Jesus is the Beloved
These are words that reach the heart:
In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Messiah, things in the heavens and things on the earth. … (Ephesians 1:8b-10a)
This is a blog about God’s love. How might we view these verses as relevant to our Father’s love? Look at how the Messiah is described in Ephesians 1:5-6.
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus [the] Messiah to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
He is called “the Beloved.” The Complete Jewish Bible translates this as, “Beloved One.” The New English Translation as, “his dearly loved Son.”
God is summing everything up in the His dearly loved Son, the Beloved One. Wickedness will be banished from all influence through the dominion of the Beloved One. Redeemed humanity and restored nature will be within the sphere of liberating holy love.
In both sentences the Greek word eudokia is used. It is translated “kind intention.” Both uses are connected to God’s will and are centered in God’s Messiah, His Beloved One.
the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1:5b)
the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention (Ephesians 1:8b)
God’s will, thelematos, has to do with accomplishing what will give Him pleasure. He wills to do that which He will enjoy. The King James Version gives this sense when it translated thelema in Revelation 4:11 as “pleasure.”
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11 KJV)
Let’s look at eudokia, God’s “kind intention.” “Kind intention” is a good translation. However, I prefer a stronger nuance to this word. Friberg Lexicon defines it like this:
generally what pleases; (1) of people; (a) as having good intent goodwill (PH 1:15); (b) as a feeling of strong emotion in favor of something desire, wish, good pleasure (RO 10:1); (2) of God good pleasure, favor, approval
I have chosen to view eudokia as being easily translated “delight.” Both “kind intention” and “His will” point us to what God loves. And His ultimate delight is that all things would be summed up in His Beloved One. Everything that exists is destined to be within the sphere of the One the Father loves. This is His “kind intention.”
In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Messiah, things in the heavens and things on the earth. … (Ephesians 1:8b-10a)
The future fullness of the appointed times will have everything summed up in the Messiah. Creation will share God’s delight, for it shall be summed up in the Beloved Son in whom God delights (euodokia).
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus [the] Messiah to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
That is your destiny.
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Also, David wrote a book about God’s love for the Jewish People called, For the Sake of the Fathers
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