One who holds the Mystery

Introduction

When we think of a mystery, our ears perk up in excitement and thrill. Whether it is a mystery novel or a murder mystery dinner we follow the trail of clues put forth that leads to the mystery being solved. Another way that mysteries are seen is through things beyond ourselves. As in the breadth of the universe or life on other planets. There are even ghost mystery tours for those that enjoy that sort of thing.

Nevertheless, human beings are fascinated by mystery and the unknown just waiting for the mystery to be revealed before their very eyes.

This morning we will look at a mystery that was revealed to the Apostle Paul. A mystery that, in his day, was unthinkable and implausible. A mystery that was so countercultural, a mystery that we have already looked at in chapter 2! What more can we get from the mystery that is the bringing together of the Jew and the Gentile, two groups of people in fierce hatred of one another? I propose that this glorious mystery that we have looked at is held onto by every Christian. For every Christian is grafted into this wonderful family of God whether Jew or Gentile. And because we have this mystery, we need to look at the beholder of it. We will do so in light of what end Paul speaks to regarding this.

He brings forth three marks for us to consider as “One who holds the Mystery.” They are...

He is a prisoner of Christ (v.1)

He is a steward of God’s grace (v.2)

He has had the Truth Revealed (v.3)

Prisoner of Christ Jesus (v.1)

Paul continues his discourse from chapter 2. The chapter separation could be a little misleading because Paul is not writing something separate (as though he has changed course). Instead, Paul is continuing on with the effects of what he had just written about the Jew and Gentile coming together in “one Spirit” (2:18).

A Prisoner, both, on earth, and of Christ

It must be noted that Paul is a prisoner in two ways as he writes verse 1. He writes that he is a prisoner of Christ. At the same time he is suffering in prison (most likely in Rome 60-62 AD) as he pens the circular letter to the Ephesians.

A Prisoner on Earth

What prompts forth from verse 1 that Paul is in prison? It is the being a prisoner of Christ “on behalf of you Gentiles.” IOW, Paul is in prison because he preached the gospel to the Gentiles. This is referenced in 2:17 where Christ did not preach to every single person, but through His apostles that went forth after Him, the Gentiles would be reached. Paul refers to his chains multiple times in Philippians 1. Philippians 1:7 Paul says that “Because I have you in my heart, since both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are fellow partakers with me in this grace.” This he speaks to the Gentiles. Again in Philippians 1:12–13 “Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my chains in Christ have become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else.” Paul is a prisoner on earth because of his faithful proclamation and defense of the gospel. This the Jews hated as they did with Jesus for He said in John 15:18 ““If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” Paul is living this out in the flesh.

One commentator notes that “While the prison epistles (Ephesians included) reflect Paul’s earthly position as a prisoner in Rome, he makes it clear that his captivity was first and foremost to Christ” (S. Michael Houdmann). Although Paul is an earthly prisoner this does not take away his identity in Christ, he does not lose his role as the steward of God’s grace, and it does not affect his confidence in the mystery being revealed.

However, it must never be forgotten that sometimes being a prisoner of Christ at times brings forth suffering imprisonment (Ephesians 3:1), suffering on behalf of the church (Colossians 1:24), and enduring for the sake of the elect (2 Timothy 2:10). Being a prisoner on earth and a prisoner of Christ are both separate, yet inclusive of one another. Because Paul was in prison as he wrote this letter the reception of the letter would have been much different from other letters he wrote while not in prison. For example, Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes that a concern of Paul’s was that the churches who received this letter would be too concerned about his earthly state and lose sight of what really mattered (suffering in chains for the cause of Christ). Therefore, what Paul wanted to leave with the churches was that being a prisoner of Christ far outweighed being a prisoner of the world.

A Prisoner of Christ

Being a prisoner of Christ was the cause of Paul’s earthly imprisonment. If Paul would not have preached the gospel to the Gentiles and made the Jews angry in doing so , he would not have been in prison. After Paul defends himself before the Jews in Acts 22:1-21 especially verse 21 which reads, “Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles”, the response he receives is not pleasant. Acts 22:22 says that the Jews “were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”” This was the hostility for which Paul was suffering in prison for.

