Ephesians: Purpose of the Ages
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A Sermon on Ephesians 3:1-13
Good morning, everyone. I want you to think about something with me for a moment. Picture a big jigsaw puzzle - one of those 5,000-piece puzzles that takes months to finish. You know the kind I'm talking about. You spread all those pieces out on your dining room table, and at first, it just looks like a mess. Random shapes and colors scattered everywhere. But as you start putting it together, piece by piece, a beautiful picture begins to show up.
That's what we're going to talk about today. God has been working on a big puzzle throughout all of history. And today, we're going to look at some of the most important pieces of that puzzle - pieces that show us God's amazing purpose for our lives and for all of creation.
We're continuing our study through the book of Ephesians, and today we're looking at chapter 3, verses 1 through 13. This passage is going to show us something wonderful - that God's purpose throughout all the ages has been to bring glory to Himself through our salvation in Jesus Christ. Let me read our passage for you:
1 For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—2 assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you. 3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. 5 This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. 8 This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, 9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. 10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. 11 This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. 13 So, then, I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory.
Now, I know that might sound like a lot of big words and hard ideas. But stick with me, because what Paul is telling us here will change your life. Let's break this down together.
1 For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—2 assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you.
Paul starts by calling himself "a prisoner of Christ Jesus." Now, when Paul wrote these words, he really was in prison. He'd been locked up for about five years at this point. He spent two years in a prison in Caesarea, and now he was under house arrest in Rome.
But Paul didn't end up in prison because he robbed a bank or hurt someone. He was there because some Jews had lied about him in Jerusalem, saying he brought a Gentile into areas of the Temple where only Jews could go. This caused a riot, and Roman soldiers had to rescue Paul from an angry mob.
After going through several trials before different governors and even appearing before King Agrippa, Paul used his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to Caesar. Once he made that appeal, he had to be sent to Rome. Even King Agrippa said Paul could have been set free if he hadn't already appealed to Caesar.
Here's what I want you to see: Paul's Roman citizenship wasn't an accident. God had set things up so Paul would have this legal protection so he could get to Rome and continue his ministry there. What looked like trouble was really part of God's plan to spread the gospel to the very heart of the Roman Empire.
So there Paul was, chained to a Roman guard, living under house arrest in Rome. But notice what Paul calls himself. He doesn't say, "I'm a prisoner of Rome" or "I'm a victim of lies." He says, "I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus."
That tells us everything we need to know about Paul's heart. He understood that his life wasn't really controlled by Roman governors or Jewish leaders or even Caesar himself. His life belonged completely to Jesus Christ. He was willing to go wherever Jesus wanted him to go and do whatever Jesus wanted him to do, even if it meant suffering.
Now, let me ask you something. Are you willing to say that you're a prisoner of Jesus? I think if we're honest, too many of us want to be Jesus' buddy instead of His prisoner. We want to keep control of our own lives. We'll handle things ourselves, thank you very much. We work our own messed-up plans until we're about to crash and burn, and then we're like that Carrie Underwood song - "Jesus, take the wheel!"
But here's the truth: we're either a prisoner of sin or a prisoner of Jesus. There's no middle ground. Jesus died on the cross so that we could be set free from sin's control and live under His loving leadership instead.
Paul understood this. Listen to what he wrote in his letter to the Romans:
17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, 18 and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
Paul was serving Jesus with a very clear mission - to reach the Gentiles. Remember, Paul was Jewish through and through. He was raised in a strict Jewish home and had been taught by one of the most respected Jewish teachers of his day. His love for his Jewish faith had once driven him to hunt down and hurt Christians.
But then Jesus changed his life completely. And now, this man who had been raised to look down on non-Jewish people was willing to suffer prison and even death to bring them the good news about Jesus. That shows us just how much God can change a heart and a life.
Who has God called you to reach that makes you feel uncomfortable? Maybe it's that neighbor who plays music too loud. Maybe it's that coworker who uses language you don't like. Maybe it's someone whose lifestyle choices you don't understand. Or is it the people in our community from a different country? Will you go to the lengths that Paul went to do what God has asked you to do?
We are a church called to reach this community. That includes the drug addicts, the people society has given up on, the homeless, the foreigner, the helpless. Who is God calling you to talk to this week? I know it's hard enough to share your faith with your friend at work who looks just like you and has the same background. You've got to get over that fear too! Ask God to give you courage. Ask God to help you see the power that's already yours through His Spirit.
3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. 5 This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
Paul continues by talking about something he calls "the mystery." Now, when we hear the word "mystery," we might think about a detective story or something we can't figure out. But in the Bible, a mystery isn't something that can never be understood. It's something that was once hidden but has now been shown to us.
