God’s Divine Economy (Part II)featured
“To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Hello friends and neighbors! In this part two of God’s Divine Economy, I explore a few verses that speak directly about the economy of God and the riches of Christ.
As a reminder, the word economy originates from the Greek word “oikonomia”, which stands for “household administration;” and in the Bible, it is used to show how God, embodied in Christ, transmits Himself as the riches via the Spirit.
Staying focused on God’s Divine Economy
The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:4: “Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questioning rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” The Recovery Version of the Bible uses the word economy, which is a direct translation for the Greek word used (oikonomia); other versions of the Bible also shed light on the apostle Paul’s writings and thinking behind the Greek word: 1) God’s work (New Internal Version), 2) Stewardship (English Standard version) and 3) Godly edifying (King James version).
It’s clear that the apostle Paul reminded Timothy to exhort others to stay focused on God’s economy and to forget about “myths and unending genealogies” which distracted the believers from God’s work.
We all know something of the RGV economy; and economies all over the world eventually have an expression of the cumulative creativeness and commerce of its people. Unfortunately, all economies are temporal and imperfect, and many times fall into corruption.
A dear brother and blogger in Christ, recently commented on my recent blog: “Human economy is an imperfect picture of the divine economy. Many times human economy is more damaging than constructive, and it is preferring the rich and smart and not the regular people. But praise the Lord, God has an economy, and He wants to dispense all His riches into our being!”
So what is His economy building?
His Divine Economy is building a spiritual and corporate dwelling place for God through normal and regular Christians like us, as seen on Ephesians 2:22, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.”
This spiritual building is being built in and through us with the very riches of Christ. Let’s explore a few examples of Christ’s riches in us.
His Riches In Us:
To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things” (Ephesians 3:9-10).
God’s economy of longing to dispense His life into us was actually a mystery throughout the ages. No philosopher, ethical or religious person in the past ever conceived that the actual creator of the universe had a plan where He’d pick up the element of humanity in time and space only to then be available to humanity. The richness and riches of His life are now available to us, His church.
Imagine God as an infinitely wealthy man, with trillions upon trillions of capital longing to distribute His wealth to all of His children. What would be the purpose of having such vast amount of riches if you couldn’t spend it or give it to your children? In the same way, God, who is the source and reality of all the wealth, music, talents, and all kinds of marvelous things in the universe, longs to dispense His riches into a group of people that are open to Him. The following expressions by the Apostle Paul give us just a glimpse of how rich our God in Christ is unto us:
1. “To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
2. “For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:19).
3. “And my God will fill your every need according to His riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
4. “Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us” (2nd Timothy 1:14).
5. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us” (2nd Corinthians 4:7).
Amen! The reality of God’s riches are in the Son, Jesus Christ. We see that He is not a God of scarcity, but of abundance; His riches are immeasurable by any human standard. John 1:16 says, “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” Such power, beauty, wisdom, glory, and love, are all embodied in the life of the Son, which is being transmitted to the millions and millions of believers to create a masterpiece.
Thank you for reading this post. God’s Divine Economy is a vast and deep topic, which I will continue to explore in the near future. I invite you to please share this on social media, comment, and ask questions.
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