An Incorruptible Revelation

DISMISS 1st—5th GRADERS

Open your copy of God’s Word and join me in Ephesians chapter three.

As you’re finding Ephesians 3, I want to say a big thanks to our Building & Grounds Committee and the group of men who were here yesterday morning at 6am working to improve and beautify our campus.

As we continue our series, “Incorruptible,” through the book of Ephesians, I want to remind you of WHY we’re walking through this great letter. The apostle Paul, years before this letter was written, had warned the leaders of the church in Ephesus that there would be false teachers who would rise up from among their church, would teach a false gospel, and would lead believers astray. This letter is Paul’s reaffirmation of the gospel to them and his charge to them to hold fast to Jesus. He ends the letter, in chapter six, by praising them for their “incorruptible love” for Jesus and for one another. But, sadly, about 30 years later, Jesus writes them a letter in the book of Revelation, and charges them with having abandoned this love.

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.

INTRODUCTION

My first introduction to the world of mystery was probably what a lot of yours was, too—Scooby Doo. I used to love that cartoon—all of the characters—Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Fred—all riding around in “The Mystery Machine.”

In every episode, some villain or crook committed some kind of crime or wrong doing and, for 29 minutes, you got caught up with this group of teenagers putting clues together and solving the great mystery. Then, at the end of the episode, the criminal was usually apprehended and as the suspense built, they were unmasked, and their identity was revealed. Just about every episode ended the same—with the criminal saying something along the lines of—“And I’d have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for YOU MEDDLING KIDS!”

>>TRANSITION<<

Here, in Ephesians chapter three, as Paul is continuing to lay down the incorruptible foundation of the gospel, he uses the theme/imagery of “mystery” and “revelation.” In fact, in these 13 verses, Paul uses the word “mystery” four times and the words “reveal/revealed/made known” three times.

Paul describes the gospel that he has been called to preach to the Gentiles as a mystery that has been revealed to him.

He’s NOT saying that the gospel is “mysterious”—that it is obscure or cryptic—and that only the super-elite can put the clues together to figure it out or you have to reach a high level of “spirituality” in order to understand it.

What Paul is talking about is God’s grand story of salvation.

God created mankind for the purpose of living in relationship with Him—a relationship of life, love, and blessing. And God’s plan was that mankind would fill the earth and that the whole earth would be full of His image bearing worshippers.

But, in Genesis 3, the first humans, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God and humanity was cast outside of the land God had created for them and lost the relationship they had with God of life, love, and blessing.

But, God had a plan to save and redeem and restore humanity. He chose this one family that would become the nation of Israel to enter into a covenant relationship with—completely by his grace alone—and through this family, God would send a Messiah/a Savior. It was this one family—the nation of Israel—that God reestablished a covenant of life, love, and blessing with and who He gave the command to be a light of salvation to all other nations/peoples.

But, this family failed to live out God’s purposes for them. They needed salvation just as much as the other nations!

And God sent the Messiah—His Son, Jesus—to be the Savior—not just of the Jews but for the entire world!

MAIN POINT OF THE TEXT

Paul is saying that God’s eternal plan of including ALL nations/peoples in His covenant of grace is now fully accomplished in Jesus.

And it is this gospel that God has chosen Paul to preach to the “outsiders” who have now been invited in.

Paul says that the “mystery” of the gospel was made known to him and that he has been made a minister (or, a steward) of this gospel. In fact, there in verse one, Paul calls himself a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” on behalf of the Gentiles.

Now, yes, when Paul wrote this letter, he was literally a prisoner under house arrest in Rome. So, he’s in prison because he’s been preaching the gospel but Paul also means that he is a prisoner SPIRITUALLY, too. He is BOUND TO CHRIST. He is BOUND TO THE GOSPEL OF JESUS. And, he is BOUND TO THE CALLING HE HAS RECEIVED FROM JESUS TO PREACH THE GOSPEL.

MAIN POINT OF THE SERMON

The gospel is God’s invitation to all people to know the PERSON, the POWER, and the PRIVILEGES of salvation.

1) The PERSON of salvation.

Paul says, in verse 6, that the revealed mystery of the gospel is that Gentiles—those who were at one time excluded from the covenant of grace—are now, through Jesus, made “fellow heirs.”

RECAP—what the blessings we inherit are—Eternal Security, Eternal Relationship, Eternal Forgiveness, Eternal Inheritance in Heaven, we have ETERNAL HOPE, we have the IMMEASURABLE POWER OF GOD AT WORK IN US.

Are all of these things the blessings and benefits of our salvation? Sure! But the ultimate reward of our salvation is JESUS, HIMSELF.

But, here, in verse 8, Paul says that the gospel he is preaching is of “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Not the “unsearchable riches FROM Christ” or “because of Christ.” Paul says “the unsearchable riches OF CHRIST.”

“Unsearchable” — unfathomable/untraceable.

Like the earth is too vast to fully explore and the sea is too deep to fathom…so, too, are the riches of Christ.

Many people come to church or start dipping their toes into “spiritual things” because they want to see what Jesus can do for them. “If Jesus can get me out of this bind, I’ll try him for a little while until things get better.” Many Christians are guilty of reducing their salvation to — “I prayed this prayer so that I can get into heaven” or making Christianity about what they have started doing and stopped doing in their lives.

