Plot behind everything completely revealed

Looking through the sermon archives on my church’s website the other day, I came across this gem from 2012 entitled, “The Secret That Governs The Universe”:

This passage in Ephesians 1 is a wonderful statement of the fact God has chosen to bring us into the counsel of His own will:

[8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
[9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10] That 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:

Verse 9’s saying He’s taken you and me into His confidence and given us a complete revelation and complete access to all that He planned, explains Richard Jordan.

The mystery of His will, the secret of His will . . . You know, people talk about the secret will of God. There’s this idea that if you want to do God’s will, you need to go find it.

They think there’s like this life map that He’s already planned out for you where you have to kind of fumble along and try to find it because it’s really a secret; it isn’t revealed to you.

That verse says it’s the exact opposite of that. The secret will of God, this thing He had planned, He has completely revealed it to us. It’s there on the table for you. The key to the plot, to the things that are happening, the wisdom and prudence behind everything, has been revealed to you.

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but these passages talk about the secret that is actually behind--running and controlling--the universe. The plot behind everything; God’s intention behind everything--the secret that runs the universe is right there in verse 10.

The key behind everything, folks, is that God’s plan—the purpose of God in the creation—is to make everything in heaven and earth, the whole universe, center and focus on His Son. To make His Son the center, the head of everything.

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We all have circumstances we live with and situations that aren’t advantageous, but wisdom and knowledge give you the capacity to deal with them in a way that produces the glory of God and the eternal good for you.

Proverbs 8: [10] Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
[11] For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
[12] I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.

They’re not worthy of being compared to wisdom. Well, what is wisdom? “I wisdom dwell with prudence.”

I just love the way the King James Bible says that. If you’ve got any fascination with your own language, and I know most people don’t know much about their own language and things have been dumbed down so bad today that appreciation for the English language is almost nil, but that’s just a neat way of saying it.

“I Wisdom.” Wisdom is going to talk to you. Here’s this wise plan and it’s, “Can we talk?” You remember Ephesians 1; wisdom and prudence go hand in hand.

Knowledge is knowing stuff. Understanding and wisdom is knowing how to take what you know and put it to a good use. You kind of see the lay of the land.

But prudence is a step beyond that. Prudence is the ability to be expedient with your understanding. It’s the ability to see the long-term best interest and how the thing fits in for the long term. Not just the immediate or the short-term, but the LONG view.

I love the thing about “witty inventions.” That’s not talking about being Jay Leno. That’s talking about God’s creative genius. By the way, it’s witty. Did you ever stop to notice that God had to have had a sense of humor?

I stand in front of congregations all the time, and you know, with two ears, two eyes, a nose and a mouth God can make some really weird-looking dudes. Some beautiful people and . . .  we sing the song, “Everything is beautiful in its own way.”

But the creativity. Walk out by the pond and look at the garden there. Look at it now and think about how it looked three months ago or even two weeks ago. You see the creative genius in all of that. None of it ever gets to be boring.

God took His creative ability, His creative genius, and devised a wise plan that dwelt in the presence of prudence. It had the long-term best interest in view.

Proverbs 8: [14] Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
[15] By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
[16] By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
[17] I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
[18] Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
[19] My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogance and the forward mouth.

The key behind everything going on in life is this wisdom that’s talking to you. He’s the underlying behind it all. There’s a secret that runs everything going on out here.

Wisdom’s saying, “You follow me and you’ve got the key to what’s going on in the universe and, by the way, you know when I showed up, the Lord possessed me before He ever made anything. Because when He made everything, He had a plan by wisdom and knowledge.

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Here’s the other side of it in Isaiah 14: [12] How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
[13] For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
[14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

God the Father in the order of creation--the plan was for a SON to lead creation. Lucifer is the light-bearer. Job talks about his strong right arm holding up the light. Just in a nutshell, Lucifer’s function in the original creation was to LEAD all of creation in worship and honor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We’ll see in Ezekiel where it says He made Lucifer wiser, more beautiful, more creative than ANY other creature. He could out-think everybody! He was the cat’s meow and God made him that way so that all of creation would be attracted to him, so that he then could point them to the real hero and the celebrity of the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God called Lucifer “son of the morning.” God appointed him to the position of son. We’re reading in Ephesians about sonship. What a son is someone who’s able to lead and carry on the business of the father. He understands it fully, he cooperates with what the father’s doing, but more than that, he buys into it and he delights in it. It becomes the joy and rejoicing of his heart and he has the same passion for it that the father has. He’s not a servant: “I’m doing it because I can’t do anything else; if He got off my back I wouldn’t be doing it.”

Not a, “Just please tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” Not that, but one who can stand next to the father and say, “Dad, I know what you want, I know what’s dearest to your heart. Relax, I’ll go do it for you.”

You see, Lucifer was put in THAT position of leading all of creation in a delight in the Father’s plan to make His Son the Lord Jesus Christ the head of everything. God the Father wanted a son to lead His plan. You get that? That’s powerful.

And what Lucifer decided was, “I’m not going to do it your way; I’m going to be the authority.” That’s why Romans 1:25 says, [25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Take the Creator’s intention for His creation and turn it into a lie by making it about “Me, myself and I.”

His ultimate goal in verse Isaiah 14: [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

He said, “I’m going to be the one who is the most unique person in the universe.”

Genesis 14, the first time that title “most high God” is defined in the Bible it’s defined as “the possessor of heaven and earth.” Lucifer said, “I’m going to go back, and what God’s original plan was to make Jesus Christ the head of all things in heaven and earth, I’m going to change the plan and make it me.” That’ s what led Satan into being Satan.

The plan of the Father, though, is still to have His creation led by sons. When God created the nation Israel, His intention was for them to be His Son; a group of people in the earth who understood, who worked with Him and found as the delight of their heart the plan of the Father—the secret of the Father.

By the way, in Romans 9:4, that announcement: [4] Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

You come to Ephesians 1 and you find: [4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
[5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
[6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Here’s that plan God had before the foundation of the world to do what? Put us into the position of adoption. The adoption of children, sons.