Ultimately, this was not because they were angry with Paul, but because they hated the message of Christ. Anyone after Paul who would have preached the same message could have wound up with the same fate. It was impossible for the Jews to believe for a second that the Gentiles were to be included and seen as the same as they. I had mentioned last week that at the Gentiles being grafted into the kingdom did not automatically mean that every Jew was thrilled at such a thought. Paul is experiencing the backlash of that in a Roman prison.

What does it mean to be a prisoner of Christ? This is not a phrase that we use much, if ever, in our culture. Three things come to mind, Paul is bound to Christ, Paul is under the subjection of Christ, and Paul’s identity in Christ is expressed as a prisoner of Christ. When we think of our identity in Christ, we do not think of being His prisoner as a way of expressing it. However, as true as it was for Paul, the same is true for believers today. To be a prisoner of Christ is to be completely devoted to Christ no matter the circumstance. Both to Paul and to believers today who are suffering under similar circumstances their cry would be to look beyond the momentary imprisonment or affliction and see the good that is occurring through the spreading of the gospel because of it.

Now, this does not mean that being a prisoner means we are under some form of slavery as the world would see slavery. Yes, we are slaves of Christ, we cannot deny that. But “it was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Therefore, stand firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). This, Paul was saying against the law, specifically of circumcision. In short, being a prisoner of Christ is true freedom.

Steward of God’s Grace (v.2)

The second mark as one who holds the mystery is being a steward of God’s grace. There is a specificity that is given in verse 2 about Paul’s specific stewarding, also translated commissioning, toward the Gentiles. Verse 2 has a narrow and broad scope to it which continues to reach people today.

The Narrow Scope

The narrow scope is that Paul was specifically called by God to minister to the Gentiles (Acts 9:3-6, 26:14-18). The words at the end of verse 2 makes this clear “God’s grace which was given to me for you.” There is no mistaking the intimate nature of the spreading of the gospel from Paul to the Gentiles. The Gentiles would have known about Paul’s stewardship pertaining to the grace of God because he told them about it. The “if” is not a question, but an affirmation. The Gentiles had already heard about the grace of God through Paul. Going back to Ephesians 2:8 which reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Since this truth had already been preached to them, those who had believed this and put their trust in Christ had already experienced the grace of God upon their lives. Paul writes verse 2 with 100% confidence. He says that they “indeed” heard about the grace of God.

God is so incredible that Paul is living out the very commissioning that he had received from God many years earlier. This commission he reflects upon often in Scripture (Acts 13:2, 26:17, Romans 1:5, 11:13, 12:3, and 1 Corinthians 4:1). As I mentioned earlier in Paul’s defense that he was to go to the Gentiles and preach to them, Paul is seeing that come to fruition along with the fruit that is bore from souls being redeemed. Even though Paul is in prison, this was an exciting time in his life because souls were being transformed. How about you? Do you see the good that God is doing through the difficulty that you face? There are things going on because of the trial that you are facing, or the hardship that you are enduring that you have no idea are happening or will happen. God is so much bigger than our trivial difficulty. The same is true for Paul who is in prison. The message did not stop being proclaimed because he was there, nor did the fruit cease to be bore because of it. No! Paul was still able to fulfill the commission that God gave to him on the road to Damascus even from prison.

The narrow scope of Paul’s stewardship is narrow because of the people group that he was reaching. But the far reaching effects, even for Paul, were unthinkable. If Paul would have known the amount of people today that are Christians who are Gentiles he would be floored. The same is true in light of the promise to Abraham with an immeasurable seed, completely unthinkable. But there is our great God seeing and going far beyond what any one of us can see or think. The narrow nature of Paul’s commissioning was the launching point for what was to come. Because Paul preached faithfully to the Gentiles, Gentiles who lived after Paul would take the torch and continue the mission.

The Wide Scope

The commission that Paul is given had far reaching affects. However, his commission is a part of the general commission given to the disciples in Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” This is not to say that Paul did not go to different countries or nations, for he did. But there was no way that Paul was able to cover every inch of land mass in his lifetime. The call to the disciples was to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel! And that is our mission today. For Paul, it began in the Gentile areas near to him. For us, it begins in our neighborhoods. As the Lord permitted Paul to go beyond his local area, so too the Lord may call us to go out from our local areas as well. God never confined making disciples to a small part of the world alone. Why? Because God sees far bigger and greater than we do. The world is His, the people on it are His, therefore all are to be reached with the life changing gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am convinced that the proclamation of the gospel must be present every Lord’s Day in every Bible believing church whether explicitly stated or implicit. Jesus did not shy away from telling all men that he needed to repent from his sin and trust in Christ. Nor did Paul, hence the verses we are looking at this morning. Therefore, nor should we ever shy away from it.

