Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:5, 9-11, 22-23; 3:2-4, 9-11; John 15:1, 5
God’s economy is Christ with the church. As we consider God’s economy as revealed in the book of Ephesians, we need to pray that the Lord will give us an open heaven with a clear sky. If we would know God’s economy, not only must we have the knowledge of the book of Ephesians; we must also touch the reality contained in this book. We are not for mere knowledge — we are for reality. The reality in the book of Ephesians is God’s economy concerning Christ with the church.
In relation to God’s purpose, the word economy is unfamiliar to many Christians. The Greek word for economy, oikonomia, is used three times in Ephesians. In 1:10 Paul speaks of a dispensation, or economy, of the fullness of the times, in which all things will be headed up in Christ. In 3:2 he speaks of the stewardship of the grace of God, and in 3:9, of the dispensation of the mystery. The English word economy is an anglicized form of oikonomia, which means administration, stewardship, arrangement, or dispensation. In particular, in this sense economy denotes dispensing. God’s economy is to dispense Himself into His chosen people. Apart from Himself, God has nothing to dispense into His chosen ones. Hence, His economy is to dispense Himself into us. This is altogether related to Christ with the church.
Besides the term economy, a number of other important terms are used by Paul in Ephesians. Three times in chapter one Paul mentions God’s will: the good pleasure of His will (v. 5), the mystery of His will (v. 9), and the counsel of His will (v. 11). God has an economy because He has a will. In eternity God planned a will. This will was hidden in Him. Hence, it was a mystery. In His wisdom and prudence He has made this hidden mystery known to us through His revelation in Christ, that is, through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
Another important term is “good pleasure” (1:5, 9). God has a will in which is His good pleasure. This good pleasure refers to the delight of God’s heart. The book of Ephesians speaks from the standpoint of the good pleasure of God’s heart. According to 1:9 and 10, God’s good pleasure is what He has purposed in Himself for an administration. In human terms, God’s good pleasure is that which makes Him happy. There is something within God’s heart that pleases Him and makes Him happy. This is God’s good pleasure. Do not think that the term “good pleasure” is insignificant. On the contrary, it is a very important term in Ephesians.
In Ephesians the word purpose is used three times, twice as a noun and once as a verb. In 1:11 Paul says that we have been predestinated according to the purpose of the One who operates all things according to the counsel of His will. In 3:11 Paul speaks of the purpose of the ages. The purpose of the ages is the purpose of eternity, the eternal purpose, the eternal plan of God made in eternity past. In 1:9 the word purpose is used as a verb: “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” God has a purpose. Here the word purpose is the equivalent of the English word plan. God has a plan which He made in eternity. God has a plan because He has a will, a good pleasure, and an economy. According to His economy, He made a plan, a purpose.
In 1:11 Paul uses the word counsel, saying that God operates all things according to the counsel of His will. When God created man, a conference was held within the Godhead. For this reason, Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image.” God took counsel with Himself. This counsel is related to His will.
Still another crucial word in Ephesians is mystery. As we have seen, 1:9 mentions the mystery of God’s will. In 3:3 Paul says, “That by revelation the mystery was made known to me.” God’s hidden purpose is the mystery, and the unveiling of this mystery is revelation. In 3:4 Paul goes on to speak of the “mystery of Christ.” The mystery of God in Colossians 2:2 is Christ, whereas the mystery of Christ here is the church. God is a mystery, and Christ, as the embodiment of God to express Him, is the mystery of God. Christ is also a mystery, and the church, as the Body of Christ to express Him, is the mystery of Christ.
In 3:9 Paul speaks of bringing to light the “dispensation of the mystery.” God’s mystery is His hidden purpose. His purpose is to dispense Himself into His chosen people. Hence, there is a dispensation of the mystery of God. This mystery was hidden in God from the ages (that is, from eternity) and through all past ages, but now it has been brought to light to the New Testament believers. God’s intention is to make known the dispensation, the economy, of His mystery.
Ephesians 5:32 and 6:19 also use the term mystery. In 5:32 Paul says, “This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.” The fact that Christ and the church are one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), as typified by the husband and wife who are one flesh, is the great mystery. In 6:19 Paul speaks of making known in boldness the “mystery of the gospel.” This mystery is Christ and the church for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose.
It is important that we remember these crucial terms: will, good pleasure, purpose, counsel, economy, and mystery. On the one hand, these terms are deep and profound, and it would take years to understand them adequately. On the other hand, there is a simple secret to grasping their significance. This secret is Christ with the church. God’s will is to have Christ with the church. Likewise, God’s good pleasure and God’s purpose are to have Christ with the church. We have already pointed out that Christ with the church is God’s economy. Furthermore, God counseled with Himself to have Christ with the church. God’s mystery is also related to Christ with the church. Therefore, Christ with the church is the secret to understanding these crucial terms. What is God’s will? It is Christ with the church. What is God’s good pleasure? Christ with the church is His good pleasure, the delight of His heart. Furthermore, God’s purpose in eternity and for eternity is Christ with the church. Likewise, God’s counsel, economy, and mystery are all related to Christ with the church.
