What is the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10)?

The foregoing anticipates a little; but it prepares us to understand what is said in Ephesians 3:10 as to the all-variegated wisdom of God. The word for all-variegated is only used this once in the Bible. It is polupoikilos. If a Grecian saw a magnificent picture, a masterpiece of brilliance and design, blending its colours in the most beautiful harmony, this is the word he would use to describe the varied and yet harmonious combination of colour, with its rich hues and delicate tints, presented as pleasingly to his eye. In the times past, before the redemption work of Christ was accomplished on the cross, before He had ascended to God’s right hand, and sent down the Holy Spirit, the mystery, in which the treasures of wisdom are found, was hidden in God. He had created all things, having in view the purpose which He purposed in Christ before He created the universe; and according to that purpose to provide a way for the making known of His all-variegated wisdom. Such a thought transcends the natural mind altogether; but God has revealed it that we may rejoice in it, in the power of the Spirit, even as we read concerning the administration of this mystery, “hidden throughout the ages in God, who has created all things, in order that NOW to the principalities and authorities in the heavenlies might be made known through the assembly the all-variegated wisdom of God, according to the purpose of the ages, which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Creation becomes the sphere for this. Sin and failure had been seen in it before; but now, in contrast to the past times, God has found a means for the display of His glory through the assembly in Christ, according to His eternal purpose of love. What love! What glory! What surpassing grace! To quarry sinners such as ourselves out of the pit, and to connect us with such princely and supernal splendour. Eternal praise to our God and Father, even as there shall be glory to God “in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of the ages” (Eph. 3:21, N.Tr.).

Further, not only would God have all men enlightened as to the formation of the assembly on earth, but it is His intent that now all the heavenly beings should learn in the church His manifold wisdom. These heavenly beings had seen the creation come fresh from the hand of God, and, as they beheld His wisdom in creation, they shouted for joy. Now in the formation of the church they see “the all-various wisdom of God”. Creation was the most perfect expression of creatorial wisdom, but in the formation of the church God's wisdom is displayed in every form. Before the church could be formed, God's glory had to be vindicated, man's need met, sin put away, death abolished, and the power of Satan annulled. The barrier between Jew and Gentile had to be removed, heaven be opened, Christ be seated as Man in the glory, the Holy Spirit come to earth, and the Gospel be preached. All this and more is involved in the formation of the church. These various ends could only be attained by the all-various wisdom of God, wisdom displayed, not only in one direction, but in every direction. Nor has the failure of the church in its responsibilities altered the fact that in the church the angels learn the wisdom of God. On the contrary, it only makes more manifest the marvellous wisdom that, rising above all man's failure, overcoming every obstacle, at last brings the church to glory “according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

But more, not only would God have all men enlightened as to the formation of the Assembly on earth, but it is His intent that now all the heavenly beings should learn in the Church the manifold wisdom of God. These heavenly beings had seen the creation come fresh from the hands of God, and, as they beheld His wisdom in creation, they sang for joy. Now in the formation of the Church they see "the all-various wisdom of God" ( v. 10, N. Tr.). Creation was the most perfect expression of creatorial wisdom; but in the formation of the Church, God's wisdom is displayed in every form. Before the Church could be formed, God's glory had to be vindicated, man's need must be met, sin must be put away, death abolished, and the power of Satan annulled. The barrier must be removed between Jew and Gentile, Heaven opened, Christ seated as a Man in the glory, the Holy Spirit come to earth and the Gospel preached. All this and more is involved in the formation of the Church, and these varied ends could be attained only by the all-various wisdom of God-wisdom displayed, not only in one direction, but in every direction. Thus the Church on earth becomes the lesson book of heavenly and angelic beings. Nor has the failure of the Church in its responsibilities altered the fact that in the Church the angels learn this lesson. On the contrary, it only makes more manifest the marvellous wisdom that, rising above all man's failure, overcoming every obstacle, at last brings the Church to glory "according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Paul therefore had before him two objects. As a servant of the gospel he had "this grace given," to "preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." (vv. 7, 8.) And as the one to whom the mystery was revealed, he was "to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (vv. 9-11.) This is a wonderful passage. God, as creator of all things, had shown His wisdom. But there was a still more marvellous display which this wisdom was to receive, a display contemplated in God's counsels from all eternity, but now first brought to light. When all His earthly purposes seemed to be frustrated, when Satan seemed to have succeeded, God's manifold wisdom displays itself by turning this very apparent defeat into the crowning victory of His grace. The great seeming triumph which Satan achieved at the cross, the temporary setting aside of all the revealed purposes of blessing and glory through Christ, only gave occasion for God to put a higher glory on Christ, and to introduce a richer and more unrestricted blessing than any before revealed. Thus the manifold character of God's wisdom shows itself, and not only to men, but to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" when they beheld His wisdom in creating the world; but they see its manifold nature and its brightest display in His ways concerning the Church.

Paul therefore had before him two objects. As a servant of the gospel he had "this grace given," to "preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." (vv. 7, 8.) And as the one to whom the mystery was revealed, he was "to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (vv. 9-11.) This is a wonderful passage. God, as creator of all things, had shown His wisdom. But there was a still more marvellous display which this wisdom was to receive, a display contemplated in God's counsels from all eternity, but now first brought to light. When all His earthly purposes seemed to be frustrated, when Satan seemed to have succeeded, God's manifold wisdom displays itself by turning this very apparent defeat into the crowning victory of His grace. The great seeming triumph which Satan achieved at the cross, the temporary setting aside of all the revealed purposes of blessing and glory through Christ, only gave occasion for God to put a higher glory on Christ, and to introduce a richer and more unrestricted blessing than any before revealed. Thus the manifold character of God's wisdom shows itself, and not only to men, but to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" when they beheld His wisdom in creating the world; but they see its manifold nature and its brightest display in His ways concerning the Church.

