All right, let's turn to Ephesians
chapter 3. In the old westerns, they'd walk
into the bar and I remember the old cowboys would step up to
the bar and he'd say, give me a double. And that's what I'm
going to give you this morning. I'm going to give you a double
out of this book of Ephesians, both the Sunday school lesson
and the message this morning, and both of them concerning the
purpose, the eternal purpose of God. Let's read here these
first 11 verses, beginning with verse 1. For this calls I, Paul,
the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if you've heard
of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you. how that by revelation he made
known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in a few words,
whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto
the sons of men, as it's now revealed unto his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit. that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ
by the gospel. Whereof, I was made a minister
according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by
the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than
the least of all the saints, is this grace given that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto principalities
and powers and heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which
He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now we're living today
in an age which had been freshly revealed to His apostles. This was an age brand new. This
was an age coming out of the Old Testament economy. This was
an age coming out of that that dispensation, or I hate to use
that word, but it's coming out from under that Old Testament
economy of ceremonial worship. And now these things are made
clear. Now these things are revealed
through the actual appearance of Jesus Christ. And these apostles
were chosen of God and given a great revelation into the mysteries
concerning this age. Every one of these apostles was
personally taught by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, even Paul. One born out of due time, the
one writing this epistle, he was caught up to the third heaven
and taught of Christ these great mysteries. They were taught the
mystery of the coming Redeemer. This was a mystery. They believed
in the coming of the Messiah. That was no mystery. That had
been since the beginning. But who he was and why he came
and what he was to do, these things were a mystery. They didn't
understand these things. They're great mysteries concerning
the coming Redeemer. And these things have been manifested
and marked this age as the end of the world. Now, I don't know
if you've ever noticed that or not, but from the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ, from his appearing in this world, The last age has
begun. These are the last days. When the Bible speaks of the
last days, it's not talking about some future event out here or
something that we're drawing near to. We're living in the
last days right now. It's been the last days since
He appeared in this world. Now, let me show you that over
in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 24. Here, let me read three verses
of Scripture to you here. Concerning this, for Christ is
not entered into the holy places made with hands. Paul is contrasting
here that old ceremonial worship of the priesthood and sacrifices
and all these things here in Hebrews 9. Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the
truth, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as a high priest, entereth into the holy place
every year with the blood of others. For then must he often
have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now, once,
now listen, in the end of the world, now won't that say it? Hath he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. The appearance, his life, his
death, and his resurrection marked this new age which is the end
of the world. And so long as that old economy
continued with the priesthood and the tabernacles and the sacrifices,
the Holy Ghost, according to Hebrews 9.8, signified. He signified that the way into
the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. Is that clear?
That's so clear to me in the scripture. So long as that Old
Testament economy of the priesthood and the sacrifices, the tabernacle
and the temple and all of that type of worship, so long as that
continued, the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. It was still hidden. It was a
great mystery. They were figures, Paul said,
for the time then present. Patterns of things in the heavens
and shadows of good things to come. And it says in Hebrews
9 verse 10 that they were imposed on them until the time of reformation. That's this age. This age of
reformation. And the coming of Christ marked
clearly that time. You can read also if you want
to what men and women, religious men, are teaching with some type
of prophetic meaning over in Daniel chapter 9, the 70 weeks. That 70 weeks was talking about
this very thing that I'm telling you this morning. And there's
no way if you read, I think it's Daniel 9, 24, if I ain't mistaken,
70 weeks, he told Daniel, is determined until the coming of
the Messiah. The Holy One's going to be revealed.
And that's what this whole captivity of Israel was about under Nebuchadnezzar's
reign was a picture of that period between then and the coming of
the Messiah. These 70 weeks are determined. So you can read about it and
you can read about it through all the prophets. Ezekiel and all
of them. They all spoke of it. And then another great revelation
of this age is the bringing in of the Gentiles. The bringing
in of the Gentiles. The Jewish church state under
the Old Testament economy was brought about to typify the elect
of God who would be called out of this world to be a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. That whole nation, that whole
economy, that whole Jewish church state was typical. Now there's
no other way to look at it. I'm telling you, you'll run off
the deep end if you look at Israel any other way. Were there men
in Israel saved? Well, sure there was. Paul was.
He was an Israelite. John was. Peter was. All these men were Jews. But
being a Jew and somehow physically connecting yourself with Abraham
didn't have anything at all to do with salvation. Nothing at
all. And I warn you, don't try to
make any more out of the Jewish nation than what God makes out
of them and declares in the Scripture. I read this verse to a religious
man one day. I took him over to Romans chapter
9 and read these things to him. I'll read them to you. He said
Paul talks about the Israelites and he's praying for their salvation.
And he said Israelites and he defines who he's talking about.
To whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants
and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises
whose are the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh
when Christ came. These were Jews. Jews. Now that being so, and believed
by them and the rest of the world, there appears to be a flaw. Because
when Christ came, the Jews rejected Him. When Christ came, the covenant
head, they wouldn't have it. They despised Him, rejected Him.
Put Him on a cross. Away with Him. Give us Barabbas.
To them He was a pretender to the throne and not the Christ.
So that there appears to be, Paul said, a breach here. There appears to be a flaw here,
an overturning of the Word of God. And so he says in verse
6 of Romans 9, Not as though the Word of God hath taken none
effect, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called." That is, now listen to this. I don't know
how words could be any plainer than that. That is, they which
are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of
God. That's pretty plain, ain't it? I think I can understand that.
These are not the children of God, but the children of the
promise are counted for the seed. Ephesians 2.13, he says, in Christ
Jesus, ye who were sometime far off are made nigh by the blood
of Christ. For he is our peace, which hath
broken down, which hath made one, made one, both Jew and Gentile,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.
having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law commandments. Christ fulfilled everything in
the ceremonial law that was figured by the priesthood, and he honored
the moral law and exalted it as high as the perfections of
God demand it to be exalted. He kept it as only God could
keep it. He exalted it as only God could
exalt it. the Lord Jesus Christ. So that
any man from any nation in any condition can come unto God through
Him. Now that's what's going on. What
separated the Jew from the Gentile was the revelation of Christ
set forth in the ceremonial worship of Israel. So that now the apostles
preached and showed to men the fellowship of this mystery which
in other ages was not made known like it is in this gospel age.
All right, Ephesians 3 verse 10. To the intent that now under
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Now what this verse is
talking about is to be understood by the next verse. according
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Now the sense is that the one
grand purpose of creation, of the creation of all things, was
to show the wisdom of God in the redemption of his church
in Christ Jesus the Lord. That's what he's talking about
here. He's going to make known by the church. What's he talking
about? He's going to use the church to make it known? Well,
yes, he does use the church, but that's not what he's talking
about here. What he's talking about here is in God's dealings
with the church. The manifold wisdom of God, which
unlocks all the mysteries hidden, is to be made known, not only
to the Gentiles, but to the angels in heaven. The only thing I know
he could be talking about here are principalities and powers
and heavenly places. God's purpose is to manifest
the glory of His name and the salvation of His church through
the incarnation, obedience, suffering, and death of His Son. And these
things He declared to be accomplished when He raised up our Lord from
the dead and seated Him at His own right hand. so that everything
in the universe is moving toward this predestinated end. I hate that I'm sounding like
a college professor this morning, but I want you to see these things.
These facts have to be understood. You have to see these things.
Everything in the universe, Paul said, is moving toward this end.
Everything. Creation, providence. all these former ages and especially
this last of the gospel age and the end of the world. Everything
that comes to pass in time was purposed and determined by God's
omnipotent hand in all eternity. And when Paul preached the unknown
God to those Epicureans and Stoics there on Mars Hill, those philosophers,
they gathered there to tell or hear some new thing. He said,
I'm going to tell you a new thing. Here it is. I'm going to tell
you about the unknown God. And this unknown God made of
one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face
of the earth and determine the times before appointed and set
the bounds of their habitation that they should seek after Him.
That's the God of purpose. Our God, the God of Holy Scripture,
is the God of purpose. Let me very quickly this morning,
I've only got about 15 minutes, but I'll try to give you five
things that I know about the purpose of God. Paul tells us
here in Ephesians 3, verse 11, that God's purpose is eternal. Nothing in time. No event. Not the fall. Not the rejection
of men, not the reprobation of men, not the first destruction
of the world. None of these things has swayed
or changed or altered God's purpose in any, not even a fraction,
not even a shadow of it, James said. Not even a shadow of turning
in Him. But God has had His eternal purpose
and He's accomplishing that purpose. Listen to 2 Timothy. Chapter
1, verse 9. I quote this to you all the time.
God hath saved us. Now that's something that happened
in time. He hath saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. That's God's purpose. And His
purpose is eternal. In Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12,
the Holy Ghost tells us that Christ entered in once into the
holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us. It was the
same redemption that He purposed to accomplish in Christ and trusted
to Christ and counted it as though it were already accomplished
in eternity back. It was the basis of all His dealings. It was the basis of creation.
It was the basis of everything that God did. It was the accomplished
redemption that He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Eternal life is to know the eternal
God and His eternal Son whose appearance and work reveal Him. Now that's what He's saying here.
In 1 John chapter 5 verse 20 it says, And we know that the
Son of God is come, and given us an understanding that we may
know Him that's true, and that we're in Him who is true, even
in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Our God is the eternal God. His
love is from everlasting to everlasting. He declares the end from the
beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, my counsel shall stand and I'll do all my pleasure.
