Paul's Apostolic Ministry (3:1-7)

Introduction:

As we continue this morning in this blessed epistle that the apostle Paul wrote while under house arrest in Rome, we are again presented with the reality of God’s eternal plan and the scope of his intentions. As we have mentioned numerous times, God’s sovereign election to choose a people for his personal procession was to include all peoples, that is, representatives from every tribe, nation and tongue.

However, how would God implement his plan? We know that the Jews were given special revelation and interaction from God through Moses and the prophets, but what about the Gentiles? In order for God’s people to include every nation, tribe, and tongue, God must of had a plan to reach them also. This is the theme of this morning’s message as we look at Paul’s Apostolic Ministry from Ephesians 3:1-7.

Text: Ephesians 3:1-7

Ephesians 3:1–7 ESV

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

Main Idea: Because God’s plan was to include all peoples, His plan to save those people was to use his people to reach his people.

I. Paul’s Stewardship of God’s Grace (1-2)

A. Paul’s Imprisonment (1)

(1) For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—

For this (demonstrative pronoun) reason (for…reason - preposition of causation) - refers back to the previous verses and last weeks sermon in Eph 2:19-22

Ephesians 2:19–22 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus - Paul is writing this epistle from Rome under house arrest. After his trial and appeal to Caesar, we read this regarding his imprisonment:

Acts 28:16 ESV

16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Acts 28:30–31 ESV

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Paul, though under house arrest, had the freedom to write and preach. Note however, that he recognized that this arrest was ordained by God and he considered himself to be a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

on behalf of you Gentiles - one of the issues that the Jews had with Paul, is that he preached and ministered to the Gentiles. We see this again in Acts 28, where Paul quotes from Isaiah 6, regarding the hardened Jews and his resulting call to the Gentiles in Acts 28:26-28

Acts 28:26–28 ESV

26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

Paul was the apostle, teacher, and preacher to the Gentiles, so the sufferings he experienced during his ministry were on their behalf.

1 Timothy 2:7 ESV

7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

B. Paul’s Calling (2)

(2) assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

assuming that you have heard - Paul may not have known the recent Ephesian converts, especially in the outlying villages, though he had spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31).

of the stewardship (oikonomia [noun] - one who oversees a household for another) of God’s grace - Paul was a steward of God’s grace through the Gospel.

that was given (didomi [aor, pas par] - not inherent but given or granted by another) to me for you - it was God who gave Paul this stewardship specifically for the Gentiles.

However, this stewardship of God’s grace to the Gentiles, was a...

II. Mystery Once Hidden Now Revealed (3-5)

There are several mysteries mentioned in the New Testament, and though they were alluded to in the Old Testament, they would not be revealed comprehensively until the apostles and prophets of the New Testament preached and/or wrote. You will note that each one has something to do with the Gospel. Some of these are:

Mystery of the hardening of the Jews (Romans 11:25 “25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”) : Gospel: The makeup of true Israel, the people of the Gospel.

Mystery of the Gospel (Romans 16:25 “25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages”) Gospel: the preaching of Jesus Christ, the core of the Gospel.

Mystery of our new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51 “51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”) Gospel: the giving of our glorified bodies, the new creation of the Gospel.

Mystery of the oneness of marriage and Christ and his church (Ephesians 5:31–32 “31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”) Gospel: the oneness of husband and wife is the picture of the Gospel as it relates to Christ and his church.

Mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles with the Jews as one new man (Ephesians 2:15 “15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,”) Gospel: the brining together of both Jew and Gentile shows the unity of the Gospel.

One very important point is that these mysteries were not manmade nor were they man revealed, but each mystery as given in scripture is made known only by divine revelation:

A. Mystery made known by Divine revelation (3)

(3) how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

how the mystery (does not refer to something mysterious or to a secret ritual. Rather, Paul is speaking of God’s unfolding plan for the world) was made known to me, how...

by revelation (apokalypsis [noun] - to make fully known by uncovering or unveiling ) as I have written briefly - by divine revelation. Without which this mystery would still be a mystery. This mystery is now revealed, that Christ has come to unify Jew and Gentile in one body through the gospel, about which Paul had just written briefly (Eph 2:14-16 “14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”).