Since God’s economy is Christ with the church, we need to consider how He carries out this economy and fulfills it. Oh, may the Lord blow away all the clouds and give us a clear sky concerning this! Regarding the accomplishment of God’s economy, the sky over all the saints in all the local churches needs to be crystal clear.
The first step in the working out of God’s economy was God’s selection. Ephesians 1:4 says, “According as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before Him, in love.” In eternity past, before the foundation of the world, God selected us. His choosing is His selection. From among innumerable people, He selected us. This He did in Christ. Christ was the sphere in which we were selected by God. Outside of Christ we are not God’s choice. This took place in eternity past. God chose us according to His infinite foresight before He created us.
Have you ever been impressed with the fact that God chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world? Whenever I think of God choosing me in eternity past, I am filled with worship and praise to Him. I do not need to be chosen by man, for I have been chosen by the Triune God.
Christians often say to the Lord, “O Lord, we did not first love You. You were the One who first loved us.” However, concerning God’s selection, we need to say. “Lord, we didn’t choose You — You chose us.” We all need to thank the Lord for His eternal selection, the selection made in eternity past for eternity future. We have been selected not to occupy a position of prominence in the world, but to be in the church. God’s selection was for the church.
The second step God took in working out His economy was predestination. Ephesians 1:5 says, “Having predestinated us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” The Greek word rendered predestinated can also be translated “marked out beforehand.” Marking out beforehand is the process, while predestination is the purpose to determine a destiny beforehand. God firstly selected us and then marked us out beforehand, that is, before the foundation of the world, unto a certain destiny. This destiny is sonship. We were predestinated to be sons of God even before we were created. Hence, as God’s creatures we need to be regenerated by Him that we may participate in His life to be His sons. Sonship implies not only the life, but also the position of the son. God’s marked-out ones have the life to be His sons and the position to inherit God Himself.
We all need to have the realization that we have been marked out by God for the accomplishment of His economy. Because God has put His mark on us, we cannot run away from Him. We were marked out by God before we were born, even before the foundation of the world. Since we have been pre-marked, we have no choice except to give ourselves to the Lord for His recovery and even to be beside ourselves for the church life.
Other human beings cannot see God’s mark on us, but all the beings in the spiritual world can see it. The angels, the demons, and Satan himself know that we have been marked out by God.
This mark is not merely outward, but something very inward. Because of this inward mark, we have no peace unless we give ourselves to the church life. We are a selected and marked-out people. This was accomplished by God in eternity past.
In 1:7 Paul speaks of redemption through the blood of Christ. We were chosen and predestinated. But after creation we became fallen. Hence, we need redemption, which God has accomplished for us in Christ through His blood. Redemption is the third step God took in carrying out His economy.
Redemption is not only for our personal and individual salvation; it is for the church. In fact, God did not redeem us individually; He redeemed us corporately. This means that He redeemed His chosen church. Therefore, selection, predestination, and redemption are all for the church.
The fourth step, closely related to redemption, is God’s salvation. When Paul speaks of salvation in 2:5 and 8, he speaks of a corporate salvation. We have been saved not as individuals, but as a corporate entity. Consider the type of the children of Israel in the Old Testament. They were not saved from the tyranny of the Egyptians one by one. On the contrary, the entire nation of Israel was saved at the same time. Yes, each of the children of Israel had an individual experience of this salvation, but they were saved corporately, all at the same time. This indicates that God’s salvation is not for individuals, but for the church.
In chapter five Paul deals with sanctification, another step in the carrying out of God’s economy concerning Christ with the church. Although we have been redeemed, we are still in the process of sanctification. This process involves a change both of our position and of our disposition. As this change takes place, we are transformed.
Still another step in the carrying out of God’s economy is growth. We need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things until we arrive at a full-grown man (4:15, 13). I can testify that many who have been with us for some years have truly grown in the Lord. I praise Him that the saints are growing. This growth is for the accomplishment of God’s economy.
Along with the growth, we have the building up. In 2:22 Paul says that we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit. In 4:12 he speaks of the building up of the Body of Christ, and in 4:16 he indicates that, according to the operation in the measure of each part, the Body grows and builds itself up in love.
We have been selected, predestinated, redeemed, and saved. Now we are being sanctified and are gradually growing in Christ. As we grow, we are being built up as the Body of Christ. These are the steps God takes in carrying out His economy.
God’s economy is revealed not only in Ephesians, but also in chapter fifteen of John. This chapter is the unique chapter in the Gospels revealing God’s economy. John 15:1 says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman,” and in verse 5 the Lord says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” This true vine, which is the Son, with its branches, which are the believers in the Son, is the organism of the Triune God in God’s economy to grow with His riches and to express His divine life. The Father as the husbandman is the source, the author, the planner, the planter, the life, the substance, the soil, the water, the air, the sunshine, and everything to the vine. The Son as the vine is the center of God’s economy and the embodiment of all the riches of the Father. The Father, by cultivating the Son, works Himself with all His riches into the vine. Eventually, the vine expresses the Father through its branches in a corporate way. This is the Father’s economy in the universe.
God’s economy is the vine with the branches, Christ with the church. God’s intention is to care for this vine and the branches until we grow to maturity. Regarding His economy, may God bless us and grant us a clear vision.
