On of the TV shows that was popular back in the 1980s was "The A-Team." The A Team was about a commando unit that was wrongfully accused of a crime they didn’t commit, so it was constantly on the run. One of the things I remember most about the A Team is Hannibal Smith chewing on a cigar and saying, "I love it when a plan comes together."
All of us love it when a well thought out plan comes together, but how often does that really happen? In the last nine years I’ve read books, attended classes and gone to seminars on strategic planning, and I’ve come to the conclusion that none of our plans ever end up like we think. I have a feeling Bill Gates’ strategic plan for Microsoft didn’t include an antitrust suit that would break his company into two separate corporations. Whenever we design a plan, it’s a guess of what we hope will happen, because there are simply too many variables that can come up to alter our plan.
In fact the Bible warns us about this in Proverbs 19:21 where it says, "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it’s the LORD’s purpose that prevails." So although Hannibal Smith might love it when a plan comes together, the reality is that most of our plans turn out quite different than we thought they would.
But God’s not like that. God’s plan stands firm, because God knows all contingencies and takes all the variables into account. The Bible says in Psalm 33:11, "The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." Elsewhere in the Bible God says, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand" (Isaiah 14:24). The God of the Bible is the God who plans.
Today we finish a series we started the week after Easter on God’s attributes called SIMPLY GOD. We’ve looked at God as the God who’s real, the God who speaks, the God who cares, the God who’s 3-in-1, the God who’s holy, and then last week as the God who has no limits. Today we’re going to finish up this series by looking at God as the God who plans. We’re going to see three ways knowing that God has a plan can help us in our daily lives.
1. God is in Control of His Plan (Eph 1:4-6, 11).
Ephesians begins by looking at God’s plan:
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves...In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will (Eph 1:4-6, 11 NIV).
Now let’s be honest: the idea of God choosing and predestining people makes a lot of us uncomfortable. It sounds like God’s playing favorites, like he’s a grand puppet master pulling the strings of the universe. God choosing people--also called the doctrine of election-- and predestination are fighting words among some Christians. Churches have split over election and predestination, denominations have fragmented, friends have refused to speak to each other.
The heart of this debate is how God chooses and predestines people. Some Christians embrace a doctrinal system called Calvinism, which is named after the 16th century French theologian John Calvin. Calvinists claim God chooses people for salvation purely on the basis of his freedom. God doesn’t choose because some people are better than others or because God knows some people will have faith and others won’t, but God simply chooses some and doesn’t choose others for no reason other than His freedom as God to do whatever He wants. This is the view of election and predestination you’re likely to find in most Presbyterian churches, Reformed churches and some Baptist churches.
Other Christians embrace a doctrinal system called Arminianism, which is named after a 16th century Dutch theologian named Jacob Arminius. Arminians claim that God chooses people based on his foreknowledge of who will have faith in Jesus and who won’t. This is what John Wesley believed, and it’s the view of election you’re likely to find in Methodist churches, Pentecostal churches, and Calvary Chapels.
For generations Calvinists and Arminians have squabbled with each other over this issue. But what does Paul actually say here? It’s certainly true that the word "chose" in v. 4 refers to God’s election, God choosing people. It’s also true that this election occurs before creation, before anything else existed. On that both Calvinists and Arminians are agreed.
The word "predestine" in v. 5 means "to make a decision before hand" (Louw and Nida 30.84) and it speaks of deciding our destiny as followers of Christ. So you might think of election as describing the beginning of our lives, and predestination describing to the end of our lives, our destiny. Election and predestination stand as book ends that bracket our lives.
But also notice that Paul uses the plural "us" in v. 4, "us" again in v. 5, the plural "sons" in v. 5, "us" again in v. 6, and finally "we" in v. 11. Paul is not talking about individuals here, but he’s describing the Christian community, the Church. Just as God chose the nation of Israel out from among the other nations in the Old Testament, here we find God chose the Christian community before the creation of the world.
Although other passages in the Bible might talk about God’s election of particular individuals, here the emphasis is on God electing His church.
