WHY SHOULD WE PLAN? Planning is a valuable and necessary tool that helps us prepare for things we could potentially face up ahead. But if God has a plan, why should I plan?
In this series, we are studying the Book of Ephesians.
Paul wrote Ephesians as a letter to the churches in Ephesus. At the time he wrote the letter, he was in prison in Rome. He wrote the letter to encourage the Christians not to lose hope despite the opposition.
Our focus here is on God’s plan and where we fit his plan.
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Let Us Invite God’s Presence:
Holy Father, help us to know and understand your grand plan for us. Give us the will and mind to align our plans with your grand plan. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Planning is like using a road map for your goals, hopes, dreams, and even your daily living and determining how best to reach your destination. It’s like figuring out the steps you need to take to get where you want to go.
When you plan, you think ahead and make decisions about what you want to do and how you want to do it. Just like when you go on a trip, you need to know where you’re going, how you’re getting there, and what you need to bring along.
Planning helps you be prepared, and it helps decrease any potential problems. When you develop a plan, you are more likely to reach your destination; you are less likely to get lost or miss out on any important things you need to do along the way, such as gassing up, finding restrooms, locating eating places, or whatever.
Planning can save you time, help you stay organized, and help your goals become a reality. Whether it’s for life in general, planning is like your own personal roadmap to success!
However, the most important thing about planning is that we must consult God and ensure that our planning aligns with His plan. In Jeremiah 29:11, we discover that God has a plan for all of us. He says,
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. ‘” (Jeremiah 29:11)
So when we plan, we should pray and ask God to guide us by the power of his Holy Spirit so that we can ensure our plan aligns with His plan.
Though God has a plan for each of us. He also has a Grand Plan. He has a plan for all time. How big is this plan? Ephesians 1:9, 10 tells us.
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:9-10)
What is God’s grand plan? His grand plan is to join everything, everywhere, in Jesus. Paul describes God’s grand plan using three phrases.
(1) “The mystery of his will,”
(2) “His purpose,” and
(3) “A plan for the fullness of time”
He uses a Greek word to show this idea. It means to “head “add up” or “sum up” all things in Christ.
You see, in ancient accounting, when accountants added up a column of numbers, they put the total at the top of the column.
In the same way, Jesus is at the top of God’s final plan. When you add it all up, at the top, the total equals Jesus. Jesus heads God’s final plan for humanity, all things in heaven and on earth.
What is God’s grand plan for us and the entire universe? It is unity in Christ.
In his letter, Paul, in discussing God’s “plan for the fulness of time,” shares the theme he has weaved through his letter. He indicates that saving us is rooted in Jesus and His death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, His going to heaven, and His being honored before the angels.
Read what Paul says about God’s plan for the universe in Ephesians 1:15– Ephesians 2:10.
Additionally, Read Ephesians 2:11-Ephesians 3:13. Here; Paul lets us know that God’s plan also included starting the church on earth for the purpose of uniting us humans, both Jews and Gentiles, that is, Jews and non-Jews.
Why is it necessary for God’s church on earth to be united? It is a signal to Satan and all the powers of evil, Satan’s followers, that God’s plan is working. It lets them know that God is moving forward and that Satan’s evil attempt to cause division will end.
The Bible makes it clear that Satan’s end is coming. Notice what it says in Revelation 12:12:
“For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12).
So, the last half of Paul’s letter starts with a passionate message for peace and unity in the church. Read Paul’s passionate call for peace in Ephesians 4:1–16.
Then, starting at Ephesians 4:17 and going to Ephesians 6:9, Paul makes a plea to the church to avoid behaviors that destroys unity. He tells the members to instead work together to build solidarity and formulate peace with fellow believers.
Finally, Paul ends his letter with a powerful image of the church as a strong, unified army. In Ephesians 6:10-20, this “army” is described as working together to make peace on earth in the name of Jesus.
As fellow believers, we can celebrate this saving mercy and forgiveness that Jesus gives us by aligning our plans with God’s grand plan and uniting our efforts with fellow believers to fulfill God’s plan to save humanity and bring about unity and peace for the entire universe in Christ.
God has promised us an inheritance. Our inheritance is a universe in which unity and peace exist for all. This is God’s Plan for all humanity. It is a plan that he devised before the world was created.
We, all humanity, were predestined to experience the unity and peace of the universe in Christ Jesus.
But though predestine, we have a choice as to whether we want to inherit a universe filled with harmony and peace summed up in Christ. How does Christ fit into this picture of a universe filled with harmony and peace? Continue to Part 5: Living in Praise of His Glory
Ephesians
(Lesson 2)
God’s Grand, Christ-Centered Plan
Part 5: Living in Praise of His Glory
The Christians in Ephesus seem to have lost their identity. It appears that they do not understand who they are anymore. They were falling into a state of hopelessness, according to Ephesians 3:13.
13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:13)
So, Paul wants to help the Ephesians understand who they are as Christians. In line with what he had told them early on in Ephesians 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 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,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (Ephesians 1:3-5)
Paul reminds the Ephesians that believers are not victims of random decisions made by various gods or celestial powers; they are God’s children.
As expressed in Ephesians 1:11,12, they have access to many blessings because of Jesus. Their blessings do not come from the little gods of Ephesus but are based on the deep counsels and eternal decisions of God Almighty. It is God’s purpose, counsel, and will for us to obtain our inheritance:
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
(Ephesians 1:11,12).