Paul says this mystery "was made known to me by revelation." In other words, God showed it to Paul directly. And what was this mystery?
6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Paul explains it clearly: "The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."
To understand why this was such a big deal, we need to understand some history. The Jewish people began with a man named Abraham. About 4,000 years ago, God chose Abraham and made a covenant - that's a serious agreement - with him. God promised to create a great nation from Abraham's children and grandchildren, to give them a land of their own, and to bless the entire world through them.
For hundreds of years, God worked mainly through the Jewish people. They had the Temple, the priests, the law that God gave through Moses. They were God's chosen people. And anyone who wasn't Jewish - anyone who was a Gentile - was thought of as an outsider.
Many Jewish people began to hate Gentiles. They saw them as dirty, as people God didn't care about. Some Jewish people wouldn't even eat with Gentiles or go into their homes.
But God had always planned something bigger. From the very beginning, when He made that promise to Abraham, God said He would bless "all the families of the earth" through Abraham's family line. That person was Jesus Christ.
And now Paul is explaining that God's plan was always to bring Jewish people and non-Jewish people together as one family through faith in Jesus. This wasn't Plan B when Plan A didn't work out. This was God's plan from the very beginning.
Paul had talked about this unity between Jews and Gentiles in several ways earlier in his letter:
Fellow citizens in God's kingdom
Members of God's household
Parts of a holy temple filled with God's Spirit
And now he adds: Co-heirs, members of the same body, and partners in God's promises
When you put your faith in Jesus Christ and ask Him to forgive your sins, you become part of an amazing family. You're connected to believers from every tribe, language, people, and nation. We're tied together not just by our shared faith, but by the Spirit of God who lives inside every believer. Paul wants us to understand without any doubt how important it is for us to be united, to be one.
7 I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. 8 This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, 9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.
Paul goes on to describe himself as a servant of the gospel. He says his calling, his message, and his power all came from God. But then he says something that might surprise you. He calls himself "the least of all the saints."
The word he uses literally means "less than the least" - lower than the lowest. Why would Paul say that about himself? Because he understood how far he had been from God and how much God had done for him.
Remember, Paul had helped in the murder of innocent men and women who followed Jesus. He had hunted down Christians, pulling them from their homes and throwing them in prison. When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was being stoned to death, Paul was there agreeing with it.
But God forgave him. God not only forgave him but chose him to be an apostle - one of the most important messengers of the gospel in history. Paul never got over being amazed by that grace.
Here's what I want you to understand: there is nothing you have done that is too much for God to forgive. Nothing. Those of us who have been the farthest from God often get to experience the most grace. And when we truly understand how much we've been forgiven, it fills us with thankfulness and a desire to share that same love with others.
Every follower of Christ shares Paul's calling to be a servant of the gospel. We are all important parts of God's plan to bring salvation to the world. Paul quotes from the Old Testament to make this point:
13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?
God has chosen to use us - ordinary people like you and me - to share the wonderful message of His love. That's both a great honor and a serious job.
10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. 11 This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now Paul says something that might blow your mind. He writes, "This is so God's multifaceted wisdom might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens."
What does that mean? It means that God is teaching the angels through us, the church!
Think about that for a moment. Angels are powerful spiritual beings who have been with God since before the creation of the world. They've seen God's power and glory in ways we can't even imagine. But they aren’t all knowing like God, and they're learning something new by watching what God is doing through the church.
The apostle Peter tells us that angels are fascinated by our salvation. They lean in to understand what God is doing in our lives. And Jesus said that the angels in heaven always watch the face of the Father to see how He reacts when one of His lost children comes home.
By breaking down every barrier that separates people - racial barriers, cultural barriers, money barriers - and bringing us together as one family through Jesus, God is showing His wisdom to the entire universe. The church becomes a living example of God's power to unite what was once divided, to heal what was once broken, to love what was once rejected.
12 In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him.
Paul continues, "In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him."
To understand how big this statement is, you need to know something about the Jewish Temple. In that Temple, there was a special room called the Holy of Holies. This was thought of as the most sacred place on earth - the place where God's presence lived in a special way.
Only one person was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies - the High Priest. And he could only go in once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation of Israel. If anyone else tried to enter that sacred space, they would be killed right away.
There was a thick curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple. It was a physical reminder that sinful human beings could not come into God's presence.
But when Jesus died on the cross, something amazing happened. The Bible tells us that thick curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. God Himself tore it open, showing that the way to Him was now open to everyone who believes in Jesus.
Because of what Jesus did on the cross, you and I can come boldly into God's presence. We don't have to be afraid that He'll reject us. We don't have to wonder if we're good enough. Through faith in Jesus, we are accepted and welcomed into God's family.