Verse 4 tells us that the goal of God’s election is to create a community that’s holy and blameless. The word "holy" simply means totally devoted to God, completely set apart to serve God. The word "blameless" means without blemish, free of all imperfections. God wants a community of people who are so devoted to him that they’re free of blemishes.
Finally, v. 11 tells us that God’s election of the Church is an essential part of God’s plan. In order for God to work out His purposes for creation, God chooses His church. The Church is indispensable to the fulfillment of God’s plan in the universe. Because this text is emphasizing corporate election, I think it’s more biblical for us to talk about God’s election of the church than it is to talk about God’s election of specific individuals. From before creation God decided that he would work out his plan in the universe through a community of people. In the Old Testament this was the nation of Israel, a nation God chose freely and graciously. Since the coming of Jesus Christ, this election has shifted over to the Church, the worldwide community of people of men and women who have trusted in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and who seek to live as followers of Jesus. So rather than saying, "God chose me," or "God chose you," I think it’s more biblical to say, "God chose the Church, and because I’ve placed my faith in Jesus Christ I’m part of the community God chose." The Christian church is the elect of God, and all who enter the church thorough faith in Jesus Christ share in that election.
Sometimes I think that both Calvinists and Arminians are guilty of trying to explain what the Bible says is unexplainable. Romans 11:33 says that God’s decisions are unsearchable and God’s ways are beyond our ability to trace them out. Yet in their more extreme forms both Calvinism and Arminianism attempt to search out God’s decisions and trace out God’s ways. Of course I have my own opinions about this Calvinism and Arminianism, but they remain nothing than personal opinions. We’d do well to remember the words of John Wesley, who when preaching on this topic said, "Whatever we propose must be proposed with modesty, and with deference to those wise and good people who are of a contrary opinion" ("On Predestination"). The famous English preacher Charles Spurgeon, warned us that the Bible simultaneously teaches predestination and human responsibility, and these two teachings are like two rails to a railroad track that somewhere beyond the horizon come together ("A Defense of Calvinism"). Rejecting either of these two rails causes the train to fall over. So although Spurgeon was a Calvinist, he rejected extreme Calvinism and preferred to be called a Christian instead of a Calvinist.
Now what does this passage imply about God’s plan? BECAUSE GOD HAS A PLAN, WE CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT HE IS IN CONTROL.
God is in the driver’s seat of the universe. If our beginning and our destiny are both fixed by God, then our lives are safe and secure in God’s hands. Back in the ancient world people constantly worried about their fate (Arnold 28-40). People thought the movement of the planets determined their destiny. They were afraid that angels and demons could decide their fate. This anxiety was especially prevalent in the city of Ephesus (Arnold 13-15). So Paul writes these words to assure us that we’re safe in the hands of God, that from the beginning of our lives to the end, God is in control.
This provides us with confidence in the face of circumstances that are painful. We might wonder if there’s anyone at the wheel of the universe when suffering comes into our lives and the lives of those we care about. When that happens we need confidence that God is still at the wheel.
But we also need to be very careful this confidence doesn’t turn into arrogance. In the Bible God always elects people in order to bring His blessings to others. God elected Abraham and his offspring to bring God’s blessing to all the other families of the earth. God elected Israel to be His representatives to the other nations of the ancient world. God elected the church for us to share the message of God’s love with those around us, to fulfill the Great Commission. So God chose the church so we could serve the world, not so it could arrogantly sit on the sidelines admiring ourselves and acting like we’re God’s favorite.
God has a plan, and he’s chosen His church to fulfill that plan. Because God has a plan, we can be confident that he’s in control.
2. God’s Plan is Redemptive (Eph 1:7-8)
Now most of us read these words and we immediately realize that we don’t feel very holy and blameless. None of us is fully devoted to Jesus Christ at every moment and all of our lives are stained with failures and sins. And of course the Christian Church is filled with imperfect people, people who sometimes act unholy and blameworthy instead of holy and blameless. We wonder how God’s election and predestination could include us. That’s why the next two verses are so important:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding (Eph 1:7-8 NIV).
