EPHESIANS 3:1-13 01 SEPTEMBER 2024
Paul’s mission was to reveal that God has broken down the walls that divide and made all one in Christ, a mission he also gives to the church.
Function: To challenge the church to take up Paul’s challenge to reveal the manifold
wisdom of God to the world!
Mysteries draw us in, don’t they? They challenge our thinking and arouse our
interests.
Did you know that the Bible describes God’s Plan as a “mystery” in one sense?
Now, it's not the kind of mystery that you and I might think of.
It is not a “whodunnit”—and it's not the kind of mystery that Sherlock Holmes or Sgt. Joe Friday could have figured out.
But in the very real sense, that is what God was ultimately ‘up to’ though He had not been fully revealed.
It was a mystery to many. And, of course, to many people, what God has done is a mystery.
What God was doing and has been doing from the very beginning of time has been to reconcile his people to himself. That had not been completely clear to the people. But now, Paul has the privilege of unveiling, uncovering, and revealing the greatest of mysteries of all time!
Let’s look again at Ephesians 3:1-3
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
Remember, Paul had just pointed out that the dividing walls had been broken down—that now we are all (Jew and Gentile) on the same team, so to speak! He’ll build on that theme and launch into a prayer, but something stops him short.
As he writes, he pauses to reflect upon the ministry that he has been given.
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
Paul says, “Let me tell you about My Ministry.”
Remember, Paul is in prison here. He’s been given this wonderful ministry to take the good news to the Gentiles, but now that has landed him in prison. But notice that not even chains will stop Paul from proclaiming the message! Though he’s chained to a Roman guard . . . he doesn’t say that he is a prisoner of Caesar! Paul knows that he is a prisoner ‘of Christ;’ for the sake of Christ, and so he’s going to continue and even use his imprisonment for the Kingdom!
While imprisoned, he wrote some of the most profound texts in Scripture: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians—all written during his time in prison, which was considerable!
And then it's as if this thought reminds Paul of something and causes him to stop short.
It’s an indication of an abrupt change in thought. He leaves his train of thought for a few
paragraphs.
He’s not just aimlessly meandering; he pauses because he has something important to say! He has been handed a mystery- ‘made known to him by revelation’ for
‘YOU,’ Gentile Christians in and around Ephesus!
Paul, by God’s grace, has been made a steward or manager of this mystery. Well, what is this ‘mystery’ Paul speaks of?
READ vss. 4-6
4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
This mystery - which those in generations past had not known- has NOW been revealed: The Outsiders have been brought IN! ‘that through the good news, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of ONE BODY, and share in the promise in Christ Jesus!’
Imagine what a shock this must have been! It is sometimes not easy for us to understand all of God's workings, and we have had the revealed Gospel all of our lives.
We have grown up in what we might call the ‘post-gospel’ era, hearing this truth from birth, but for those in the 1st century, it was a radical statement!
Jews had always just assumed that they were going to be God’s chosen people and
Gentiles had just assumed that they would always be outsiders. But God
had a plan that was a mystery to everybody!
Now, to be fair, there HAD been clues along the way...
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
That sounds like Abraham was going to have it all.
Later, the prophet Isaiah prophesies concerning the ‘servant of the Lord’,
"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isa 49:6)
Jesus himself hinted at this in Matt. 8:11,
“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
And again, in John 10:16, Jesus makes the bold claim,
“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
So, there had been clues, but the whole scope of God’s plan had not been fully laid out until NOW!
We may not share Paul’s concern that this be understood. We live in a day and age when this fact is a given—we take it for granted.
Gentiles have taken over the church! There are relatively few truly Jewish Christians today compared with Gentile Christians.
But let’s remember what Paul is stressing: the unity of the church in Christ!
The Church is made up of all kinds of people! He’ll return to this theme in Chapter 4, but for now, let us just emphasize that the differences that divided Jews and Gentiles in the 1st century were far more significant than any differences that divide Christians today!
More than race, more than politics, more than religion! To be in Christ is to be made ONE with all of those who are also in Christ. Like it or not! Whether you agree with them or not, whether you have anything else in common or not, whether you speak the same language, dress in the same styles, or eat the same food... you are ONE with all those who are in Christ! So, how do we show that ‘one-ness’ that we share in Christ?
START
Well, with Paul languishing in prison, what motivates him to keep
going with this radical message?
