Purpose

Rightly Dividing The Word II: Purpose

Ephesians 3:9-10

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,

who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10 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 above scripture, God’s purpose is defined as His intent or intention. Purpose reveals, the answers to these questions: Why would God want to do what He did? When did He do what He did, and What is He doing? We want to use the scriptures to discover God’s purpose. Anything we do or believe must reflect God’s purpose. If what we do or believe does not reflect God’s purpose, it did not come from Him; it was influenced by the spirit of anti-christ.

Ephesians 3:6-9

6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ

It was Paul’s purpose as an apostle to preach among the Gentiles, making them see their part in the mystery of Christ. Not only is it the purpose of an apostle, it is also the purpose of the prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist. It is their responsibility to make all who are in the Body of Christ see their fellowship in the mystery. The mystery of Christ was hidden in God, and He did not reveal it until after He sent the Holy Ghost. After the Holy Ghost came, a transition was made from one dispensation (a time period and the method by which God deals with man during that time period) to another. Of necessity, God’s method of dealing with His people had to change. Under the Old Covenant, He was dealing with natural men and under the New Covenant, He is dealing with spiritual beings (sons of God). Under the Old Covenant, the prophets only had God’s Spirit placed upon them. The Spirit did not indwell or live in them. God would give them a spirit of wisdom to carry out His will. They were not born of His Spirit. Jesus was the first begotten of the Spirit. In other words, He was the first born among many who would be born of the Holy Ghost (Romans 8:29).

I Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Those who are not born of the Spirit are not able to know or comprehend the things of God. They sound foolish to them, because they must be spiritually discerned. Therefore, when

God speaks of revealing the mystery of Christ, He speaks to those who are spiritual. The mystery is, Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). In other words, the mystery declares

that God was going to put Christ in us and subject us to hope. Hope, defined by scripture, is joyfully waiting on things that are not seen, having a great expectation, and to wait with patience.

Romans 8:20-23

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The above four passages of scripture take us from salvation to the rapture of the Church. The time between salvation and the rapture, is where we discover purpose. Our purpose is relative to the time of our salvation until we receive our new body. We will discover the purpose of the Church as individuals, as well as a Body. Purpose reveals when things happen, from the conception of the Church to its rapture. In other words, for the benefit of those who do not use the word “rapture”, purpose reveals when things happen from the beginning of the mystery of godliness to the finishing of the mystery. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished. (Revelation 10:7). The mystery of godliness started on the Day of Pentecost and it will end within the days of the blowing of the last trumpet During the period before the Church, man was under the dispensation of the Law. However, the mystery of godliness came under the dispensation of Grace and Truth.

In this lesson, we are discovering God’s purpose under Grace and Truth, not His purpose under the Law. Although, God dealt with man differently during other dispensations under the Old Covenant, it all pointed to the dispensation of Grace and Truth. When studied, you will find in the other dispensations that the common thread was the purpose of God, as it is in this dispensation. The purpose of God started in the book of Genesis (man in His image and likeness), however, it was not revealed until the book of Matthew. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:14-15). God was speaking of Jesus Christ. He could not explain to the prophets of the Old Covenant how to walk in His purpose because they were natural men, He had to wait until the Holy Ghost came, because His purpose could only be fulfilled by spiritual people. Let us allow the scriptures to reveal God’s purpose.

Ephesians 3:9-10

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God

Paul previously established the fact that his purpose was to preach and make us see our part of the mystery. Here, he also reveals that the purpose of God is to make known to Satan and his angels and demons in heavenly places (outer space), His (God’s) manifold wisdom, by the Church. An erroneous doctrine that this scripture destroys is that Satan and his demons are in hell. They are not in hell nor have they ever been there; they are in heavenly places. And we, even with the Holy Ghost, do not have the right to send them to hell. Jesus Christ did not have the right (Matthew 8:28-32). Neither can we put the devil under our feet. Hebrews 1:13 declares that Jesus is sitting on the right hand of God waiting for Satan to be made His footstool. These things can only be done by the Father. It is important that we understand this, because when we see this happening in the Body of Christ, we should not be moved by it. We should not come into agreement with such false doctrine. Instead, we should be anchored in the truth. Studying the Bible line upon line, precept upon precept and rightly dividing the word, establishes you in the truth. We live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Colossians 1:12-13

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son

The Kingdom of Christ is from the Day of Pentecost to the end of the Millennial Kingdom, which is 3,000 years, which equals three biblical days. At the end of the Millennium, Christ shall give the Kingdom back to His Father so that God may be all in all (I Corinthians 15:28). The last days are 2,000 years (two biblical days) and started with the giving of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh (Acts 2:17). Some schools of thought say that the last days are 3,000 years. This is not refutable, because they are also including the Millennium. It is God’s purpose to show principalities and powers His manifold wisdom by the Church. The following verses of scripture help to reveal His wisdom.

Romans 8:28-29

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God’s manifold wisdom is that He will show principalities and powers that He can transform those who are lost into the image of Christ. They will come when He draws them. This is his awesome purpose, to transform a natural man into a son of God!