Print This Article“In the opening pages of his autobiography, ‘An American Life,’ Ronald Reagan writes, I was raised to believe that God had a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan. My mother—a small woman with auburn hair and a sense of optimism that ran as deep as the cosmos—told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God’s plan….”
Many earnest Christians wonder what God’s plan is for them. Go to a Christian bookstore, and you’ll find one book after another on how to learn, discern, and know God’s plan for you. It is an important question, and the answer to which is something that God does not hide, nor do the Scriptures fail to teach clearly; however, one should ask if it is truly possible to know God’s plan for our lives without first simply understanding God’s plan.
Is it possible that many people are “putting the cart before the horse?” How can we, or any pastor, elder, preacher, teacher, or author, know God’s plan for ourselves or another if we don’t first sufficiently comprehend God’s plan? Is it possible for someone to provide sound counsel on finances if they don’t first understand the math necessary to make such calculations? Likewise, can someone discern God’s plan for a person if they have yet to discern God’s plan for the heavens and the earth? Is this not a prerequisite?
Some may argue that the private does not need to understand the plans of the general, only the orders given to him. This may be somewhat true, but how is that private to interpret different orders from the same commanding officer? Is he to pick the ones he likes or prefers to do—the ones that stir his heart? Is he to follow what everyone else is doing even though it is pretty clear that not everybody is on the same page?
In reality, even the lowest ranking soldier will almost always know the overall objective of any mission. In those cases where they don’t, the likelihood of success will be significantly diminished because, in every battle, the enemy introduces chaos, and having a clear understanding of the objective becomes vital for soldiers to work in unity to achieve the desired outcome.
While there may be reasons for a commanding officer and even God to keep certain details a mystery, the Scriptures do tell us God’s plan and purpose. God wants us to know His plan.
The End Game
“Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him” (Eph. 1:9-10).
With Paul came the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret from all those who came before (Rom. 16:25-26; Eph. 3:1-5; Col. 1:25-26). The mystery concerns those things which Paul calls “the faith” (Rom. 1:5; 1 Cor. 16:13; Col. 2:7) and are the doctrines specific to the Body of Christ. Along with doctrines such as the Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-52), the one spiritual baptism (Eph. 4:5 cf. 1 Cor. 12:13), ending the Mosaic Law (Rom. 6:14; 7:1-6), and many more, the mystery also reveals “the mystery of God’s will” (Eph. 1:9)—the previously unrevealed part of His plan.
The word “will” (v. 9) is the Greek word thelema and sometimes refers to more than simply God’s desire, but what He has determined to be done, His decree; this is the meaning here in Ephesians 1. We see this expressed when Christ told the people of Israel, “And this is the will [thelema] of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life” (John 6:40). It was more than simply the Father’s desire that those who saw and believed in the Son have eternal life; it was His determination, God’s plan that this be so.
Another aspect of God’s will we need to understand is the difference between God’s commanded will and His sovereign will. God “commands” everyone to repent (Acts 17:30), but not everyone will. Man can choose to disobey God’s commands, just as Adam did in the Garden when he ate of the Tree (Gen. 3:6 cf. 2:17).
However, God’s “sovereign” will cannot be stopped or prevented: “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand” (Prov. 19:21 cf. Job 23:13; Isa. 14:27).
It is God’s sovereign will (His decree), which He “purposed in Himself” (Eph. 1:9 cf. Isa. 46:10; Jer. 4:28), that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He will gather together in Christ those “which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (Eph. 1:10). This is God’s end game! Heaven and earth refer to the two domains that God created in the beginning. And God will magnify the praise of His glory (v. 12) by bringing together into Christ the redeemed that are in heaven and on earth.
Heaven and Earth
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).
While God created a wonderous and vast universe, His focus is on “the heaven” and “the earth.” From the opening verse and throughout all of Scripture, it is clear that heaven and earth are unique from the rest of the universe and that God has a special purpose for both.
Heaven
“Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts.
“Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created.
“He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Psa. 148:1-2,4-6).
When Satan sinned, he not only corrupted himself and the angels that followed him, but in so doing, he also brought corruption to heaven. Heaven, and the heaven of heavens, is to be a place of praise to the Lord. Any rebellion against this is a violation of God’s sovereign will—His “decree”—and surely cannot and will not stand.
And while some have concluded that God responded by kicking the fallen heavenly hosts out of heaven, this is not the case. The expulsion of fallen angels from heaven is described in Revelation 12 and has yet to occur. God no more kicked the fallen angels out of heaven than He kicked fallen man off the earth.
The Apostle Paul says that our spiritual enemies are “in high places” (Eph. 6:12). The word “high” means above the sky, celestial, or heaven (cf. 1:3,20; 1 Cor. 15:40). However, God has a plan to remove all unrighteousness from heaven and replace it with righteousness; thus, putting down the rebellion in heaven and restoring its divine purpose.
Earth
“Praise the Lord from the earth…Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
“Let them praise the name of the Lord: for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven” (Psa. 148:7,11-13).