Paul was given this divine revelation to make known the mystery of God’s purpose, but how would it be communicated to us?...

B. Mystery was to be made known through reading (4)

(4) When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,

Note here that Paul is disclosing this revelation so that all may see and perceive (noeo [aor, act, inf] - this verbal noun links the action of the reader with the action of the writer) his insight (synesis [noun] - in union with) into the mystery of Christ, thus equating his writings with the supernatural revelation in which he was in union with God, the Holy Spirit. In other words, when you read this that I wrote, Paul is saying, you will be receiving God’s revelation the same way I did!

This is no different from any of the writers of scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

C. Mystery made known through the apostles and prophets (5)

(5) which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

which was not (ou [negative adverb]) made known (gnorizo [aor, pas, ind] - to cause to know something, to reveal) to the sons of men in other generations - This phrase effectively defines the word mystery. It shows that God according to his sovereign decrees chose the when and how of these mysteries, leaving the past generations to trust in what God had reveled to them in their generation.

as it has now been revealed (apokalypto [aor, pas, ind] - to uncover or unveil, the verb form of the noun used in verse 3) to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. - this phrase along with the verb used shows that the ways and means of the Gospel was always there in God’s plan, it was just unveiled in God’s timing. This unveiling was brought about by the apostles and prophets, and since, as we learned last week, these apostle and prophets were the foundation of the church, and since that foundation is now laid, that unveiling or revelation, is complete, and has now ceased.

Therefore, since this is the case, we can now confidently say that this mystery is revealed completely through the Gospel...

III. Mystery Revealed Through the Gospel (6-7)

We now we get to this specific aspect of the Gospel mystery, that...

A. Gentles are now equal with saved Jews (6)

(6) This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

This mystery is that

Gentiles are

fellow heirs - with whom? In the context Paul is speaking of the redeemed Jews.

members of the same body - Jew and Gentile alike make up the body of Christ, and the true Israel of God.

partakers of the promise - the promise made to Abraham several millennia before (Gen 12:3 “3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””) is finally brought to fruition through the inclusion of the Gentiles as seen presently.

in Christ Jesus through the gospel - it is the Gospel (of Jesus Christ) that has brought this to past. It is only the Gospel that fully discloses the mysteries, and the fulfillment of those mysteries, of the scriptures.

B. Gentles’ equality was made possible only through the Gospel (7)

(7) Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

Of this (hos [relative pronoun] - referring back to verse 6; the gospel and no other) [gospel] I was made (ginomai [aor, pas, ind] - come into a state of being) a minister (diokanos [noun] - one who works in the service of another; minister) - Paul sees himself as one who is called to take the Gospel and serve it to others.

according to (kata [preposition of reference]) the gift of God’s grace - this responsibility could only happen from the reference point of a gift, given as a result of God’s grace. Paul saw everything in his life as a reference point that focused away from self and in the clear view of God’s grace.

which was given (didomai [aor, pas, par] - freely given, with the emphasis on, it not being there before it was given) me by (kata [preposition of reference]) the working of his power (dynamis [noun] - inherent power, power that exist within naturally). - Paul’s power to serve others with the Gospel was one given to him by God, thus Paul’s power is God’s power.

So to sum up this mornings passage, we first saw that Paul saw himself as a steward of God’s grace, which included writing done the meaning of the mystery that God had revealed to him, and that this mystery was the inclusion of the Gentiles with the saved Jews to become the one true Israel, and this transformation could only happen be means of the gospel that was preached to them, and therefore included them.

Remember, up until God called Paul, the gospel was sent primarily to the Jews alone, praise that Lord that God has included us Gentiles!

So What?

Do we understand that like Paul, we have been given a stewardship of the grace of God for our place in the timeline of history?

Do we really understand that the scriptures we possess are indeed that very revelation of God; a revelation every bit as authoritative as if God would have spoken directly to us?

Do we understand that all the mysteries of God are summed up and revealed in the gospel?