the Mystery

Today, we continue to look at the book of Ephesians, and it has been a favorite book of mine and I want to share with you about the beauty of God’s plan for the church. This book speaks of unity and service to God, and I think it has been a great use of our time to carefully study it and learn the riches of God and the peace he offers us that we can then live in and grow together without any divisions between us.

I think it is good to tell you what Paul writes in Ephesians prior to the passage I am going to read. It is important that we see things in context, and evaluate what Paul is teaching as a whole, and avoiding that dangerous practice that Christians sometimes do of pulling a verse here and there in order to teach something that may or may not even be in the text.

In chapter one there are a couple important themes, the first I will call “Spiritually Blessed” and the second, “Paul prays with Power” Paul teaches here that God planned out our salvation from the beginning of time, and that his grace is lavished upon us. He did this work of salvation on our behalf because it was His will to do so and He considers us to be His inheritance! Paul also tells the Ephesians that he was constantly praying for the Church, that they would have wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, and that we would realize the power we have! The same power that raised Christ from the dead is in us! And it may encourage you to know that I follow Paul’s example and pray these things for you as well, that you will live in the power and in the promise of God, and that you will grow in your knowledge of Him and that you also would have the Spirit of Wisdom.

In chapter two, we also had two more themes, which I will call “Dead Together, Alive together”, where we learn that all of us were dead in our sins, but those who find salvation are alive together in Christ. From chapter 2:11-22, where learn that Christ has already taken down the dividing walls of hostility, so there is no need for us to be at war against each other or for us to let our differences get in the way of our worship, joy, and delight in God. We can be thankful here at Oasis that we have the great privilege of worshiping together with people who are different in many ways, but one in Christ!

So far, a study into Ephesians can been very exciting as we see that God has a wonderful plan for HIS church (that’s you and me). And I am so thrilled that so many of you express excitement at the thought that we can all worship together in Spirit and in Truth no matter what little differences we have, as long as we have a mutual faith in Christ Jesus! Praise the Lord! It is so exciting to be a part of the church! Last night, I saw a church family at its finest, serving the family of Gustavo as they mourned and celebrated his life.

I realize that there are some important sports events in the coming weeks. God already knows who is going to win. If someone is to be healed of some physical ailment, God already knows who that is as well. So in the end it will be the stripes that will win, because the Bible says that “by His stripes we are healed!” And many here can testify to the healing power of God

So Let’s take a look at this week’s passage from Ephesians 3, and the title of the sermon is “The Mystery” I’m going to read the passage so that we have the full context, and as I read it, read along with me, and keep in mind these questions that we will be discussing.

What is the Mystery? Why was it hidden?

Ephesians 3:1–13 ESV

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 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. 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. 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. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

As many of you know already, I love reading. I love a good novel, that I can immerse myself in, and especially those that grab you and make you want to read as quickly as you can, so that you can see the outcome. I love many types of books, and one of them is the mystery or thriller novel. I think of Sherlock Holmes, and the fascination I had and still have with the interesting methods the character would use to solve crimes.

With Sherlock Holmes, you read these stories that would often start with a seemingly clear path, you would feel like the solution to solving the crime would be easy. Yet there would always be a plot twist. The one you thought must have been guilty is cleared of suspicion, and you are left to follow the great detective as he unfolds the mystery. Often, the solution would not be revealed until the final paragraphs. Then you would see the brilliance of Holmes as he reveals that he has noticed some tiny detail that no one else would have picked up, and uses it, along with logic, to detail how the crime took place, and thereby helping to bring the perpetrator to justice.

We love a good mystery. We love a good story. Whether you enjoy reading stories, or hearing them told, or seeing them portrayed in a movie or play, I think all of us love a good story, and we not only can learn about the greatest story ever told, the story of the redemptive plan of God found in the bible, we actually are a part of the story. We are the ones in the story that are saved by a hero. We are the ones in the story who were brought up poor, but find out we have a great inheritance, or “great expectations”. We are the ones in the story who can become heroes ourselves, by sharing the story with others.

We are the characters in the story who find ourselves part of a family, though we formerly were orphans. We are the ones adopted into the house of the King. We are the ones who will live happily ever after.

So here in our passage Paul talks about a mystery. It’s a mystery that generations before were unable to know, and is now revealed. The mystery involves us and everyone who realizes their salvation in Jesus Christ. The mystery is an exciting story that we are just in the middle of now, and that will one day reach its exciting climax, that day when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Messiah, the Christ, the everlasting father and prince of peace, I AM, makes all things new. And we are part of that story. And part of the mystery that was there early in the story is now revealed to us, and Paul tells us that he is one of the ones privileged to reveal the mystery.

