The Ministry of the Gospel

Why do we preach the Gospel?

Who is it for?

The Apostle Paul deals with this question in our text today from Ephesians 3:7-13.

Ephesians 3:7–13 NKJV

7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

In these verses Paul tells us who the ministry of the Gospel is for. In other words, what’s the purpose?

We see three groups for whom the Gospel is preached.

1. The ministry of the Gospel is for the Gentiles (7-8)

2. The ministry of the Gospel is for the Church (9)

3. The ministry of the Gospel is for the Cosmic Powers (10-13)

The Ministry of the Gospel is for the Gentiles (7-8)

Ephesians 3:7–8 NKJV

7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

And what was Paul to preach to the Gentiles? He was to preach "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (3:8b).

The Greek word for "unsearchable" (anexichniastos) literally means "impossible to be traced out."

"Translators and commentators compete with one another in their attempt to find a dynamic equivalent in English. The riches of Christ, they say, are 'unsearchable,' 'inexplorable,' 'untraceable,' 'unfathomable,' 'inexhaustible,' 'illimitable,' 'inscrutable' and 'incalculable.'"

God called the Apostle Paul to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. What an incredible statement! What an amazing message!

What’s involved in preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ?

Preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ is, primarily and essentially, to preach the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

The essence of the gospel is Jesus Christ. The gospel is the good news about who Jesus Christ is and what he came to do. The gospel is not about what we do. The gospel is not about what Jesus Christ asks us to do. That comes later.

Preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ is to preach the saving riches of Christ. It is to proclaim how God has taken the initiative and done everything necessary to save sinners such as ourselves. He sent Christ into this sin-stained world to live and die and rise again so that sinners might be saved.

Preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ is to preach the sanctifying riches of Christ. Sinners saved by Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. And they are then indwelt by the Holy Spirit. His work is to enable us to die to sin and to become more and more like Christ each day.

Preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ is to preach the glorifying riches of Christ. Because salvation is all of God, Christ wants all his elect, for whom he died, to know that he will bring each one of them safely to glory. Not one of those for whom he died will be lost. They will be with him in glory forever!

This is just a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of the unsearchable riches of Christ. This was the message that thrilled the Apostle Paul. He gladly took it to the Gentiles so that they might come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior.

To whom are we taking the Gospel?

The Ministry of the Gospel is for the Church (9-10a)

Ephesians 3:9–10 NKJV

9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

The Apostle Paul went on to say that his ministry was "to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things" (3:9).

Paul's ministry was also to preach to everyone, and it was so that everyone in the Church would understand the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God.

This plan, of course, was to make out of Jew and Gentile a new humanity, a third race. And so, he proclaimed to all in the Church all that God was doing to bring this new race into existence.

The Ministry of the Gospel is for the Cosmic Powers (10-13)

Ephesians 3:10–13 NKJV

10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

The gospel is first proclaimed so that men and women, boys and girls, from every people group on earth may come to know the unsearchable riches in Christ.

Then Paul wanted everyone, especially those in the Church, to know that God's plan was to bring saved Jews and saved Gentiles-all kinds of people-together into this one new race called the Church.

Finally, this glorious drama of redemption was so that God's wisdom in his plan of salvation might be made known to the angels.

The angels had been with God before the creation of the world. They had seen his marvelous handiwork in creating a perfect, beautiful, unblemished world.

And then God filled it with all kinds of amazing and incredible creatures: animals, and sea creatures, and birds.

Finally, they were astounded when God created a man out of the dust of the earth, and a woman from the side of man. They watched God's acts of creation with breathtaking astonishment.

But, then one day, to the dismay of God's angels they saw one of their own, Satan, now a leader of the fallen and rebellious angels called demons tempt man to sin against God. And to the horror of the angels, man sinned against God and fell into sin! All God's beautiful creation was marred by that one sin. God banished man from the Garden of Eden, and the man and the woman were spiritually cut off from God, all because of their sin. The angels saw that as mankind multiplied the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

But the angels continued to see the manifold wisdom of God when he called a man whose name was Abram. He lived in a pagan country among a pagan people, and they wondered why God called him. Then they saw how God made a covenant with Abram, and changed his name to Abraham, and promised that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

The angels saw the wisdom of God as he advanced his covenant purpose not through Ishmael but through Isaac, and then through Jacob and not Esau. They realized that God's ways are not their ways, and that his wisdom is manifold.

The angels saw how the children of Israel went down to Egypt and eventually became miserable slaves there. Then they saw the wisdom of God as he led his people out of Egypt to the Promised Land. They saw how God defeated his enemies all along the way. They also saw how God allowed a king to arise from among his chosen people. And then they saw the division of that people, and how they were taken into captivity. But they also saw the wisdom of God as he preserved a remnant who were faithful to him.

And then the angels saw the wisdom of God in solving the problem of sin in the world. How could God ever save fallen men and women who were captured in the grip of sin? Surely the angels were completely astounded by the manifold wisdom of God when he said, "I will send my very own Son, Jesus Christ, into the world of sin and shame. He will be born of a virgin and take humanity on to himself. He will live under the law and obey my every commandment. He will then pay the penalty for the sin of my elect by dying on the cross. But in three days I will raise him back to life again. He will then ascend into heaven and sit at my right hand until I send him back to earth again to wrap up all of human history."

And the angels marveled at the wisdom of God as he sent preachers into the world to proclaim the good news that all people-not just Jews only-may receive forgiveness from God when they believe in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins.

And their marvel continues to grow as they see people from all over the world being saved by God and included in the Church.

Conclusion

Therefore, having analyzed the ministry of the gospel in Ephesians 3:7-12, let us affirm the centrality of the Church.

The Church is central the ministry of the gospel. John Stott suggests that this passage teaches us three truths about the centrality of the Church.

First, the Church is central to history. The Church may at times be weak, it may at times fail, it may at times seem to be in disarray, but the fact is that the Church is the only institution that will survive into eternity. The Church will continue to grow and expand. The Church will continue to embrace people from all nations until the full number of the elect have been saved.

Second, the Church is central to the gospel. The good news of the unsearchable riches of Christ is not only that he lived and died and rose again to save sinners (which he did), but that he did so in order to create one new humanity, which is the Church! As John Stott said, "The gospel is good news of a new society as well as of a new life."

And third, the Church is central to Christian living. Paul ended this section with verse 13, where he alluded to his suffering. He wrote, "So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory." He was willing to pay any price to see the Church established and growing.

The Church is not an option for believers.

We are the Church.

We gather together to worship, learn, grow, encourage and challenge one another. Then we go out into the world and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.