Right Living In A World Gone Wrong…Studies in Ephesians
Anyone Up For A Good Mystery?
Ephesians 3:1-13
I don’t know about you personally, but most of us like a good mystery. When our children were younger, and we would embark on one of our cross-country treks to my parents in West Virginia, or Carol’s parents in Western Minnesota, we would quite often check out a “book on tape” from the library, and listen to it as we drove through the night. I did it to help me stay awake while everyone else slept, but as the kids got into the story, they would quite often stay up with me until the wee hours of the morning waiting to see how the story would turn out! They wouldn’t let me turn off the key when we stopped to get gas!
Whether it was a classic Agatha Cristie or Sherlock Holmes, or a modern tale by Jeffery Archer, we just loved the twists and turns that a good story takes. There were always surprising secrets that were revealed about the characters along the way, and the end was rarely what we thought it would be.
That’s the main feature of a mystery, isn’t it? The outcome is seldom what we expected. In fact, if it were what we expected, it wouldn’t be a mystery at all! When the final twist is revealed, and all the threads of the plot line suddenly come together, we inevitably have one of those “AH HAH! Now I see!” moments. Those seemingly trivial facts that were presented earlier now have meaning – things that we glossed over are now important as we look back and see through the lens of hindsight.
In our text today, we have the revealing of a mystery – the moment when the threads of God’s design throughout history all come together, and His ultimate plan is revealed, and it is a spiritual “AH HAH!” moment.
It’s found in the third chapter of Ephesians, verses 1-13.
For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles --- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory. (Ephesians 3:1-13)
Did you know that the Bible tells of God’s Plan as being a “mystery”? Now, its not the kind of mystery that you and I might think of . . . a “whodunnit”-- and its not the kind of mystery that could have been figured out by a Sherlock Holmes or the guys on CSI. But in the very real sense that what God was ultimately ‘up to’ had not been fully realized- it was a mystery to many. What God was doing (& had been doing from the very beginning) to reconcile his people to himself had not been completely clear to humanity. But now, just like Sherlock Holmes at the end of a story, Paul has the privilege of unveiling and revealing one of the greatest mysteries of all time!
Paul says, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gospel –“ Remember, Paul is in prison here. He’s been given this wonderful ministry to take the good news to the Gentiles, but now that ministry has landed him in prison. Did you know that sometimes you can be doing the right thing, and things do go the way you want?
But not even chains can stop Paul from proclaiming the message! Though he’s chained to a Roman soldier, Paul knows that he is a prisoner ‘of Christ;’ so he’s going to keep working, and even use his imprisonment for the Kingdom! While imprisoned he writes some of the most profound words in all of Scripture: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians- all written during his time in prison!
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gospel –“ And then its as if this thought reminds Paul of something and causes him to stop short. My Bible has a dash at the end of vs. 1. Its an indication of an abrupt change in thought... He leaves his train of thought for a few paragraphs, but he’ll return to it next week in vs. 14. If you look at that verse, he picks up his original thought again and says, “for this reason…” and continues on.
But this interruption of his thought is not some insignificant bunny trail. Paul pauses because he has something important to say! He has been handed a mystery- ‘made known to him by revelation.’ Paul says that by God’s grace, he has been made a “steward” of this mystery – he’s responsible for communicating it faithfully. The word ‘administration’ is the same word for ‘stewardship.’
First, Paul Identifies The Mystery
4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
This mystery - which those in generations past had not known- has NOW been revealed: God’s people have all been joined together in one body – the church! Last week we talked about being born into a new race – The Master’s Race. Today we see this new race identified in this paragraph – it is the church.
This was a huge shock to the world! It’s hard for us to understand because we’ve grown up hearing this from birth...but for those in the 1st century, this was a radical statement! Jews had always assumed that they were going to be God’s chosen people and Gentiles had assumed, and been told, that they would always be outsiders. But God had a plan that was a mystery to them all!
Now, to be fair, there HAD been clues along the way. In commissioning Abraham & giving him the promise, God said, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Later the prophet Isaiah prophesied concerning the ‘servant of the Lord’, "I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isa 49:6) Jesus himself hinted at this in Matt. 8:11, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” And again in John 10:16, Jesus said, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” So, there had been clues . . . but the whole scope of God’s plan had not been fully laid out, until NOW!
Next, Paul Identifies His Mission
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
Paul’s is a “Grace-Motivated” Ministry! Its worth pointing out that Paul saw himself as nothing special- the ‘least of all God’s people.’ Yet he recognized that God had given him a special grace to be able to preach to the Gentiles this message of Christ...the
‘unsearchable riches of Christ’...to make it known to everyone! He had the incredible honor or taking the gospel to people who were lost – to share the love of God with people who knew nothing of that love. The Gentiles had for thousands of years kept separate from God’s plan – by His own people who didn’t understand the mystery of that plan. But Paul had the honor of revealing the final twist – God’s love is for everyone – the entire world – Jew and Gentile, brought together into one church. This wasn’t a burden for Paul! It was a wonderful privilege to be entrusted with this gospel message! And even though he was in chains because of it - he still saw it as a grace!
