Paul's Digression; Ephesians 3:1-13

Introduction

Series recap

Chapter 1 - God’s plan has always been the gospel; being chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and assured by the Spirit. We should, like Paul, be praying that all grow in that knowledge.

Chapter 2 - You personally were dead and following the ways of this world, the inclinations of your own heart. But God made what was dead come to life through his son. He did not bring us to life to isolate us, but to be a new, unified people of God.

Today - Paul’s Digression

A digression is a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing

we will see Paul begin a sentence in verse one, but jump to a thought, not finishing the original thought until verse 14. We will look at that passage next week.

Ephesians 3:1–13 CSB

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.

Defining grace

noun (New Oxford American Dictionary)

1 simple elegance or refinement of movement: she moved through the water with effortless grace.

2 courteous goodwill: at least he has the grace to admit his debt to her. • (graces) an attractively polite manner of behaving: she has all the social graces.

3 (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. • a divinely given talent or blessing: the graces of the Holy Spirit.

4 (also grace period) a period officially allowed for payment of a sum due or for compliance with a law or condition, especially an extended period granted as a special favor: another three days' grace.

5 a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal: before dinner the Reverend Newman said grace.

6 (His, Her, or Your Grace) used as forms of description or address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop: His Grace, the Duke of Atholl.

7 (the Graces or the Three Graces) (in Greek mythology) three beautiful goddesses (Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne) believed to personify and bestow charm, grace, and beauty.

verb

[with object and adverbial] do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence: she bowed out from the sport she has graced for two decades. •

(of a person or thing) be an attractive presence in or on; adorn: Ms. Pasco has graced the front pages of magazines like Elle and Vogue.

mine - Not getting what you deserve

another - to get what you need

Main thought of the passage

God's grace may not look exactly like we think that it should, but it is what we need, fulfills his purposes and leads us boldly to his throne.

The Grace we Need

God’s grace is not about us, but to fulfill his plan and glorify him. In Paul’s life, God’s grace was summed up in two words, prisoner (v1) and servant (v7).

v1 - Paul states why God has made him a prisoner, “for this reason.”

points back to chapter 2

You were dead and now alive

You were two people and now are one people

I am a prisoner…

God’s grace, that we were dead and now alive, that we were people opposed to each other and are now united

this is why Paul is in prison?

that thought makes Paul chase another thought

then digresses

Ephesians 3:1–7 CSB

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.

How God’s grace was administered v2

administered - managed, distributed and why

We view God’s grace as something that has saved us, and something there to make us happy

anything that we want and need God’s favor to obtain

which makes God into more of a Genie than God

Paul says that the grace given to him, was for the benefit of the Ephesians

God’s worked his grace out to be the benefit of the Ephesians

What was the grace he received - Paul was a zealous Pharisee

meaning he was a very religious person who was confident that he was way better than others were at there religion

meaning God loved him more and that he was more important in God’s eyes

Paul got knocked off his high horse

God’s mystery was made know to Paul v3

What Paul wrote above was the mystery revealed

the revelation - damascus road Jesus is revealed to Paul Acts 9

Acts 9:15–16 CSB

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

The Mystery is being revealed v4-6

the Gentiles can understand the mystery

the previous generations did not see this coming

even a point of contention in the early church

can you imagine a people so caught up on who they were as a nation that they did not believe that people that did not look like them, speak like them have the heritage they did, were not God’s chosen people

It is God’s grace that caused Paul to be a servant demonstrating God’s grace to the Gentiles v7

Paul bookends these verses with prisoner (v1) and servant (v2)

If we are looking for a grace that only satisfies ourselves we are missing the point

missing what it means to serve God

what we are missing is the why we have received grace, why we have been saved

The Purpose of His Grace

We receive what we need in God’s grace to fulfill his purposes and show all of creation the mysteries of God.

You are not saved, or given God’s grace for a different reason than Paul

it may look a little different in your life than Paul’s

we may not be sent to Jail, we may

but we are not given grace simply to build us up and make us feel better about who we are

We are His workmanship (Eph 2:10), word workmanship only used in one other place, Romans 1:20,

Made to point to God

Ephesians 3:8–10 CSB

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.

God uses the least of the least to make known what was unknown v8-9

Paul is not showing a false humility

but an understanding of who he is

an honest view of ones self will keep you humbly serving the Lord

Paul uses the word mystery a lot

from the time that sin entered the world God’s plan of redemption has been taking form

this may be easy for us to see looking back

but it was not as clear in the OT as some may have thought

in Ephesus, there were many who believed that God was a mystery that could only be known by an enlightened few

God uses the church to reveal his grace to the angels and demons v10

what do angels and demons know? How do they know what they know?

We see them revealing things of God in scripture (Elizabeth and Mary being pregnant in Luke)

The church, the people of different nations, tribes and tongues joining together in Christ have revealed the wisdom of God to the angels and demons.

meaning - the church, the people of God of every tribe and tongue, is a living and breathing illustration to the awesomeness of God

even illustrating and teaching the angels and demons

The Confidence From His Grace

Seeing all Christ has done, all that he used (people and events), should cause us to come boldly to his throne in worship.

Ephesians 3:11–13 CSB

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.

All of this is for the eternal purposes of God v11

God’s grace is not just about your momentary situation

this does not mean God does not care about you life moment by moment

Jesus told the disciples to not worry about anything, God will supply all they need

what we see if that the purpose of the moment by moment is about his glory not yours

God’s grace looks to eternity past with his plan and into eternity future effecting all that come after us.

we need to begin to look at everything with an eye on eternity

our citizenship

our relationships

In Christ we boldly come before the God of the universe v12

if we were chosen in eternity past and used for eternity future, what makes us think that he would ever cast us out now.

but we come humbly, knowing that we did nothing to gain access

we come humbly knowing that he is so far above us

we come with a humble gratitude

All of this understood, Paul recognizes that he service to the Lord is the Lords grace to the Gentiles v13

Paul sees that his momentary discomfort or torture is worth the salvation of so many

What are you willing to endure for Christ

Paul warns against discouragement

instead, be encouraged by what God is working out for the salvation of many

glory - elevation of his readers

Concluding Actions

Have a right view of self - Paul, I am the least of the saints

Have a right view of God - All things are for His glory

Have the right view of the purpose of your life - seeing how low we are and how high God is, will leave us living for him