Paul, A Truly Blessed Man (Ephesians 3:1-14) Series

Over the last few weeks, we've read what Paul has to say about this huge, cosmic plan that God has for the world. Before God sent Jesus, this cosmos was a terrible mess. There was a dividing wall of sin that existed between God and people. There was a dividing wall that separated out Jew from Gentile. And there was a cosmic battle, with seemingly no certain outcome, between spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. God has a family of spiritual beings who live faithfully toward him, and we get just a hint of that this week (Ephesians 3:14). And there is also this group of spiritual beings who have rebelled against God, and actively oppose God's plan for the world. Paul calls this group the rulers and authorities and powers. And on top of that group, lies Satan, who is the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Eph. 2:2).

So that's the mess that the universe was in, before Jesus. All of creation was fractured, and in conflict. And Jesus is God's victory, in all of those areas. Jesus defeated the rebellious spiritual forces in the heavenlies, and sits at God's right hand above them. We, in Christ, sit with Jesus in the same place, above those powers. We, in Christ, live as a forgiven people, who are freed from slavery to Sin. We, in Christ, live in peace with one another. All the ways that we divide each other up, by gender, or politics, or race, or wealth, or Jew and Gentile-- all those things are torn down, in Christ. And we, in Christ, are in the process of becoming God's house. We are the place God calls home on earth. And God did all of that for us while we were terrible, ugly people, who were far from God, who had rebelled against him. God sent Jesus to die for our sins, to die in our place, so that we could be freed, and forgiven, and accepted in God's family.

All of this is the gospel-- the good news about what God has done in Christ.

So in chapters 1-2, Paul has explained all of this at some length. He could say more, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Now, Paul knows that all of this is heavy, and big. He knows it's a lot to take in. And he knows that all of this can

only be understood if the Holy Spirit helps. Earlier, Paul prayed that God would give the church the Spirit of revelation and understanding, so that their hearts would be enlightened, and so that they'd be able to understand God's plan.

It's at this point, that Paul has every intention of writing down a second ongoing prayer that he offers to God, for them. This is something we need the Holy Spirit's help, if we're going to understand it, and if it's going to hit us the way it should. But Paul finds himself turning, and talking about something different, instead.

Let's start today by reading just the first four words of Ephesians 3:1:

(1) For this reason, I

Now, let's skip down to Ephesians 3:14-- the last verse in the handout:

(14) For this reason, I bend my knee before the Father, from whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named."

Do you see how verse 1, and verse 14, start the same way? "For this reason, I." Verse 14 is what Paul planned to write next. If you took out all of Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul makes perfect sense.

But instead of writing the prayer he offers on their behalf, this is what we read in verses 1-2:

For this reason, I-- Paul, the prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you nations/Gentiles--if indeed you heard about the stewardship of the grace/ministry of God given to me for you--

Paul catches himself after writing "I," I think because it occurs to him that not everyone he's writing to actually knows who he is. At the start of the letter, in Ephesians 1:1, Paul addresses the church in Ephesus, and all of the holy ones. There's kind of two separate groups. And the consensus among scholars is that Paul intended this letter to be read in multiple churches, across a bigger geographical area (Asia Minor). Some of the Christians Paul writes to will know who he is. We read in Acts 19-20 that Paul was in Ephesus for 2 years (Acts 19:10). But churches change over time. We don't look the same as we did 10 years ago. New people become disciples of Jesus. Sometimes, Christians move to town, and join our church. And with this letter, Christians 50 miles away from Ephesus might only have a vague sense of who this Paul guy is.

So Paul hits the brakes on his letter, basically, and talks a bit about himself, and much more importantly, he talks about the ministry that God has given him.