Ephesians 3:11

Eternal purpose. Literally, “the purpose of the ages.” Scripture and life alike tell of the outworking of a divine purpose. God created the world not in vain, and although for a time His plans are hindered, they will ultimately triumph.

Christ Jesus our Lord. See ch. 1:10, 22, 23. Paul reminds his readers that the historic Jesus whom they acknowledged as Lord was the Christ of the eternal purpose of God to effect man’s salvation and to vindicate His character. The unity His purpose calls for requires complete submission of each believer’s will to its Lord and Master. The unity is like to that which a musical conductor expects from the different instalments of his orchestra. The church that cannot fuse into unity and a common devotion to its Lord faces certain defeat and rejection. Paul’s argument is (1) that the will of God has been revealed to us, (2) that that will is being worked out, (3) and that it will result in the restoration of harmony to God’s disrupted universe.