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We will consider God’s plan concerning the church from Ephesians 1 and 3. Verse 9 of chapter 3 says, “To enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things.” This verse says that a mystery was hidden in God, who created all things. Therefore, this mystery depends on God and is related to all things. In Greek throughout the ages can also be rendered “from eternity.” Hence, this mystery has been hidden in God from eternity. The word economy means “management,” “administration,” and “arrangement.” The mystery in verse 9 is managed by God and has been arranged by God.
Verse 10 says, “In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church.” This indicates that the economy of God’s mystery is to have a church to express His wisdom. In the Bible wisdom includes everything related to God. God has arranged for the church to be the expression of His wisdom, that is, the expression of everything related to Him.
This expression is seen and made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies. Several verses in Ephesians are related to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies. Verse 21 of chapter 1 says, “All rule and authority and power and lordship”; verse 2 of chapter 2 says, “The ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience”; and verse 12 of chapter 6 says, “Our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.” These verses reveal that the rulers and authorities are Satan and the angels under him. Therefore, the economy of God’s mystery is to express His wisdom, which is everything related to Him, through the church so that the rebellious angels may be put to shame.
The economy of God’s mystery, His arrangement, concerning the church is according to the plan that He made in Christ. Hence, 3:11 says, “According to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Purpose can also be rendered “plan.” This plan is eternal; hence, it is called the eternal purpose, or the eternal plan.
Verses 4 and 5 of chapter 1 say, “He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” These verses reveal that God chose and predestinated us to be holy unto sonship, to be His sons.
According to verses 8 through 11, He caused grace to “abound to us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him; in whom also we were designated as an inheritance, having been predestinated according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” The Greek word for economy in verse 10 is the same word used in 3:9 and means “management,” “administration,” and “arrangement.”
The above verses from chapters 1 and 3 reveal that the church was planned by God in eternity. The church is not an accident, nor did God improvise to have the church. The church was planned by God in eternity long before the foundation of the world. Most people have a natural concept concerning the church; they lack revelation. They think that the church is the gathering of a group of fallen and redeemed sinners to worship and serve God. This human concept is altogether according to time; it is not from eternity. Regardless of whether we are fallen or sinful, God in eternity past planned to have the church. Everything related to the church is out of God’s eternal plan and is the issue of His arrangement.
Careful and enlightened readers of the Bible see that God’s central purpose in creating the universe was to gain the church. Therefore, the church is the center of the universe and the goal of all things. If not for gaining the church, God would not have needed to create the universe and all things. The universe and all things were created for the church. God’s plan, His desire, is to gain the church.
At the end of the Bible God’s work will be completed. The ultimate manifestation of God’s work takes the New Jerusalem as its center, the new creation as its means, and the new heaven and new earth as its realm (Rev. 21—22). The New Jerusalem is the ultimate and fullest manifestation of the church. Therefore, God created the universe and all things in order to gain the church. This is the purpose that God planned in eternity. We will now consider several points related to God’s plan.
Ephesians 1 and 3 reveal that God has an economy in His plan concerning the church. His economy is a kind of management, administration, and arrangement. The Greek word for economy in these chapters has the same meaning as economy in economics. Before God created all things, He had a plan in Himself to manage something for Himself. This management requires an administration and an arrangement. If we read the Bible carefully, we will touch this thought of God.
Verse 2 of chapter 3 speaks of the stewardship of the grace of God. The Greek word for stewardship is the same word for economy. Hence, the stewardship of the grace of God can also be rendered as “the economy of the grace of God,” “the economics of the grace of God,” or “the administration of the grace of God.” God’s economy concerning the church involves His management of grace, that is, His economics of grace. God wants to manage His church in His grace.
We must pay attention to three points concerning the economy of God. The first point is related to the resources of the economy. An economy is managed with resources and uses all its available resources. What resources does God manage in His economy? In eternity God planned to have the church in Himself. Therefore, God in His plan manages His economy with Himself as the resources. He is the resources and the material for the producing of the church.
Verse 19 says that the church is “filled unto all the fullness of God.” Colossians 2:9-10 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you have been made full in Him.” All the fullness of the Godhead is in Christ and is gained by us in Christ. Eventually, we will be filled unto all the fullness of God. This means that God provides Himself as the resources for managing His economy to produce the church. God is using all His fullness, which is Himself, as the resources for His management of His economy and as the material for His building of the church. God wants to work Himself into the church and to express all His fullness through the church.
