God’s intention is not a mere reaction to human failure or a patchwork solution for sin. From eternity past, before creation itself, God purposed something entirely positive: to produce the Church as the Body and expression of Christ. This is not a secondary theme in Scripture—it is the very heart of God’s divine economy, the oikonomia, His household administration. If you miss this, you miss the center of the New Testament revelation and the substance of your inheritance.
The Eternal Purpose: The Church as God’s Masterpiece
God’s eternal purpose is not to demand something from you, but to work Christ as life into you. This is the “mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The Church, as revealed in Ephesians, is the fullness of Christ (Eph 1:23), the habitation of God (Eph 2:22), the bride of Christ (Eph 5:22), the many sons of God (Eph 1:5), God’s inheritance (Eph 1:18), His masterpiece (Eph 2:10), the city and household of God (Eph 2:19). The Church is not a human institution or a religious club—it is the consummation of everything God intended when He created the universe. He foreknew the Church in Christ before the foundation of the world.
This purpose is not a negative reaction to sin. Even if sin had never entered, God’s intention was to have the Church—His positive, creative act. The Church is the product of God’s salvation, but salvation itself is not merely rescue from wrath; it is the impartation of Christ as life, producing a new creation. This is the “revelation of the mystery” (Eph 3:3-4), hidden for ages but now made known.
Grace: The Means, Not Law or Human Effort
The means by which God accomplishes this purpose is grace—Christ Himself. Grace is not merely God’s leniency or a set of favorable circumstances; grace is the very person of Christ given to us. “Of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17). The law was a shadow, not the reality. The reality is Christ, and He is the substance of grace.
Through grace, we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, made part of the new creation—the Church. God’s intention is not to burden us with requirements, but to lavish the riches of Christ upon us. In the ages to come, He will show forth the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6-7). This is not a temporary arrangement; it is the eternal display of God’s kindness.
God’s Economy: One Administration, One Goal
God’s economy—His household order, administration, or dispensation—is the means by which He carries out His eternal purpose. The Greek word oikonomia is variously translated as “dispensation,” “administration,” “fellowship,” and “stewardship.” This is not a system of fragmented dispensations with disconnected purposes. There is one administration from eternity past to eternity future: to head up all things in Christ by producing the Church as His Body (Eph 1:10, 1:23).
All of history, every age, every event, is ordered toward this goal. The Church is not an afterthought or a parenthesis—it is the centerpiece of God’s plan. To miss this is to misunderstand the entire thrust of redemptive history.
The Household of God: Stewards, Riches, and Inheritance
In God’s household, the Father is raising up sons—heirs of everything He has. These sons are furnished, equipped, and nourished by stewards: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers (Eph 4:11-12). These are not spiritual elites, but servants entrusted with the unsearchable riches of Christ for the equipping of the saints.
The riches of the household are Christ Himself. He is the food, drink, clothing, wisdom, and supply. The New Testament ministry is the stewardship of distributing Christ as our inheritance. This is not a matter of human effort or religious striving; the inheritance is “sure to all the seed through faith” (Rom 4:16). The death of Christ—the death of the Testator—has secured the inheritance. Now, the New Testament ministry is the distribution of that inheritance, not a demand for performance.
The Fellowship of the Body: Every Member Functioning
When the stewards equip the saints, the saints themselves become ministers—every member supplying Christ to others. This is the organic fellowship of the Body. Institutional systems that paralyze the saints and inhibit their functioning are not neutral—they are a direct hindrance to God’s purpose. The fragmentation and immaturity that result are not unfortunate side effects; they are a denial of the very economy of God.
The New Testament pattern is clear: “When you come together, every one of you has a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Cor 14:26). The building up of the Body is not the work of a few professionals, but the mutual ministry of every member, speaking Christ as life. This is the fellowship—the flow of the Spirit—that builds up the Church in love.
What Is Lost If This Vision Is Abandoned?
If you accept the error that God’s purpose is merely to redeem individuals from judgment, or that the Church is a human organization to be managed by institutional systems, you forfeit your inheritance. You reduce grace to a transaction and Christ to a doctrine. You lose the organic fellowship, the mutual supply, the growth into the fullness of Christ. You remain a spiritual infant, paralyzed and malnourished, cut off from the riches of God’s household. Worse, you undermine the very foundation of justification, sonship, and inheritance—because you substitute human effort and religious performance for the finished work of Christ and the distribution of His riches.
The Only Ministry: Stewardship of Christ
There is only one ministry: the New Testament ministry of the Spirit, which gives life. True ministers are stewards who have been tested and proven, not by their eloquence or credentials, but by their faithfulness to distribute Christ as the riches of God’s household. Ministry is not about building personal empires or peddling spiritual wares. If it is not centered on Christ as the supply, it is not ministry—it is wood, hay, and stubble destined for the fire (1 Cor 3:10-15).
The Enjoyment of Christ: The Goal of God’s Economy
God’s economy is not a burden for you to carry; it is a vision to liberate you. God is not after your outward performance—He is after the intrinsic reality of Christ wrought into you. The product of His administration is a feast: the wedding supper, the enjoyment of Christ as everything. When God’s economy is operating, the saints are sitting at the table, fellowshipping, breaking bread, and enjoying the Bread of Life. This is not mere talk—it is the reality of the Body of Christ.
The Language of the Household: Christ as All
This is the language of Ephesians and Colossians, the language of the apostles, the language of God’s household. It is not a secret hidden from you, but a mystery now revealed for your glory. “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom 16:25).
Christ died and rose again, not simply to secure your future in heaven, but to supply you with Himself as your life, your food, your drink, your wisdom, your inheritance. As you enjoy Him, you overflow to others, and the household is built, the fellowship spreads, and the feast grows full.
This is God’s economy. This is the eternal purpose. Anything less is a loss, not only for you, but for the testimony of Christ in this age.
Let the vision of God’s economy lay hold of you. Refuse to settle for a fragmented, institutional substitute. Pursue the pure supply of Christ, the fellowship of the Body, and the building up of the Church as God’s masterpiece—His eternal purpose and your eternal inheritance.
