The Eternal Purpose

Since before the foundation of the world, God has had a plan and a purpose for His Church. All history and prophecy - from Genesis through to Revelation - has been building up to a great climax - the fulfilment of His ultimate plan.

At creation

The Church was in the mind of God at the time of creation.

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world�" Ephesians 1:4 (see also Titus 1:2 and Revelation 13:8).

In Abraham

The Church was His goal in the calling of Abraham.

"Now the promises were made to Abraham and his seed. (Note in passing that the scripture says not 'seeds' but uses the singular 'seed,' meaning Christ.)...And if you belong to Christ, you are true descendants of Abraham, you are true heirs of his promise" Galatians 3:16,29 (Phillips) (see also Hebrews 6:13-20).

In Israel

The Church was His ultimate purpose in all His dealings with Israel.

"These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come" 1 Corinthians 10:11 (see also Colossians 2:16-17).

In His Son

The Church was His glorious intention in sending His Son to redeem the world.

"...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" Ephesians 5:25-27 (see also Matthew 13:44; 2 Timothy 1:9-10).

The mystery of the ages

All this planning has been leading up to the fulfilment of God's time-spanning purpose, which will reach its climax in the Church. The Apostle Paul calls this secret purpose a mystery - an incredible mystery that has been hidden in times past, but is now disclosed to the Church of God.

"For I am a minister of the Church by divine commission, a commission granted to me for your benefit, and for a special purpose: that I might fully declare God's Word...that sacred mystery which up till now has been hidden in every age and every generation, but which is now as clear as daylight to those who love God. They are those to whom God has planned to give a vision of the full wonder and splendour of his secret plans for the nations. And the secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you bringing with him the hope of all the glorious things to come" Colossians 1:25-27 (Phillips) (see also Colossians 2:2-3; Matthew 13:11; Romans 11:25; 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-5; 5:32; 6:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 10:7).

The opening of the mystery

The Apostle Paul had a special commission to proclaim a message that a new era had begun: The Church, the Body of Christ, was now open to all men - Jew and Gentile alike (see Ephesians 2:11-19; 3:6-11; Revelation 7:9-10; 10:7).

What is the eternal purpose?

God's plan is that His purpose will be totally brought out in and through His Church. His eternal purpose is that the Church will be:

Conformed to the image of Jesus

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified" Romans 8:28-30.

Revealers of His glory

"But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord. We are transfigured in ever-increasing splendour into his own image, and the transformation comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" 2 Corinthians 3:18 (Phillips) (see also John 17:22-23; Ephesians 1:22; 3:10; Jude 24).

Sharers of His throne

"To him who overcomes, l will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I over came and sat down with my Father on his throne" Revelation 3:21 (see also Galatians 4:7; Ephesians 1:18-23; 2:6-7; Colossians 2:9-10; Hebrews 2:5-13).

The Bride for His Son

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" Revelation 21:2 (see also 21:9-10; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:21-32).

This is the hope of our calling

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" Ephesians 1:18.

Hope is not 'wishful thinking', but the expectation of the fulfilment of something that will come to pass as a certainty.

Hebrews 3:1 - we are "partakers of the heavenly calling" (NKJB).
2 Timothy 1:9 - God has "saved us and called us with a holy calling..." (NKJB).
Philippians 3:14 - "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (NKJB).

The goal fulfilled in a 'city'

All human history has been working towards God's ultimate goal...a 'city' of a special kind of people. The New Testament calls this city the 'Church' - God's "called-out ones" (see Hebrews 12:22; Ephesians 5:22-32; Revelation 21:9-10).

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" Revelation 21:2 (read also verses 3-27; Hebrews 11:10.14:13:14).

[NEXT] [UP] [HOME] [WORLDSCOPE] [FEEDBACK] [POST OFFICE] [RANDOM] [SEARCH]

Copyright & copy; 1981,1996 Paul, Bunty and David Collins. All rights reserved. This study may be freely used and reproduced, wholly or in part, by the Christian Church for the non-profit purposes of study and training only, provided copyright and contact information is included.

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in these studies are from the New International Version of the Bible, & copy; New York International Bible Society, used by permission. Other versions referred to are: KJV (King James Version), NKJB (New King James Bible), TLB (The Living Bible), Amp (The Amplified Bible) and The Message. All versions used by permission.

These studies are "graceware" - distributed freely and without obligation. If you would like to help financially in the continuation of this ministry, you can send your gift to:

Churchlink
P.O. Box 1033
Newcastle 2300
Australia.

For more information on Bible studies available, visit the Churchlink site on the World Wide Web at http://www.churchlink.com.au/churchlink. Enquiries to: [email protected]