When was God's purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus?
According to Scripture, God's purpose and grace were given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began. This was already in the mind of God in the counsel that predetermined all things, before the foundation of the world, as Paul writes in Ephesians.
Les explains that when Paul writes of God's purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus, the question is when. The answer is before the world began. Les took us back to Acts chapter 2, where the Godhead came together and precipitated everything according to their counsel. This purpose was already in the mind of God in that counsel that predetermined everything. Les notes it is mind-boggling and beyond human comprehension, but it is what the Word declares, so we take it by faith. He also ties it to Ephesians, where Paul writes that we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,