God’s will is God’s intention to accomplish what He has purposed in eternity past and what He desires for Himself for eternity future. He purposed and He desires to have the church. This is His will and intention.
Ephesians 1:9 says that God has made known to us the mystery of His will. To make known to us the mystery of His will is one item of God’s wisdom and prudence. In eternity God planned a will. This will has been hidden in Him; hence, it was a mystery. In His wisdom and prudence He has made this hidden mystery known to us through His revelation in Christ, that is, through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. It was the pleasure of God’s heart to reveal to us the mystery of His will.
God’s good pleasure is the desire of His heart, that is, to have the church, and God’s revelation of His hidden will is according to this desire of His heart. This is according to His good pleasure.
God’s good pleasure has been purposed by God in Himself. This means that God Himself is the initiation, origination, and sphere of His eternal purpose. God has a plan, a desire, and according to His plan, He has a purpose. The existence of the universe is according to God’s purpose. Heaven, earth, millions of items, and the human race are all according to God’s purposed desire. Eventually, all these things will issue in God’s desire. In the universe there is a desire, God’s desire. Because this desire has been purposed by God, no one and nothing can overthrow it. Everything that takes place on earth is for this purpose. We, the sons of God, in whom God’s grace abounds, are the focal point of His purpose, and everything is working for us. God has purposed this desire in Himself. He did not take counsel with anyone else regarding it.
God’s good pleasure is what He has purposed in Himself for an administration (v. 10). The entire universe will eventually be under one administration. The Greek word rendered “administration” is oikonomia, from which we get the English word economy. God has purposed to have an economy. All the kingdoms in the universe—the angelic kingdom, the demonic kingdom, the human kingdom, the animal kingdom, and the plant kingdom—are for this economy, this administration, and are moving toward it. For example, today’s world situation, the center of which is the Middle East, is according to the Bible. Since the reformation of the nation of Israel in 1948 and especially since the return of Jerusalem to Israel in 1967, the Middle East has become the center of international relations. This is altogether according to the Bible, and it is a sign that the universe is moving toward God’s administration. Such an administration is what God has planned and purposed according to His desire. All the kingdoms will be under this unique administration, which is to head up all things in Christ.
At present, the universe is in a state of collapse. Instead of being headed up, it is a heap. The collapse was brought about through two rebellions, Satan’s rebellion and Adam’s rebellion. Before the creation of the human race, God made an archangel, who later became Satan, the head of all creatures. But that archangel rebelled against God. Then God created the human race and made Adam the head of all created things. According to Genesis 1, God put all things created by Him under Adam. This indicates that Adam was the head. Adam, however, was seduced to rebel against God. Thus, by the angelic rebellion and the human rebellion, the universe collapsed into a heap. This is the reason that today’s human society and creation itself are such a mess. Everywhere there is nothing but rebellion. Even the mosquitoes are rebellious against man. This illustrates the fact that the universe is filled with the fighting caused by rebellion. Nevertheless, God has purposed to bring in His administration to head up all things in Christ.
At this point, we need to ask a question: Does the body support the head or does the head uphold the body? The answer is that the head upholds the body. This is proved by the fact that if a person’s head is cut off, the body falls to the ground. Hence, the body is upheld by the head. In like manner, the church life is a life of being headed up. If we truly want to have a glorious church, we must be willing to be headed up. All around us, at school, at work, and in the government, we see nothing but a state of collapse; nothing is headed up. But in the proper church life we are being headed up. This heading up in the church life is the beginning of God’s heading up of all things. Under Christ and through the church, God will head up all things in the universe. This is the mystery of God’s will. Ultimately, the mystery of God’s will in the universe is to head up all things in Christ.
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