“As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus, in order that you may charge certain men not to teach differently . . . rather than God’s economy which is by faith.” 1 TIMOTHY 1:3-4 (NASV)
God’s economy refers to His plan with various arrangements. Creation was an arrangement. The choosing of the people of Israel was an arrangement. Incarnation was an arrangement. Jesus’ human living was an arrangement. Crucifixion and resurrection were arrangements. Ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit were each an arrangement. And then regeneration was another arrangement. These are all part of God’s economy. Now in your daily living, even the disagreeable expression on someone’s face is an arrangement. Or your disappointment because of an unmet need is also an arrangement. All these arrangements in our environment are intended by God to bring us on in His economy.
We are all linked to one will, one purpose, and one economy, with many arrangements. If I see this and you see this, we can only bow down and say, “Lord, I repent for all my murmuring. I only want to do one thing in my life — to love You through all of the sovereign arrangements of Your economy.”
All families have little problems, big problems, and even sometimes storms. Yet, through it all, when we see God’s economy we have a new set of values. Our one desire is to experience Christ. We want Christ. We see that every kind of situation in our environment is for the dispensing of His life into our mind, emotion, and will. For example, the best marriage fellowship you could receive is according to God’s economy. It is to be counseled that your marriage is an arrangement that God has given you to experience Christ. The marriage life is one of the divinely appointed arrangements in God’s economy. It is an area where conformity to the image of Christ is happening in our daily life.