THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Believers
Message Two—The History of the Eternal Triune God
Being the History of the Believers
Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:3-6; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:29; Acts 20:24; 2 Tim. 4:7
I. As believers, we have an eternal history, for our history began in eternity past; the history of the eternal Triune God is our history, and we were destined to be blessed, even in eternity past—Eph. 1:3-6; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:29:
A. God in eternity past made an eternal economy, and the content of God’s economy is a romance between God and His chosen people; at the beginning of the Bible there is one single God, the “bachelor” God, and at the end there is the “married” God, the ultimately incorporated God, the New Jerusalem—Eph. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:3-6; Jer. 31:3; Gen. 1:1, 26; 2:18; Isa. 54:5; Rev. 19:7-8; 21:2, 9-10.
B. From the days of eternity, the Triune God was preparing to come forth out of eternity into time by incarnation in order to “court” His chosen ones with His love in His judicial redemption so that they might become His bride by loving Him with His love through their organic salvation—Micah 5:2; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; 11:2:
1. “I have loved you with an eternal love, / Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness”—Jer. 31:3.
2. “I drew them with cords of a man, / With bands of love”—Hosea 11:4.
3. “Draw me; we will run after you”—S. S. 1:4a.
4. We say that our King’s love to us is better than wine; He responds to our love by saying that our love to Him is much better than wine; this shows that although we treasure the Lord’s love, we cannot comprehend how precious His love is toward us; even in loving us, He takes the preeminence—v. 2:4; 4:10; Col. 1:18b; cf. Rev. 2:4.
C. God in His Divine Trinity held a council in eternity to make the determination concerning the crucial death of Christ for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy; this is the “bachelor” God becoming the incarnated God and the redeeming God so that He might become the indwelling God and the incorporated God for the full accomplishment of His eternal economy in uniting, mingling, and incorporating Himself with His chosen people unto His eternal glory—Acts 2:23; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8; Psa. 90:1-2; John 1:1, 14, 29, 32, 42, 51; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rev. 4:5; 5:6; 21:3, 22; Eph. 2:10.
II. God blessed the believers in Christ with the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies before the foundation of the world—Eph. 1:3-6:
A. Before the foundation of the world implies that the world, which is the universe, was founded for man’s existence to fulfill God’s purpose—Rev. 4:11; John 1:3; Zech. 12:1; Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 1:20; Psa. 19:1-2; Acts 14:15-17; 17:23-31; Job 38:1-4; 10:13; Eph. 3:9; Eccl. 1:3-9; cf. Isa. 40:31.
B. In eternity past we were foreknown by God—Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:2:
1. To foreknow includes the meaning of approval, appreciation, and possession; in eternity past God approved us, appreciated us, and possessed us—Jer. 1:5; John 1:48; cf. 1 Cor. 8:1-3.
2. In eternity past we were foreknown by God “according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself”; God’s good pleasure is what makes Him happy, His heart’s desire—Eph. 1:9.
3. In eternity past before the creation of the heavens and the earth and before the beginning of time, God foreknew us, chose us, and predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, that His Son would be the Firstborn among many brothers—Rom. 8:29.
4. We were “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”—1 Pet. 1:2.
C. In eternity past God chose us to be holy—to have His divine nature—so that we could become Him in nature, sanctified in our spirit, soul, and body to be His bride in love—Eph. 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:4; cf. Eph. 5:25-27:
1. God chose us in Christ; outside of the sphere of Christ, it is not possible for man to be chosen or blessed by God—1:4.
2. God chose us because He loved us, and He loved us without reason—Jer. 31:3; 1 Thes. 1:4.
3. “God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might shame those who are wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might shame the things that are strong, and the lowborn things of the world and the despised things God has chosen, things which are not, that He might bring to nought the things which are, so that no flesh may boast before God”—1 Cor. 1:27-29.
4. God chose us because of His mercy in His selection of grace—Rom. 9:11, 15-16, 21, 23; 11:4-6.
D. In eternity past God predestinated us unto sonship—to have His divine life—so that we could become Him in life, vivified in our spirit, soul, and body to be His sons in glory—Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11; Heb. 2:10-11:
1. We were predestinated and designated to be God’s inheritance for His enjoyment (Eph. 1:11, 18) so that we might inherit God as our inheritance for our enjoyment (v. 14).
2. Christ as God’s wisdom was predestined, predestinated, foreordained before the ages for our glory that we might express Him as His masterpiece for His exhibition to the universe—1 Cor. 2:7-10; Eph. 2:10.