What is the Mystery?

So what is the mystery? Remember our passage last week, that Christ has destroyed the dividing wall of hostility that was between Jews and Gentiles, or non-Jews. This is great news, and means for us today there need be nothing that interferes with our living as the body of Christ in unity and love. The fact that the Gentiles were joined together with the Jews into a new nation, or as Paul said “One new man in place of the two”, is the mystery. Paul is saying here that this new group of people made up of all who put their faith for salvation in Jesus Christ, is the mystery!

Paul, in his marvelous encounter with Jesus, had been told that he would bring the gospel to the Gentiles. Up until the time of Christ, no one understood that there would be a unity between Gentile and Jew, at least not the way the gospel presents. That is because God had not revealed that part of His plan. Although the Old Testament prophecies and law pointed to Christ, it was never understood that there would be this new nation, that Gentiles and Jews would be part of the same promise. The Old Testament did tell that Gentiles could find salvation, and it did tell that the Jews would have a Messiah, but no one knew that this Messiah would bring together these two groups, and that Christ would break down that dividing wall of hostility!

As verse 6 says, “The 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 was a mystery, and as Paul says, it was hidden. It was unknown. In verses 8&9 Paul says he was given grace to “preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things…”

Here Paul is emphatically saying that the mystery, as defined in verse 6, that the Gentiles are “fellow heirs”, was up until then, well, a mystery. The words translated here are the “unsearchable riches of Christ” seem to indicate that Paul is saying that you could search through the entire Old Testament, and by that revelation alone, you will not find out that the Gentiles were to be fellow heirs with the Jews.

In other words, only looking back at the Old Testament with the revelation that occurred through Jesus Christ that was revealed to his followers, you would not be able to see it. Thank God we have the New Testament, and so as we look back to the Old Testament, we can see that this mystery is no longer a secret, but God has revealed to us!

Note that Paul says in verse 11 that this was according to the eternal purpose of God! So one can’t look at the Old testament thinking that God had really planned this all for the Jews, and only later decided to make it available to the rest of us. Instead, we can rejoice knowing that God intended from the beginning that we would be saved! And this concurs with the rest of scripture, including the first passage in Ephesians, which tells us that God predestined us for salvation! Hallelujah!

The next question, then, would appear to be a head-scratcher. Why was it hidden? Why would God not reveal His entire plan? This is not something easily answered. Scripture does not reveal every nuance of God’s plan. The Bible says that His ways are not our ways. Why did he keep secret the fact that Gentiles would be joined together with Jews into the church, that one body?

This part is very exciting. As I studied this passage to prepare the sermon, I realized a very awesome thing. It is a reminder that God places a great significance on each of us, and the church holds a special place and has a unique mission that we don’t often reflect on, but here it is in scripture for us to see and try to wrap our heads around.

The mystery was kept secret because one of the main characters in this story had not yet been revealed. Like a master story teller, God left a plot twist that no one saw coming. This plot twist was a shock to many. Some saw it as a wonderful plot twist, and with great joy received it. Others were angry, because they felt it diminished the place of one of the early protagonists of the story, the people Israel.

This plot twist changed the entire direction of the story, at least as far as man could see, but from God’s perspective, the plot was set from the beginning. Like an accomplished novelist, God had carefully laid an outline for His redemptive story. He always knew where it was headed. However, He decided to bring in this one fantastic element at the perfect time that would begin to bring all of the plot elements together. The Bible refers to that timing as “the fulness of time”

These plot elements were woven together with no error, but with the precision of a mathematician. It is like a formula, beautifully laid out on a clean blackboard, and just as those who know the language of math appreciate the beauty of a complicated problem carefully laid out and finally solved, those of us who receive the knowledge of Christ can see the beautiful handiwork of a creative God who knew before time how He would lay out the plan of redemption, and how the antagonist of the story, death, and its weapon, sin, would be defeated by the superhero of all time, Jesus Christ!

This story is our story because God had an eternal purpose! He predestined us to be the recipients of His grace, and now we are part of that story! How? We are part of the mystery being revealed! And the story is about the wisdom of God, who carefully planned out every detail, and left no strings hanging. If a novelist concludes properly, the last chapter of their story will tie up all the loose ends.