The second point that we must pay attention to is that management requires not only resources but also power. Since God manages His economy with Himself as the resources, the driving power of His management is His great power. Ephesians 1:19 through 21 speaks of “the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength, which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority and power.” This power is exceedingly great; it is the all-transcending power of God that raised Christ from the dead and caused Him to ascend to the heavens.
Verse 20 of chapter 3 says that God is able to do superabundantly according to the power which operates in us. This power is not only God’s creating power but also His resurrecting power. The Bible reveals that God calls the things not being as being and also gives life to the dead (Rom. 4:17). God’s creating power calls the things not being as being, and His resurrecting power gives life to the dead. Both God’s creating power and His resurrecting power are His power. However, God’s resurrecting power includes His creating power and surpasses His creating power. Whenever we speak of God’s resurrecting power, we are speaking of all His power. God is using His power as the driving power in the management of His economy to produce the church. Thus, He can express His infinite power through the church.
The third point that we need to pay attention to is that in addition to resources and power, management also involves methods. In managing and building a house, we need materials, power, and also methods. The method that God uses in His management of His economy is His wisdom. Concerning what God is to the church, Ephesians and Colossians speak of God’s fullness, God’s power, and God’s wisdom. God’s fullness is the resources for His management of His economy to produce the church. God’s power is the driving power of His management. God’s wisdom is the method of His management.
Ephesians 1:8 says that God caused His grace to the church “to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence.” Also, verse 10 of chapter 3 says, “In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church.” Concerning Christ, Colossians 2:3 says, “In whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” This means that all of God’s wisdom is hidden in Christ. All of God’s wisdom is gained by us in Christ and is expressed through us. God’s wisdom is the method by which He manages His economy. Eventually, God’s multifarious wisdom will be expressed in the universe through the church.
In God’s management He is the resources, His power is the driving power, and His wisdom is the method. Everything is out of God; there is no room for anything that is out of man. God does not need human power or wisdom in His management of His economy to produce the church. Those who have been taught by God know that in touching the church, they must reject their own power, wisdom, and everything.
In eternity God’s plan was concerning the church. Before the creation of the universe and all things, before time began, that is, in eternity without beginning, this plan was in God. Ephesians 3:9 says, “The economy...which throughout the ages has been hidden in God.” The phrase throughout the ages means “from eternity.” Hence, this economy, this plan, is an eternal plan.
God’s plan was made in eternity and also for eternity. The plan was made in eternity, and the purpose of the plan is for eternity. From God’s perspective, there is only eternity. From our perspective, there is eternity past and eternity future. So from our perspective, God made this plan in eternity past for eternity future. In other words, in eternity past God had a “blueprint” of the church. This can be compared to a blueprint for building a house. In time God is building the church according to His blueprint. When His building work is finished in eternity future, God’s building will be manifested. This building is the New Jerusalem as the ultimate and fullest manifestation of the church.
In order to accomplish His eternal plan in time concerning the church, God worked in two steps. The first step of God’s work involved creation, and the second step involved redemption. Creation calls things not being as being, but redemption gives life to the dead. According to its precise definition, redemption does not give life to the dead. However, the focus of God’s redemption is to give life to the dead. What God created through His calling things not being as being is the first creation. What God made through giving life to the dead is the new creation. The first creation was corrupted by Satan and became the evil and defiled old creation. The new creation is the issue of Christ’s redeeming death and His resurrection. The old creation is in Adam, but the new creation is in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The old creation in the fallen Adam is soulish, natural; the new creation in the resurrected Christ is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46-48).
God’s building will be completed when what is soulish and natural becomes spiritual. The so-called old heaven and old earth are part of the old creation. The new heaven and new earth are part of the new creation. The new heaven and new earth come when the entire old creation becomes new (Rev. 21:1). The New Jerusalem, the eternal building that God planned to build and to accomplish in eternity, will be the center of the new creation (v. 24).
