Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Review from

-Paul says I am a prisoner(duty bound to Christ)

-Paul says you may not have heard but a stewardship or responsibility was given to me

-Paul says that before I was commissioned I needed to head off to seminary and be taught by the dean of NT studies Dr. Jesus in the wilderness

-Paul says one of the mysteries that he revealed to me was that the Gentiles would be fellow heirs, fellow partakers, and fellow members of his body

-Paul then reaches down and in the next several verses and puts more meat on the bone for us to partake of:

Always—The Grace of God was given to us to astound the supernatural world and to bring Glory to God..

I. Grace given to minister

I. Grace given to minister

I. Grace given to minister

Eph 3:

(v.7) “I was made a minister” notice in this text Paul says that his calling was not self appointed but that it came from another source.

The verb “made” is in the passive meaning it was something given to him by someone else.

(v.7) “according to the gift of God’s grace” You can see that Paul considered his calling a “gift” that word means: a free gift with emphasis on its gratuitous character.

Paul calling was something that he embraced rather than considered a burden.

The things we call burdens Paul calls gift.

“According to the gift of God’s grace” we need to take quick at this word “grace” in this first chapter:

(v.7)

,&7 & 8 & 7-8 This word has been used 9X in the first three chapters of this Letter.

Clearly Paul is trying to communicate something magnificent and powerful by this term: Let’s define: GRACE: Charis--

A favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor.

Zodhiates, Spiros.

The complete word study dictionary: New Testament 2000 : n. pag.

Print.

(v.7) “according to God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of his power” Paul wants us to know that not only was our Salvation by grace, our divine calling is by grace, but also the power to complete our mission is a gift of God’s grace.

(v.7) “which was given to me according to the working of his power” That word working is “energea” Paul says this grace was given to me according to the energizing dunamis(able power) of God.

Paul focus in this text is his ministry to the Gentiles.

This grace is given for the expressed purpose of giving Paul the strength to endure trials from the people, trials from the Jews, trials from the Roman Authority, who are all being strengthened by Satan himself.

Notice this text back in Chapter 2:

(v.2) That same word is used in (v.2) underline that word “working” guess what word that is: it is “energea”

This grammatical structure is used by Paul to highlight that in the same way Satan is working in his sons God is also working in his sons to produce his desired result.

Isn’t it Good to know that “Greater is he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world” so when the Devil meets a blood bought spirit filled individual he knows that the fight is unfair and the only thing that he can do is try and convince you that he is stronger, smarter and better than you through deception.

Transition Statement: Not only was Grace given to minister but also to reveal profound mysteries

II.

Grace given to reveal mysteries

Eph 3:

(v.8) “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given(bestow)” Paul is not showing false humility in this passage.

He is keeping it real.

He recognized that he is the last person that should be preaching the Gospel to anyone let alone the Gentiles because of his previous life.

He keeps talking about “this grace was given” his focus is to magnify the power of the ministerial call on his life in relationship to his old life.

After laying some foundation Paul thens “makes it plain”

(v.8) “This grace is given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ” Paul tells the calling and the grace given to complete the calling was given so that he could:

a.

To preach to the Ethnos(Nations)

-Paul is in awe of this calling from God.

What was the message?

“The unfathomable riches of Christ”

Unfathomable—Impossible to trace out, untraceable, unsearchable.

We might say beyond comprehension.

This word is only found in the greek manuscript of the bible.

Meaning this word was not used in any greek literature.

It is used 5x in the bible.

I will show you two places

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job

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(v.8)

(v.8) Paul is basically saying that he has been given grace to “proclaim” to the Nations that God’s ways are beyond human comprehension, he can’t be solved like a puzzle, He can’t be caught, He can’t be summarize or truly understood without his help.

The only way we understand the Lord is because he reveals himself to us.

(v.8) “unfathomable riches of Christ”

What are these riches? is he talking about wealth?

Paul uses this same phrase in & 2:7

(v.8) Paul is using “riches” in a figurative sense to describe precious gifts given in surplus: Those gifts: He chose, He predestined, He adopts, He redeems, he calls, He reveals, He sanctifies, He provides(sacrifice), He glorifies.

These are the riches that he will be bestowing on the Nations.

(v.8) Paul is using “riches” in a figurative sense to describe precious gifts given in surplus: Those gifts: He chose, He predestined, He adopts, He redeems, he calls, He reveals, He sanctifies, He provides(sacrifice), He glorifies.

These are the riches that he will be bestowing on the Nations.

eph 3:

(v.9)

In this verse we see Paul telling us that besides preaching the unfathomable riches of Christ my responsibility is to also show you from a detailed exegesis of OT passages that it was always God’s plan to open up salvation to the nations, and that they would not come in as lesser, but on the same level.

Let’s take a quick look:

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genesis 11:

-Separated because of their desire to save themselves according to their own wisdom.

In this text the Tongue was more important than the ethnicity.

I imagine when the Lord did this instead of One language he sent several languages and the people congregated based on familiar tongues then they began to migrate away from each other

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acts 2:

-Separated in but brought back in but this time instead of them trying to get to God the HS has come to them manifested by the Galilean disciples preaching the gospel in Tongues that they had not learned or known.

Just like in Genesis tongues where given to separate in Acts tongues where given to Unify.

This time underneath the Blood of Christ.

-Paul says that I was called to connect the dots from the OT to the NT to reveal this divine mystery to the world since the beginning of this age.

(v.10) “So that” “to the intent” Paul is about to give us the reason God did it like he did.

(v.10) “So that the Manifold wisdom”

a. Manifold—diverse, various, multi-colored

-Manifold is an adjective used to describe “God’s wisdom”

-This tells us that the primary reason that God keeps things hidden and chooses to reveal things progressively is to magnify his “multi-colored, greatly diversified, wisdom”

(v.10) “So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church” Paul says that “the church” is the supernatural organism that reveals the mystery of God.

a. Organization-a body of people with a particular purpose, business, or societal assoc.,…ex.

Frat, Sorority, Freemason, Football team

b.

Organism-A whole with Interdependent parts, likened to a living being......ex.

Centipede, Heart, Body

-The Church is both an organization, but more importantly it is a collection of interdependent parts that make up a living organism, which Eph calls later “The Bride of Christ” like a centipede legs that work together with his torso, like the veins, capillaries, and valves work together to form the heart, and how the vascular system, the central nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, endocrine system all functions together to make up a living being.

This is the Church.

The Church is the means and avenue through which God displays his manifold wisdom.

(v.10)

Then he tells us who he is manifesting his wisdom too:

eph 3:

(v.10) “might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places” Who a glorious truth in this text.