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
Paul’s is a “Grace-Motivated” Ministry! Its worth pointing out
that Paul very much saw this duty as ‘by God’s grace’ or out of his loving
kindness! He saw himself as nothing special- the ‘least of all God’s
people.’ Yet he recognized that God had given him a special grace to be
able to preach to the Gentiles this message of Christ . . . the ‘unsearchable riches of Christ’ . . . to make it known to everyone! This wasn’t a chore that brought a burden for Paul! It was a wonderful privilege to be entrusted with this gospel message! And even though he was in chains because of it- he still saw it as a grace! I believe here at Princeton Christian, God has given me a great grace to be your preacher. It's not because I’m so good or qualified but because God has given me this privilege to proclaim his good news to you and those you bring with you.
It’s the message that’s important, not the messenger! Being involved in Ministry is a GRACE! Keep that thought in mind as we move to Paul’s next major point:
10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. (NIV)
II. Paul goes on to say, “Okay, let me tell you about YOUR Ministry.”
Paul is in prison! While he’s doing a lot, even in prison- he’s
also writing to encourage the church that his mission is their’s as
well! Paul was given this ministry with the intent that now the entire church
should make known the wisdom of God! His mission of proclaiming this
reconciliation in Christ is now the church’s mission . . . ministry! It's what
we’re supposed to be about! Ephesians tells us how to be the church!
Now, let’s think about that mission for a moment...
Who is ‘the church?’ You know, preachers get into trouble
when they start to think a little too highly of themselves. But, it is also
easy for members to think too highly of the preacher or youth minister or
Family minister. Paul didn’t say, “His intent was that now through the
wonderful and talented ministers, the manifold wisdom of God should be
made known.” Or “Through the wise and prudent Elders, the wisdom
would be made known . .” NO! He said this is the church’s mission!
How can a church accomplish this? “We can’t tell anybody the good
news if they won’t come to church,” some might say. Ohhh.... how we’ve
misunderstood what church is!
Folks, the church is YOU!
That old hand exercise we learned as kids . .. “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple,
open the door & see all the people” . . is WRONG! The church is the
people! For many of us, the church is a place that ‘puts on services.’
We’ve GOT to move beyond this understanding and rediscover God’s
intent for the church! The church is the body of saved individuals who
assemble together to lift Him up in praise, embody the unity that God
models, and be His hands and feet in a lost and dying world! Grace
calls ALL OF US! It's not about hiring a preacher or evangelist to go out
and do this for you! If it’s the responsibility of the church, it’s the
responsibility of all of us!
Well, how do we do it? One method that we’ve tried for years
and know doesn’t work: wait for them to come to us. If we know it doesn’t
work, why is that typically how we do evangelism? I saw somewhere the
definition of ‘stupid’: doing the same thing over and over while expecting
different results. Is THIS what we’ve been doing? Paul certainly didn’t
wait for unbelievers to come to him! He didn’t learn the mystery of the
good news and then sat back to see who came for it. He went to them and
took the message to where they were! What are we doing to take the
message to the community? Now, part of that might be inviting them to
come to our services- but most won’t come unless invited. That’s just the
way many people are. Who have you invited? It’s up to us. We have a
job to do, and it involves sharing the good news about Jesus Christ
with others- your family, friends, and neighbors. You are uniquely qualified
for the job, too, because there is no one else like you. You have
opportunities each week that I don’t have, that Bro. So-&-so doesn’t have and
that Sis. Whats-her-name will never have . . . opportunities that God has
uniquely given to you. What will you do about them?
Conclusion: Well, fortunately, the mission of the church is in God’s
hands. We do our part, but He’ll handle the details. We
sow and water, but God will bring the increase. This is
God’s church, not ours. Our confidence is in Him, not
ourselves! So, Paul says to the Ephesians, “don’t worry
about me. The mission of the church is bigger than any
one of us! The good news will be spread whether I’m in
prison or not!”
What are you doing to be a part of this mission? What is your
part in revealing this mystery to those around us? The wall that has
divided people from God has been broken down! And that is Good News!
When the Berlin Wall came down, CNN was right there to broadcast it to
the world! Where’s the CNN’s broadcasting THIS NEWS? What are you
doing to broadcast it? Who do YOU know needs to hear about that?
Have YOU heard it? Do YOU have a relationship with God? If not, did
you know that you could? That’s the mystery that Paul is talking about:
You can come to God ‘freely & with confidence’ through faith in Christ, who
has taken down that wall! What’s your faith in this morning?
If you’re willing to turn from that old life of placing your confidence in
yourself . . . if you’re willing to place your confidence in Him . . . if you’re
willing to commit yourself to Him through baptism . . . we’d love to accept you
into the great family of God this morning! He’s got a plan for you, a
mission, if you’ll just accept it!
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