+I. Seen in the development of a long-cherished plan.+--1. _This plan was carried out by Christ._ "According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ" (ver. 11). The plan is here called the "eternal purpose," and that purpose was the redemption of man, and the personage selected for its accomplishment was the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the unchanging theme of "the Gospel of which the apostle was made a minister," this the Divinely freighted argosy of "the unsearchable riches of Christ," the veiled and sacred repository of all heavenly mysteries. The plan is significantly called the "manifold wisdom of God"--as manifold as mysterious, for there is variety in the mystery and mystery in every part of the variety. The wisdom is seen, not so much in one act as in the masterly combination of a multitude of acts, all marshalled and disposed with consummate skill to the attainment of one grand end; just as the light that fills and irradiates the valley, penetrating every nook and crevice and clothing every object with beauty, is produced, not by a solitary ray, but by manifold rays poured from the central sun, and all uniting in one harmonious illumination. The crowning wisdom of the plan was in God appointing His only Son as the agent in carrying it out. He, the sinless One, must suffer for sin; the Innocent die for the guilty, and by dying conquer sin. Only thus could the righteous claims of the violated law be fully satisfied, the offence of the sinning one condoned, the authority of the Divine government maintained, and the character of the Holy One vindicated to the whole universe. 2. _That the plan has been accomplished is evident from the attitude assumed towards man and towards God by believers_ (ver. 13).--As regards the attitude of the believer towards man, he has now "boldness" in declaring the whole truth, and towards God he has "access with confidence by the faith of Him"--he has confidential fellowship with God. Both these experiences are the result of the redeeming plan, and would have been impossible without it.