11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
God, through the church, will make known to the angels His wonderful purpose hidden for ages and accomplished through Christ.
according to the eternal purpose
The church is in God’s eternal plan, in His councils of eternity past. God’s eternal purpose is to glorify Himself on earth. One way He does this is to glorify Himself through the church. The centrality of redemption is Christ and His work through His people. Jesus Christ is fundamental to that plan. God is inexorably executing that plan for creation toward one climaxing purpose.
Although God has one eternal purpose, He executes that plan in many ways. We may not have perspective on that plan in our finiteness, but we can know from extant statements of Scripture that God has this plan.
God determined the ultimate goal of history to be the manifestation of His glory in time on earth through Jesus Christ. He will rout Satan and all his emissaries in the Millennium. At times we might think that Satan is winning the battle, but God has everything in control. No event or situation goes without God’s notice.
which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
The Father fulfilled His plan for the church “in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As angels watch the theater of creation, they see the wisdom of God in doing what He is doing. It is one thing for humans to glorify God, but it is another for angels to manifest His excellence (Lu 15:10; 1 Ti 5:21; 1 Pe 1:12). This is an entirely different realm of glorifying God.
PRINCIPLE:
The purpose of the church transcends the immediate function of the church.
APPLICATION:
God’s ultimate purpose is more than saving souls. The salvation of souls is a means to God’s glory but not the only means. The church is one of those means to His end, not the end itself. It serves an eternal purpose that goes beyond finite human perspective. Its purpose comes from the eternal will of God based on fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Access into God’s purpose has already been won by the Lord Jesus. From God’s viewpoint, He already achieved His purpose. The final outworking of that purpose is certain.
God’s purpose throughout the ages was accomplished in Christ. God’s eternal means for that purpose found its climax in the coming of Christ and the forming of the church. God has a countervailing plan, a master plan whereby He works out everything through Christ. Ultimately, God will fulfill His purpose for space and time in Christ in the Millennium.
