a mystery hidden in Himself (3:9). Although the universe came into being according to His plan, and all things were created because of God’s will (Rev. 4:11), the intention of God’s plan for the universe and for His creation of all things was a mystery hidden in God until it was revealed to man in the New Testament age (Eph. 3:3-5).
Ephesians 1:9 speaks of God’s eternal plan being purposed in Himself, and 3:11 speaks of God’s eternal purpose being made in Christ Jesus our Lord. This shows that what God determined and planned in Himself, He determined in Christ. God’s plan was determined in eternity in Himself and in Christ Jesus our Lord. God’s plan is inseparable from Himself and Christ.
Christ was in eternity, before the foundation of the world; He did not come into being when He became flesh at Bethlehem. Before the universe or mankind came into existence, Christ was. When God determined His plan in eternity, Christ was. When God determined a plan in Himself according to His good pleasure, He appointed the Son to be His anointed One, His Christ. First Peter 1:20 says, “Who [Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world.” Hebrews 1:2 says, “Whom [the Son of God] He [God] appointed Heir of all things.” Although Christ was “manifested in the last of times” (1 Pet. 1:20), He was before the foundation of the world, and although He will become Heir of all things in the future, His appointment to be the Heir of all things was before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the world, before there was heaven or earth or time, God the Father, because of His love for the Son (John 3:35), appointed the Son to be the Christ who would accomplish His plan and become Heir of all things. The Son of God was appointed to be the Christ of God, and God’s plan was determined in Christ.
God’s plan is in Christ; Christ is the sphere of God’s plan. All God’s plan is in Christ as the sphere; all that God predestinated, intended, and arranged in eternity is carried out in Christ. Apart from Christ, there is no plan of God; outside of Christ, God’s will cannot be accomplished. Since God loves the Son, He delights in all that He is in the Son so that the Son might have the first place in all things and be exalted and glorified (Col. 1:15-18).
God’s plan is in Christ, and it is for Christ. Everything that God has planned is for the purpose of expressing Christ and is for Christ to inherit; Christ is the center and the purpose of God’s plan. Because Christ is God’s beloved Son, because God loves His Son, all His heart’s desire in His plan is for His Son. Because the Father loves the Son and delights in the Son being glorified — expressed — and inheriting all things, God’s plan in eternity is for the Son and for the Son to be His Christ.
The Bible shows that God in His eternal plan determined that the glory of Christ would be expressed through all things and mankind and that Christ would be the center of all things, the Head of all things, and the Heir of all things (Rom. 11:36; Eph. 1:10, 22; Col. 1:16-18; Heb. 1:2). This is the center and purpose of everything that God planned before the foundation of the world. God, according to His foreknowledge, knew that in order to accomplish such a purpose, there would be a need for creation and redemption. Thus, God determined in His plan according to His foreknowledge that there would be both creation and redemption. The purpose of His creation and redemption is to express Christ so that He might be glorified in the universe and have the first place in all things (Col. 1:18).
The universe and all things are a mystery to man. Why is there a universe? Why were all things created? What is the meaning of human life? To man, these are unknowable mysteries. Throughout the generations men have spent countless hours probing and researching these mysteries, hoping to solve them, but everyone has failed because they do not know God’s eternal plan or God’s purpose in Christ. Even the patriarchs and the prophets in the Old Testament did not know the answer to these mysteries. If we could ask Abraham, Moses, David, or Isaiah, they would not be able to unravel these mysteries. Even if we read all thirty-nine books of the Old Testament thoroughly, we still would not be able to find the answers, because God did not make known His eternal plan and purpose concerning Christ until the New Testament. God’s plan and purpose were hidden in Himself until He, through the Holy Spirit, lifted the heavenly veil and revealed the mystery hidden in Himself to His holy apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:5). Only then was Christ, as the mystery hidden in God throughout the ages, revealed and made known (v. 9). Christ is the purpose of God’s plan. Creation and redemption are for Christ. Christ is the center of the universe and the purpose of all things. Mankind lives for Christ, and the meaning of human life is Christ. Christ is the answer to the mystery of the universe and human life.
God created all things for Christ, and God created mankind for Christ. The whole universe in God’s plan is for Christ. God planned, purposed, intended, and arranged everything in eternity so that mankind and all things would express Christ and that the things in the heavens and the things on the earth would be headed up in Christ (1:10) so that Christ would fill the universe and be fully expressed in glory and so that Christ might have the first place in all things. This is the purpose of God’s eternal plan. Only those who know Christ can know the purpose of the universe and the meaning of human life.
If we could go into eternity past to see the plan that was in God before the foundation of the world, we would see that every thought, idea, point, and aspect in God’s plan are for Christ. The heavens He planned are for Christ, and the earth He designed is for Christ. He created all things to express Christ, and He created mankind to express Christ. The existence of everything according to His determination is for the purpose of expressing Christ. He wants the heavens to be filled with Christ and the earth to be filled with Christ. He wants everything and everyone to be filled with Christ. Although this is not the case on earth today, God will head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth (v. 10). At the fullness of the times, according to God’s arrangement and plan, all things will be filled with Christ and express Christ. This has not yet been fully accomplished, but a miniature of this coming accomplishment exists today.
Even though all things do not express Christ today, the expression of Christ through Christians is in line with God’s eternal plan. Today a group of Christians expresses Christ; in the future all things will express Christ. Today Christ is expressed in part through Christians; in the future Christ will be expressed through all things. One day God will cause the universe and all things to be filled with Christ and to express Christ. Until that day Christians are the firstfruits in the universe, taking the lead to be filled with Christ and to express Christ. This is based on God’s plan and according to God’s arrangement.
God’s plan exists not only for Christ but also through Christ. God did not make a plan for Christ and then send an archangel to carry it out. His plan for Christ was determined in Christ in order to be fulfilled by Christ. Christ is the sphere of God’s plan, the center and purpose of God’s plan, and the means and fulfillment of God’s plan. Apart from Christ, no one is worthy to inherit what God has planned, and no one is worthy to fulfill God’s plan. God’s plan can be inherited only by Christ and fulfilled only through Christ. Thus, before the foundation of the world, God had a plan for His beloved Son, and He anointed His beloved Son, His Christ, with a commission to fulfill His plan. Apart from the beloved Son, no one is worthy to undertake the commission to fulfill God’s plan. Only the beloved Son as the Christ of God is worthy to fulfill His plan. Only Christ is worthy to inherit the glory of fulfilling His plan.
God’s plan is not only in Christ, for Christ, and through Christ; it is even Christ Himself. Every part of God’s plan is Christ. Christ is the sphere of God’s plan, the purpose of God’s plan, the means of God’s plan, and God’s plan itself. God’s plan is Christ. In Colossians 2:2 the apostle Paul speaks of “the mystery of God, Christ.” The mystery of God in this verse refers to God’s plan. It is the mystery of God because it was hidden in God (Rom. 16:25). When the apostle speaks of the mystery of God being Christ, he means that God’s plan is Christ. Christ is God’s plan. Christ is the center of God’s plan and the circumference of God’s plan. He is the meaning of God’s plan and the content of God’s plan. All God’s plan is Christ, because God delights that Christ would have the first place in all things (Col. 1:18).