That doesn't mean we should be casual or disrespectful when we approach God. It means we can be confident. We can know that when we pray, God hears us. When we come to Him with our struggles, our fears, our joys, our requests, He welcomes us with open arms.
13 So, then, I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory.
Paul ends this section by asking the Ephesians not to be discouraged by his suffering. He was in prison, chained to a Roman guard, facing an uncertain future. But he didn't see his situation as defeat.
He could have looked around his prison cell and thought his ministry was over. He could have pulled on the chains that tied him to his guard and given up. But not Paul. He was a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and he lived with complete trust in God.
Paul understood that even his time in prison was being used by God for good. In fact, he wrote to the Philippians:
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14 Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.
Paul's suffering wasn't wasted. It was helping the gospel spread. The Roman guards who were chained to him heard the good news about Jesus. Other Christians were encouraged by Paul's example and became bolder in sharing their faith.
Do you see yourself as a prisoner to your situation, or as a prisoner to Jesus? Do you have faith that He will take care of you and that whatever you're going through can help you grow?
Paul believed what he wrote to the Romans:
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Let me tell you a story that shows this truth. Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian woman who, along with her family, helped hide Jewish people from the Nazis during World War II. In the end, they were caught and sent to prison camps.
Corrie's father and sister both died in those terrible camps. Corrie herself went through awful suffering. But she lived through it, and she spent the rest of her life traveling around the world sharing the gospel. She called herself "a tramp for the Lord," and she would often say, "There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still."
When Corrie was a little girl, she was reading about Christian martyrs and became scared. She said to her father, "Daddy, I'm afraid I'll never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ."
Her wise father asked her, "When we take a train trip, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before we leave?"
"No, Daddy," she replied. "You give me the money just before we get on the train."
"That's right," he said. "And so it is with God's strength. Our heavenly Father knows when you'll need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will give you all you need just in time."
As it turned out, God never asked Corrie to die as a martyr. But she suffered a lot, and God always gave her the strength she needed - just as her father had promised.
Your suffering today might be for the good of someone else tomorrow. We don't always understand why we go through hard times. But we know that God can use all of our situations to help us grow if we let Him. And if we're willing, He can use those hard times to reach others with the gospel.
Paul uses a beautiful phrase in this passage - "the eternal purpose." Some translations say "the purpose of the ages." The purpose of all things, throughout all time, is to bring glory to God. He has done this most fully through His Son Jesus Christ by sending Him to die for our sins and rise again to give us eternal life.
From before the creation of the world, God had a plan. It wasn't a backup plan when other things didn't work out. It was His eternal purpose - His plan for the ages.
And here's the amazing thing: you and I get to be part of that plan. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we become part of God's eternal purpose. That means your job isn't just about paying the bills - it's a place where you can show God's love. Your family relationships aren't just about personal happiness - they're chances to show the world what God's love looks like. Your struggles aren't just obstacles to overcome - they're chances for God to show His strength through you.
Remember that jigsaw puzzle I talked about at the beginning? God has been putting the pieces together for thousands of years. And now, through the church - through us - He's showing the completed picture to the entire universe.
So what does this mean for us in real life? How do we live as people who understand God's purpose for the ages?
We need to give our lives completely to Jesus Christ, just like Paul did. Stop trying to be Jesus' buddy and start being His faithful servant. Accept your role in God's mission to reach the world - whether that's your neighbor, your coworker, or someone in your community. Remember that you have bold access to God through Jesus, so come to Him when you're facing hard times. Trust God even when you're suffering, knowing He can use all things for His glory and your good. And live with the big picture in mind - you're part of God's eternal purpose, and that should fill you with hope and meaning that no earthly success or failure can touch..
Let me leave you with this thought. God's purpose throughout the ages is to bring glory to Himself through our salvation in Jesus Christ. Your salvation isn't just about you getting to go to heaven - it's part of God's plan to show His wisdom and love to the entire universe.
When you truly understand that, it changes everything. Your problems aren't quite so overwhelming when you remember you serve the God who created the universe. Your mission becomes clear: you're called to be part of God's plan to reach the world with the good news about Jesus Christ.
The same God who called Paul to reach the Gentiles is calling you to reach the people in your life. The same grace that changed Paul's life is available to change yours. The same power that helped Paul remain faithful in prison is available to help you remain faithful in whatever situations you face.
So let's live as prisoners of Jesus Christ, gladly given over to His will. Let's live as servants of the gospel, boldly sharing His love with everyone we meet. That's the purpose of the ages. That's God's plan. And by His grace, we get to be part of it.
Let's pray.