He is the God of purpose. And his purpose is eternal. Secondly, God's purpose is universal. Boy, we Calvinists hate that
word, don't we? Universal. But God's purpose
is universal. It concerns everything in the
universe. God's purpose. It's universal. Everything created, everything
seen, everything unseen, everything in all places and in all times
and under all dominions is inclusive in this great eternal purpose
of God. Old Nebuchadnezzar, you remember
God sent him out until his fingernails grew like bird's claws and his
hair like eagle's feathers and made him get down like a beast
to feed on the grass of the field. made him to know what he was
before God. He was a beast before God. And
having showed him these things, God returned to him again his
right mind. And when he came to his right
mind, he said, now, he said, I praise Him and honor Him that
liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
His kingdom from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing, and He doeth according to His
will. in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay His hand or
even question what He does. He's God. He's God. In Colossians 1 verse 16, He
said, For by Him were all things created that are in heaven, that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. They were created by Him and
for Him. What am I saying? I'm saying
that God's eternal purpose is universal. And that purpose He
purposed is in Christ. And therefore, He gave all things
into the hands of Christ. He trusted all things to Him. God first appointed the Mediatorial
King. He's the surety of the covenant.
He's the reason for creation. He's behind all. He's the firstborn
of every creature. To him was given all preeminence
because it pleased the Father to do so. And then thirdly, the
purpose of God is designed for the spiritual benefit of His
elect. You see where he's going with
this thing? It's designed for the benefit, specifically designed
for the benefit of God's elect. Romans 8, 28. And we know, Paul says, We to
whom these great mysteries have been revealed, we who have asked
now to see the eternal purpose of God in Christ, we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the what? The called according to His purpose. Everything, everything working
together for their good. All circumstances, all events,
all God's providence, And especially these things done in time and
purposed in eternity in Christ Jesus. So that Paul sums it up
this way. Whom He did foreknow, He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. And
whom He did predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called,
He justified. And whom He justified, He glorified.
That's God. The eternal God of purpose. God has eternally blessed us
with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ. Our election in Him, our adoption
in Him, our redemption in Him, and our calling of Him. And then the fourth thing I know
about the purpose of God is that it's unchangeable. Why? Because God who purposed it is
unchangeable. He's immutable. Well, what about
unbelief, preacher? Don't that alter God's purpose
to save? Well, let's see what it says
in the Scriptures. John 10, verse 24. Here's these unbelieving
Pharisees. They looked at Christ and they
said, if thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told
you. I told you. Now they believed they had the
right to know. They believed it was God's intention
for them to know. And they believed that they had
the ability to know. What the Lord tells them, I told
you. They said, tell us. He said, I did. Oh, what's the
problem? You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. It's not in God's purpose for
you to know. That's right. I think it was at Antioch, to
a mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles. And he preached
to them, and the Jews despised what he was saying. They separated
from the rest of the church, and they despised what he was
saying. And Paul said, because you've judged yourself unworthy
of everlasting life, he said, I'll turn to the Gentiles. And
when the Gentiles heard that, they was glad. And they willingly
received what Paul was preaching. And it says, as many as were
ordained unto eternal life believed. You see that? God's purpose. Every good gift, every perfect
gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, who
of his own will begat he us, with the word of truth. He said,
I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. And then the last thing about
God's purpose that I want you to see here, God's eternal purpose,
is that it will ultimately accomplish the salvation of God's elect.
It's not an iffy matter. Every man given to Christ in
eternity, every man for whom Christ died, every man for whom
Christ sits at the right hand of God and reigns over all things
will ultimately be redeemed to the perfection that God demanded
and purposed before the world began. Listen to this, Ephesians
111. In Christ also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
in Christ, in whom you also trusted after that you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after
that you believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of His glory." God's eternal purpose
of grace. There's not a chance, not a chance
that one of His sheep, He said, I hold My sheep in My hand and
no man is going to take them out. And my Father holds them
in His hand, and no man is able to take them out. And I and my
Father are one. You reckon all God's sheep are
going to be saved? I tell you, when you look at
the greatness and majesty and power of God and see His purpose
unfolding, as it's revealed to you in the Holy Scripture. And
you get a, all of a sudden you get a, He gives you this revelation
and you begin to see that purpose from the fall of man and from
the things created and from ages and generations and dominions
overthrown and all these things throughout the Old Testament.
You see all those things and then see the coming of Christ
and see how all these things come about. I tell you, it leaves
no doubt, no doubt in Him. And assurance is in Him. It's
in Him. It ain't in you. It ain't in
your experience. It's in Him. It's in Him. All of this divine
wisdom is manifested to all the principalities and powers in
heavenly places. And all that's manifested is
according to the eternal, immutable, universal purpose of God. May
God the Holy Spirit cause our hearts to believe and rejoice
in the God of purpose.