The Role of the Church in God’s Eternal Plan
Quick Summary
Ephesians presents the church as central to God’s eternal plan, not as an afterthought or a human invention. Through Christ, God forms a community that embodies reconciliation, unity, holiness, and hope. The church becomes the place where God’s wisdom is displayed, grace is lived, and the story of redemption continues to unfold. Paul lifts the church’s identity beyond local concerns, showing it as part of God’s cosmic purpose to unite all things in Christ.
Introduction
The letter to the Ephesians invites readers to see the church from heaven’s perspective. Paul does not start with buildings, programs, or institutional structures. He begins with God’s decision “before the foundation of the world” to gather a people in Christ (Ephesians 1:4). This people, shaped by grace and sealed by the Spirit, is called the church.
One of the things that has shaped my understanding of the church is participating in trips overseas where I was able to work alongside of other pastors in other countries. Another formative experience was going to a seminary where 1/3 of the student body was from Asia. It taught me a broader vision of what “Christian” meant, and it proved to me that our global family is strong and connected and can be used by God to do amazing things.
In the first century, small gatherings of believers in homes might have seemed fragile and unimpressive. Yet Paul describes them as participants in God’s eternal design. Through the church, God makes known grace, reveals wisdom, and demonstrates reconciliation. Ephesians offers a wide-angled view that stretches from eternity past to eternity future, and in that view the church stands at the center of God’s purposes.
The Role of the Church in God’s Eternal Plan
Paul’s vision of the church unfolds across the letter in layered images: a body, a temple, a household, and a new humanity. Each image helps explain how the church fits within God’s plan in Christ.
1. Chosen Before the Foundation of the World
Ephesians opens with a declaration that God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). This choosing is not a narrow privilege. It is a calling to bear witness to God’s holiness and love.
The church is gathered in Christ to be a sign of God’s future: forgiven, beloved, and set apart for good works (Ephesians 2:10). This opening blessing connects with the broader reflections found in Blessings in Christ and Connecting the Blessings in Christ.
2. The Church as the Body of Christ
Paul’s first major image is the body. Christ is the head, and the church is his body, “the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). This description emphasizes connection, shared life, and dependence on Christ.
Later in the letter, Paul returns to this image as he describes how the church grows into maturity. In Ephesians 4:11–16, Christ gives gifts to the church so that the body may be “built up” and “joined and knit together.” This theme is explored in Gifts Given to the Churchand The Unity of the Body of Christ.
The body metaphor shows that the church is not a loose collection of individuals but a living organism. Every part matters. Every member participates in God’s purposes.
3. A Community of Reconciliation
Ephesians 2:11–22 offers one of the clearest statements of the church’s role. Through the cross, Christ “is our peace,” breaking down the wall between Jews and Gentiles and creating “one new humanity.” This reconciled community is not only healed internally. It becomes a sign of God’s reconciling work to the world.
The church exists as a place where hostility is replaced with peace, estrangement with belonging, and division with unity. This theme is central to reflections like Unity in Christ and New Humanity in Ephesians.
4. Built into a Dwelling Place for God
Paul changes imagery again when he describes the church as a building. Believers are “members of the household of God,” built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19–20).
This structure grows into “a holy temple in the Lord,” becoming “a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:21–22). The Spirit makes the church a home for God’s presence. The church, then, is not simply a gathering around God—it is a community in which God chooses to dwell.
5. The Church as the Display of God’s Wisdom
Ephesians 3:10 makes a remarkable claim: through the church, God makes known “the manifold wisdom of God” to the “rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” The church does not only witness to the world. It bears witness to the spiritual realm.
This wisdom is not the wisdom of force or status. It is the wisdom of reconciliation, humility, and love. Markus Barth notes that the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the church is itself a revelation of God’s wisdom. Lynn Cohick highlights how this verse shows the church’s place in the cosmic dimension of God’s plan.
6. Strengthened by the Spirit for This Calling
Paul prays in Ephesians 3:16 that believers would be “strengthened in the inner being with power through [God’s] Spirit.” The church’s role in God’s plan is demanding, and so Paul prays for the strength to live in love, to grasp the breadth and depth of Christ’s love, and to embody that love in community.
This prayer stands at the hinge of the letter, linking God’s eternal plan with the church’s daily life. It is reflected in Paul’s Prayer for Inner Strength and The Love of Christ that Surpasses Understanding.
7. Walking in Love, Light, and Wisdom
Chapters 4–5 show how the church lives out its role. The community is called to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2), “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), and walk in wisdom (Ephesians 5:15).
These walks shape the church’s witness:
Love reflects Christ’s self-giving.
Light reveals what is good, right, and true.
Wisdom seeks what pleases the Lord.
These patterns are explored in Walking in Love, Walking in Light, and Walking in Wisdom.
8. Ordinary Relationships as Part of God’s Plan
The household instructions in Ephesians 5:21–6:9 show how God’s plan reaches into ordinary life. Marriage, parenting, work, and authority all become places where Christ’s love is lived out.
Mutual submission, sacrificial love, gentle instruction, and just treatment all testify to the reconciliation God has accomplished. These themes are developed in The Household Code in Context and Instructions to Children, Parents, Slaves, and Masters.
9. The Church Standing Firm in a Spiritual World
The final section of Ephesians (6:10–20) shows the church standing together in the armor of God. Spiritual conflict does not remove the church from God’s plan. It reveals how necessary God’s strength is for the church’s calling.
Clothed with truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God, the church stands as a sign of Christ’s victory. This section connects with reflections such as The Whole Armor of God and Ephesians 6:10–20: The Call to Spiritual Strength.
FAQs
Why does Ephesians give so much attention to the church? Because the church is central to God’s plan to reveal grace, reconciliation, and wisdom through Christ.
Is the church only a human institution?Ephesians presents the church as Christ’s body, God’s household, and a dwelling place for the Spirit—rooted in God’s action, not human invention.
How does the church reveal God’s wisdom?Through its unity, holiness, reconciliation, and love, the church displays God’s character to the world and to the spiritual realm.
What is the church’s role in everyday life?The church embodies God’s plan in ordinary relationships, practices, and habits—walking in love, light, and wisdom.
Sources Consulted
Barth, Markus.Ephesians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Yale Bible Commentary. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
Cohick, Lynn H.Ephesians. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020.
