The Eternal Purpose

By Roger Dixon

God's purpose is to bring us out of an earthbound existence to live in another realm. "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col. 3:1-4). As our lives become merged with His, we become sharers in all that He is. This is God's eternal purpose in creating us.

We become sharers in Christ's life and glory through the Spirit. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Learning to forsake the limitations of the earthbound soul realm to live in God's world, the realm of spirit, enables us to become partakers with Christ in all the Father's fullness. As long as we live a religious, earthbound existence we will never know the glories that God has prepared for us.

The sufferings of Christ manifested in us lifts us out of the dullness of religion and opens our eyes and ears to function in a higher realm. The writer of Hebrews put it this way: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." It's through this division of soul and spirit that takes place within us that we begin to discern the spiritual forces around us.

The wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through the church. Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes His desire for a people for His own possession. We can never be wholly His until all the influences of the spirit realm are eliminated from our lives. He alone is to be Lord over us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9780989989824

Book preview

Introduction

God's purpose is to bring us out of an earthbound existence to live in another realm. "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col.3:1-4). As our lives become merged with His, we become sharers in all that He is.

This is God's eternal purpose in creating us.

John 16:

13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

We become sharers in Christ's life and glory through the Spirit. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Learning to forsake the limitations of the earthbound soul realm to live in God's world, the realm of spirit, enables us to become partakers with Christ in all the Father's fullness. As long as we live a religious, earthbound existence we will never know the glories that God has prepared for us.

1st. Pet. 1:

10 ¶ As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,

11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

Verse 11 gives us the pattern of our metamorphosis from earthbound religion to freedom in the Spirit. The sufferings of Christ made real in our lives leads to the glories that follow. As Paul stated, if we suffer with Him, we shall be glorified with Him.

Rom. 8:

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 ¶ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Verse 17 gives us unique insight into God's purpose for us. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ that we may also be glorified together. We are to share together in the Father's glory.

The sufferings of Christ manifested in us lifts us out of the dullness of religion and opens our eyes and ears to function in a higher realm. The writer of Hebrews put it this way: For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It's through this division of soul and spirit that takes place within us that we begin to discern the spiritual forces around us.

Eph. 3:

8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

The wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through the church. Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes His desire for a people for His own possession. We can never be wholly His until all the influences of the spirit realm are eliminated from our lives. He alone is to be Lord over us.

The Elemental Spirits

Col. 2:

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.

11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ;

12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 ¶ And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses,

14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 ¶ Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.

17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,

19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ you died to the elementary principles of the world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations,

21 Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch?

22 All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings.

23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

In these passages the term elementary principles of the world is used twice. It is used again in subsequent passages in Colossians and Galatians. It is a rather difficult phrase to translate accurately. The Greek word is stoicheion. It means any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite whole take their rise, an element, first principal e.g. the elements, rudiments, primary and fundamental principles of any art, science, or discipline, according to Strong's. The word indicates a root from which other things spring. The New American Standard translates this word elementary principles of the world. King James translates it as the rudiments of the world. The New International Version translation is basic principles of the world. All of these translations struggle to define something that transcends scholarly interpretation. The Revised Standard Version and Moffatt’s translation get it right: They translate stoicheion as elemental spirits. This translation encompasses the revelation behind the passages we are going to examine. Although the New American Standard Version is used throughout our text, elemental spirits can be substituted when the term elementary principles is used. The context of the passages we examine will clearly show that what Paul is conveying transcends just the basic teachings of man.

Verse 10 says that Jesus Christ is the head over every ruler and authority.

Col. 1 states:

13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him