The Whole Counsel of God

The Whole Counsel of God

Paul writes to the Ephesians: “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love . . . .” That was the whole counsel of God. By attaining to the whole counsel of God, they were made “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.” Eph. 1:4-7.

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:16-19.

The whole counsel of God is that we are to be filled with God’s fullness. That is what Paul preached to the Ephesians. This possibility has been granted to us by the redemption “through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” This has given us access to the grace and truth with which Jesus came, and as a result we can be to the praise and glory of His grace.

In spite of all the gifts, we are nothing if we do not have love. How great is this “All the fullness of God”? Jesus embodied all the fullness of God. He bore the sins of the whole world; He never ceased to love. When He prayed on the cross, He prayed not only that God would forgive them their sin; He also did not reckon it to them: “For they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:34.

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8. We learn to know God by abiding in love. God abides in us, and we abide in Him if we abide in love. V. 16. When we are in God, we are also in rest. If we come out of rest, we have also come out of love. By this it is easy to discern whether we are abiding in love and also whether the others are abiding in love. By this we also learn to help others and to bless them.

We can see that our calling is to get to know the entire content of the love of Christ. Then we bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things, and never come out of rest. 1 Cor. 13:7.

Jesus came with this grace and truth for the salvation of mankind (John 1:12), and our hearts are strengthened by grace to live such a divine life. Heb. 13:9.