Manifold Wisdom of God

We all love a good mystery; at least I do. Unsolved Mysteries, Dateline, True Detective, Criminal Minds, NCIS. . The young and the restless, Guiding light. . LOL

Mysteries have a way of captivating our attention.

For this reason= When I think of all this- Paul Praying

The Mystery

the special revelation from God, for Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles

Paul’s mission was to preach the kingdom to the Gentiles. Ephesian 2:11-22, spells out the beauty of what happened by way of the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus providing the Propitiation of our Sin, and Expiation . . caused the wall of hostility to be torn down between Jew and Gentile. Look at with me

As Paul thinks about this, he breaks out into Praise, just like he did in chapter 1. He so overwhelmed by the Glory of God and His work in His people, Paul begins to pray.

Says he is a prisoner for Christ. Look at for the context of Paul and the protest that went forth because of the Preaching of the Word.

then look at :

Acts 20:21 ESV

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The mission for Paul is made clear by God

Paul makes note of this Special revelation

The revelation was already in motion, it was already in the mind and plan of God. . But it had not been revealed.

Matthew 4:12–17 ESV

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The day of Pentecost- all nations there

The Bible gives us at least offers made to the Jewish nation to receive Christ but they rejected the Gospel message

Paul is converted and preaches the (mystery) Kingdom to the Gentiles

Romans 16:25–26 ESV

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—

Colossians 1:26–27 ESV

the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Rom

later in

Ephesians 6:19 ESV

and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

What is the Mystery?

the Greek word musterion means something which is beyond natural knowledge

that believing Gentiles and Jews are one body in Christ. This mystery had not been made known before this time; but now God had revealed it to His apostles and NT prophets by the Spirit.

Preaching the Word: Ephesians—The Mystery of the Body of Christ Mystery of Christ ( Ephesians 3:1-13 )

The open secret, which was not understood in times past, is that Jews and Gentiles are 1) “heirs together,” 2) “members together” (sussoma, a new word coined by Paul because no word could adequately describe the mystery of Gentiles being on the same footing with Jews, and 3) “sharers together” — fellow partakers

The question then becomes, who knew? did God withhold His glorious plan from all his faithful laborers.

in other generations” is a way of referring to the past, with no limitations.

Mankind was not told; “was not made known.

God has revealed it: here the verb “to uncover” is used (see the related noun in verse 1:17; and verse 3:3). In the parallel the verb “bring to light” is used; the meaning of both is the same, that is, both refer to God’s action of revealing a truth to mankind.

God has revealed this by His Spirit.

Acts 10:12–16 ESV

In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Acts 10:12-

The Man

verses 7-8

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to the Ephesians 2. Paul’s Stewardship of the Mystery, 3:2–7

The repeated references to divine grace in v.7 pick up this important theme of v.2 (‘the grace of God given to me’)

God’s grace took over Paul’s life to use him for the service of God.

“that given to me according to (by way of) the working of his power,” which recalls the two nouns used in 1:19 regarding the fulfillment of the hope of all believers. We recall the scene on the Damascus road, the blazing glory light exceeding the noonday sun.

Least of All Saints; But Chief of All Sinners

1 Timothy 1:15 ESV

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

the Humility of Paul- I am Nothing, Christ is everything

The great Italian Conductor Toscanini once gave a concert for which the audience was wildly enthusiastic. There were several encores, and still the audience cheered. Finally there was a lull in the din, and Toscanini turned his back to the audience and said so the orchestra could hear, “I am nothing; you are nothing; but Beethoven, he is everything!” Theologically that is where Paul was in his preaching of Christ.

Can you imagine Going to your favorite entertainer’s concert: Frankie Beverly, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Prince, Sade, Chaka Khan. . and after they kill it, tear the auditorium up and say that?

The riches of Christ. . .

Preaching the Word: Ephesians—The Mystery of the Body of Christ The Ministry of the Mystery (vv. 7-13)

“the unsearchable riches of Christ” — literally, “the riches that cannot be tracked.” The idea is difficult to put into one word, though the translators have attempted with words like inexplorable riches, or untraceable, unfathomable, inexhaustible, illimitable, inscrutable, incalculable, and infinite. What are the unsearchable riches? They are saving riches, sanctifying riches, relational riches, practical riches, and eternal riches.

The Wisdom of God

to Inform the Gentiles

To inform The Church- the unity of the Church is a great evangelistic witness to the world.

It is as we live out the mystery of the third race that we will win the world for Christ. It is to brothers and sisters that the world is drawn. We must realize that dynamic evangelism will take place as we preach and live out two things: Christ and the Church. Paul calls us to the power of the two in concert.

To inform the angels:

The CHurch is central to History

The church is central to the the Gospel

The church is central to Christian Living