With God’s story, all the loose ends only appeared to be loose ends by those who were unable to see, or unable to fathom, the final purpose and beauty of God’s plan. And so, we see here in this passage that Paul, given this task by God, to reveal, or unveil, the mystery, is his humble task. See that he does not glorify himself here. He dares not. He considers himself the least of all of the saints, and humbly accepts God’s purposes for him.

Ephesians 3:9–11 ESV

and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

But now in verses 9 and 10, we see that we are now part of the story! We have a part to play! We have a duty and responsibility to take part in God’s plan, for it says here that “through the church” (that’s me and you!) “the manifold wisdom of God might now be known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”! “this was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in HIM!”

We the church have this part: to make known the manifold wisdom of God. Who do we make it known to? “The rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”. A careful study of this passage reveals that Paul is clearly saying here, that because this was a mystery, that Jews and Gentiles who were saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ and become a new people group, that the angels are learning about God’s wisdom through the church. As they witness the church, growing together in unity, receiving salvation without regard to genetics or any other dividing factor, they are learning about the manifold wisdom of God.

This may seem surprising. We tend to think of angels as God’s messengers, as indeed that is what the word translates to. We think this because angels in the Bible seem to know God’s plan. We think of Gabriel, appearing to Mary and Joseph. We think of the angels who warned Lot in the Old Testament. Certainly angels know much of God’s plan, but even they did not know about His plan for the church!

This goes for bad angels as well, or demons. Even Satan, who knew scripture very well, and still uses it today in a twisted manner, did not see this coming. The master storyteller did not reveal even to his servants, the good angels, the depths of his plans, and neither did Satan understand fully that when he thought he had thwarted God’s plans at the crucifixion, that he actually was sealing his own eternal fate, because Christ has defeated death!

Peter writes as well about the angels:

1 Peter 1:10–12 ESV

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Paul also write in 1 Corinthians 4:9

1 Corinthians 4:9 ESV

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.

As one person put it: “The Church thus becomes the university for angels, and each saint a professor. Only in the Church can the angels come to an adequate comprehension of the grace of God. They look at the Church to investigate the mysteries of redemption. I Peter (1:12) speaks of the things which the angels have a passionate desire to stoop down and look into, like the golden cherubim that overshadow the Mercy Seat, ever gazing upon the sprinkled blood that is upon it. The preposition para (παρα), “beside,” is prefixed to the verb “stoop down,” which speaks of the angels as spectators viewing the great plan of redemption from the side lines, not being participants in it.”

So we see that the unified church, the body of Christ, reveals to the angels (and the demons) the manifold wisdom of God. God is showing His wisdom through us! So don’t take lightly your responsibility to serve Him, and to make peace among your brothers and sister in the Lord. Don’t belittle yourself, thinking that you have no role in the story, that you are a mere extra. God has made you part of the story! He has put you on the stage! He tells part of the story through you!

God did all of this intentionally, laying out His plans, from start to finish, before He spoke those words “Let there be light”. Before the foundation of the world, God predestined you for salvation. He calls you now, and wants you to take seriously your role in the story. He wants you to realize that He has adopted you. He wants you to realize that the antagonist, death, and sin, have been defeated already! He wants you to realize that He has shown us the manuscript, and we can be assured that what He wrote, the happy ending, will come true!

God is not the Brothers Grimm. His are not fairy tales. His are not stories for mere entertainment. Rather, those talented story tellers like The Brothers Grimm, and Charles Dickens, and C.S. Lewis, can draw us into their wonderful stories because in our hearts we know there is a master story teller, a master novelist, a master producer, who continues to reveal his grand story until the wonderful day that will come and we will see the wonderful completion. Then will we know that all of those wonderful stories we have read, or heard, or seen acted out on stage or screen, are but dim shadows of the divine story.

The mystery has been revealed, and it is us. We are the church. And we are the hope of the world. Even the angels and demons are learning God’s wisdom through the church, and that makes us a part of God’s wonderful story.

When an actor or actress prepares to perform, they “get into the part”. They not only put on the makeup and costume, they also mentally put themselves into the part. Many actors will spend weeks or even years preparing. They will read about their character, and even act the part off stage. They fully immerse themselves into the character.

You are a character, but yours is not a fictional role. You will be listed in the credits. The credits will say, “Playing himself” Or, “playing herself”. Your character is the one adopted by the king. Your character is the one saved by the hero. Your character is the one teaching the angels. So when are you going to get into character?

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