The writer of the book of Ephesians tells us about it—what I refer to as God’s eternal redemptive purpose and God’s strategy for achieving it.
God’s eternal redemptive purpose is what God is working to bring to reality in the world. This purpose—one might call it God’s dream, the biblical writer refers to it as God’s will (Ephesians 1:9)—grows out of and is a logical expression of God’s self-giving love. The objective of God’s efforts is to bring unity to all of creation—“things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10)—under the lordship of Jesus. “He made known to us the mystery of his will . . . to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). The term translated “gather up” is a military term referring to the bugle call signaling the troops to regroup around the general in command. Those soldiers fighting in hand-to-hand combat individually or in small groups were to regroup around the general, restoring the army’s strength as a single unit.
God is at work to restore unity and wholeness to God’s creation. God’s eternal redemptive purpose addresses and seeks to resolve the rebellion that occurred in the heavenly realms and spilled over onto earth (Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9, 13-17). All things in heaven and on earth are to be reunited in unity through the redemptive work of God in Christ Jesus.
Each member of the Godhead plays a different role in this eternal redemptive purpose. The Father chose us before the foundation of the world and adopted us as beloved children (Ephesians 1:3-6). Through the work of the Son, we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. We also gain insight into the mystery of God’s will—i.e., God’s eternal redemptive purpose—as well as an inheritance in that work (Ephesians 1:7-12). The Spirit marks us as God’s beloved children and is God’s guarantee of the inheritance that is ours in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:13-14).
God’s strategy for restoring the oneness of creation is to model the surpassing beauty and wisdom of God’s ways of grace. The self-giving work of each member of the Godhead demonstrates that beauty and wisdom. The work of the Father is “to the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6). Through the work of Jesus, the Son, we who are the beloved children of God and the followers of Jesus “live for the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12). The work of the Spirit is “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14). God’s glory is God’s character of self-giving, servant love.
God’s eternal redemptive purpose is a demonstration of the beauty of the way of life in the Godhead. It is an expression of God’s character of self-giving, servant love.
The strategy of the Godhead centers around the beloved children of God who are followers of Jesus, living “for the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12). God’s intent is for us, the church, to live together in a Spirit-based unity, modeling the unity the Godhead is seeking to restore to creation. Through the work of the Godhead, we become a new expression of humanity—“that he might create in himself one new humanity” (Ephesians 2:15). We are a holy temple, “a dwelling place for God” on earth (Ephesians 2:22). We demonstrate the surpassing greatness of God’s servant ways of grace by how we live in together in unity and oneness.
The strategy of the Godhead for achieving God’s eternal redemptive purpose depends upon the church. We, the followers of Jesus, are called to be God’s partners in doing God’s work and achieving God’s eternal redemptive purpose. Living the ways of God that Jesus taught, we are a demonstration of the surpassing greatness of God’s servant ways of grace.
This strategy calls us beyond how the world trained us to think and live—“following the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:1). In the world’s way of thinking and living, differences—diversity—are a source of division and alienation.
Differences trigger a pattern of thinking and relating that has been repeated in seemingly every culture and country throughout the centuries. Differences trigger a comparing and competing mindset. We compare, identifying how we are different. Such comparing naturally leads us to us-them thinking—those who are like us, those who are different from us. Comparing also leads to competing. We seek to identify whose way is right and whose way is wrong. Comparing and competing lead to better than-less than thinking. “Since our way is right, we are better than them.” A large part of our sense of identity is unconsciously constructed out of this comparing and competing. “I am not like them. I am better than them.” Our sense of being “better than” them produces an egocentric identity. It is expressed in our condemnation, judgement, and rejection of them. Every time we judge another, we unconsciously say “I am better than them.”
When we allow differences to trigger a comparing and competing mindset, leading to us-them thinking, we seek unity in sameness. Unity is only possible with those like me—those who think like me and agree with what I believe. Any inkling of disagreement becomes the occasion for conflict, leading to alienation and division.
In the strategy of the Godhead for accomplishing God’s eternal redemptive purpose, diversity is viewed as God’s design and gift. It is a source of strength for the community as each contributes their differing gifts and abilities (Ephesians 4:11-16). The church finds its unity in the midst of the diversity. This understanding is reflected in the apostle Paul’s image of the church as a body (1 Corinthians 12-13).
In the strategy of the Godhead for accomplishing God’s eternal redemptive purpose, unity is a gift of the Spirit that is to be protected with conscious intentionality (Ephesians 4:1-6). It calls for humility and gentleness, for patience, for bearing with one another (Ephesians 4:1-4). The unity of the Spirit is rooted in God and God’s eternal redemptive purpose (Ephesians 4:5-6; 2:18-22). Those things that divided and created hostility are set aside through the work of Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16).
The strategy of the Godhead for accomplishing God’s eternal redemptive purpose calls us, through the work of the Spirit, to put off the old self and its ways. It calls us to put on the new self “created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). The Spirit leads us in this putting off-putting on transformation by training us to think differently—“be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23). The Spirit moves us beyond the way the world trained us to think by teaching us the ways of God that Jesus taught. As the Spirit teaches us, our thinking begins to be shaped by the character of God and the ways of God. The constructed egocentric self, based on being better than others, is set aside. This egocentric self is what Jesus referred to when he said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves” (Mark 8:34). We are to die to this egocentric way of thinking and living—“take up your cross.”
As the Spirit moves us beyond the defensiveness of the egocentric self, we set aside social distinctions. “In that renewal (of the mind) there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11). “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The dividing wall with its hostilities is pulled down in Christ. He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).
We live in a time of widespread polarization—politically, socio-economically, religiously, ethnically. The polarization is rooted in and reflects the thinking of the world in which differences stir fear. That fear leads to the alienation and division we experience all around us.
This fear-based, us-them thinking doesn’t seem to be working very well. All it can produce, it seems, is chaos and destruction. Might there be a better way? Might it be time for the church to model a different way that reflects the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:8-11)? Might it be time to try the ways of God that Jesus taught—the ways that lead to peace, not polarization?
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