Sermon Tone Analysis

*/Ephesians 3:10-13/*

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            By way of review let’s look at vv. 7-9.

Last week I showed you that Paul was *a minister* of the mystery explained in v. 6, that the Gentiles were fellow-heirs and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

Remember that Paul was *made a minister*.

Paul did not make himself a minister.

Paul was not a self-made minister.

I fear that many today are self-made ministers.

This is inexcusable.

This is asking for a harsh judgment.

This is not a position anyone should take unless it is the only thing you can do.

If there is anything else you can make a life doing then do that.

If there is nothing else you can do in life then you better be a minister.

I gave you three reasons some who are called to minister never minister: (1) because seminary training in elitist schools is expensive, (2) traditionally ministry is a low-paying job and when you put together expensive training and low paying job it’s a real turn-off, and (3) the tug of the culture on brilliant minds to go make a lot of money.

The result is mental illness and dysfunctional or broken families for those men who refuse to go into the ministry when God has made them ministers.

Paul goes on in v. 7 to tell us that he was made a minister *according to the standard of God’s grace*.

It was not because God looked down and said, “Paul, you’re such a good boy and I really need you Paul because you’re so special.”

No, Paul was made a minister by the *gift of God’s grace*.

This *grace* can only be measured by the *working of God’s power*.

That is, God’s power in action.

This is the potential energy (/dunamis/) of God being transferred into kinetic energy (/energeia/).

This power of God is available to you today.

God never gives you any task that he doesn’t at the same time give you the ability to complete the task.

He provides everything and it’s all by His grace.

In v. 8 Paul begins by saying *to me, less than the least of all saints*.

We think Paul was one of the greatest saints the world ever knew.

He wrote 13 epistles which span more than half of the NT and yet Paul considered himself *less than the least of all saints*.

This is a genuine claim of humility.

Paul considered himself so lowly because of two things: (1) he was the most vile sinner (1 Tim.

1:15) and (2) he persecuted Christians, he persecuted Christ, and he was a violent transgressor (Acts 9).

Nevertheless, God chooses who He wants to use and when He wants to use them and God chose this vile sinner, this persecutor of Christ and His body *to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ*.

We learned that the *unfathomable riches of Christ *were things that could not be figured out by human study or reason.

They could only be known by revelation and that was why Paul was so eager to make known God’s revelation so we could understand these riches.

We learned from Col. 2 that ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ARE HID IN CHRIST.

This refers to every area of life.

Paul is combating against the idea that genuine divine wisdom and genuine divine knowledge can be gained through the university.

If ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ARE HID IN CHRIST then how can we find WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE in the university?

I challenge you with this (and I’ll do all I can to help you with this).

But I want you to avoid what Paul called *falsely called knowledge* (1 Tim.

6:20) and seek to know all things in a divine viewpoint framework.

Facts are interpreted in a given framework and Paul determined to never know anything apart from divine revelation (1 Cor.

2:2).

This is the only way, I repeat, the only way to follow Paul’s command to “*take every thought captive to Christ*” (2 Cor.

10:5).

We have to develop a fully-integrated Christian educational system where we take every discipline you can think of and orient it to Christ.

We can’t just tack on Bible class at the end of the day or at home.

We have to integrate the Bible into every course.

You can never study mathematics, history, art, philosophy, etc…apart from the Bible.

Both our textbook and our Bibles ought to be open side by side so that we are not taken captive by philosophy and empty deception (Col.

2:8).

This is not a new approach to thinking.

In the 2nd century AD Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, asked,

 

“What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem?

What concord is there between the Academy and the Church?...Our instructions come from “the porch of Solomon”….Away with all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity…!

We want no curious disputation after possessing Christ Jesus…!

The way the church answers this question is extremely important!

Unfortunately, very few have answered it correctly.

Most have answered that Athens has genuine knowledge we need only tack Christ on to their knowledge.

But if all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ then how can this be?

It cannot, it must not, we must reject this amalgamation of worldly wisdom with divine!

We possess Jesus Christ!

Why would we want anything besides Him and the *unfathomable riches* found *in Him*?

Paul was given the task of preaching to the Gentiles these *unfathomable riches of Christ*.

Why now would we want to mottle Christianity with vain philosophy and empty thought?

v.

9, the second thing Paul was called to do in his ministry was to *bring to light what is the dispensation of the mystery*.

He’s talking about the Church.

Paul was to preach the dispensation of the Church which had *for ages *been *hidden in God*.

From Adam till Pentecost the revelation of the Church was hidden.

It was hidden in God, not in the OT.

No one could have known anything about the Church before God revealed it on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

Paul goes on to say that this God is the one who *created all things*.

He’s not only the Creator of the heavens and earth, but He’s the Creator of the Church.

He created it on the Day of Pentecost, it was always a part of His plan, but the revelation of it was hidden until revealed to Paul and the other apostles and prophets.

Now, verse 10, the purpose of God holding back and not revealing the Church until He created it.

God has something He wants to accomplish with the Church and it has to do with the angelic realm.

*c.

The Purpose of the Ministry (3:10-12)*

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            Paul has explained that God made him a minister to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable wealth of Christ and to enlighten all people about the mystery dispensation that was hidden in God until revealed.

Now Paul gives God’s strategy of revealing this mystery: to make God’s wisdom known to the angelic rulers.

* *

*                                    (1)        God’s Wisdom Made Known to the Angelic Rulers *

*(3:10)*

 

            It is interesting that God decided to make His wisdom known to angelic rulers indirectly through the Church rather than directly.

*/Greek Text 3:10 hina gnoristhe nun tais archais kai tais exousiais en tois epouraniois dia ths ekklesias he polupoikilos sophia tou theou,/*

*Translation 3:10 **in order that He may now make known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God, *

 

            */hina gnoristhe nun/**, “in order that He may now make known”.*

The /hina /clause gives the purpose why the mystery was hidden from humans in the past ages and introduces God’s strategy with the Church.

God could have revealed his future strategy for the Church from the beginning of time but He kept it hidden so that He could *make known to the *angelic rulers His *manifold wisdom* during and through the Church.

The word *now *refers to the beginning of the Church on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

What is the *manifold wisdom of God* that is being revealed to the angelic rulers?

It is primarily the harmonious co-existence and co-equality of Jewish and Gentile believers.

The Church is a testimony of the wisdom of God. 

            */tais archais kai tais exousiais en tois epouraniois dia ths ekklesias/**, “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies, through the Church”.*

Who are the *rulers *and* authorities?*

We’ve already met these characters in Eph.

1:21.

Remember in 1:21 there were 2 classes of angels described by four different Greek words.

Here two of those words are used again.

Both classes of angels are, once again, represented here; (1) /arche/ (*rulers*)* *and (2) /exousia/ (*authorities*).

The *rulers *are like the owners of a football team.

The *authorities *are like the coaches of the football team.

The *rulers *make the final decisions and they delegate tasks to the *authorities*.

The *authorities *carry out the will of the *rulers*.

As in professional football, so in the angelic realm.

There is a hierarchy in the angelic realm to whom the wisdom of God is being made known through the Church.

The problem is who are these angels?