Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 1:9; Psa. 36:8-9; John 6:57; Eph. 1:5, 9; Col. 1:9; Matt. 7:21

I. For the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we need to enjoy God by eating God-2 Tim. 1:9; Psa. 36:8-9; John 6:35, 51, 57; 1 Cor. 10:17:

A. God wants us to enjoy Him and to live for His purpose-Psa. 36:8-9; Rom. 8:28:

1. The Triune God is a God of joy-15:13; John 15:11; 17:13; Acts 13:52; Gal.5:22.

2. Man was created with a need for enjoyment and purpose-Gen. 2:7-9; Eccl.3:11.

3. God saved us and called us according to His own purpose, and now His purpose should become our purpose-Rom. 8:28; 2 Tim. 1:9; 3:10.

4. As believers, we need to focus on the enjoyment of God, see that God’s desire is to give Himself to us to be our enjoyment, and come to Him with the thought of enjoying Him-John 1:1, 14, 16-17; Psa. 36:8-9.

5. The secret to the Christian life is to enjoy God-John 15:11; 16:22.

B. God’s economy is that we eat Christ and be constituted with Him in order to express Him and represent Him-1 Tim. 1:4; John 6:35, 51, 57; Gen. 1:26:

1. God’s economy is a matter of Christ coming into us inwardly; for this, we need to take Christ by eating Him-Eph. 3:17a; John 6:57:

2. Eating is the way to experience God’s dispensing for His expression and representation-Gen. 1:26; 2:9.

a. We should all eat the same spiritual food, not eating anything other than the Lord or enjoying anything in place of the Lord-vv. 3-4.

b. Eating is related to enjoyment; if our enjoyment is something other than Christ, then in the sight of God that enjoyment is idolatry-vv. 7, 14, 22.

3. We are all one Body because we all partake of the one bread-v. 17.

4. We are what we eat; therefore, if we eat God as our food, we will be one with God and even become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead- John 1:1, 14; 6:35, 51, 57.

II. To live a life for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose is to live for God’s good pleasure-Eph. 1:5, 9; Matt. 17:5:

A. The book of Ephesians was written from the perspective of God’s good pleasure, the desire of His heart-1:5, 9:

1. God needs pleasure, and this pleasure is according to His will-v. 5.

2. God’s good pleasure is what makes Him happy-vv. 5, 9:

a. God was happy with the man created by Him (Gen. 1:26, 31), with the incarnation of Christ (Luke 2:9-14), with Christ’s baptism (Matt. 3:16-17), and with the resurrected Christ (17:5; Luke 24:26).

b. God is happy with His Son revealed in us (Gal. 1:15-16), He is happy to work in us (Phil. 2:13), and He will be happy with our glorification (Rom. 8:18-19, 21-23).

3. The church is according to the good pleasure of God’s will, the desire of God’s heart-Eph. 1:5, 9, 22-23; 3:9-11.

B. “The recovery is that God may regain His good pleasure…We must be a people among whom God may have His good pleasure…We are now living and walking according to the pleasure of God” (Life Messages, vol. 1, p. 295).

C. What is most pleasant in the eyes of God is that we live and walk in our spirit for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose-John 4:24; Eph. 1:9, 17; 3:11, 16.

III. In order to live a life for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we must know and do the will of God-Col. 1:9; Matt. 7:21:

A. God is a God of purpose, having a will of His own pleasure, and He created all things for His will that He might accomplish and fulfill His purpose-Rev. 4:11; Eph. 3:9-11; Col. 1:9:

1. God’s will is His heart’s desire, His mingling with man, and the fulfillment of His eternal plan-Eph. 1:5, 9, 11; 5:17.

2. The will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness, His expression- Rom. 12:2, 5; Eph. 1:5, 9, 11, 22-23.

B. We need to be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will-Col. 1:9:

1. God’s will in Colossians 1:9 is His will regarding His eternal purpose, regarding His economy concerning Christ-Eph. 1:5, 9, 11.

2. To have the full knowledge of God’s will is to have the revelation of God’s plan so that we may know what God plans to do in the universe-Rev. 4:11:

3. The will of God for us is that we know the all-inclusive Christ, experience Him, and live Him as our life-1:9, 15-18; 3:4.

4. Walking worthily of the Lord issues from having the full knowledge of God’s will; such a walk is a walk in which we live Christ-1:10; Phil. 1:19-21a.

C. If we would enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age, we must do the will of our Father in this age-Matt. 7:21-23; 6:10; 12:50; Rev. 4:11; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:5, 9, 11; 5:17; Col. 1:9; 4:12:

1. The kingdom is a matter of God’s will and fulfills God’s will-Matt. 6:10.

2. In order to do the will of the Father, we need to enter in through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way-7:13-14.

3. We need to pray for the Father’s will to be done on earth as in the heavens; this is to bring the kingdom of the heavens to the earth-6:10; Rev. 11:15.