God’s Plan for the Church - 07/07/2024

As “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (Ephesians 1:1), Paul received information directly from God about different subjects pertaining to Christianity. One such revelation was concerning a “mystery.” The book of Ephesians records this “mystery” – God’s plan for the church. Paul wrote it down so we can read it, understand it, and apply it to our lives.

In the New Testament, the word “church” is used in two senses. One sense has a very narrow application, such as a local church, like the “church” at Jerusalem, Antioch, Philippi, Corinth or Ephesus. The other sense has a very broad application, such as when Jesus said He would build His “church”, or the “church” was purchased with the blood of Jesus, or people are added to the “church” by God. In his opening comments of the book of Ephesians, Paul states he is writing to both those “saints who are at Ephesus” (the narrow sense) and to the “faithful in Christ Jesus” (the broad sense) (Ephesians 1:1).

This article is focused on the broad sense of the word “church.” What was God’s plan for the church in “the broad sense”?

We can see the book of Ephesians is divided into two parts – Chapters 1-3 and Chapters 4-6. Chapters 1-3 show what God did to plan for this church, why He planned it, and how we can know about it. Chapters 4-6 show what God planned for those, who would be members of this church, to be doing.

Paul says God made all these plans before the foundation of the world. God knew exactly what He wanted to do and He accomplished His plans. The motivation behind God making these plans was to display to mankind His great love, mercy and grace. He revealed this plan to mankind through the apostles and prophets, who heard it and wrote it down. It has been preserved through time for us to read, understand, and apply.

God wanted there to be unity among all believers. God provided five groups of people to edify these believers so that they would remain steadfast and not lose their faith. He also revealed how He wanted the members of this church to interact with one another as members and how to interact within the family setting. He even gave instructions as to how a person should be equipped so they would remain a Christian and to fight the spiritual battles that would confront them.

The book of Ephesians is a great book for everyone to read and study if they want to know God’s plan for the church. When Christians properly apply God’s plan, then they will be living God’s way. - cgm

Scriptural quotations from the NASB1995.