Part One
God’s eternal purpose and plan
*Ephesians 1:7-11
It is important to see that when God purposed and planned all things, He did so according to what pleased Him, and, by Himself, after the council of His own will (determination).
This same truth applies to His design for the structure, governance, maintenance, and mission of the Church. This divinely inspired structure, governance, maintenance, and mission would assure that God’s purposes for creating the Church in the first place would be realized (verses 9,11).
This is a critical revelation for us to grasp. God did not create man and then ask him for counsel concerning the design and function of the Church. Nor has he left us to figure out good ways to do and govern the Church! What he wants is for us to find the wisdom of His design and function. Only then will the Church fulfill God’s original intent for its creation. Only then will the glory of her beauty be manifest. Only then will the nations run to her for a refuge.
It is futility to forsake the wisdom and counsel of the Lord concerning the structure and governance of the Church.
*Psalm 33:10; The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught. He maketh the devices (contrivance, that is, machine (mechanisms) of the people of none effect (refuse, forbid, dissuade, neutralize).
*Proverbs 19:20; hear counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in the latter end.
We are at the latter end of the “Church Age” or the “Age of Grace” and leadership had better hear the Lord’s counsel and receive His instruction because His counsel will prevail over the devices of man.
*Proverbs 19:21; There are many devices in a man’s heart; but the counsel of the LORD, that, shall stand.
Ephesians 1:8 says that God has “abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence”.
Definitions:
Verse 8; wisdom (higher or lower, worldly or spiritual) So we see that there are two realms of wisdom in the universe.
Verse 8; prudence (mental action or activity, that is, intellectual or moral insight).
When God began to create, He had already thought through and reasoned every consideration necessary to fulfill His divine intention for creating in the first place. This whole process was reasoned out within the parameters of divine, spiritual wisdom. Before anything or anyone had been created the only wisdom that existed was the divine wisdom of His will. He created the Church, with its divinely inspired structure, government, maintenance and mission, within the divine wisdom of His will.
It is also important for us to see that the Church is not an organization but rather a spiritual entity. It is the spiritual Body of Christ. It is the spiritual temple of the living God.
The “Work of Christ” and of “His Body”, the Church, was not an after thought. God in His perfect foreknowledge and prudence was able to foresee the rebellion of Lucifer and the fall of man.
*Proverbs 22:3 reveals that, The prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself: but the simple pass on and are punished.
Because God is prudent when He foresaw the evil of Satan’s rebellion and the fall of man, He provided a way of redemption for man from that rebellion and sin.
The atonement of Christ and the creation of His Body, the Church, was not plan B. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). The Greek word translated “foundation” literally means founding; however figuratively it means conception. So when God foresaw the evil of the fall, He conceived in His mind the work of Christ and His Body, the Church. He designed the Church to accomplish His intended purpose for the redemption of fallen man (the redemption of fallen man goes beyond the wonderful miracle of initial salvation through faith in Christ; more on this later). Therefore, it stands to reason that when He considered the structure, governance, maintenance, and mission of the Church, He did so with the same wisdom that He applies to all his works.
*Psalm 104:24; O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
*Psalm 147:5; Great is our LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
Since all of Gods works are made in accordance with His divine wisdom and infinite understanding they cannot be improved upon! Therefore God’s original design for the structure, governance, maintenance, and mission of the Church cannot be improved upon either.
The “Church” is the greatest treasure in the earth right now. But many cannot see her value or beauty because the glory of God is not yet manifest in the Church as it should be. This is because there is another wisdom that, sadly, is often at operation in the Church. This wisdom is employed against the church through the ignorance and carnality of man.
After Lucifer rebelled, there was another kind of wisdom introduced. James (James 3:15-18) reveals to us that there is a wisdom that does not descend from above but rather is earthly (worldly: both physically and morally), sensual (sensitive to natural things) and devilish (demonic like). It is this lower, worldly, devilish wisdom that produces every evil work. It was this devilish wisdom that was employed against Adam and Eve with the intent to thwart God’s divine wisdom and destroy His divine desire. Sadly, Satan is able to employ this same wisdom against the church today through people who do not understand the wisdom, ways and work of God.
The questions that every Church, leaders in particular, must ask themselves are; what realm of wisdom are we operating in? Are our decisions being made from higher spiritual wisdom or lower devilish wisdom?
Our brother James also tells us that if any man lacks wisdom let him ask for wisdom. And God, who is liberal or generous to all, will give him spiritual wisdom (James 1:5). This reveals to us that God has given us access into the same wisdom by which He purposed all things. There is no excuse for the church not to function in the wisdom of God.
If the church does not function in the realm of spiritual wisdom the only other choice is that it functions in the realm of devilish wisdom. The present day church leadership must make a choice as to what wisdom it wants to function from!
2 Chronicles 1:10-12; Solomon asks for wisdom, knowledge, and an understanding heart (1 Kings 3:9) that he might be able to lead the LORDS people. Should not present day leadership ask the same?
It is important to see that God has abounded toward us in spiritual wisdom as well as intellectual and moral insight. He realized that if He did not give us revelation concerning the purpose of the church, as well as revelation to establish and govern the Church then it would be left to the devices of man which would fall short of its intended purpose.
How has God abounded to us in all wisdom and prudence?
To continue reading click on Part Two.