The Mystery of the Will of God
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ” (Ephesians 1:7–9).
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ!
“Listen, I tell you a mystery”—so Paul writes
the Corinthians concerning the resurrection of the body. Today, in our text
from his letter to the Ephesians, Paul also tells us a mystery, a mystery made
known to us by God. This is not a different mystery, but the same one, for it
has its substance and its solution in Christ Jesus.
From Sherlock Holmes to Miss Marple, from Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie, the characters and authors of mysteries are
part of our culture. Even those who usually write in other genres often try
their hand at mystery writing, learning the difficulty of keeping the reader
interested, but not thoroughly lost, taking them through twists of plot, secret
passages, locked rooms, red herrings, mistaken identities, and other tricks of
the trade.
The greatest selling book of all times is
actually a mystery. Of course, I mean the Bible. The Bible tells the story with
all the wicked twists and turns provided by Satan and sinful humanity. Meanwhile,
God’s countermoves exceed even those of the evil one. And because of the Holy
Spirit, we already know how the mystery of God’s will toward us comes out.
Ordinarily, when we know the solution, we’re
done with the “whodunit.” But not this one. Even knowing how it all ends, we
marvel at the way in which the love of God is revealed. Because of the Holy
Spirit, we see our salvation plainly, and we are astonished at the blindness of
those still perishing in their sins. This is the mystery that captivates us
even when we know how it comes out.
When Jesus teaches us the Lord’s Prayer in
Matthew, He includes a petition asking that God’s will be done on earth as it
is in heaven. We pray this often. But Luke omits this petition, perhaps because
his Gentile readers would not have understood what Matthew’s Jewish readers
already knew about God’s will.
Most of the ancient world didn’t know how to
make sense out of life’s complexities. God’s will was a mystery to them. Some
thought everything that happened in the world was due to luck, purely a matter
of random chance. Others believed it was already predetermined and set down by
fate. Neither understanding was totally right. Neither chance nor fate accounts
for the ebb and flow of events in our lives, much less in the world at large.
The same confusion can happen to us when we
read the Bible. On the one hand, it looks like people are saved because they
accept Jesus as their Savior or they don’t. On the other hand, it sometimes
sounds like salvation is predetermined and nothing we do can change it, like in
our text. Phrases like “He
chose us…before the foundation of the world,” “He predestined us,” and “according
to the purpose of His will,” muddy up the water.
What’s the solution to this mystery of God’s will?
The answer—and it should not surprise us—is found at the cross.
You see, it’s a frightening thing to pray that
God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven if He wants to punish us for our
sins. It’s not that we don’t deserve His wrath. We do! But we don’t want to
have it actually happen to us. And we wouldn’t dare to pray this petition, “Thy
will be done,” if God was capricious, mean, or uncaring. We’d be doomed.
The Good News, is that God’s will is for our
salvation from the law’s justice. It is God’s will that people be saved through
faith in Jesus. And, in spite of our sin and the world’s evil and Satan’s
opposition, God saves sinners! He did this by becoming a human being, living a
perfect life, and dying for our sins.
We have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior because
God gave it to us, not because we chose Him (Ephesians 2:8–9). On our own, we could’ve never solved this
great mystery. For “[God’s] greatness no one can fathom.” As Jesus, told His
disciples, this mystery is kept hidden from unbelievers (Mark 4:11), and we
cannot solve it on our own for these reasons:
First, we blew our “in” with the One who knew
the solution. Ever since the Fall, we’re all born as sinners divorced from God
and in disharmony with our fellow human beings. We all think only of ourselves,
our own wants, and own perceived needs. And that makes it a mystery as to how
God would ever love us.
Second, by nature, we purposely close our eyes
and our minds to God and turn away from godly deeds. As Jesus pointed out to
the scribes and Pharisees, we’re all blind men, following blind guides.
Third, we could never buy off the only One who
knew the secret. The secret to the mystery is not for sale. As Paul asked the
Roman Christians, “Who has given a gift to [God] that He should repay him?”
(Romans 11:35).
But Jesus has revealed the mystery to those who
believe in Him. As our text says, “making known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9). Through
faith in Jesus, the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you and me
(Mark 4:11).
