Purpose for the Present - Emily Woodard
God, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, declares this concerning his transcendence, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). It can be helpful to remind ourselves of this truth when we are faced with seemingly unanswerable questions regarding God’s sometimes mysterious activities in our own lives or in the world. But is it the case that there is nothing we can know about God’s ways and purposes?What is it that God is at work doing? Identifying God’s great purpose in the world is foundational to an understanding of what God’s purpose is for the church and for individual believers. Over the last few years, I have been greatly encouraged by reflecting on the answer to this question, for though there is much we can’t know about God’s eternal purposes, we can know those things which God has revealed to us in the pages of Scripture. And there he has told us what he is doing in the world.
The letter to the Ephesians provides a unique look at the answer to this meta-question as it presents God’s purposes on a grand scale. In contrast with most of Paul’s letters, Ephesians does not contain any mention of specific congregational issues or even individual and personal greetings. In fact, whenever Paul uses the word “church” in Ephesians, he is referring to the universal church rather than the local congregation. It is as though he takes a brief step back from the concerns of a specific church to paint a bigger picture, and what results covers way more time and space than just one city in the Roman Empire of the first century. In just a few verses Paul spans the whole length of eternity, encouraging believers with the truth that they have been chosen “before the foundation of the world,” and that they are part of God’s plan for “the fullness of time, to unite all things” in Christ (Ephesians 1:4, 10). The Apostle John, too, presents an image of the fullness of time; the glorious future of the church is described with the metaphor of “the holy city… prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” descending out of heaven as the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise is loudly declared: “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people…” (Revelation 21:2-3; see also Leviticus26:11-12). In Ephesians, Paul is highlighting God’s present work in the world which will manifest in John’s vision becoming reality; in Christ, believers are “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). Peter also referred to this concept when he described the believers to whom he wrote as “living stones...being built up into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). What is God’s great purpose in the world? What is he presently at work doing? He is building his church for his own dwelling place. After all, this is just what Jesus saidhe would do, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
The purpose of the church, however, is not entirely located in the future, at the fullness of time. Paul writes in Ephesians 3 about God’s plan to incorporate Gentiles into the church so that through the union of two deeply divided groups “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known” (v.6-10). Jesus himself prayed for the reality of the unity of the church in order that the message of the gospel might be displayed: “that they may all be one… so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). This means that God is building his church not just for his future consummate dwelling, but also for the present advance of his kingdom in the world. In other words, he’s using his church to build his church! Paul explains this idea in Ephesians 4 where writes of the gifts the ascended Christ has given that “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (v.12). Believers, those living stones, who are being built together by God, are also called to participate in the building up of the church. It is here that we find our purpose in the world wrapped up in God’s.
While many questions related to the circumstances of life in this fallen world will remain unanswered on this side of eternity, it can be immensely encouraging to think about God’s great purpose in the world and our place in it. We may feel unqualified for this cosmic work, but God’s omnipotence, sovereignty, and grace ensure our success in it. As Job confessed, God can do all things and no purpose of his can be thwarted (Job 42:2). With Paul then, we can ascribe praise to God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
A version of this article was previously published in The ARP.