The Eternal Purpose

Eph. 3:11-13

This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

 

What a great statement of the sovereignty of God! Paul explained that he was made a minister through the grace of God by the working of His power. It was in no way related to Paul's zeal, education, or even his past history. He was to minister to the Gentiles preaching to them the unsearchable riches of Christ and reveal the plan of the mystery hidden for ages, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. To do this he preached the gospel and established churches even when it brought dire personal consequences to his life. Paul's ministry, the establishing of the church, the riches of Christ, Gentile salvation, the mission of the church, and even his suffering were all according to the eternal purpose of God. Paul lived in the reality of a sovereign God, and he wanted the Ephesian believers to do the same. If anyone had a cause to doubt this fact, it would be Paul. He suffered so much and in so many different ways, but his faith in a sovereign God was his constant motivation to press on for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 

For this very reason he bowed his knees before the Father...that according to the riches of His glory He would grant them to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in their inner being. Paul's concern was for them not for himself, but that they would live in the full understanding of the sovereignty of God and in the full strength that God offers to His children so that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. He wanted them to live out the fulfillment of this great mystery! He prayed for them to be rooted and grounded in love, so that they would have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they might be filled with all the fullness of God. What a prayer!  What an example of intercession!

 

Paul concluded his prayer by saying, Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Paul placed his petitions for these believers right back into the eternal purpose and sovereign plan of God. He knew that all circumstances were according to the power at work within himself and all believers. What a way to live! Not my will but yours, O Lord!

 

Father,

Teach me to live in the full scope of Your sovereign will and purpose. Show me how to see all circumstances as coming from You so that I can embrace them and rejoice in them even when they include suffering and frustration.

In Jesus name,

Amen