Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Ephesians 3:1-13

When I say the word “Mystery,” what is the first thing that pops into your head? For me, it’s the board game Clue. In the game Clue, the objective is to unravel a mystery. A murder has been committed, and it is your responsibility to search through the available clues to discover WHO the guilty party is, WHAT weapon they used in the homicide, and in WHAT room of the house the crime was committed. The method for discovering the answers to the crime is by using the process of elimination. Through the course of the game, you can eliminate certain players, weapons, and rooms. When you have eliminated all other possibilities, you can then exclaim that you have solved the mystery.

Mystery Definition

Oxford English dictionary: “Something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.”

Merriam-Webster: “something not understood or beyond understanding;”

“A religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully understand.”

While many would define a mystery as “Something that cannot be understood, or is very difficult to understand or figure out.” When we use the word mystery in relation to the Bible, or in our context for tonight in the book of Ephesians, we are not referring to something that must be toiled over to dig up understanding. A Biblical mystery is not something God complicates so much that we cannot comprehend what He is saying. A Biblical mystery is better defined as, “a hidden or secret thing.” It’s a concept or a teaching that is kept secret within a specific period of time or kept secret from one group of people, but revealed in a later time or to a different group of people. It’s not a concept that must be dug up and discovered by mankind, but one that is revealed by God.

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Tonight, we move into chapter three in our study of the book of Ephesians. The overarching theme of chapter three is the eternal purpose of God for the life of the believer. In discussing this purpose, we are first told that God desires to make a new body of people upon the earth which will love and serve Him.

Chapter Three: the MYSTERY OF CHRIST.

As mentioned a second ago, this mystery is not something PAUL discovered or learned, but it was something GOD revealed and made known to Paul.

Ephesians 3:1-13 (NASB)

3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

There’s a lot to unpack there, so let’s divide the passage up.

Ephesians 3:1-2 (NASB)

3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

I. Paul’s purpose is in his life and ministry. (Ephesians 3:1-2)

A. Serve Christ

- Paul :”I am the prisoner of Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles.”

We know this to be true, both in the physical form as well as spiritually.

He is physically bound in prison as he writes this epistle

, and we know that he is spiritually bound in his servitude to the Lord.

He is enslaved to Christ

, as we see this in that Paul was willing to go to prison for the preaching of the Gospel.

B. Be a Steward of God

- Verse two, “Indeed you have heard of the Stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me.”

- Stewardship means to care for or manage something.

We pray in our church that we are good stewards of the finances and resources the Lord has provided for us.

-Paul was given the ownership and stewardship of the grace of God to the world

, and specifically in this context to the Gentiles. He was told you are to manage the spread of the Word of God.

Likewise, we too, as followers of Jesus Christ are called to do the same.

-We are called to be slaves (Not in the physical bound sense as it stands today) of Jesus. (1 Corinthians 4:1-2)

It might mean imprisonment at some point in our future, but that doesn’t apply to us in Crockett, Texas today.

-We must be spiritually bound to Christ.

Secondly, as followers of Jesus Christ we are also called to be stewards of the Word of God to the world.

-We are called to take the Word into the lost world.

We cannot be guilty of sitting on it and hoping something happens. That does not make us good stewards of the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (NASB)

4 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

Paul’s purpose in life is to be serve Christ at all cost, and to be a good steward of the Word of God.

II. The Mystery of Christ takes a special revelation to be made known. (Ephesians 3:3-5)

Ephesians 3:3-5 (NASB)

3 by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

One thing to note here

A. The word Mystery is defined in these verses.

- As I noted in the beginning, the word mystery can have a few different definitions. But here, Paul defines it as a truth of God that was revealed to him but “in other generations was not made known to the sons of men.”

- This is called a “Mystery of Christ” at the end of verse four.

1. This is a truth that was not known before the apostles and the prophets.

I was hidden.

2. This is a truth that could NOT be discovered by the work and actions of mankind.

Could not be figured out by human reasoning.

3. This is a truth that HAD to be revealed by God if it was ever to become known. (John 3:13)

- Mankind could never have discovered this truth. It was not a creation of mans mind or mans logical thinking. Man dwelling in the physical world could never enter into the spiritual realm to discover this truth. No process of human thinking would or could lead us to this truth.

John 3:13 (NASB)

13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

- This mystery has always existed, its part of God’s eternal plan of salvation.

But it would have remained a mystery if God had not revealed it to Paul, the other apostles, and the prophets.