Though they may not be able to see it, as in our case as well, God’s plan is being worked out in their lives. God’s plan is in line with an even still wider, grander plan. This is what Paul tells the Christians in Ephesians 1:10.
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:10)
God’s plan involves uniting all things in Christ.
So, there is no need for the Ephesians to worry. Why? Because they can trust that God has forgiven them and accepts them, and they can be sure that the blessings of God are being worked out for them. God will provide!
Therefore, Ephesians 1:3–14 can be their song of praise. Read Ephesians 1:3–14. What is the message here? Why should we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?
The point Paul is making is that “we will get what God promised for his people.” We will get our inheritance. He repeats this message in Ephesians 1: 14,17 and 18.
Have you ever received an inheritance from a family member because of their death? Maybe they left you a special treasured item or a sum of money.
In Paul’s view, we, as Christians, receive an inheritance when Jesus died. God, acting as executor, gave us Jesus’s gift of eternal life.
Ephesians 1:14 say
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
What is interesting is that Paul in Ephesians 1:17, 18 lets us know that when we accept this gift from God, we also become a gift to God. Now how about that!
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:17, 18).
In the Old Testament, God’s people are sometimes thought of as being His heritage or inheritance, as in the following scriptures:
Deuteronomy 9:29
29 Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’ (Deuteronomy 9:29)
Deuteronomy 32:9
9 For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. (Deuteronomy 32:9)
Zechariah 2:12
12 And the Lord will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 2:12) (Split)
So, we become God’s inheritance, as we see from reading Ephesians 1:18, and this is most likely what Paul is saying in Ephesians 1:11.
You see, Paul wants the Christians in Ephesus to know just how much they are worth to God. The Ephesian Christians don’t only get an inheritance from God, they get a guarantee of inheritance, as we see in the following scriptures:
Ephesians 1:14
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
Ephesians 3:6
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, (Ephesians 3:6) (Split)
Ephesians 5:5
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Ephesians 5:5)
We not only get an inheritance, but we also received a guarantee and an assurance that has been sealed and validated. How has our inheritance been sealed and validated? Continue to Part 6: The Holy Spirit: Seal and Down Payment
Ephesians
(Lesson 2)
God’s Grand, Christ-Centered Plan
Part 6: The Holy Spirit: Seal and Down Payment
In Ephesians 1:13, and 14, Paul explains how the lives of Christians change or is converted after they have accepted Christ. In speaking to the Ephesians, he says:
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Paul uses two images to paint a picture of the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians.
The first image he uses is a seal. A seal is a mark that a person used to put on a contract or document in ancient times to identify the person who created the contract. In other words, seals functioned as signatures. Thus, Paul is saying that the presence of the Holy Spirit is an identifying mark that shows the person has experience conversion. They have been converted and have accepted Jesus.
In ancient times, people used seals for many reasons. People put seals on copies of laws and agreements to show other people that they could trust these copies. Seals were put on containers to validate the excellence or quantity of a container’s contents. Ezekiel 28:12 speaks of a seal of perfection.
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28:12)
And, sometimes, people put a seal on sales contracts to show that they witness the transaction, as in Jeremiah 32:10–14, 44.
10 And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
11 So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; )
12 and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Ne-riah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison. (Split)
13 “Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.”
44 Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 32:10–14, and 44)
Seals were also put on letters, contracts, wills, and adoptions, as in the case of 1 Kings 21:8
8 And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. (I Kings 21:8)
Seals were also imprinted on an object, designed to announce both ownership and protection.
So, the presence of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of the believers is our mark that we belong to God, and it conveys God’s promise to protect us.
Hence, Ephesians 4:30 warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for it is by Him that we are sealed until the day of redemption.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
Thus, when Paul explains how the lives of Christians change or is converted after they have accepted Christ. He is saying, in Ephesians 1:13, that when you accept Jesus and believe in Him, the Holy Spirit seals you.
Jiri Moskala makes this point by saying: “Paul plainly states that at the moment one gives his/her life to Jesus and believes in Him the Holy Spirit seals (Greek verb: sphragizō) that believer in Christ for the day of redemption. Wonderful, liberating, and reassuring truth! The Spirit of God marks Christ’s followers with the seal of salvation right when they first believe.”—Jiří Moskala, “Misinterpreted End-Time Issues: Five Myths in Adventism,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, vol. 28, no. 1 (2017), p. 95.
The image Paul uses for the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:14 is “a guarantee.” He also speaks of the guarantee in 2 Corinthians 1:22; and 2 Corinthians 5:5. (Split)
2 Corinthians 1:22
22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:22)
2 Corinthians 5:5
5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:5)
In the study guide for this lesson, it says: The word translated “guarantee” (arrabōn) was a Hebrew word that was used widely in the common or Greek in ancient times to indicate a “first installment,” “deposit,” or “down payment” that required the payer to make additional payments.
It is also noted that we, as believers, do not pay this down payment but receive it from God. Thus, as Paul expressed, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the first installment of the full inheritance of salvation and redemption that will come with the return of Christ. Hence, it is your job to accept with a grateful and submissive heart the sacrifice Jesus has made for you. Accept him today so that you can be sealed as you wait for him to return.
Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Church
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Houston, TX 77088
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