Isaiah 39:1-41:16 / Ephesians 1 / Psalm 66 / Proverbs 23:25-28
I have talked before about how much I love a good mystery. I love knowing there is a mystery. I love looking at the clues and trying to figure out the facts, and I enjoy learning the solution that may not be obvious to everyone. I am by no means a Sherlock Holmes; I don’t know that I could be a criminal investigator as I’m too sensitive to pain and suffering.
Once I discovered there were many mysteries hidden in the Bible, and many mysteries hidden in Jesus Christ, I knew I would never grow tired of reading, discovering clues and gaining relational knowledge about God. If we consider that God is nothing like us, that He not only contains all power but IS all power, while at the same time loves us deeply, this is a conundrum that I must investigate! The God who created all things loves me. Unfathomable.
The book of Ephesians is one of those mysterious books. We hear about such topics as predestination, adoption, the mystery of His will, and that we are marked in God with a seal. I don’t see how I’ll cover just one of these mysteries in this post, however, I’ll do my best to choose only one. Perhaps you can read about the others, or perhaps I need to do an in-depth study of this book of the Bible at a future date.
Please read Ephesians 1:9-10, 13, 17-18 from The Passion Translation because there are several fascinating topics included in these verses, the whole chapter really! I’ll choose one fascinating topic to dive deeper into, leaving the others for you to explore.
9 And through the revelation of the Anointed One, he unveiled his secret desires to us—the hidden mystery of his long-range plan, which he was delighted to implement from the very beginning of time. 10 And because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.
It was difficult to choose which topic to explore, but I chose the hidden mystery of His long-range plan or will. God doesn’t have a plan just for your life while you’re on earth, although that is part of it. He has a plan that spans many generations, centuries, and people from all over the world.
Do you remember the story of Adam and Eve who were deceived by the serpent? Prior to this deception, Adam and Eve met with God in the garden daily to talk and spend time together. They had unbroken fellowship. Once the serpent deceived them, Adam and Eve were separated from God by sin. In one moment, their fellowship with God and the authority He had given them to rule the earth was lost.
Fellowship and authority were taken away that day. However, God was not taken by surprise. God knew because of His omniscient (all-knowing) nature that the devil was going to disrupt the beauty that had been created. Satan couldn’t stand the thought of God having something beautiful, so he sought immediately to destroy it. What the enemy didn’t know was that God had already formed a plan to redeem or buy back what had been lost.
Men, women, and children would have to wait for many centuries for this plan to be enacted. The day finally came when a baby was born into the earth whose mother agreed for the Holy Spirit to impregnate her. Does that sound scandalous? I’m sure it does. But there was no other way. Jesus had to come as a man to buy back those the Father created and loved.
When Jesus took His final breath on the cross, and went into hell to demolish the devil’s kingdom, the secret plan was finally understood by the one who had attempted to destroy it all. In that moment, satan knew he had lost, and that God had accomplished the great feat of restoring to His created ones the fellowship and authority that had been stolen.
Yes, we must access these stolen things through a relationship with Jesus Christ. But our access to the Father has been restored. We once again possess all the powerful, beautiful things that are hidden in Christ Jesus. How do we access what was lost? We say “Yes” to the gift of Jesus Christ on the cross. We believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we are saved!
GAME OVER
