The Mystery Made Known

Ephesians 3:1–6 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.

ACTS -

Unity/Harmony,

Divide on anything we can think of: color, ethnicity, nation, political affiliation, dress, tattoos, drinking, as if we are hardwired to divide

Christ’s death that unites, Christ who mediates, Christ who blesses

Understanding, living

Introduction

Nearly everyone loves a good mystery. There is a reason that Scooby Doo has been around since the sixties. As kids we get caught up in the tales of mystery. Who are the monsters, and how will those meddling kids keep the villains getting away with their schemes? As we get older, the mysteries get more sophisticated. We begin to hear stories about the Bermuda Triangle—flights and ships that suddenly go missing. What happened to them? Agatha Christie novels catch our attention and Poirot becomes our hero. We watched shows like Monk and Psych and other more serious detective shows and try to figure out who the killer or thief might be.

Sometimes mysteries take a nation by storm. The Zodiac Killer in California during the 60s has never been identified. The case is still open. The same goes with JonBenet Ramsey’s murderer. D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane in 1971, demanding $200,000 and four parachutes. After getting his cash and releasing the hostages, he ordered the plane in the sky and then at some point jumped out with the cash. No one knows his real identity; the cash has never been recovered. These mysteries fascinate people. Some dedicate their entire lives trying to figure out what happened and who was involved.

Sometimes the revelation may be a little anti-climatic, but that’s usually because we already know how the story ends. I still remember watching Sixth Sense and being blown away the first time I saw it. I’ve seen it several times since then and have not ever been blown away again. However, what I cannot help but doing every time I watch the movie is look for the clues I missed the previous times.

This morning, we’re looking at a mystery revealed; the problem for us is that this mystery was revealed nearly 2,000 years ago and so, for us, it is no longer a mystery—no longer thrilling to look at. We have gotten used to the revelation; in fact, we’re so used to the revelation that we find it confusing it was a mystery in the first place! We have forgotten (or never even knew) the clues that God scattered throughout the history of the Jewish people.

We won’t have time to look at all the clues, but I do want us to be able to identify them in our own reading when we are doing our own devotions and quiet times. This morning, I want us to focus on four facets of this revelation that I hope move us from a place of quiet complacency and toward mission of vocal witness. And I want you to know that we won’t be going in order of the verses this morning. The first one we look at will be out of order. That’s the suppression of the revelation. From there we’ll look at the seriousness of the revelation, then the stewardship of the revelation, and finally the specifics of the revelation.

The Suppression of the Revelation

The Seriousness of the Revelation

The Stewardship of the Revelation

The Specifics of the Revelation

The Suppression of the Revelation

The first facet of the revelation is that it was suppressed for thousands of years—a suppression not meant to harm, but prepare us for Christ. Clues were given, but the revelation of what all those clues pointed to, was not given. This is what Paul meant when he wrote,

Ephesians 3:4–5 ESV

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.

If we were to go back to Genesis 3, when the fall of humanity happened, we will find there what is called the proto-evangelium—the first gospel proclamation.

Genesis 3:15 ESV

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

At this point, there is no Jewish people. It’s just Adam and Eve and Eve’s offspring (as a human being, not as a Jew) would destroy the work of Satan. It’s the first clue as to God’s plan and purposes, but no one knows for sure how it will all work out. Later when speaking to Abraham, God promised

Genesis 12:3 ESV

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.”

“All the families of the earth will be blessed.” Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, was promised that his people—in particular One of his offspring would bless the families of the earth. Again though, there is no indication of how this would happen, only that it would happen. It’s a clue, but nothing specific. Fast forward from Abraham to Isaiah—some 1200 to 1400 years—and we’ll see that God is calling upon the nations to come.

Isaiah 43:5–7 ESV

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

We’re getting closer to specifics, but not quite there. Are these not just Jews that have been dispersed all over the known world or is he also referring to Gentiles that might come in? Clearly in the Torah, God has called on the Jews to convert the Gentiles, so is there not some of this going on? Then we have the Psalmist who states

Psalm 67:4 ESV

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

But even with all of these prophesies and commands, we aren’t actually getting the substance and specifics of the revelation. All we are getting are clues. God purposefully and providentially suppressed the revelation. That’s what makes it a mystery. What is God doing here? We have all the clues and yet none of the substance. Like me looking back after being blown away at The Sixth Sense, I can see all the clues and how they point exactly to the truth of the matter, but until I knew the substance, I missed what the clues were indicating.

Beloved, such is God’s way—not only with how the Gentiles fit into his plan of salvation, but in so many other facets of life, including the very one you’re going through right now. I know that sounds trite and easy to say, but it remains true nonetheless. We often exhaust ourselves or worry ourselves in an effort to figure out all the clues. What is God going to do? What is he doing? What does all of this mean for me in the future? We want to Scooby-Doo this mystery, but the honest truth is that we can’t. We don’t see all the clues, and the ones we do see, we see imperfectly. We try to fit them into a narrative that may not even exist or we don’t realize that God is typing out a new narrative by way of these moments. We see these events—good or bad—and scratch our heads because we can’t see how they fit the narrative of our plans in life. But God’s not writing a story based on our plans. He is writing it based on his.

