God’s Desire & Eternal Purpose for Mankind

By Arthur J Licursi 12/6/2005

Ephes. 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure (eudokia, satisfaction of desire) of his will,

Ephes. 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery (musterion, secret) of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Ephes. 1:9-11 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel (boule, volition) of his own will:

Philip. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

With the above verses the Apostle Paul gives us a view into the eternal purpose, desire and good pleasure of God our Father. The “good pleasure” (Eph 1:5) of God is the satisfaction of His desires. We need to see what it is that God has desired. In the Song of Songs, Solomon quotes the Shulamite maiden, who represents all believers; Song 7:10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. Yes, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 God’s love is according to His great desire toward us.

We who have received Christ are in fact the literal “children” (Rom 8:16) and “the sons of God”. 1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God … A son requires a father. God has long desired to be Father to His own birthed offspring. We can somewhat understand this as most men have had the desire to have a son like themselves. God has desired to have a family of children who are born of His spiritual loins, who bear His very life and nature as the further expression of Himself. God desires today that people everywhere would receive God’s Only Begotten Son; by which they may become one of the “many sons” (Heb 2:10) of God. This then makes God to be their Father (He is the progenitor), and also to be as mother (He bears, nurtures, sustains us).

First Things First

There are two points to be accomplished in order for God’s plan and purpose to be fulfilled concerning us individually.

* First, we must individually receive God’s life by receiving His “seed” (sperma) of life – Christ (Gal 3:16, 1Pet 1:23) into our human spirit, to be our new life.
* Then, in order to enjoy the benefit and power of His sustaining life to nurture us, we must rest in His love and grace – we must come to a place whereby we entrust our daily lives to Him; we give up self-effort and self-reliance, to trust Him.
o God said of the Jews, … how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matthew 23:37b 

His desire is also those today, who are the members of “the (invisible) church, which is His body”, would cease from their own works and effort, allowing Him to keep them under his wings of care. Rest in our soul is the automatic reward of trusting God. Hebrews 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

God Equips Us

Key to fulfilling His desire and purpose is the creation of mankind with a human spirit (Zechar. 12:1, John (3:6), and the giving of His Son Jesus Christ … not only for mankind … but also to us who receive His Spirit (Rom 8:8-10, 1John 4:13), to dwell in us … as the new us, in place of the old us.

Gal 2:20a I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me …

God desires to not only regenerate our spirit; His purpose is to dispense the Spirit of Christ into our spirit.

The Pauline Mystery Gospel

The Apostle Paul called the hidden plan, which was revealed Paul him first, by direct revelation from the ascended Christ (Eph 3:3), as being “the mystery (musterion, secret),” a gospel that had been kept secret since the world began. It was not at that time by the 12 disciples of Jesus.

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish 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,

Paul tells us the subjective, personal, aspect of what he calls the “mystery” or secret plan of God.

Col. 1:26-27 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

The Lover of Others

Thus, ours is a purposeful God, who works all things according to his purpose and desire. As Norman Grubb says, His desire is as a “self-giver”, an “other lover”. God desired from eternity past, to have children born of His own loins, born of His Seed (Christ, Gal 3:16); that He might give all that He is (not has) to them, as the object of His love and grace. The eternal plan of God was and is in accord with this desire and purpose that was within God from eternity past. And we also were chosen to be in Christ, standing blameless in Christ and in the Father’s love, since before the world began. Ephes. 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

Foreknown by God

Romans 8:28-29 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. 29For 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.

Here we see the matter of God’s foreknowing each of us individually before the world began. This is a hard thing for mortals to understand, from our puny, earthly, sphere of understanding. An important attribute of God is His omniscience (all knowingness). He lives in the eternal now, without a past or future - He is the “I am.” His plan and purpose included each of us since before the world began. He knew us and that we would say “yes”, before we were born. He knew who among mankind would say “yes” to receive His Son as their new life and who would not receive His Son, preferring self-rule.

Based upon God’s foreknowing, He set the circumstances and situations of our lives by which we would be born physically in the families and situations of our life, and ultimately come to say “yes” to receiving Christ as our new, saving, life. Everything we have endured in life was needed and used to bring us to where we are in our relationship with God, according to His foreknowledge.

Ephes. 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

1 Cor. 1:30 But of him (God) are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Philip. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Now regenerated, He is in us, and He continues to work. Now, ours is to simply trust His hand at work in our lives; He always working for our good. Romans 8:28-29 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. 29For 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 Gave His Son for Man … and also … To Man

Previous to the effectual offering of Christ and the availability of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, to indwell whoever would then receive Him, God had only created beings. There were Angels, and Adam and his lineage until John 20:22; none of these was born of God’s spiritual loins as his literal offspring, bearing His life and nature. No person is God’s child until they become the birthed children of God by receiving His seed – Jesus Christ (1Peter 1:23).