He made known to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, which gave them a portion in the counsels of God in grace. He enlightened all with regard, not precisely, to the mystery, but to the administration of the mystery; that is to say, not only the counsel of God, but the accomplishment in time of that counsel by bringing the assembly together under Christ its head. He who had created all things, as the sphere of the development of His glory, had kept this secret in His own possession, in order that the administration of the mystery, now revealed by the establishment of the assembly on earth, should be in its time the means of making known to the most exalted of created beings the manifold and various wisdom of God. They had seen creation arise and expand before their eyes; they had seen the government of God, His providence, His judgment; His intervention in lovingkindness on the earth in Christ. Here was a kind of wisdom altogether new; a thing outside the world, hitherto shut up in the mind of God, hid in Himself so that there was no promise or prophecy of it, but the special object of His eternal purpose; connected in a peculiar way with the One who is the centre and the fulness of the mystery of godliness; which had its own place in union with Him; which, although it was manifested on earth and set with Christ at the head of creation, formed properly no part of it. It was a new part of it. It was a new creation, a distinct manifestation of the wisdom of God; a part of His thoughts which until then had been reserved in the secret of His counsels; the actual administration of which, on the earth in time by the apostle's work, made known the wisdom of God according to His settled purpose, according to His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. "In whom," the apostle adds, "we draw nigh with all boldness by faith in him": and it is according to this relationship that we do so.

The important place which this deeply-hidden secret held in the Divine counsels is made strikingly apparent in what follows. It was hidden in God, "who created all things, to the intent (v. 10) that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God." In dividing this passage, it is not very material whether, by pausing at the end of verse 9, we read this allusion to creation absolutely, or whether, by the insertion of a comma only, we connect it more emphatically with what immediately follows. The really important point to be kept in view is, that such was the place which the Church held in the purposes of God, that the perfect glory of His wisdom could only be discovered through her means. The old creation was in this sense a necessary preliminary to the new. He who created all things had the Church in His thoughts when He began the work. That the believer is a new creation has been already shown; and such, also, is the collective body of Christ. It is by means of that new work of God that the heavenly powers, who (themselves bright witnesses of His creative glory) always lauded the display of the Divine omnipotency, now learn a new variety of that wisdom which originated their own being. Never had it entered their conception to suppose that their Creator (Col. 1:16) would stoop so far below themselves to find fit companions of His joys. They now acknowledge, in the calling of the elect Church into the fellowship of the Son of God, a proof, both newer and more astonishing than any other, of the wisdom and prudence of their Maker. To perceive that He, who upholds them by the word of His own power, takes pleasure in confessing in their presence His kinship and oneness with forgiven sinners here below, displaying to them as He does the tokens both of their natural alienation, and of their eternal reconciliation in the wounded but now glorified body in which He bore their sins upon the tree, is to receive initiation into a deeper mystery than that of their own glorious existence.

Much of the wisdom of God is shown through Israel, but now through the assembly there is made known the all-various wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; and that, not to men, but to “the principalities and authorities in the heavenlies.” This was in view even in the creation which He called into being at the beginning, though He did not reveal the secret till Christ had secured redemption, and was set as Head over all things to the assembly. It is therefore said “now” as contrasted with the past when the mystery was kept secret, and not in contrast with the future, for it has an abiding sense according to “eternal purpose.” The perfect display of God’s wisdom is secured—“all-various,” or “all variegated,”—a word only found here in Scripture, and used of the magnificent blendings of colour in a masterpiece of art. To bring the failure of the assemblies into these verses is to mar the teaching in this connection. To dwell upon the divine grace and love and power and wisdom seen in Christ and the assembly according to the purpose of God will rightly affect us.

Much of the wisdom of God is shown through Israel, but now through the assembly there is made known the all-various wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; and that, not to men, but to "the principalities and authorities in the heavenlies." This was in view even in the creation which He called into being at the beginning, though He did not reveal the secret till Christ had secured redemption, and was set as Head over all things to the assembly. It is therefore said "now" as contrasted with the past when the mystery was kept secret, and not in contrast with the future, for it has an abiding sense according to "eternal purpose." The perfect display of God's wisdom is secured, - "all-various," or "all variegated," - a word only found here in Scripture, and used of the magnificent blendings of colour in a masterpiece of art. To bring the failure of the assemblies into these verses is to mar the teaching in this connection. To dwell upon the divine grace and love and power and wisdom seen in Christ and the assembly according to the purpose of God will rightly affect us.

All that the natural eye can see, and the unregenerate mind contemplate, is the chaos resulting from man's evil and from all his endeavours to put this poor world right. No doubt the great intelligences of heaven are aware of all that man is doing, and of the conditions that are beyond his wisdom to control. But they also see what God is doing, and in the church, which He has formed, they behold a character of divine wisdom that was never before displayed. This all-varied wisdom of God was not made known in His ways of old: He reserved it for the time of Christ's entry into His glory, and for the days of His new-creation workmanship in the church.

This wonderful display of divine wisdom was in the mind of God before time began, and is "according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Christ is the centre of God's purpose; nothing of it could have been accomplished apart from Him and His great work on the cross. God had Christ in reserve from eternity to give effect to all that lay in His heart and mind, and having wrought out on the cross the great work of redemption, the basis for the carrying out of all His will, God has glorified Him at His right hand, and is working out all His pleasure in relation to Him.