Materials need to be prepared for God’s plan, and a building must be built. The building can take place only after the materials are prepared. God’s creation by calling things not being as being is for His preparation of the materials. God’s redemption and His giving life to the dead are for the building of these materials. Therefore, in time God is manifested first as the God of creation and then as the God of resurrection. Romans 4:17 says that Abraham believed in the God “who gives life to the dead and calls the things not being as being.” God’s calling things not being as being is His preparation of materials for His eternal plan, but His giving life to the dead is for His building of these materials to accomplish His eternal plan.
We were created by God; hence, we are the materials for God to build the church. However, when there is only the element of creation without the element of resurrection, there are only materials but no building. The materials must pass through death and resurrection in order for there to be God’s building. Therefore, our being built by God depends on our experience of death and resurrection. The extent to which we experience death and resurrection is the extent to which we are built by God. Without passing through death and resurrection, we are natural materials that cannot be built into the church. In order for us to be built into the church, we must pass through death and resurrection.
A descendant of Adam is created by God, but he is not a member of the church; he is only a piece of material. He can become a member of the church when he passes through redemption, that is, through death and resurrection. Furthermore, a person may be saved, but he may still have many natural things in him that are of Adam and that have not passed through death and resurrection. In other words, he is raw material that has not yet been built. However, the more he experiences the cross, knows resurrection, and allows God’s work of death and resurrection to gain ground in him, the more he is built into the church. This is the way for a believer to be built by God into the church.
In eternity past God had a blueprint of the church. In eternity future God will gain a building that is completed according to His blueprint. In time God first created, and then He accomplished death and resurrection; that is, He first prepared materials and then began building. When He is finished building, the holy city, New Jerusalem, will be manifested in eternity future (Rev. 21—22). Hence, God’s plan concerning the church existed in eternity past and is for eternity future.
God’s plan concerning the church comes out of God, because He planned it in Himself. This plan is not out of anything apart from God, nor was it produced by any influence apart from God. There was no creation when God made His plan. Therefore, there was nothing to suggest to God that He should have a plan. God’s plan was altogether out of His own pleasure. Furthermore, no proposals were made to God related to His plan. The design of the plan was conceived in God; it was His pleasure, His determination, and His plan. Every part of God’s plan came out of God and depends on Him. God is the source of this plan and the realm of this plan.
The church is the issue of God’s plan; it is not the issue of human intention. Hence, we should not initiate anything related to the church; we should only live in God and allow Him to fulfill His plan concerning the church. Both the establishing of the church and the building of the church should be for the upholding and fulfilling of God’s plan, not for the carrying out of man’s will through human persuasion. This is a great test and limitation to man. Human opinions, zeal, decisions, and methods must be dealt with and restricted in relation to the church. The church is God’s plan, not man’s intention. The church involves God’s desire, not human opinion. The church involves God’s operation, not human initiation. The church involves God fulfilling His plan, not man carrying out his will. For the church our thoughts must be governed by God, and our activities must be controlled by God. This requires us to have a genuine fear of God.
Ephesians 1:9 says that God’s economy concerning the church, His plan concerning the church, is “according to His good pleasure.” This means that within God there was a good pleasure. God’s good pleasure is embodied not only in His will but also in His purpose. Based upon God’s will, He made a purpose. In His will and purpose there is His good pleasure. Then God made a plan. The church is God’s plan according to the good pleasure of His will; the church is also the target of His purpose. The church is on God’s heart and gives Him the greatest pleasure. God loves the church; therefore, He planned to have the church. The church was not invented by God because He had mercy on sinners who have been saved. God planned to have the church because He loved the church. The church came out of God’s love and is the good pleasure of His heart. Long before anything was created, God had a good pleasure within Himself. Hence, He made a plan concerning the church according to this good pleasure.
Whenever we touch the church, we should take care of God’s good pleasure. The church was planned by God according to His good pleasure to satisfy His desire. Therefore, our preferences and our pleasure must be dealt with when we touch the church. If we keep our preferences and pleasure when touching the church, our heart is not pure, and we are not considerate of God’s desire. This is a serious lesson for us to learn.