God gave His Son on the cross not only for man, to cleanse him of his sins, to clean up the fouled relationship between God and man, but also He Gave the Spirit of His Son Jesus Christ to man, to indwell man; bringing God’s life into everyone that would receive His Son. In receiving God’s seed (Greek, sperma), a man may partake of the literal limitless life of God that is in Christ as “the spirit of life”.

The Issue for Man is to Become Partaker of God’s Life John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life (Zoë): no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John tells us God’s Son is LIFE (Zoë). 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (God’s life).

From these scriptures it is clear to see that God’s objective was to give His life, in the person of His Son, to man to be the genuine (eternal) life in man.

Christ is “Now the Spirit”

2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord (Jesus Christ) is that Spirit: …

Romans 8:9-10 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

For God’s purpose to be accomplished and fulfill His desire for family relationship with man, God’s “Only Begotten Son”, Jesus Christ, had to become processed through the cross. An orange is processed by squeezing, to shed its life juices, Christ as our drink of life – calling Himself “the water of life”.

We know that from that cross flowed water and blood. The blood of Christ dying was for our redemption and the water was symbolic of the water of His life to regenerate us. In the cross we see both a termination of the old and a germination of new life for man.

It was through incarnation of Jesus endured human living, death of the cross, burial, and resurrection to become “the life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45) so that God’s life may be made available to be received into mankind. Paul tells us, 2Cor 3:17, “now the Lord is that Spirit.” Jesus had to become the resurrected “Spirit of life” (Rom 8:2) in order to be in a form that made Him available to indwell man’s human spirit - Spirit to spirit. God created mankind with a human spirit and a soul that includes man’s mind emotion and will – his “self”.

1) By man’s spirit he may receive Christ’s Spirit, which is to take into himself the very life and nature of Christ.

2) Then by his soul a man may give expression to that very life of God as it flows out through a man’s soul functions of mind, will, and emotion.

We, the Receivers

All creation exhibits the importance of the function of simply “receiving”. The earth receives the rain and sunshine necessary for life. The plants receive, light, water and nutrients from the earth. We receive of the fruit of the earth as food. Consider this verse. Zech. 12:1 … the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Man has a key part within him, in the midst of his being (Dan 7:15), which permits Him to relate to and receive of God’ Spirit, it is man’s human spirit. When we receive the Christ, we receive His Spirit into our spirit. 1 Cor. 6:17 … he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. We then have become one in spirit with Christ, in our spirit.

God’s intention always was to give, to flow out; not to take in. Psalm 36:9 For with thee (God) is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. God is an ever flowing fountain of life to all who would receive. God knew that man, in himself, had no love to give and, left to Himself, man’s love would turn inward and the man would become as Lucifer, the epitome of the self-lover, a self-getter. This is what happened in the Garden of Eden, man illicitly became “as Gods knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5, 20); he had become the god of his own life. In this self-godhood condition man could and would not receive of God love and life.

Since God foreknew the dilemma of mankind before it happened, His eternal plan from before the world began included a means by the which, fallen mankind may to be restored to God’s intended eternal purpose. Rev. 13:8 … the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

God’s eternal purpose was to literally birth His life (Spirit life), by the person of His Son, into every person’s human spirit (1Cor 6:17, Zech 12:1, 1John 4:13, Rom 8:8-10) and adopt the their self-soul (Eph 1:5) by coming to indwell every man that would receive His Seed (Gal 3:16), thus bringing into man all the God attributes, which are of His very nature (2Pet 1:4), of who He is (1John 4:17). The only requirement was that a man would receive by a believing faith.

Ephes. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Acts 16:31 …, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, …

The Receivers Become the Givers

We see in Gen 1:11-25 that each specie reproduced “after his own kind.” We know by seeing the inanimate (plants) and animated life (animals and humans) on earth are the birthed offspring are of a father, being partakers of the very life and nature of the father – the seed giver.

God’s eternal plan was that he would come to indwell “as many as received Him”, that is His Son Jesus Christ, “as the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2), they would become “the sons of God” (John 1:12). Notice that they do not become members of a denomination or any organization, but they do become literally “the children of God” (Rom 8:16).

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

God then would have in the man that He had created, one with the capacity to receive God’s loving life, and then flow out His loving life to others. 1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected (completed as in “runs its course”): hereby know we that we are in him. Men, by receiving God’s life and love have the capacity to give out that same love and life to others. 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.