III. Because God in eternity past foreknew us, chose us, and predestinated us, we have a destiny to fulfill—Jer. 1:5; Acts 20:24; 2 Tim. 4:7:
A. We all have to realize that we have been marked out beforehand by God for the accomplishment of His economy; because God has put His mark on us, we cannot run away from Him—Jonah 1:3; Jer. 23:24; Psa. 139:1, 5-12, 16, 23.
B. Since we have been pre-marked, marked out beforehand by God in eternity past, we have no choice except to give ourselves to the Lord for His recovery and to be beside ourselves in the constraint of Christ’s impelling love for the church life—2 Cor. 5:13-15.
C. For every believer there is a pathway, a course, predetermined by God for him to walk on; the responsibility of every believer is to seek out this course, walk on this course, and finish this course—Acts 20:24; 26:19; 2 Tim. 4:7; 1 Cor. 9:24; Heb. 12:1-2.
D. God wants to make us overcomers in His recovery, those who finish their course by carrying out the intrinsic, divine history within the outward, human history—Acts 20:24; Isa. 45:15; Esth. 2:7; 4:14-16; 10:3; Neh. 2:10; 1 Sam. 4:3, 21-22; Dan. 1:6-8; Rev. 2:7, 17; 3:20.
IV. We are blessed by God according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure has apportioned to us and according to our function in the Body which the Head of the Body has ordained for us—2 Cor. 10:13, 15; 1 Cor. 12:18; Rom. 12:2-3:
A. The consequence of participating capriciously in God’s work by going beyond one’s measure is a lifetime of leprosy—2 Chron. 26:16-21.
B. Every worker has a specific work which God measures to him; every believer has a pathway on which God wants him to walk; if you are standing in your rightful position, working in your rightful service, and walking on your rightful pathway according to God’s ordination, that is the highest glory—Acts 20:24; Jer. 1:5-19; Ezek. 1:1-3; 1 Chron. 4:10; 1 Cor. 12:18-19, 24.
Ministry Excerpts:
IN ETERNITY
As believers, we have a very long history. In fact, we have an eternal history, for our history began in eternity past. In eternity we were foreknown by God, chosen by God, and predestinated by God.
FOREKNOWN BY GOD
Romans 8:29a refers to the believers as those whom God foreknew. In eternity God foreknew us according to His foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2a). In the New Testament the root of the words “foreknowledge” and “foreknow” is “know.” To this root a prefix is attached. The Greek prefix pro means before or beforehand. In New Testament Greek, words such as foreknow and foreknowledge imply more than what we would understand from the English translations. The Greek root for these words includes the meaning of appreciation, approval, and possession. If we approve something, we shall appreciate it. Then we shall want to take possession of it and own it. The foreknowledge of God spoken of in 1 Peter 1:2 implies that in eternity past God approved us and appreciated us. It also implies that in eternity past He took us over, possessed us, owned us. We may even say that as Joseph married Mary, God in His foreknowledge “married” us in eternity past. (There is no time element with God.) All this is included in the connotation of the word foreknowledge.
God’s foreknowledge also includes His foreordination. In his expanded translation of the New Testament, Kenneth S. Wuest uses the word “foreordination” in 1:2, saying that the believers are “chosen-out ones, this choice having been determined by the foreordination of God the Father.” God’s foreknowledge, therefore, means not only that He knew us in eternity past; it also means that He ordained us. We all were ordained by God the Father in eternity past.
In eternity past we were foreknown by God “according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself” (Eph. 1:9). God’s good pleasure is the desire of His heart. The book of Ephesians speaks from the standpoint of God’s good pleasure, the desire of God’s heart. According to 1:9, God’s good pleasure is what He has purposed in Himself. In human terms, God’s good pleasure is what makes Him happy. There is something in God’s heart that pleases Him and makes Him happy. This is God’s good pleasure.
God’s good pleasure has been purposed by God in Himself. This means that God Himself is the initiation, origin, and sphere of His purpose. God has a plan, a desire, and according to His plan He has a purpose. The existence of the universe is according to God’s purpose. Heaven, earth, millions of items, and the human race are all according to God’s purposed desire. Eventually all these things will issue in God’s desire. In the universe there is a desire, God’s desire. Because this desire has been purposed by God, no one and nothing can overthrow it. Everything that takes place on earth is for this purpose. We, the believers in Christ, are the focal point of His purpose, and everything is working for us. God has purposed this desire in Himself. He did not take counsel with anyone else regarding it.
