The Mystery of God’s Will

In our last study, I wrote about Ephesians 1:7–8, which described the riches of God’s grace. I offered gratitude to the Lord by ending the study with these words: “Thank God we have been set free by the work of the Son upon the cross.” Now, in Ephesians 1:9–12, Paul describes how God reveals to us the mystery of His will with these powerful words:

He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

To understand the statement Paul makes in these verses, we must explore it more deeply. There are four major divisions in this statement:

the mystery of God’s will

how God will reveal the mystery of His will

when God will reveal the mystery of His will

our part in revealing the mystery of God’s will

Let us examine the mystery of God’s will and our role in it.

Paul tells us in verse 9 that God has a hidden purpose, which he calls a “mystery.” A mystery is a truth that God knows people need to understand, but will never comprehend unless God reveals it. No seminar, no university class, no scientific probe can reveal these answers. God Himself is the only one who can unveil them.

In verse 10, Paul says that the great secret or mystery of God is that He plans “the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.” That is what God is doing in history: summing up or uniting all things in the Messiah. You may wonder, “How can that be? I look around, and it does not seem that the world is uniting in Messiah but falling apart and falling away from Him!” “I don’t see unity, I see division!” “I don’t see Messiah’s unity—I see atheism, paganism, and immorality!” “There is even division within my soul, as the godly Christian person I want to be is constantly at odds with the desires of my old sinful nature!”

Paul has an answer for that last objection, which we will cover later in this study. But first, he wants us to understand that God’s ultimate plan is to bring all things together under the headship of His Son, Yeshua (Jesus). When Paul said, “All things,” he meant all things. In fact, he amplifies it by stating: “All things in heaven and on earth.” He is saying that, ultimately, God will unite all things in both the invisible realm of heaven and the visible realm of earth under the lordship of Yeshua the Messiah. Where we now see a struggle between good and evil, a struggle among nations, and a struggle among people, we will one day see unity.

Yeshua will be the supreme administrator of all things, both in the heavenly realm and the earthly. That is God’s purpose in the world; that is where all of history is moving. That is the mystery of God’s will.

Only after we have read and understood the Lord’s revealed word can we perceive how current events fit into the program and purpose of God. We in the body of Messiah have access to many of the mysteries of God, and He has made us the stewards and dispensers of those mysteries. Tragically, we have failed too often in the job God has given us. We do not speak boldly and clearly to the world about His mysteries, which is why the world continues in its confusion and darkness. It is up to us to share with the world the mysteries that God reveals to us through His Word and His Spirit.