Church family, we need to be careful about how we interpret clues when God intends for his mysteries to remain mysteries. We may end up misunderstanding God’s plan and then actually go against what he is doing.

The Seriousness of the Revelation

That takes us to the second facet of the revelation. It’s seriousness. This is how serious Paul (and God) take the church’s unity. Notice how Paul described himself in verse 1.

Ephesians 3:1 ESV

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

Technically, Paul wrote that he was “the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,” not just “a prisoner.” We tend to think about Paul’s imprisonment coming about because he was an apostle of this new-fangled religion called Christianity. That would be his later imprisonment in 2 Timothy. His prison epistles—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon—are written from prison because he was put there by the Jews. He was “the” prisoner—the one that was targeted, the one that the Jewish people treasured being bound.

Luke wrote about the story in Acts. Paul was ending his Nazarite vow and was going to the temple to keep peace between the Church and the Jews. He was paying for four companions to complete their Nazarite vow when the whole scene exploded!

Acts 21:27–36 ESV

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”

What was it that stirred the Jews up? His association with the Gentiles. He was proclaiming the Christ to the Gentiles. He was putting them on equal footing as the Jews. Having been given all the clues, the Jews believed that the Gentiles could only go so far, but no further. They assessed what all the verses we read and more meant and they had figured out what God was going to do—or so they thought. When they saw the words and actions that Paul had done, it enraged them. To see him hanging out with the Ephesian Trophimus, they naturally assumed—given what Paul was teaching—that he had allowed him into the temple—not simply into the Court of the Gentiles, but the Court of Israel!

Because Paul’s gospel message for all the people didn’t align with the Jewish understanding of all the clues, the people were ready to kill him. By God’s providence, the tribune and soldiers stepped in. But for the next few years, Paul was the prisoner of Christ Jesus because of the mystery he was revealing—a mystery no one had figured out on their own, but was revealed by Christ Jesus himself.

Do you see how serious this revelation was? It was serious enough to die for. It was serious enough to be imprisoned over. Think through all that Paul mentioned to the Corinthians if you need to grasp how serious this revelation truly is.

He listed what he went through there: far great labors, far more imprisonments, countless beatings, often near death. The Jews beat him five times with lashes, three times he was beaten with rods. He was stoned, shipwrecked—adrift at sea! Dangers from nature, dangers from Jews and Gentiles, in the city or the wilderness or sea. That’s not to mention false brothers, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure. That’s how serious the revelation of the mystery is! It’s worth the dangers, the discomforts, and the disgruntled.

Brothers and sisters, how serious do we take this revelation of our own salvation and the salvation of those who have not yet heard? Is it serious enough for us to suffer over it? Better yet, is it serious enough for us to unite over it? You see, that’s actually the point that Paul is seeking to make here—the unity of God’s people in Christ. But we’ll get to that momentarily.

The Stewardship of the Revelation

So far, we’ve seen the suppression of the revelation and the seriousness of the revelation. We move on to the third facet of this revelation: the stewardship it requires.

Ephesians 3:2 ESV

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

If you are paying attention to what Paul wrote here, you will see that he wrote that he was a steward of God’s grace—not that he was a steward of God’s Revelation. But what is revelation if not God’s grace toward those who were in darkness? God gave Paul the revelation of the mystery by his own grace so that he could be God’s spokesman to the Gentiles. This is exactly what Luke described happening in Acts 9.

But the point I want to make is that this is certainly a stewardship. Another way to say it is that this is a responsibility given to Paul.

Verse 2 starts with what the ESV writers translate as an assumption. “Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God,” but it wasn’t simply an assumption. Paul actually used an emphatic particle that makes me believe that this is not simply an assumption; it’s an emphatic truth. I would translate this much more in the “Since indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God.” The Ephesians had heard, known, and understood this responsibility of grace given by God. They were the recipients of this stewardship. Without Paul’s having taken his stewardship—his responsibility—seriously to testify to what God was doing among the Gentile people, the Ephesians would continue to be dead in the trespasses and sins in which they once walked.

Beloved, we see people still dead in their trespasses and sins and scratch our heads as to why. Could it be that we—maybe, perhaps, possibly—have not taken our stewardship of God’s grace as seriously as Paul?

The reason for the imprisonment is not that the Romans disliked Paul. It wasn’t that Paul broke any laws. It was in many respects because the Jews hated what Paul was doing. But if we were going to be completely transparent as to why Paul was imprisoned, it would have to be that Paul was given this responsibility—this stewardship—of God’s grace. And when God gives us a stewardship, we best take care to do it!

Think about stewardship in a little more practical manner. Has anyone noticed how mail delivery has gone downhill over the last few years? The motto used to be (and maybe it still is) “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” It seems to me that somewhere in the early 2000s all of this changed. I remember moving here to St. Charles and having to go to the post office. There were picketers on the grass complaining of slow delivery. It seems to have gotten ever worse since then.