III. The Mystery of Christ is three-fold. (Ephesians 3:6)

Ephesians 3:6 (NASB)

6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

A. We, as Gentiles, are fellow heirs of God with the Jews. (Romans 8:15-17)

Scripture declares that “salvation is from the Jews.” Before Christ, for any person to be saved, they had to go through the Jewish religion; they had to approach God through the Jewish religion. The true believing Jews were the heirs of God.

-Since Christ, mankind no longer must approach God through the Jewish religion.

We may now approach God face to face through Jesus Christ. Religion is no longer a barrier. ANY man, no matter who they are, what they have done, where they are, when they come, how they come, or why they come; if they come through the person of Jesus Christ, we have free access to the throne of God as heirs of God.

Romans 8:15-17 (NASB)

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

So, we are heirs of God, co-heirs with the Jews.

B. We, as Gentiles, are of the same body with the Jews. (Romans 12:5, Ephesians 2:21-22)

No longer does mankind have to approach God through one body or one nation of people. Just as the Jewish religion was one of barriers to the Gentile, so was being outside of the nation of Israel. Now, God’s love is universal; He has created a new body of people made up of people from every nation, tongue, and tribe.

-All peoples are of the same body through the person of Jesus Christ.

-This is what we have been calling the Capital “C” Church.

As we mentioned last week, this body of believers is a living and breathing organism. The Holy Spirit of God indwells the spirit of the believers and melts or molds the spirit of those believers together. That body lives, and breathes, and acts as one unified body for the purpose and calling of God.

Romans 12:5 (NASB)

5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Ephesians 2:21-22 (NASB)

21 in [CHRIST] the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

C. We, as Gentiles, receive the same promise of Christ as the Jews. (2 Peter 3:10-13)

God promised Abraham that he would possess all the land and have a great nation born from him. To this day, the Jews do not possess all the land promised to them. The land of Palestine was promised to the Jews.

But there is a spiritual context here as well. The land of Canaan is what we call a “Type” in the bible. It is a Type of the new heaven and the new earth. It is a representation of the promised land God will bestow upon His children.

-The primary promise of God in Christ has to do with the privilege of an eternal life and eternal home with God in the new heaven and the new earth.

when it is brought back to Edenic conditions.

2 Peter 3:10-13 (NASB)

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

IV. The Mystery of Christ had a profound effect on Paul (Ephesians 3:7-9)

Ephesians 3:7-9 (NASB)

7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

A. Paul’s greatest glory was the call of God on his life to be a minister.

To serve in the ministry was a great privilege to Paul. Unlike many of us, myself included, Paul did not have to be persuaded, coerced, or drug into the ministry. Paul saw this call to the ministry as a gift. Despite the many challenges that came with it; despite the many threats and trials Paul faced; he viewed this call as the greatest gift. This was not because of anything Paul had done, in fact, he had done everything one would think is necessary for becoming a minister of the Gospel. Paul possessed no merit, or value that caused God to choose him.

- The salvation in Christ caused Paul to become a minister. (Colossians 1:25)

Colossians 1:25 (NASB)

25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

- The salvation in Christ caused Paul to become a preacher. (1 Corinthians 1:17, 2 Timothy 1:11)

He possessed great humility; that which is required to stand up before a group of people and preach the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 1:17 (NASB)

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

2 Timothy 1:11 (NASB)

11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

- Salvation in Christ caused Paul to become a dynamic witness and evangelist. (Acts 18:9-10)

“And to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery.”

-The NIV reads, “and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery [salvation].”

Acts 18:9-10 (NASB)

9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

V. The Mystery of Christ profoundly effects Heavenly Beings (Ephesians 3:10-12)

Ephesians 3:10-12 (NASB)

10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

The revelation of the mystery caused the

Heavenly beings stand in amazement at three things:

A. Stand in amazement at what God is doing in the Church. (v 10)

We see this in verse ten.

-God’s ultimate purpose in salvation and through the church is to show His love for the universe.

; to stir every creature of heaven to stand in amazement of what he is doing.

B. Stand in amazement at God’s eternal purpose in Christ. (v 11)

C. Stand in amazement at the believer’s access to God’s presence. (v 12)

They are amazed at the fact that access to the throne of God is granted to us through faith in Christ.

VI. Paul is willing to suffer for the church (Ephesians 3:13)

Ephesians 3:13 (NASB)

13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

The glory the lies ahead for all believers is worth any trial or tribulation we may face today. Therefore,

-Paul says do not be discouraged in your tribulation.