God’s Unchanging Purpose

We have seen so far that there is a mystery which has been hidden since the beginning of the world, but has now been revealed.  This mystery is called, amongst other things, the mystery of His will.

 

The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations [from angels and men], but is now revealed to His holy people (the saints),

Col 1:26 (AMP)

 

Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him,

Eph 1:9 (AMP)

 

The mystery will reveal God’s will, His intention or purpose.

We could say that it will reveal God’s vision.

 

We must also understand that God’s purpose has not, will not and does not ever change!

 

Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath.

Heb 6:17 (AMP)

 

Nothing catches God by surprise! He knows the end from the beginning.

 

Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose,

Isa 46:10 (AMP)

 

So let’s go to the beginning and search for clues to God’s purpose that we can understand God’s vision.

 

Understanding God’s Purpose

 

To understand God’s original intentions we are going to attempt to answer three questions:

 

            What is God doing?

            How is He doing it?

            Why is He doing it?

 

Many people have asked the first question before and have come up with a wide variety of answers. We have all heard answers like, “God is reaching the lost” or “God is saving the world”, but imagine if this answer is incorrect! That means that the second and third questions would also be answered incorrectly!

 

It is obvious that the answer to the first question could be very broad and will determine the direction of our study.  So from the beginning it is critical that we are careful to be led by the Spirit and study scripture diligently.

 

Most people, when answering the first question, assume that it has to do with God’s plan, but perhaps it has more to do with the purpose of His plan. This makes more sense when looking at the second question. Often writers on this subject bundle plan and purpose into one concept, but a plan has a purpose. The purpose is achieved by the plan. So when we speak of God’s plan and purpose, we are speaking of two separate concepts.

 

With this in mind it will help to clarify the questions.

 

What is God doing? In other words, towards what purpose is God busy working?

How is He doing it? How does God achieve this purpose? What is His plan to achieve His purpose?

Why is He doing it? What is God’s reason for His plan and purpose? What is His intention in achieving this purpose?

 

So let’s keep these questions in the back of our minds as we continue searching for God’s unchanging purpose.

 

We will begin our search for the answers right at the beginning of the Bible where we find the very first recorded words which God spoke concerning man, as well as the very first words which God spoke to the created man.

 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gen 1:26-28 (KJV)

 

In this passage are three important points that will form the basis of this teaching.

 

1. God created man in His own image.

 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… (KJV)

 

 

2. Man was designed to rule over creation.

 

…and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (KJV)

 

…and let them have complete authority… (AMP)

 

…and let them rule… (NIV)

 

Even from before man was created, God decided to give man the authority to rule over the works of His hands. As dangerous as this may sound, God was not irresponsible, since man could only rule over creation as an extension of his relationship with God.

 

3. God was looking for a multitude.

 

And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it… (AMP)

 

God’s intention from the beginning was to have a multitude of people all over the earth.  All of them in His own image, having His nature, in intimate communion with Him and ruling over all of creation.

 

We will follow these three points through the Bible.

 

 

 

   

God created man in His image

 

So what was it that made Adam to be the image of God?

There were two components that were put together: the dust of the ground and the breath of life. We know that man’s physical body is made of the same chemical composition as the animals, so it must be the spirit or breath of life that made man resemble God. 

 

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Gen 2:7 (KJV)

 

…and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and the man became a living being.  (AMP)

 

(The word for breath or spirit is exactly the same word in the original text).

 

The first reason for this is clearly for communication or rather communion or fellowship. It is impossible for any meaningful relationship to exist between to unlike beings. Dust cannot have fellowship with his Creator, but spirit can have fellowship with Spirit.

 

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:24 (KJV)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secondly a person’s spirit determines his character or nature. So when God breathed into man the breath of life, He was ensuring that the man would have His character or nature. This was vital, since man was placed on earth as an extension of God’s authority.  If man was to rule then he would have to do so justly and in loving kindness. 

 

God does not breathe air! It was His own Life, His Spirit, which He breathed into Adam!