We’re looking/desiring the blessings FROM Jesus but are we desiring/loving JESUS?

Paul says in Philippians 3…

Philippians 3:8 (ESV)

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Philippians 3:10 — “I want to KNOW HIM.”

Man. Paul wasn’t content with just getting things FROM Jesus or because of Jesus…He didn’t want to go through the motions of religion—he’d already done that. He doesn’t want to reduce being saved to a cultural thing or ____________. He wanted to KNOW Jesus. He wanted to GAIN Jesus. He wants intimacy with His Lord. Paul knew who he had been. He calls himself the chief of sinners and the least of all the saints—but He knows He is loved by Jesus and he wants JESUS more than anything in this world.

What about you and me? The gospel is God’s invitation to all people to know the Person of Salvation.

2) The POWER of salvation.

The second part of the “mystery” of the gospel, in verse 6, is that the Gentiles have been made “members of the same body” with Jewish believers.

The Church is not something you simply attend. It’s not an organization that you sign up to join. The Church is the family of God and the body of Christ. The Church of the Living God, Paul says, is a new phenomenon, a new multi-racial humanity, in which the wisdom of God is being displayed. Indeed, the coming into existence of the church, as a community of saved and reconciled people, is at one and the same time a public demonstration of God’s power, grace and wisdom: first of God’s mighty resurrection power, next of his immeasurable grace and kindness, and now thirdly of his manifold wisdom.

The Greek word for “manifold” literally means “multi-colored” and was used to describe flowers, crowns, embroidered cloth and woven carpets. It’s the word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe Joseph’s coat of many colors.

The church as a multi-racial, multi-cultural community is like a beautiful tapestry. Its members come from a wide range of colorful backgrounds. No other human community resembles it. Its diversity and harmony are unique. It is God’s new society. And the many-colored fellowship of the church is a reflection of the many-colored wisdom of God.

And who is the audience? First, the unbelieving world…but, Paul says that the manifold wisdom of God is now being made known to the rules and authorities in the heavenly places.

1 Peter 1 — our salvation is something “into which angels long to look.”

The angels who looked on as “the God who created all things” spoke the universe into existed…now look on this multi-splendored wisdom of God in the creation of the Church of God and are in awe. This is the POWER of our salvation!

3) The PRIVILEGES of salvation.

The third component of this “mystery” now revealed, in verse 6, is that the Gentiles—reminder: WE—have now become “partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” And what does this mean?

Ephesians 3:11–12 (ESV)

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.

Back in 1999, Franklin Graham came to my hometown of Tuscaloosa to hold an evangelistic festival. My parents both worked for the Franklin Graham team and my mom serving as the Office Administrator. So, when the Franklin Graham team does a big city-wide festival, they bring in a lot of Christian bands and well-known people. As a 14 year old kid, because my mom was the one of the top office staff members, I got to go to all of these events and got an all access pass. I found myself hanging out in the dressing rooms of Christian bands like Third Day and Switchfoot and hanging out with my hero at the time, Alabama running back, Shaun Alexander. Thousands of people would show up to these events but I got to go where none of them did—I got inside access. I got to talk to these bands, hang out with Christian athletes—all because I had this ALL ACCESS PASS because of my relationship to my mom.

A) We have confident boldness

B) We have confident access

In the Jewish temple, there was EXCLUSION from the presence of God. NO ONE—neither Jew nor Gentile—could go into the holy of holies where the presence of God dwelt. Only the High Priest could go in once a year. But, even more than that, the Gentiles couldn’t even go into parts of the temple where Jews were allowed. So, it’s exclusion upon exclusion. But, now, Paul says we have direct access to God through Christ any time!

Paul says that we have this confident boldness and access—“through our faith in him.”

Application (So What?)

1) God’s invitation should lead us to repentance and belief.

The most important decision of your life is to repent of (turn away) your sin and believe the gospel. Turn your life over to Jesus. Surrender your life to Him as your king. The Bible says that whosever confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they will be saved. When you die—and you don’t know when that will be—you will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Where will you spend it?

2) God’s invitation should lead us to humility.

As we hear this gospel that God invites all people—all sinners—to be saved through His Son, by His grace, and for His glory, this should humble us.

You know, as I studied this text this week, I was absolutely struck by Paul’s humility. He calls himself “the least of all the saints.” Paul had all of the religious credentials a person could want. He was a top Jewish leader. But Paul was WRECKED by the gospel. Paul never said “Why NOT me?” His response to the gospel and being called to proclaim the gospel was “WHY ME?!?!” We should hear the gospel and, fully aware of our own sin and wickedness and rebellion against God, and say “Why ME?”

3) God’s invitation should lead us, daily, to Jesus.

Is Jesus your highest love and loyalty? Is Jesus your greatest desire? Can you say—along with Paul—I consider everything in my life a loss in comparison to knowing Jesus. I want to gain Christ. Just give me Jesus. Loving Jesus, beholding Jesus, walking with Jesus, being LOVED by Jesus, knowing Jesus. Don’t just show up and give Jesus an hour a week. Has your love for Jesus become corrupted by the things of the world?