Not only have we been chosen in Christ and predestined in Christ, but we’ve also received redemption through Christ. The word "redemption" simply means "to be released or set free." This word was often used to describe slaves who were emancipated from their slavery. Every time a Jewish person heard the word "redemption" they thought of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, an event the Bible calls the Exodus.
This redemption was accomplished comes through Jesus Christ’s blood. Now this doesn’t mean Jesus’ blood had some sort of mystical or magical quality to it, but it simply describes Jesus Christ’s perfect life that he willingly laid down. Jesus died the death we deserved to die, so his blood was shed in place of our blood.God didn’t do this begrudgingly or resentfully, but he did it as a way of lavishing God’s grace on us. The cross of Jesus is the flood of God’s unearnable favor, voluntarily poured out on our behalf. Jesus didn’t go to the cross because he had to, but he went because he wanted to shower us with God’s grace.
Now the word redemption actually describes the entire salvation package Jesus accomplished on the cross. Redemption includes setting us free from the power of sin in our lives, setting our bodies free from mortality caused by sin, and healing the entire universe of the effects of sin. But many of the these things are still future, so Paul focuses in on the forgiveness of sins as that part of redemption that we currently enjoy. Full redemption is coming, and for the moment our sins have been totally and completely forgiven so we can look forward to full redemption. For the person who’s trusted in Jesus, never again will your sins be counted against you by God.
The redemption brought about by Jesus on the cross is what allows us to be part of a holy and blameless community even though we still fail. The Christian Church isn’t holy and blameless because it’s perfect, but it’s holy and blameless because it’s redeemed by Jesus through his death. God’s Church is declared holy by Christ’s holiness, and declared blameless by Christ’s blamelessness.
Here we find the second way God’s plan can help us. BECAUSE GOD HAS A PLAN, WE CAN BE THANKFUL THAT HE HAS FREED US FROM OUR FAILURES.
Every time we sin it’s like adding a link to a chain that binds us. Our sins entangle us, destroying our relationships, demolishing our hope, robbing our joy, locking us away from a relationship with God. Our sins chain us in a prison cell of despair, isolated and exiled from intimacy with God. The cross broke that chain, and through faith in Jesus we’re set free from this bondage. Every link on the chain is broken, each lock is opened. We couldn’t escape or break the chains ourselves, so God provided a way for us to be freed from our failures.
The only response to such freedom is gratitude. This is why we worship each week as a church, why we celebrate communion each month as a church, to express our gratitude to God for breaking our chain through the cross.Only through the cross can imperfect people like us find a place among God’s elect.Because God has a plan, we can be thankful that he’s freed us from our past.
3. God’s Plan Will Be Fulfilled (Eph 1:9-10)
Let’s retrace our steps so far. If you’ve placed your trust in Jesus Christ and become his follower, God had made you a part of His Church. God’s Church was chosen from before creation, and it’s destiny is already set, and it’s through this Church God is working out his plan. We can only become part of God’s Church by being freed from our sins through faith in what Jesus did on the cross.But what about the future, the completion of God’s plan?
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Eph 1:9-10 NIV).
To this same community of people—this church—God has made known a mystery. Now in the Bible a mystery isn’t a puzzle or a riddle that you can figure out if you try hard enough. In the Bible the word "mystery" refers to something that was previously unknown but that has now been revealed by God (Wood 25). This mystery is God’s purpose, His will or intention for the universe. This will or purpose of God acted out through Jesus will be put into effect at the end of time, so this is talking about the end of the age.
The words "put into effect" in v. 10 represent the Greek word oikonomia, which is where we get our English word "economy" from. This word describes "a plan or set of arrangements" and when used with reference to God it refers to God’s master plan for the entire universe (Louw and Nida 30.68). This is God’s economy, his master plan for the cosmos, his strategic plan for the universe.
God’s master plan reaches its fulfillment when everything is brought together under Jesus Christ’s headship. The word "bring together" is a word that means to summarize, to sum up. Jesus is the organizing principle, the focus, the unification of all things. This presupposes that the universe is fragmented, broken into bits because of human sin that’s torn God’s good creation apart. What sin fragmented by causing chaos, God is working to bring back into harmony under Jesus Christ’s Lordship. This is God’s economy, his master plan.