Brothers and sisters, we rightly feel aggravated, frustrated, even betrayed a little when our couriers do not deliver the important news that belongs to us. Even bad news like our indebtedness to credit cards, mortgages, and car payments is still news that the courier needs to bring. Good news of pay checks, birthday and anniversary cards, and such are part of that stewardship too. If that’s so important with the stewardship given by the USPS, how much more with God’s stewardship to Paul—or us?

Remember Paul’s words back in chapter 2?

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God has given us a stewardship of good works that we should walk in them. It is by God’s grace that we have been saved and it is that grace that must be taken to those yet to believe. That is not the only good work—not the only stewardship—he has given, but it is one of them. Paul could not pretend like the responsibility did not belong to him. He couldn’t act as if others would do what God had called him to do. Nor can we. Jesus himself—in the parable to the talents and other parables—has shown us what happens with those who neglect the stewardship of God’s grace in their lives. We have been entrusted with this grace for the purpose of imparting it to others. Paul was not simply a volunteer of God’s grace. In Ephesians 1:1, he calls himself an apostle—a sent out one—and in Ephesians 3:1, he’s the prisoner of Christ Jesus. And now in verse 2, he’s a stewardship of God’s grace of revelation. Are we any different?

The Specifics of the Revelation

So what was the mystery that Paul was stewarded with revealing? That’s the fourth facet that we are looking at this morning.

Ephesians 3:6 ESV

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.

You see, it wasn’t that the Gentiles would gather in Jerusalem in general. It wasn’t that they’d have their own place in the temple. It wasn’t even that that they’d get some of the benefits if they converted to Judaism. The mystery that had been suppressed for generations and that Paul had taken seriously because of the stewardship given by God was that Gentiles would join with the Jews who put their trust in Jesus. The ESV translators stated they are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise. To emphasize the point, I would make up some words, just as Paul did. We are co-heirs, co-body, and co-participants. The word that Paul used and is translated as members of the same body is a hapax legomenon. In other words, Paul made this word up and it is the only time it is found in the Bible or anywhere.

If we were to go back to Genesis 12, we would be reminded that all the families of the earth would be blessed. Remember that clue? Now we know that it is not some indirect or inadvertent way that we are blessed. We are blessed because we are the heirs of the covenant promise. We are blessed not because we are simply allowed to worship Christ. We are blessed because—like all who believe—we are (look at the end of Ephesians 3:6) in Christ Jesus through the gospel! Because we are in Christ, we receive all that Christ receives as an inheritance. All the heavenly blessings are ours in Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:20–22 ESV

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

We are members of the same body—co-body. It’s not them against us. It’s not Jew against Gentile. It’s not Israel against the Church. It’s all of us in union—in unity. This is what Jesus prayed for in John 17—that we’d be one even as the Trinity is one. This is why I cannot accept dispensational theology which separates Israel and the Church, making two where Paul and Jesus have emphasized union and unity. All—Jew and Gentile—must be in Christ for this unity to happen, but once they are all in Christ, the the Spirit binds them together despite all their differences.

We are co-participants in the promise. In the Old Testament there were hints of the Holy Spirit coming down. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel and other prophets all foretold the coming of the Spirit. The clues were there, but without the revelation that Paul gives, we would not be able to have put the clues together and see that the Spirit was promised for all who believe, not for the Jews only. In fact, he wasn’t promised to the Jews as a race or Israel as a nation. He was promised to those who were regenerated—those who were given a new heart. Without Paul’s taking his stewardship seriously, we would never have seen what God intended to show.

So let me ask you: in light of all this glorious news, who is someone in your life that you can share the gospel with? You have been given the grace of salvation—not of your own doing—and now are called on to share it with another. Do you have someone in mind? Can you begin to pray about how you can be good stewards of God’s revelation and take it seriously so others may hear the gospel message and join as heirs, body, and participants of the promised Holy Spirit?

Conclusion

Have you ever watched a person watch a portion of a movie? You know what’s coming. You know how surprised you were when you first watched it. You can’t help but look at the person who is about to be hit with something they never saw coming. Keep that image in mind when it comes to the gospel. The gospel is much more exciting than any movie ever could be, but if we were to be honest, we don’t get as excited about it as we once did. How do we keep that freshness alive? I think one way is by telling it over and over again. There are millions—billions!—of people who have never heard the gospel message. They still live in darkness. They still live in unbelief. They’ve never heard. The revelation has been suppressed—perhaps because God would like us to reveal it.

You and I, we’ve been given a stewardship that we must take seriously. The seriousness of the revelation has been seen not only by Paul’s hardships, but by the blood that has been shed for the last 2,000 years. It’s not a revelation to be taken lightly. Our comfort is at stake, but so are the souls of those all around us. So let us not speak in generalities of God or religion or spirituality. But let us speak in the specifics of the revelation—those who were once far off have been brought near. They are co-heirs, co-body, co-participants in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Let us not be a people who seek to divide, but those who are ever uniting with brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us be a people who look to bring more and more into the family, to be part of our one body in Christ. May we take our stewardship seriously so and proclaim your gospel to those who need to hear it. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.