according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Parallel translations
- WEB according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord;
- KJV According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
- BSB according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- NASB This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
- NLT This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
This was according to God's eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. It anchors the whole plan in God's timeless intention fulfilled in Christ.
Overview
Paul roots all this in 'the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.' The display of God's wisdom through the church is no afterthought but the outworking of a plan settled in eternity and realized in Christ. The Lord Jesus is the one in whom God's eternal purpose comes to fulfillment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Tim 1:9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
- Eph 1:11in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will;
- Eph 1:4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;
- Rom 9:11For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls,
- Isa 46:10–11I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
- Isa 14:24–27Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
- Eph 1:9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
- Rom 8:28–30We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
- Jer 51:29The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
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Christ at the center
Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.
How Ephesians 3:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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