God breathed of Himself into the man.

 

God breathed His character, His divine nature into man.

 

The Spirit of God is the glory of God is the character of God.

God is Spirit. His glory is everything that He is.

 

When Moses asked God to show Him His glory, the Lord answered by revealing His character (divine nature) and His name to Moses.

 

And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Exodus 33:18-19 (KJV)

(See also Exodus 34:6-7)

 

The character of God is His glory; it is Who He is, it is His Spirit. 

 

Man was designed to rule over creation

 

Adam had God’s Spirit, he had God’s divine nature, he was the image of God, he was clothed in God’s glory and had God’s name upon him.  Adam was godly and because of this godly nature that he possessed, Adam was able to rule over all creation.

 

God had crowned man with His glory and this allowed man to rule justly and with loving kindness.

 

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

Psalms 8:5-6 (KJV)

 

Man, filled and led by the Spirit of God, was an extension of God’s authority in the earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Adam may have been ruling for some time before Eve was formed (He surely had enough time to name all the animals), but imagine for a moment what it must have been like having complete authority to rule over all of creation. No resistance would be offered once his words were spoken. Every creature, every plant, even the weather and the ground, every molecule, element and atom would have to obey.

 

Adam was begotten of God. Adam was the image of God.  Adam was the son of God.

 

Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Luke 3:38 (KJV)

 

God was looking for a multitude

 

But God wanted a multitude. God wanted many sons all crowned with glory and ruling over creation: a multitude of people all having complete authority over creation, but united and in fellowship with God by one Spirit.

 

Furthermore, it was God’s intention for this multitude to fill the earth, not just populate one area, but spread out.  If this had to happen then it is quite possible that as they moved further and further away from each other they would begin to develop dialects and ultimately different cultures, yet still be united by the Spirit of God. So from the outset God has desired a multitude which would be united in its diversity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The answer our three questions is beginning to take shape. 

 

As we continue we will notice that God’s purpose truly never changes. 

 

 

 

The Mystery

Every business or institution has a vision that they are working towards.  We often hear people say: “We really believe in our vision.”   We may have even heard people say things like: “Our vision is so great, I’ll lay down my life for it” or “It’s worth dying for”, but what about a vision that is so great that it’s worth living for!

 

Where there is no vision, the people perish:

Proverbs 29:18a (KJV)

 

The opposite of this portion of scripture would read,

 

Where there is a vision, the people live!

 

In other translations it reads as follows:

 

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish;

Proverbs 29:18a (AMP)

 

If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

Proverbs 29:18a (MSG)

 

The greatest vision of all must be God’s Vision.  The vision that God pursues…His will, His desire, His purpose.

If we discover this vision, we will discover life!

 

 

Vision unites people.  When building a house the builder will employ labourers, bricklayers, plasterers, plumbers, electricians, painters, carpenters and glaziers.  Each one has a very different function to perform, but they are all united by a common vision.   Imagine a vision great enough to unite the church, a common purpose that will bring denominations together.  God’s vision can.  Denominations are formed when people say: “I follow Luther” or “I follow Wesley”  

 

For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

1Cor 3:4-8 (NIV)

 

Every Christian church, church leader and believer, no matter what denomination, should pursue one purpose, one vision – God’s Vision!

 

Imagine discovering God’s Vision, God’s one purpose, His perfect will?

 

Who can understand God?

 

Many people may think that it is impossible.  Who can understand God?

 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!

Rom 11:33 (AMP) 

 

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable.

Psa 145:3 (AMP)

 

It is true.  God’s greatness and God’s decisions are unsearchable and God’s ways are mysterious, but is there a way to search them out?

 

This is what we have searched out; it is true. Hear and heed it and know for yourself [for your good].

Job 5:27 (AMP)

 

It seems that if we search we can find out certain deep and hidden things of God.

 

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a thing.