With Adam’s sin came the fall of mankind (Rom. 5:12). It was a willful act of rebellion by the one to whom God gave dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:26,28). Adam perverted his purpose and corrupted the earth (Gen. 6:11). All the children of Adam would be born in sin and rebellion. Instead of the earth being a place that praised the Lord, it became a place that cursed Him. Instead of the men of the earth worshipping and exalting God, they worshipped and exalted themselves and “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:23).
Like heaven, God has a plan for the earth, a plan to restore His rightful place as the God of this world (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2). God’s sovereign will for both heaven and earth to be free from the presence and influence of sin, and be places that harmoniously lift praises to His name, requires that He restore both to their original purpose, and He will ensure that it happens.
The twofold plan and purpose of God refers to God’s distinct but interconnected plans for the restoration of both earth and heaven.
God’s Plan for the Earth—His Prophecy Program
God’s plan for the earth involves the establishment of God’s kingdom to rule and reign on earth. Immediately after Adam’s sin, God began a program of prophecy by telling of a coming Savior Who would bruise Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15 cf. Acts 3:21) and the formation of the nation Israel to be His channel of blessing to the entire world (Gen. 12:2-3: Isa. 2:2).
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (Zech. 8:23).
Israel would be God’s nation of priests (Exod. 19:1-6), His instrument to reach the rest of the world. This priestly nation would have a King, chosen and sent by God to rule over His people (Psa. 2:6; Isa. 55:4; Mic. 5:2). He would be more than a King, but also a Messiah to save God’s people from their sins (Isa. 53:1-10; Dan. 9:24-26) and establish the throne of God in Jerusalem forever (Jer. 33:14-18 cf. Luke 1:31-33).
The King and Messiah would be the Lord Himself come to sit upon the throne of David “to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever” (Isa. 9:6-7 cf. Mic. 4:7). “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord” (Zech. 14:9), and He shall govern all nations (Psa. 2:8-9; 82:8).
God’s presence as ruler in Jerusalem will bring the glory of the Lord, shining upon Israel and bringing light to the darkness of the world and Gentiles to the brightness of Israel (Isa. 60:1-3). Through Israel’s rise, the whole world will be blessed. And the saved shall find their inheritance on earth (Isa. 60:19-21; Jer. 23:5- 8)—this is their hope!
God’s Plan for the Heavens—His Mystery Program
God’s plan for heaven involves God ruling and reigning in heaven. Unlike the prophecy program, “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21; Luke 1:70), the mystery program was “hid in God” (Eph. 3:9) and “kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25).
Due to Israel’s disbelief and rejection of their Messiah, God temporarily set Israel aside (Rom. 11:11,20,25) in order to form a “new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17) called the “Body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12). During this time, God ceased to deal with mankind as distinct nations. Instead of Israel, it is the Church, the Body of Christ, made up of both Jew and Gentile (Gal. 3:28), that becomes His channel of blessing to the world (Phil. 2:12-15).
Rather than having twelve apostles representing the twelve tribes of Israel, God calls one man, Paul, to be His Apostle (Eph. 3:1-9; Col. 1:25-27). Having one apostle is fitting for a couple of reasons. Firstly, God now sees Jews and Gentiles alike. There is no favored nation today, and no matter a person’s heritage, everyone is either in Christ or in Adam (Rom. 5:12-19). By setting Israel’s favored position and the prophecy program aside, God included Israel with the Gentiles in unbelief (Rom. 11:32)—thus, they are one in their disobedience. Secondly, the one apostle reflects the oneness of Christ’s church (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 4:4).
Paul’s salvation marked a new beginning—a new dispensation—and a new pattern of salvation (1 Tim. 1:16). While the gospel of the kingdom required believing in who Jesus was to be saved, i.e., “the Christ, the Son of God” (cf. John 20:31), the gospel of the grace of God that the risen Lord gave to Paul required believing in what Jesus had done; Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:1-4).
Under the mystery heavenly program, as soon as we believe the gospel (the correct gospel), our position changes from being in Adam to being in Christ. Literally and instantly, we become citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). Our hope and inheritance “is in heaven” (Col. 1:5) and culminates when the Lord receives His saints to rule and reign with Him in heavenly places forever (1 Thes. 4:16-17).
It is this church with its heavenly calling that God will use to stomp out Satan (Rom. 16:20) and replace the unrighteous fallen heavenly host with the righteousness of God in His saints.
“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Rightly Dividing
“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17).
Recognizing God’s twofold plan and purpose is more than merely beneficial for today’s believers; it is necessary if we are to understand God’s will for our lives. We need to know how we fit into God’s plan rather than trying to fit God into ours.
We must “rightly divide” (2 Tim. 2:15) between God’s prophecy program for the earth, and His mystery program for the heavenlies if we are going to know God’s plan, and ultimately His plan for ourselves. We must distinguish between the two programs, or we will certainly find ourselves believing doctrines and instructions that are not meant for us.
“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all” (1 Chron. 29:11).
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