The Eternal Purpose

 
“This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access to God by way of Christ’s faithfulness.” Ephesians 3:11-12 NET

The eternal purpose of the Father was to achieve His goal through Christ which was to enable His sons and daughters to stand firm in the strength of Christ through faith. By standing in His strength, we can remain faithful and steadfast. Furthermore, when we surrender to His will, it is the Father working through us to accomplish His good will. In John 14:10 ESV, Jesus says, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds."

God had a plan in place from the very beginning of creation. This plan was for us to be in Him and for Him to be in us in order to fulfill His purpose for us and for the Church. His purpose was for Him to live through us on earth and to bring His sons and daughters back home to Him. “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.”                        (Ephesians 1:3-4 NET)

God has given us a higher purpose than just being His children. While some may find that fulfilling, there is so much more in the incomprehensible riches of Christ which are available to us. We are called to serve as priests unto the Father, fulfilling His duties as He empowers us to do so. Additionally, we are co-heirs, or co-regents, with Christ. When God came to earth as a man, we became co-equal heirs of the inheritance that belongs to the Father in Christ. It can be difficult to fully unpack the depth of this incredible truth, in fact it could take an eternity to explore the intricacies of the riches of Christ.

The passage above says we have boldness and confident access to God. The boldness comes because we are dead to ourselves, the old man which once ruled this body is dead and gone, what remains is an empty vessel, and Christ filles that space with Himself. So any boldness comes from the new man who is alive in Christ, we approach God the Father boldly, we have the confidence that when we approach Him He hears us. “For we don’t have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Let us then come boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us at the moment when we need it.”                                  Hebrews 4:15-16 NTFE

Jesus Christ was faithful to His mission to become the sacrifice for sin, providing a means for all to come to the Heavenly Father and be restored into a right relationship that was stolen away in the Garden of Eden by the serpent, the 'Nachash'. This divine being stole Adam's birthright and brought death with him, but Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem mankind from the curse of death brought on by this rebellious divine being. Jesus defeated death itself and returned back to life, bringing all those who died in faith from previous generations with Him into glory. The book of Ephesians says, "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says, 'When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.' (In saying, 'He ascended,' what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)" (Ephesians 4:7-10 ESV).

Returning to the concept that we have died to our sinful nature, it is important to note that a dead man cannot have faith. Therefore, if faith is present, it is the faith of Jesus Christ and His righteousness that we stand in, not our own. Our old nature has died, and the new nature has taken hold, which is Christ. The Bible says in Romans 5:1-2 ESV, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Accessing our Heavenly Father is crucial. He is our true Father who loves us beyond measure. He devised a plan to redeem us, suffered agony and pain for His children on the cross, and was brokenhearted when sin separated us from His presence. However, when we finally realize that He loves us and welcomes us back home, He comes running to meet and embrace us, welcoming us with open arms.  “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:18-24 ESV

Stephen Barnett