Everything that God is to the church is in Christ (vv. 3-23). This great matter needs further explanation. The Lord has two particular statuses. He is the Son of God, and He is the Christ of God (Matt. 14:33; Mark 1:1; Luke 9:20). When Peter received revelation concerning the Lord, he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). The Son of God is the Lord’s status according to His person. The Christ of God is His status according to His work. According to the Lord’s person, He is the Son of God. According to the Lord’s work, He is the Christ of God. This is similar to a crown prince of a country being appointed king. The crown prince is his original status, but the kingship is the work to which he is appointed. Christ is the Son of God appointed to be the Christ of God.
The title Christ means “the Anointed.” When God needs someone to work for Him, He first anoints that person. When God needed the Old Testament priests, kings, or prophets to accomplish His will, He anointed them. Therefore, God’s appointing of His Son to be the Christ is His commissioning of His Son to be the Anointed in order to accomplish His plan concerning the church. The accomplishment of this plan is the work to which God appointed His Son in making Him the Christ, the Anointed.
When did God anoint His Son to be the Christ? Hebrews 1:2 says, “The Son, whom He [God] appointed Heir of all things, through whom also He made the universe.” God appointed His Son in eternity, before the creation of all things. In eternity God had a plan concerning the church, which was according to His good pleasure. He then appointed His Son as the Christ to accomplish His plan. Therefore, God anointed His Son in eternity (v. 9). However, the Son’s being anointed was not manifested before men until the Holy Spirit descended upon Him when He was baptized (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10).
Three categories of people were anointed in the Old Testament: priests (Exo. 29:4-9), kings (1 Sam. 9:15-16; 16:12-13), and prophets (10:1, 6). These three kinds of people had to be anointed when they entered into office. Therefore, they were the anointed ones. However, it is difficult to find a person who was a priest, a king, and a prophet at the same time. Only David, a king, also wore the ephod of the priest and was called a prophet (16:12-13; 2 Sam. 6:14; Acts 2:30). David typifies Christ because he had the three statuses of king, priest, and prophet. However, these statuses were not fully developed in him.
When Christ came, He was God’s Priest, God’s King, and God’s Prophet; He holds all three statuses (Zech. 3:8; Heb. 5:5-6; Rev. 1:5; Deut. 18:15; John 3:34; 14:24). God anointed Him to be the Priest, the King, and the Prophet so that He could accomplish God’s plan concerning the church. God wanted Christ to accomplish everything that He determined to accomplish concerning the church and for the church. Everything that God is to the church is accomplished in Christ; apart from Christ, God is doing nothing related to the church.
God appointed His Son as Christ so that His Son would not only accomplish His plan concerning the church but would also inherit this plan. In typology Abraham typifies the Father God, Isaac typifies the Son of God, and Rebekah typifies the church. Abraham sent his servant to find Rebekah, who became Isaac’s wife (Gen. 24). Abraham’s intentions were for his son Isaac. Similarly, God’s eternal arrangement, management, and plan concerning the church are for Christ. The church is the counterpart of Christ and the Body of Christ (Eph. 5:25; 1:23). God’s eternal plan is to gain the church for His Son by building the church to be Christ’s counterpart and to be the Body of Christ.
According to God’s plan, Christ not only accomplishes God’s plan concerning the church and inherits the church. God’s plan is also to make Christ everything in the church (vv. 3-23). This is the meaning of the phrase in Christ. In Christ is not only Christ accomplishing and inheriting but also Christ becoming everything. God’s plan concerning the church is for Christ to become everything to the church, for everything of the church to be Christ, and for the church to be Christ.
When we meet a brother or sister who is deep in the Lord, we sense that this person has the savor of Christ. Sitting in front of this person is like sitting in front of Christ. This, however, is but a foreshadow and a foretaste of the things to come. A day will come when all things will be Christ, and we will sense Christ in everything we encounter. This is the purpose that God’s plan concerning the church will achieve, and this is also the full significance of the phrase in Christ.
God Himself is the resources with which He manages the church, the power of God is the driving power with which He manages the church, and the wisdom of God is the method with which He manages the church. But we must ask where God is. Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” and 1 Corinthians 1:24 says, “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Hence, Christ is God, He is God’s power, and He is God’s wisdom. Therefore, Christ is the resources, the power, and the wisdom in the management of God’s plan concerning the church. God in His eternal plan appointed His Son to be the Anointed, the Christ, in order for Christ to accomplish this plan, inherit this plan, and be everything in this plan. Then everything in this plan will be Christ and will be full of Christ.
