God’s plan—The
Church was long prepared for. In the Epistle to the Ephesians (1:9-10), St.
Paul presents her as the fulfilment of a loving plan drawn up by God
beforehand, to be brought to completion when the time came. Christians, that is
to say those who have believed the love God has for us (1 John 4:16), recognize
this plan. For God is love (1 John 4:8). (The Church of Christ, ed.
Peter McConville and Peter Brady [Young Christians Today 4; London:
Geoffrey Chapman, 1967], 4)
