The Church: The Eternal Purpose Of God

by David Weak

Premillennialism says that the church was an afterthought. God, they tell us, intended for His Son to be King over His Kingdom, but because of the extreme wickedness of mankind, and because the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, God was forced to build the church as a backup plan until the Kingdom of God can be built at the end of time. Millions of people in the world believe this to be true. Here is what Paul said about the plan of God for the church: “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10-11).

We learn some very important things from this text:

First, we learn that the wisdom of God is manifested by the very existence of the church. Some believe that Paul was teaching the mission of the church is to evangelize with this statement. While evangelism is certainly the mission of the church, this text says something else. It says that the very existence of the church manifests the wisdom of God. The church in all of its parts shows His wisdom.

Second, we learn that this was God’s intention and purpose from eternity. The church was not a secondary plan, it was the plan of God all along! Jesus came to establish His church (Mark 9:1), and He succeeded in it. Premillennialism makes God and Jesus Christ failures. There is no way to sugar coat this fact. If God sent Jesus to establish His kingdom, but He could not do it because men were too wicked , then the plan of God was imperfect, and Jesus was not strong enough to persuade men to follow Him into His Kingdom.

Question: Since the church is the eternal purpose of God, what elements of its current existence were planned by God? Answer: All of them! Everything about the church that we currently know and appreciate was in God’s eternal purpose. It was conceived in the beginning. The church was designed in the mind of God in the beginning. Its worship was decided from the beginning (John 4:24). Its doctrine was from the beginning (Acts 2:42). Its mission was established at the start (I Timothy 3:15). The plan to send the Messiah to save the church originated in the beginning (Acts 20:7). None of this was an afterthought. Nor was there anything about its design that was left to be figured out by mere men once the church was established. God planned the church from the beginning to be exactly what He wanted it to be.

It was God’s eternal purpose that Jesus be the head of the church and the King of the kingdom. The first prophecy given in the Bible refers to Jesus and His coming into the world to defeat the devil – Jesus would crush his head when the devil bruised Him (Genesis 3:15). Daniel foretold the coronation of “One like unto the Son of man” (Daniel 7:13-14). This One would have the government upon His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6-7).

It was God’s purpose that the church be God’s temple. The Hebrew writer spoke of Jesus Christ as the High priest of a “greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is not of this creation” (Hebrews 9:11). He also said that the tabernacle and its various ministries were “copies of the things in the heavens” and “copies of the true” (Hebrews 9:23-24). That means that when the earthly tabernacle was in use, the things that were done in it foreshadowed the church of Christ and the work of Jesus, our High Priest. The purpose of Christians today is to offer up “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1).

It was God’s eternal purpose that the church be built on the day of Pentecost, AD 33. Isaiah said that the “mountain of the Lord’s house” would be established in the last days on the tops of the mountains and above the hills (Isaiah 2:2-3). Daniel said that a kingdom belonging to God would be established “without hands” in the days of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:44-45). Joel foretold that the last days during which the church would be established would be when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon men (Joel 2:28-29). Peter confirmed that Joel spoke of the day of Pentecost when he preached the first gospel sermon (Acts 2:16-21).

It was God’s eternal purpose that the saved be added to the church. The way Premillennialists tell it, God devised the church to be a sort of holding place for those who would someday be worthy of entering into His eternal kingdom. But, according to Acts 2:47 those who gladly received the word of God and were baptized were added by God to the church. Joel foretold that those who called on the name of the Lord would be saved (Joel 2:32). On Pentecost, for the first time, men did that very thing (Acts 2:21). When they gladly received His word and were baptized (Acts 2:41), they were calling on the name of the Lord, just like God since eternity intended for them to do.

It was God’s eternal purpose who would be the saved that would constitute the church. Paul said of the saved: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4). The saved were predestined to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will (verse 5). This proves that it was God’s intention all along that the church and the people who would be in it were God’s plan all along.

It was God’s eternal purpose that the church worship in His appointed way. In our modern age, it seems like anything is fair game in the churches of men. Anything can be called worship, apparently. Yet, Jesus said that our worship must be in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The worship that God approves of is what the early church practiced. They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42). Question: Where in the eternal purpose of God can we find instrumental music in worship? Where does the Bible teach that God is pleased by worship that perverts the Lord’s Supper into something other than a spiritual meal?

It was God’s eternal purpose that members of the church be called Christians. Early disciples were called Christians (Acts 11:26). There were other names people were called if they followed men other than Jesus Christ. Paul said, some said they were of Apollos, and some of Cephas, and others of Christ. Yet, the only thing that ever meets the approval of the scriptures is wearing the name of Christ.

Conclusion:

The Lord’s church is entirely unique on the earth. It is not a man-made body and it does not subscribe to human laws, nor is it arranged by human design. It was designed perfectly by God. It was not a last minute, last-ditch plan to put in place in order to await a more opportune time for the Lord to come again. God planned and built the church of Christ as He saw fit, and it was His eternal purpose to do so.

The church of Christ deserves the respect and reverence that God placed upon it. It is not a hindrance, it is not a nuisance, it is Christ’s body, and God wanted it that way.

From: Mount Baker Beacon, a work of the Mount Baker Church of Christ, June 11, 2023