God has an eternal plan in eternity. This plan is made according to His will. In order to know God’s eternal plan, we first must know what eternity is. The Bible shows us that eternity has two parts. We can call them the first eternity and the second eternity (see diagram):
The beginning in John 1:1 is the beginning of the Word. We do not know the time of the beginning of the Word. The beginning of the Word is the eternity without a beginning. This is the first eternity. (The beginning of the Word is different from the beginning mentioned in Genesis 1:1. The beginning in Genesis 1:1 is the beginning of the universe, which happened in time and which can be reckoned by time.) Other verses that speak of the first eternity are John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4, and 1 Peter 1:20, which say, “Before the foundation of the world”; Ephesians 3:11, which speaks of “the eternal purpose” or “the purpose of the ages”; 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2, which say, “Before the times of the ages”; and Romans 16:25, which says, “In the times of the ages.” All of these verses cover the first eternity, the eternity that is without a beginning.
Isaiah 66:22 says, “The new heavens / And new earth... / Remain.” Revelation 21:1 also speaks of the new heaven and new earth, and Revelation 22:5 speaks of “forever and ever.” These verses tell us about the second eternity, which is the eternity without an ending and which is also beyond time.
The first eternity and the second eternity are joined in heaven; they are connected and span from eternity past to eternity future with no time element involved. We cannot say when eternity begins and when it ends. But at a certain point God created the universe. Time began from the foundation of the world, and thereafter, events can be reckoned in terms of time. From earth’s point of view, eternity can be divided into two parts, with the portion of time that began from the foundation of the world linking the two parts of eternity. The eternity which existed before the foundation of the world was the first eternity, the eternity without a beginning, and the eternity which exists after the end of time is the second eternity, the eternity without an ending.
With this understanding of eternity, we can consider God’s eternal will. According to Ephesians 3:11, God has an eternal purpose, that is, an eternal will. In Greek the word purpose has the same root as the word purposed in Romans 1:13. God has an eternal will. This means that God made a decision in the first eternity. According to Ephesians 1:9, God’s decision is according to His good pleasure; it is purposed in Himself; and it is for the purpose of making known to us the mystery of His will. In Greek the words good pleasure mean “joy” or “delight.” Since God has a delight, He purposed a will. Since God has a will, He made a plan. Based on His plan, God has a mystery to fulfill this plan.
God’s will is something that is hidden in God’s heart, but His plan is something that is manifested to others. God’s plan is God’s center, which is also God’s goal. God’s eternal plan spans from eternity to eternity; it begins with His purpose and will in the first eternity and ends with its full consummation in the second eternity.
God has two kinds of will. One is His perfect will, and the other is His permissive will. God’s perfect will is His ordained will; it exists from eternity to eternity and is executed in heaven without any hindrance. God’s permissive will originates from God’s foreknowledge and is based on God’s perfect will; it passes through the world and eventually ends up in eternity.
God’s plan was made before the foundation of the world. What kind of plan did God make before the foundation of the world? The first thing God purposed before the foundation of the world was to love the Son. John 17:24 tells us that the Father loved the Son “before the foundation of the world.” The second thing that God purposed before the foundation of the world was to foreordain His Son to be the Christ. First Peter 1:20 says that “before the foundation of the world” God foreordained the Son to be the Christ. However, Ephesians 1:4-5 also tells us that God “chose us” in Christ and predestinated us “unto sonship” before the foundation of the world. (He chose men, but He predestinated them unto sonship.) Not only did God foreordain the Son to be the Christ, He also chose us in Christ and predestinated us unto sonship. Second Timothy 1:9 says that God gave us grace “before the times of the ages.” Titus 1:2 says that God promised us eternal life “before the times of the ages.” He promised that we would participate in His life. These two verses tell us that in order to receive the sonship, God predestinated us unto grace and life. All of these things were purposed by God before the foundation of the world.
God’s plan was purposed before the foundation of the world, but the fulfillment of His plan is realized from the foundation of the world. God accomplishes His plan through time. How does God accomplish His plan? Revelation 13:8 tells us that the Lord was slain “from the foundation of the world.” Moreover, our names are written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:3 says that “the works of creation were completed from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34 speaks of “the kingdom prepared...from the foundation of the world.” It is within the span of time that God created all things and accomplished redemption through Christ, writing the names of the redeemed ones into the book of life, giving them eternal life, and through this, preparing His kingdom.
God’s eternal will was purposed in the first eternity, that is, before the foundation of the world. This is God’s perfect will. Although the eternal plan of God was purposed before the foundation of the world, it is accomplished from the foundation of the world by passing through the world. This is God’s permissive will. God’s eternal plan will be fulfilled in the second eternity.