CHOSEN BY GOD THE FATHER
In eternity past we were chosen by God the Father. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before Him, in love” (Eph. 1:4). God’s choosing is His selection. From among innumerable people God selected us. The word “chosen” implies that some were selected and that others were not selected. We praise the Lord that we are among the chosen ones.
We were chosen by God the Father before the foundation of the world. God chose us according to His infinite foresight before He created us. The expression, “before the foundation of the world,” implies the entire universe, not only the earth. This indicates that the universe was founded for man’s existence to fulfill God’s eternal purpose. Without such a universe, it would be impossible for man to exist. Man’s existence is for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. Therefore, the universe was founded so that man could exist to fulfill God’s eternal purpose. God chose us before the foundation of the world, that is, before the creation of the universe. This indicates that God’s selection was made not in time but in eternity. God foresaw us before we were born and selected us before the foundation of the world.
In Ephesians 1:4 we also see that God in eternity chose us in Christ. Christ was the sphere in which we were selected by God. Outside of Christ we are not God’s choice.
God chose us so that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. To be holy is to be separated from everything other than God. It means to be distinct, different, from all that is not God. In the universe God alone is holy. He is different from everything else and is distinct. Therefore, to be holy means to be one with God.
In order for us to be holy, we first need to be separated unto God positionally. Normally, once a person is saved, he should also be separated. This is the reason a believer is called a saint. To be holy in the sense of being separated unto God is a matter of position. As believers in Christ, we are separated unto God by the redeeming blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14), by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 15:16), and in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11).
To be holy means not only to be separated unto God positionally but also to be saturated with God dispositionally. This is deeper and more subjective than positional sanctification. In subjective sanctification we are saturated with God dispositionally. Separation can take place rather easily and in a very short time, but it takes a long time to be saturated with God dispositionally. God intends to saturate us with Himself, a process that requires time. He chose us in eternity for the purpose of saturating us with Himself. He wants to work Himself into our being so that we may be holy, just as He is.
All believers have been chosen by God the Father to be holy. First, we are separated unto God; second, we are saturated with God; and eventually we become one with God. One day, we shall be just like Him. That will mark the completion of our sanctification, the process that begins with separation, continues with saturation, and is completed with the full redemption of our body. At that time, from within to without, we shall be the same as He is. We shall be holy. It is for this purpose that we were chosen by God the Father before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:4 also says that we were chosen by God to be without blemish. A blemish is like a foreign particle in a precious gem. God’s chosen ones should be saturated only with God Himself and have no foreign particles, such as the fallen natural human element, the flesh, the self, or worldly things. This is to be without blemish, to be without mixture, to have no element other than God’s holy nature. God has chosen us to be so holy and so pure that we shall be without blemish, without any foreign particles, having only the divine element.
We shall be holy and without blemish “before Him.” This means that we shall be holy and without blemish in the sight of God according to His standard. This qualifies us to remain in His presence and to enjoy His presence. We shall be holy and without blemish not according to our standard or in our own sight, but according to God’s standard and in His sight.
PREDESTINATED BY GOD THE FATHER
In eternity we were also predestinated by God the Father (Rom. 8:29b; Eph. 1:4b, 5). The Greek word translated “predestinated” in Ephesians 1:5 can also be rendered “marked out beforehand.” Marking out beforehand is the process, whereas predestination is the purpose to determine a destiny beforehand. God first selected us and then marked us out beforehand, that is, before the foundation of the world, unto a certain destiny.
We all need to have the realization that we have been marked out by God for the accomplishment of His economy. Because God has put His mark on us, we cannot run away from Him. We were marked out by God before we were born, even before the foundation of the world. Since we have been pre-marked, we have no choice except to give ourselves to the Lord for His recovery and even to be beside ourselves for the church life.
“In love” in Ephesians 1:4 may modify “having predestinated” in verse 5. God the Father predestinated us in love that we may be His many sons. The divine love is His motive to have many sons for the fulfillment of His divine economy.
Ephesians 1:5 reveals that God predestinated us unto sonship. This means that the goal of God’s predestination is sonship. Because we were predestinated to be sons of God even before we were created, we, as God’s creatures, need to be regenerated by Him so that we may share in His life to be His sons. Sonship implies both life and the position of a son. God’s marked-out ones have the life to be His sons and also the position to inherit Him.
Finally, we were predestinated unto sonship by God the Father according to the good pleasure of His will. God has a will in which is His good pleasure. God predestinated us to be His sons according to this pleasure, according to His heart’s delight. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 116)