To be a Steward

I want to ask before moving on, what does it mean to be a steward? When we think of a steward we think of a manager or someone who is entrusted with something. The negative of this is seen in Luke 16 with the unrighteous steward. A steward is a manager of something entrusted, but does it end there? Is that all Paul as a steward of God’s grace? Mounce defines stewardship as “an apostolic stewardship, a ministerial commission in the publication and furtherance of the Gospel.” This definition takes stewardship to greater depths. In short, stewardship is an entrusting with a commissioning that goes alongside it. IOW, a steward is entrusted and called. This stewardship is seen in 1 Corinthians 9:16–17 “For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”

Paul is compelled by God to do this work. Christian, do you experience this compulsion as well? Remember, God has called all His people to go forth and share the Gospel. The best way that we can be good stewards of the gospel is to first, get the gospel right, and second, to preach it faithfully to those whom God puts in our path. And in so doing there is great reward which Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 9:18–22 “What then is my reward? That, when I proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews. To those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law. To those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” The reward is that in sharing the gospel we come alongside a variety of people with differing ailments and difficulties and see some of them come to saving faith in Christ. There is no greater reward or prize that this world can offer that compares to a lost soul having eyes opened, a heart renewed, and an eternal dwelling place that is so incredible we cannot possibly comprehend it this side of heaven.

Truth being Revealed (v.3)

The third mark of one who holds the mystery is that they mystery has been revealed to him/her and there has been a heart change due to that revelation. This is where the Scripture reading comes into play. Paul had the mystery revealed to him by Christ in a dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus and he was forever changed. This is, in essence, the starting point for every person who holds the mystery.

Belief in the Gospel comes before proclaiming it

It is obvious, but must be said. Only one who believes the gospel proclaims it. The same is true for other things we believe to be true at a surface level. If we believe it we will tell others. The only way that the gospel is believed is if it is revealed. For Paul, this was revealed to him by Christ Himself. Today, the gospel is revealed to us as faithful Christians go forth and proclaim the gospel to dying and lost men. Either way, it is the work of Christ that brings forth this revelation and the change of heart to believe the gospel.

Believing in the gospel protects Christians from the accusation that what he/she is saying comes from within or is said on the basis of some personal experience. How so? Because the gospel that we preach is not of ourselves. We did not come up with the gospel, it was not our idea, in fact, we could have never thought of such a wonderful message. Further, when we are persecuted, as Paul was, sneered at, mocked, or laughed at, it is not us they truly have a problem with. Man has a problem with God. Man hates the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, as we share with others we do so with full confidence that this message goes forth with power because it does not hinge on my words or yours. The gospel is not contingent upon us to put together the greatest and most persuasive message ever put forth. Christ put forth the gospel most clearly and convincingly while He was here on earth and man crucified Him. What makes you think your way of doing it will yield any greater result?

Going forth in Power

But when Christ makes known to us His gospel and sends us forth in the power of the Holy Spirit, only then are we of any usefulness. This is the power of our Lord.

This same power is expressed in the final benediction in Romans 16. The gospel goes forth to the Gentiles “leading to obedience of faith” (v.26). It is the gospel that unites the Jew and the Gentile in Christ. That is, the great “mystery kept secret for long ages past, which has been manifested” (vv.25-26). Nowhere in Romans 16 does Paul stress on man’s efforts, man’s desires, man’s longing. No! He keeps his focus upon God because in God alone is their true power. It is this power that Paul goes forth with as continues to proclaim the gospel from prison to every ear that will hear that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Conclusion

Amazingly, the mission at hand is quite a simple one as it was in the days of the Apostle Paul. God has given to us a correct view of what being a steward is and the necessity of the mission at hand. The mission of going to the Gentiles is as urgent and pertinent today as it was in the days of Paul. Whether we are in prison, under persecution in another way, or living out our days at work and in the community, it the call of God for each one of to go forth as faithful stewards of the gospel in which Christ has entrusted us to spread.

Benediction

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.”