Now we need to look into the details concerning God’s eternal economy. This economy is an eternal plan; it is also a purpose. In Ephesians the word “purpose” is used three times, twice as a noun (1:11; 3:11) and once as a verb (1:9). God is purposeful, and He has a purpose. But what does the word “purpose” mean? I believe that the best definition is that a purpose is a determined intent. A purpose is a strong intent to do something or to gain something. The eternal economy of God is of God’s determined intent, of God’s purpose. In eternity past God had such an intent to gain something, to have something. God is determined to have the church. With a definite and strong determination, God intends to have the church.
According to Ephesians 3:11, God’s eternal purpose is “the purpose of the ages.” The purpose of the ages is the purpose of eternity, the eternal purpose, the eternal plan of God made in eternity past. Hence, the expression “the purpose of the ages,” a literal translation of the Greek, simply means the eternal purpose.
Besides the terms economy, mystery, and purpose, a number of other important terms are used by Paul in Ephesians. The next term we shall consider is “will.” Three times in Ephesians 1 Paul speaks of God’s will: the good pleasure of His will (v. 5), the mystery of His will (v. 9), and the counsel of His will (v. 11). God has an economy because in eternity God had a will. Because this will was hidden in Him, it was a mystery. But in His wisdom and prudence God has made this hidden mystery known to us through His revelation in Christ, that is, through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
God’s eternal, determined intent is to have something. This intent, this purpose, plan, and arrangement, household administration, is of God’s will. We need to be impressed with the fact that God’s purpose, His determined intent, is of God’s will. God’s will is the source, and the purpose is the outcome. God’s eternal purpose is of His will.
At this point we need to ask what God’s will is. What is the will which is the source of God’s purpose, the source of God’s determined intent? The simplest answer is that God’s will is what God wants. Anything or anyone that is living wants something. This means that every living person has a will. As soon as a child is born, he wants something, and what the child wants is his will. In speaking of God’s will, therefore, we may say that God’s will is what He wants.
What does God want? God wants the church. God wants us for the church. The church is something of God’s will, for the church is what God wants.
In eternity past, God wanted to have the church. His wanting to have the church is His will. Of this will God determined an intent, and this intent is His purpose. Furthermore, this purpose is a plan, an arrangement, that is to be carried out in God’s family, in His household.
We need to see that four crucial words-economy, mystery, purpose, and will-are all related to the church. The church is something God wants, the church is the goal of God’s determined intent, and the church is the mystery in God’s economy, the mysterious story in God’s household administration. This is revealed in Paul’s writing in chapters 1 and 3 of Ephesians.
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