CHAPTER SEVEN
THE DIVINE DISPENSING
IN THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS
THE DIVINE TRINITY BEING THE CONSTITUENT
OF THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS
Ephesians is a wonderful book on the divine dispensing. In the entire Bible Ephesians is the only book in which every chapter is structured with the Divine Trinity as its basic element. For example, chapter 1 speaks about the Father’s selection and predestination, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. This is the basic element of the structure of Ephesians 1.
The Divine Trinity in Chapter 1
for the Accomplishment of God’s Economy
Ephesians 1 reveals that the Father selected and predestinated us before the foundation of the world according to His plan. In time the Son redeemed us for accomplishing what the Father had planned, and after the Son accomplished redemption, the Spirit came to seal us and be a pledge to us for the application of what the Son accomplished. Hence, the Son accomplished all that the Father planned, and after the Son accomplished redemption, the Spirit applies all that the Son has accomplished to us. This is the constitution of chapter 1, which is on the accomplishment of God’s economy. In other words, the accomplishment of God’s redemption and salvation depends entirely on the Divine Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The Divine Trinity in Chapter 2
for Leading Us into the Triune God
In chapter 2 the Divine Trinity is not as clearly and distinctly referred to as in chapter 1, but in 2:18 the Trinity is implied—“Through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.” This shows us that the Father as the source is the One who predestinates and [396] plans. How do we have access unto the Father? First, it is through the Son, who, by accomplishing redemption, became the means by which we have access unto the Father. Second, to have access unto the Father we need to be in the Spirit. If we have the means but not the leading, we still cannot reach the goal. Therefore, this verse points out concisely and accurately that we have access unto the Father through the Son, who accomplished redemption, and in the Spirit, who is the sealing and leading; that is, through the Son we have access in one Spirit unto the Father. As a result we, the created, fallen, and redeemed human beings, have been brought together with the Triune God. In other words, we have been wrought into Him.
THE CHURCH—THE CORPORATE EXPRESSION OF GOD
Ephesians chapter 1 speaks a great deal concerning the Triune God. The central thought is that the Triune God has wrought Himself into us through His selection, predestination, redemption, sealing, and pledging. Chapter 2 says that through the Son and in the Spirit we have access unto the Father; that is, we enter into the Father. Hence, chapter 1 reveals that God has come into us, whereas chapter 2 tells us that we have entered into the Father. Through this coming and going, the Triune God has wrought Himself into us and us into Him. Thus, we have the economy of God, the dispensing of God, and the union of God with us, resulting in the producing of the Body, the church. The church is the issue of God’s coming into us and our going back to Him. Through this coming and going, the church as God’s corporate expression is produced.
This is a fundamental truth in the Lord’s recovery: the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—has wrought Himself into us through the Father’s predestination, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. Since we were redeemed and have the Triune God in us, through the Son we have access in the Spirit unto the Father. Through this coming and going, the Triune God has entered into us, and we have also entered into Him; the result is that a corporate expression—the church, the Body of Christ—is produced.
Paul’s Prayer in Ephesians 3
In chapter 3 we see a very deep relationship and union, as well as a profound transmission, dispensing, and mingling between the [397] Triune God and us. Verses 14 to 19 say, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are and to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.” In these few verses the emphasis is on the Father, the Spirit, and Christ. In chapter 1 it is on the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; in chapter 2 it is on the Son, the Spirit, and the Father; and in chapter 3 it is on the Father, the Spirit, and Christ (the Son). Both the sequence and the emphasis are clearly revealed in these chapters.
In chapter 3 the Father is the source; He initiates, directs, and manages. Recognizing Him as the One who initiates, directs, and manages, the apostle Paul prayed to Him. In so doing, he took the right way and found the right door; he came before the Initiator, Director, and Manager and solemnly knelt down in prayer. This is not a small thing.
We all know that we can pray at any time, in any place, and in any posture. We can pray while we are standing, lying down, stooping, or in any posture we like. However, of all the different postures, the most solemn one is to bow our knees. There is nothing special in simply kneeling down, but to bow our knees, however, is to kneel down in a solemn way. In the Bible, when God’s people pray to Him, the most solemn posture is to bow their knees. Bowing our knees means that we humble our whole being before God and pray in a solemn way.
Asking the Father according to His Glory
What did Paul ask for when he prayed in such a solemn way? We can see that he asked the Father to do something according to His glory. This is an immensely great matter! I have been meeting with the church and the saints for almost sixty years, and I have heard many, many prayers, but I have never heard a prayer asking God to do things according to His glory. Today whenever we meet, we have prayer; almost every time we gather together, we pray. Moreover, we encourage everyone to pray by himself. However, have [398] we ever prayed, “Lord, I pray that You would raise up the small groups according to Your glory. Lord, establish the home meetings according to Your glory”?
Most of the time when we pray, we ask the Lord to do something according to His grace. Sometimes we are somewhat humble, so we may ask Him according to His mercy; at other times we are very close to Him, so we may ask Him according to His great love. Sometimes we may want to say something that sounds nicer, so we ask Him according to His holiness; other times we see something unpleasant and become angry, so we may ask Him according to His righteousness and justice; and sometimes we pay attention to power, so we may ask the Lord according to His power. We probably have prayed to the Lord in all these ways, but have we ever prayed according to His glory? I am afraid not. It is even doubtful that there is such a prayer anywhere on the earth today. The reason is that man does not have adequate knowledge of the glory of God.
According to the Bible, the glory of God is God expressed in His divine life and nature. For example, when a flower blossoms, it is glorified. In the same way, when God is expressed, He is glorified. In this sense, what Paul meant when he prayed “according to the riches of His glory” is, “Father, may You do things according to Your intention to have Yourself expressed.” Hence, Paul’s prayer is related to the dispensing and mingling of the Triune God for the purpose of obtaining a corporate expression of Himself. This corporate expression is the Father’s glory, and it was according to this glory that Paul prayed to God.