The Mystery of God’s Will

Ephesians 1:9–12 (Part 2)

In Ephesians 1:9, Paul tells us how God will reveal the mystery of His will: “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him [the Messiah].” That is the key:  The revelation of the mystery of God’s will and purpose in the world takes place in Him, the Messiah. God has manifested His wisdom and plan in the life and ministry of Jesus. 

Isaiah 35:5–6 is a beautiful messianic passage in which the prophet states that God would come to us, and the result of His coming would be the renewing of creation—the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, and the dumb will sing for joy (Matthew 11:5). In other words, the coming of the Lord would be heralded by a great eruption of healing and joy. That is exactly what happened when Jesus came, and it reveals God’s plan and purpose.

In Ephesians 1:10, Paul wrote that God’s purpose in history will be fully accomplished, “that is, the summing up of all things in Christ” when it is “suitable to the fullness of the times.” History moves in cycles. There are seasons of peace and prosperity, followed by seasons of apathy and lethargy, which can foster calamity and uncertainty and produce times of rebellion and revolution. Then these changes usually bring us back to peace and prosperity, and the cycle begins all over again. 

Paul is telling us that the time will come when the seasons and cycles of history will end. At that point, God will have fulfilled His promise to tear down the old creation, utterly destroying it, while simultaneously building up the new. The marvel of God is that He eliminates the old while establishing the new. 

When we look at the decay, misery, injustice, and sin around us, we often can only see the destruction of this world. We sometimes forget that God is also constructing a new creation at the same time, on the very same spot. That is how I interpret Paul when he said, “Suitable to the fullness of the times.”

While God brought His kingdom into this world, we also participate in manifesting the mystery of God’s will. Paul told us, “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose . . . to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:11–12). Because of our rich inheritance in Jesus, we are to give all praise and glory to Him. That is our part.

As believers, not only is Jesus our inheritance, but we also are the inheritance of Jesus. Later, Paul expanded on this theme when he said, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). So, there is a double inheritance in the Christian life: We inherit Jesus and He inherits us. He is our sole source of power, strength, love, wisdom, and truth.

God, through Jesus our Messiah, has chosen us and allowed us to experience the situations we find ourselves in. It pleases Him to bring about His blessings and to weave His perfect plan out of our problems, hurts, and failings—for “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). His riches of grace are made evident in our lives, and the mystery of God’s will and purpose is revealed in us as we learn to live our lives and endure suffering in the same way our Messiah did for us.