Pro 25:2 (AMP)

 

The Mystery of God’s Will

 

God’s vision, God’s purpose, His perfect will was concealed, so that we can search it out.  In certain passages it has been called a mystery.

 

Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him, …

Eph 1:9 (AMP)

 

There are many references to the mystery in the Bible.

The mystery of the kingdom of heaven

The mystery of Christ

The mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ

The mystery of the gospel

The mystery of faith

The mystery of godliness 

The mystery of Christ and the church

 

Many people, many even who read the Bible, even church leaders, don’t see it!

 

Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables? And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Mat 13:10-11(AMP)

 

As disciples of Jesus (Christians), we should understand the mystery; we should see God’s vision.

But it is going to take more than just casual reading of the scripture – we must search for it.

 

The mystery of God’s will is like hidden treasure and the Bible is the treasure map. 

 

Eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand

 

From the day that you accept that Jesus is the Son of God Who has paid for your sins on the cross and you give your life to Him so that He can live through you, you can begin to understand the map to the treasure.  Someone else can tell you what the treasure is and help you to understand the path, but each individual must follow the path themselves and claim the treasure themselves.  God has hidden the treasure and we must search for it, but through the cross He has given us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand.

 

This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand. In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.  For this nation’s heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them. But blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men [men who were upright and in right standing with God] yearned to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Mat 13:13-17

 

Father, give us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand the mysteries of the kingdom.

 

[Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known. If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend. And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you–and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away [by force],

Mar 4:22-25 (AMP)

 

Once we begin to see and hear and understand the mystery, our understanding begins to be multiplied, but if we reject the mystery then even that which we had is lost.

 

The Mystery has been revealed

 

The Apostle Paul understood the mystery and wrote many letters to help the believers to also understand.  He explains that the mystery was once hidden, but has now been revealed.

 

[And] that the mystery (secret) was made known to me and I was allowed to comprehend it by direct revelation, as I already briefly wrote you. When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. [This mystery] was never disclosed to human beings in past generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles (consecrated messengers) and prophets by the [Holy] Spirit.

Eph 3:3-5 (AMP)

 

In it I became a minister in accordance with the divine stewardship which was entrusted to me for you [as its object and for your benefit], to make the Word of God fully known [among you]– The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations [from angels and men], but is now revealed to His holy people (the saints),

Col 1:25-26 (AMP)

 

Now to Him Who is able to strengthen you in the faith which is in accordance with my Gospel and the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ (the Messiah), according to the revelation (the unveiling) of the mystery of the plan of redemption which was kept in silence and secret for long ages, But is now disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, [to win them] to obedience to the faith,

Rom 16:25-26 (AMP)

 

If the mystery was not hidden, then the whole plan and purpose of God would have been in jeopardy.

 

Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away. But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God–[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Co 2:6-8 (AMP)

 

But the mystery remained hidden until after the crucifixion and then it was revealed.

Many still do not realize that mystery is revealed.

 

But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny]. For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

1Co 2:9-11 (AMP)

 

The mystery has been revealed. Our eyes can see it, our ears can hear it and our hearts can understand it. 

God is unsearchable, but the Holy Spirit searches God’s heart and reveals the hidden mysteries to us.

 

Understanding the Mystery

 

There is a mystery and we can know it. The mystery is hidden, but we have the map (Bible).  The Holy Spirit is the best person to help us understand the mystery.

 

We need the Word of God and we need the Spirit of God.

 

My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Pro 4:20-22 (KJV)

 

We must fill our ears, eyes and heart with the Word of God, but even if we memorise the Bible it will not help us apart from the Holy Spirit.  We also need the Spirit to give us the revelation.  Paul prayed the following prayer for the believers at Ephesus.

 

I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come. And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church], Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].

Eph 1:16-23 (AMP)

 

This prayer is a powerful Holy Spirit inspired prayer. It would be very wise to memorise this prayer and to pray it for yourself and others. 

 

Read the Word, pray this prayer, meditate on the Word and expect the Holy Spirit to reveal hidden truths to you!