“How can this be?” you might ask. “How can
Jesus reveal the mystery of God’s will when we could not find the answer
ourselves?” The answer—like the solutions to many mysteries—is quite simple
once it has been revealed. Jesus is the One we were created to be!
Jesus was and is in perfect harmony with God. Jesus
told His opponents, “I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the
Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for
I always do the things that are pleasing Him” (John 8:28-29).
Throughout His entire life, Jesus kept His eyes
on His Father and did only His will—even when that meant sacrificing Himself
for those who deserved only punishment. Jesus knew perfectly His Father’s mind,
for He and the Father are one, and what He did revealed the mystery of the
Father’s will toward us.
On the cross, Jesus purchased salvation, “not
with gold or silver,” but with a price much higher, “with His holy, precious
blood and with His innocent sufferings and death.” That’s how this mystery came
out, and it’s a happy ending for us!
Now, even knowing the solution, we want to
revisit this mystery over and over again. As we ponder the wonderful gift of
the Gospel in our hearts, we remember Christ’s work of salvation and what that
means for our lives.
We remember that Christ restores the harmony of
creation that was lost in the fall. He makes everything new (2 Corinthians
5:17).
We remember that Christ restores spiritual
sight to understand that God’s will toward us is love and forgiveness (John 9).
He opens our eyes to recognize our sin and need for a Savior. He opens our eyes
to see that He is that Savior.
We remember that Christ bends our will to His
Father’s will. By the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, Jesus reveals His
Father’s will and continues to bind us together in love and unity (John
17:20-26).
And we remember that Christ gave us salvation
and this knowledge of the mind of God as a free gift. We have been saved, not
by our own works, but by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians
2:8-9)
This is the one mystery we can tell others
without having to first issue a spoiler alert.
Now understanding the incomprehensible, the
mystery that God’s will is our salvation, we Christians will seek to
participate in and spread our newfound harmony with God. We are enabled to love
the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We can love our neighbor
as ourselves and build him up for good.
Now understanding the incomprehensible, the
mystery that God’s will is our salvation, we Christians wish to focus on the
source of our salvation. As the writer of Hebrews urges, we are able to look “to
Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (12:2) as we run the race of
faith that has been set before us.
Now understanding the incomprehensible, the
mystery that God’s will is our salvation, we Christians desire to receive
Christ’s blessings of Word and Sacrament. We thankfully remember our baptism. We
hunger and thirst for His true body and blood. We long to be filled with the
Holy Spirit. We want to be about the works of God, demonstrating His work in us
(Ephesians 2:10).
Now understanding the incomprehensible, the
mystery that God’s will is our salvation, we Christians participate in the
gift, even as God continually blesses us with it (Philippians 2:12-13). We
freely and fully share this gift with others as we tell them the Good News of
Jesus Christ.
“Aha!” exclaims the mystery reader. “Now I see!”
when the solution is revealed. And so do we! Not perfectly, for we still view
God “through a glass darkly.” But we can follow the plot of our salvation from
eternity’s forever back into Eden, where God cursed the serpent and promised
the Savior. We can follow the golden thread throughout the Old Testament, where
God’s desire to save His people—even when rebellious and unworthy—pushes the
narrative forward. Foreshadowing freedom from sin, death, and the devil, the
Lord rescues His people from bondage in Egypt, brings them through the waters
of the Red Sea, and takes them to the Promised Land. Preparing us for the
keeping of the promised Savior, God continually keeps His other promises in the
time and manner He desires.
Now we’ve gone through it again. Still a great
story! Especially as we see ourselves in it! This mystery isn’t about someone
else; this is our story. Christ dies for you and me that we might live. Christ
lives for you and me that we might die to sin. Christ takes away our sin and
gives us His perfect righteousness and obedience. Christ removes our worries
and gives us peace. Christ becomes a lowly human being that the lowliest of us
might receive the inheritance given only to the firstborn Son. Christ’s Father
abandons Him so we will never be forsaken. “God made Him who had no sin to be
sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2
Corinthians 5:21).
“In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He
lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His
will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ” (Ephesians 1:7–9).
The mystery is solved! In Christ, you have
forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. Indeed, in Him—for the sake of His
person and work—you are forgiven for all your sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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