I feel the same way as your pastor here at Gateway Community Church. It’s not because I’m so good or qualified, but because of God’s grace that He has given me this privilege to serve you. Last week, you humbled me and honored me on Pastor Appreciation Sunday – but I must tell you that all the glory goes to God. Being involved in Ministry is a GRACE! When he was forced to retire from baseball by a mysterious disease that today bears his name, Lou Gehrig said, “Today I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” because he had had the privilege to wear Yankee pinstripes. Let me tell you something – playing baseball for the New York Yankees doesn’t hold a candle to a guy like me being able to be your pastor. Paul feels the same way – for God to use a failed, flawed, sinful human to be His minister is beyond luck – it is GRACE – it is an undeserved privilege. Bu it’s not just my privilege, and it wasn’t just Paul’s, he goes on to describe your mission.
Finally, Paul Identifies Our Mission
10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with
freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. (NIV)
Remember, Paul is in prison! While he’s in prison, he’s writing to encourage the church that his mission is theirs and ours as well! God’s intention all along was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known.” It is now our mission to be revealing the mystery of God to the world. The church not only reveals the mystery of God to the world – we even make His mystery known to the spirit world! Even the angels learn of God’s mystery through the ministry of the church!
So who is ‘the church?’ Paul didn’t say, “His intent was that now through the wonderful and talented pastors, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known.” Or “Through the wise and prudent elders, the wisdom would be made known . .” NO! He said this is the church’s mission! How does a church accomplish this? Some might say, “Well, we can’t tell anybody the good news if they won’t come to church.”
Folks, the church is YOU! That old hand exercise we learned as kids . .. “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the door & see all the people” . . is WRONG! The church is the people! For many of us, the church is a place that ‘puts on services.’ We’ve GOT to move beyond this understanding and rediscover God’s intent for the church! The church is the body of saved individuals who assemble together to lift Him up in praise, to embody the unity that God models and to be His hands and feet in a lost and dying world! It’s not about hiring a preacher or appointing a director of evangelism to go out and do it! If it’s the responsibility of the church, it’s the responsibility of all of us – each and every one of us!
So, how do we do it? One method that we’ve tried for years and we know doesn’t work: wait for them to come to us. If we know it doesn’t work, why is that typically how we do evangelism? I saw somewhere the definition of ‘stupid’: doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Did you hear the General down in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago? When the reporters kept asking him who was to blame for the slow response, he kept telling them that he was not answering questions about blame – there would be plenty of time later for that – but they kept asking – until he finally said to one of them “Are you stuck on stupid? I said I am not going to answer that question! Don’t be stuck on stupid!”
Sometimes we get “stuck on stupid.” We try the same old stuff and it doesn’t work!
Paul didn’t wait on unbelievers to come to him! He didn’t learn the mystery of the good news and then sit back to see who came to hear it. He went to them and took the message to where they were! What are we doing to take the message to the community? Now, part of that might be inviting them to come to our services - most won’t come unless invited. That’s just the way many people are. Most people are just waiting to be asked! Listen to these statistics:
Who have you invited? It’s up to you and me. We have a job to do and it involves sharing the good news about the Jesus Christ with others- your family, friends and neighbors. You are uniquely qualified for the job, because there is no one else like you. You have opportunities each week that I don’t have, that no one else will have - opportunities that God has uniquely given to you. What will you do with them? Will you keep the mystery, or will you complete your mission?
During the summer we joined together for 26 days of fasting for 206 people by 2006. Can we all just sit back now and wait for people to start flocking in and filling the chairs? NO! It falls on each of us to be the answer to those prayers – to go out and do the inviting, the sharing and the revealing of the grace of God to those people who will be filling these chairs one day!
Fortunately, the future of the church is in God’s hands. But the mission of the church is in ours. We sow and water, but God gives the increase. This is God’s church, not ours. Our confidence is in Him, not ourselves! So Paul says to the Ephesians, “don’t worry about me. The mission of the church is bigger than anyone of us! The good news will be spread whether I’m in prison or not!”
What are you doing to be a part of this mission? What is your part in revealing this mystery to those around us? The wall, which has divided people from God, has been broken down! And that is Good News!
I was working as an executive Chef for Holiday Inn when the bar manager came up to me in the middle of the event, as I was carving a Prime Rib and whispered in my ear, “The Berlin Wall is being torn down right now!” CNN was right there to broadcast it to the world. It was one of those moments you never thought you’d see, but didn’t want to miss. That wall had divided families and a nation, it symbolized the oppression of communism for 40 years, and when it came down it was a historic event.
When Christ died, the wall that separated us from God came tumbling down. No human hands clawed at it – God had to do the work – it was the most important event in human history. But CNN is not going to be broadcasting THIS NEWS! That’s up to us! What are you doing to broadcast it? Who do YOU know needs to hear about that?
This then, is God’s great mystery – through the work of Jesus on the Cross – you can be part of God’s new race – the church, and you can have the honor of sharing that news with the world.