Here’s the third way God’s plan can help us. BECAUSE GOD HAS A PLAN, WE CAN BE SURE THAT HE WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED.
Although we can resist God’s plan, we can’t stop it. No human power, no demonic power, no world power can stop God’s plan from reaching its fulfillment. In fact, God is even able to take our resistance to his plan and use it to accomplish his plan. Time will one day reach its finish line, it will happen, and when it does, God’s master plan will reach its fulfillment.
Because of this reality, we have every reason to be hopeful about the future. Because of this assurance that nothing can stop the plan of God, we can be calm and positive about the future. The president of the United States can’t obstruct God’s plan. The United Nations can’t frustrate God’s will. The Supreme Court can’t alter God’s agenda. Not even the devil himself can stop the fulfillment of God’s master plan, of God’s economy. We can be sure of this.
The God of the Bible has a plan, and it’s a plan that involves setting all of creation free from the curse of sin and evil. Because of this plan, we can be confident God is in control, we can be thankful that he’s freed us from our failures, and we can be assured that he’ll finish what he started. Our plans might be frustrated, but God’s plan will reach its fulfillment. Isaiah 46:10 says, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."But the absolutely amazing part of God’s incredible cosmic plan is that He’s working out this plan through his Church. This means Life Bible Fellowship Church has an important role in God’s cosmic plan of freeing the universe from sin. Does that sound grandiose or arrogant? It shouldn’t based on what we’ve looked at in the Bible today. Our congregation is a small part of God’s worldwide Church, and God is fulfilling his purposes through His Church.Our church mission statement begins with the phrase, "God has called us." It goes on to say, "God has called us to reach unchurched people from the Inland Valley and beyond with Christ’s love and to help them grow into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ." But the most important phrase is, "God has called us." It doesn’t say, "Pastor Tim thinks this is what we’re supposed to be doing." It doesn’t say, "By a three-to-one margin this is what our church has voted to do." It doesn’t say, "We went to a seminar and this is what they told us to do." It says, "God has called us," this is our vocation, our calling, our special task personally given to us by God himself. We were chosen by God before creation to be here in Upland at this time, we were predestined by God himself to have a ministry to this community. Our mission statement is a statement of faith, a declaration of what we passionately believe God has called this congregation to be and to do. Over the years we’ve changed the wording of this mission statement a few times, but its essence has remained the same since this congregation began in the early 1970s. In the early 70s this church knew God had called it to evangelism and discipleship, and that’s still God’s calling for us today. We phrase it a little differently today, we do it a little differently today, but our calling has remained the same, our mission remains the same.
If we have a large congregation, but we don’t do this, we’re failing. If we have fully funded budget, great worship, captivating preaching, a wonderful reputation and spacious facilities, but if we’re not doing this, we’re disobeying God. This is the mission we believe God has raised us up for, and they day we stop fulfilling this mission will be the day this congregation begins to die. God help us to live this mission, to do that which God has called us to do and nothing else.
Because God has called us to this mission, our ministry has cosmic significance. Think about it: What we do in ministry counts not just for now, but for all eternity, and that makes what happens in ministry in Jesus’ church more significant than the November presidential elections, more crucial than who sits on the supreme court, more vital than anything else happening in the world. That’s not just my opinion but that’s what God decided when He chose a community called the Church to fulfill His plan for the universe. One day we’ll stand before the God of the universe, and He will look at us, smile, and say, "I love it when a plan comes together."
Sources
Arnold, Clinton. E. 1992. Ephesians: Power and Magic (Baker Books).
Louw, J. P. and E. Nida (eds). 1989. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. (United Bible Society). CDRom Version.
Spurgeon, Charles. "A Defence of Calvinism."
Wood, A. Skevington. 1978. Ephesians, Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol. 11. (Zondervan Publishing).
Wesley, John. "On Predestination"
To study more about the doctrines of election and predestination, Pastor Tim recommends Dr. Norman Geisler’s book Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election (Bethany House, 1999).
