The one thing that we have to establish before any spiritual objective can be completely implemented is that we understand the in's and out's to how God determined his eternal purpose for man. Even before the world began God had a plan. The Bible tells us that Jesus is "the lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8). When God began the reconstruction process of fashioning this world, as stated in Genesis one, he also set in motion a plan that would bring to pass his eternal purpose. Paul writes in his letter to the church of Ephesus, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3:10, 11).
The very fact that the scripture refers to it as an "eternal purpose" clearly reveals that God's intent was set in place long before the church was ever instituted. Although he has declared that this hidden wisdom would be realized through the church, the fact that his plan was eternal shows us that he was prepared even before sin ever entered the world to execute our redemption through his Son, Jesus Christ.
It is important that we realize that "everything" about God's plan and purpose runs through Him. In fact, Colossians reads: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: All things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and BY HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST" (Col. 1:16, 17). This is not talking about God the Father. This is talking about Christ the Son. For in the very next verse it states: "And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Co. 1:18). The fact that by him all things consist literally means that Jesus Christ is the entire constitution to everything created. John says, "All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). Here, we discover that God established his plan long before he made anything and that the execution to that plan, in its entire process, was molded in his Son.
If you have a desire at all to know what God's plan and purpose is for your life then the only way you will ever find it out is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The pathway has been clearly marked out for us. Paul went on to say to the church of Colosse, "And having made peace through the blood of his cross, BY HIM to reconcile ALL THINGS unto himself; BY HIM, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven" (Col. 1:20). All reconciliation hinges on Him. Christ is not just a link, he is the unequivocal link to the entire process of God's eternal purpose. The moment that truth dawns on us like it needs to, then we can begin our own process of apprehending that for which we have been apprehended.
The one thing I know for certain is that the more I press in to know Him the deeper I sense my life becoming purpose driven. Christ came and he crushed the darkness that prevailed over our hearts and minds. And by his own life being given up for us, he has now opened up a window for us to see the light of this glorious gospel. When John heard him say, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9), he was establishing the pathway to our purpose. No other door can bring us into such a glorious destiny. If you are eager to know all that he has planned for your life, then open the door and make Him your aim. He holds the secret to the Father's plan. *
