The Mystery of God's Will | Ephesians 1

Have you ever prayed and asked God to show you his will for your life? Have you ever wondered if he had a special “calling” for you? I spent most of my teens and early twenties believing that God’s will for my life was some impressive mystery that I had to solve and that he would be displeased with me if I couldn’t crack the code.

I had one thing right. God’s will is a mystery. But I didn’t need to crack the code. Jesus already had.

Ephesians 1 explains the mystery of God’s will. Read verses 7-9.

In him [Jesus] 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 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (ESV, emphasis added)

Jesus is the embodiment of the mystery. Through his death and resurrection God’s glorious plan for our salvation is revealed to us. Because of Jesus we can know, not only God’s plan and purpose for the whole world, but his plan and purpose for us.

A few verses later in Ephesians the Apostle Paul begins praying for the Christians to whom he is writing. He asks “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him… that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Eph. 1:17-18). God’s will for us is to grow in our understanding of the mystery that is no longer a mystery. God’s calling for us is to grow in an intimate relationship with him, to love him more, and to be able to clearly hear the Holy Spirit speaking in our lives.

Later, in chapter four of Ephesians, Paul’s letter will shift from explaining the theological foundation of salvation to sharing practical instructions for Christian living. Here, he mentions our calling again. He urges us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph 4:1). This calling is not a secret. It’s the same calling given to all believers--to be joined to the body of Christ through faith and to live as if the reality of our salvation is true.

For years I prayed for God to show me exactly what he wanted me to do with my life, without realizing that the mystery of his will had been revealed right there in the pages of Scripture all along. Over the course of my life, I’ve had to make a lot of choices, as we all do. I’ve had to decide what college to attend, who to marry, what jobs to apply for, when to start having children, and where to live and attend church with my family. But I have learned that we have freedom in these choices. We can know and follow God’s will for our lives because it is the same as his will for all believers.