Ephesians 3:2-12 (NIV) Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 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. 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.
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 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, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 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, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Do you enjoy a good mystery? Whether it is a play or a book, many people enjoy wondering, “Who did it?” Recently I stood near the spot where John F. Kennedy was shot, and joined with those in wondering if Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole assassin, if so why he did it. Apparently that question is still a topic of great discussion among many people. Whether it is a real life or fictional mystery, people interested in mysteries often ask, “Who did it? Why? And How?”
In order to discover who did it and how, it often takes many hours of painstaking investigation. Unlike television shows that wrap up most mysteries in an hour or so, it often takes much longer to resolve unsolved crimes. Perhaps you are one that likes to solve mysteries.
There is one mystery that remained completely unsolvable by human beings. That was the mystery of how God was going to save all people, why he would do so and through whom. Although the promise was made to Adam and Eve that one of her own children would provide salvation to all people, people wondered for thousands of years how this would happen, through whom it would happen, and why it would happen. Once the mystery is revealed, what importance is there in knowing the answer to this mystery? Do we have any responsibility toward the revealing of this mystery? As we consider the mystery of which Paul speaks today, he has an urgent message for all of us:
Make known the Mystery
1. We all share in the promise of Christ Jesus
2. God wants his mystery made known through you
Despite repeated promises, from Adam and Eve down through all the prophets, it had become a mystery as to how the Gentiles would make it into heaven. God makes it clear in his Word that he wants all people to be saved, and that includes all people from Adam down to the last person ever born on this earth. God chose one nation, the nation of Israel, to bring this Desire of Nations to the world. Over the course of time, the nation of Israel misunderstood and misrepresented their purpose to the world. They were to be conveyors of this promise to others, but in the process they came to the mistaken conclusion that they would be the only nation to be saved. What they were to share with others became a hidden mystery to the Gentiles, so that even many Gentile nations thought that only the Jewish people would be saved. The nation of Israel had a responsibility to make the mystery known, and in many ways they failed in that responsibility. They kept for themselves what everyone needed to know. When they didn’t see the need to share this mystery with others, they also lost the meaning of this mystery.
That’s why God raised up people like Paul, to once again make this mystery known to all people, Jews and gentiles alike. The administration of God’s grace was given to the Apostle Paul. What an awesome task. The responsibility for making sure that others knew about the undeserved love of God was given to the Apostle Paul. Would you like that responsibility? If it was up to you to let the world know about God’s grace, how would you go about doing so? The administration of God’s grace was given to Paul. Included among those who needed to hear of God’s grace were the Ephesians to whom Paul was writing.
The mystery that was not being made known was the mystery that was clearly pointed out by the Spirit of God. Unlike mysteries that human beings might be able to solve, the mystery of how Jew and Gentile alike could be saved in the same way, by the same means, could only be solved by the Spirit. The Spirit clearly made it known that all people, including all Gentiles should know this message.
We’ve known this mystery our whole lives, right? It’s not like there is anything new here for us. Have we ever thought that somehow, maybe because of national background, that we are more deserving of the Gospel than other nations or other peoples? After all, we might think, we listened to it and believed it, while others did not. If that thinking should cross our minds, if we think that we are more deserving of hearing the Gospel, and others, because of their race or economic level or age or whatever, are less deserving, how much different are we than the Jewish people who thought the same? Remember what happened to the Jewish nation when they thought that they were more deserving? They stopped preaching it to others, and in the process, many of them lost the promise for themselves. “This mystery is that through the Gospel, German-Americans, and African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans and people from all nations, no matter what their national heritage or economic level, all are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus.”
Paul’s purpose in life was clear. He says it this way to the Colossians (2:2-3 NIV): “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The very reason that Paul existed was found in making people rich, rich in the complete understanding of the mystery of God. This mystery of God is Christ. It is in Christ that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. The more people knew about Christ Jesus, the more they would know about mystery of God. Rather than having to solve the mystery for himself, God had sent his Holy Spirit to solve this mystery for Paul. God had made this mystery known to Paul, and as Paul realized how rich he was in Christ, he wanted to do everything throughout his life to make other people rich in Christ Jesus.
There is a reason that we spend so much time focusing our minds and thoughts on Jesus and what he has done for us. Martin Luther put it this way: “The church (which is a matter of the Spirit) is not born or preserved, it cannot exist, work, conquer, continue, or do any other [suitable] thing unless it is based on its foundation which is Christ alone; that is, the church must have Christ for its ruler, who rules it through faith, the Spirit, and the other gifts of his Spirit. From this it necessarily follows that [only] such preaching and teaching which are concerned exclusively with these matters and these mysteries should be done in the church; for only that should be preached in the church by which alone it is preserved and continues to exist. Therefore one should preach Christ alone and establish him as foundation, and teach the faith and those matters which are related to the faith, as Paul has said above: “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord.” ”
We continually focus on Christ because only a focus on Christ truly builds the church. It may be very tempting to focus on the individual, as much of our culture does at the moment, but focusing on the individual does not build the church. God’s church is built when it focuses on Christ.
Paul realized how undeserving he was of God’s grace in Christ. “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.” Rather than considering himself better than other people, Paul recognized that he was the least of all the Lord’s people. Rather than build up his own self-esteem, he recognized how undeserving he was of God’s grace. Before God brought Paul to faith, Paul had actively persecuted God’s people. He held the coats for those who stoned Stephen while he made the good confession about Jesus Christ. Paul wanted to go from door to door and throw anyone into prison who preached about Jesus Christ. God showed him the error of his way. Jesus showed him that Paul was really persecuting him by persecuting Christians. That’s why Paul felt that he was the less than the least of all the Lord’s people.
Not only did God bring Paul to faith, showing him that Jesus died for his sins of persecuting Christians, God gave Paul this special privilege: the privilege of sharing with the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ. As Paul had been poor, so they were poor miserable sinners. As Jesus had suffered and died for Paul, so Jesus had suffered and died for the Gentiles. As Paul had been made eternally rich in Christ, so the Gentiles had been made eternally rich in Christ.
Paul was not the only one who had been given the privilege of proclaiming the boundless riches of Christ to the Gentiles. Paul wants to make it plain to everyone the administration of this mystery. Paul understood God’s intent: “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, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” How is the wisdom of God, which is high and long and deep and wide, how is this wisdom to be made known to all people? God’s wisdom is to be made known through the church. That’s you. That’s you and everyone else who believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior. God has given the privilege of letting other people know how rich they are in Christ to you.
It’s not like we have to figure out the mystery. God’s Spirit has been at work in us just like it was at work in the Apostle Paul. We are as undeserving of God’s love in Christ as was the Apostle Paul. None of us has ever or will ever deserve to go to heaven by who we are or what we have done. God has given us his glorious riches in Christ because he loves us. We know what God has done to save us. His only Son, our Creator, has suffered and died in our place. We know for whom God has sent his Son. The angel Gabriel made it clear that this Savior is for all people. We know what is in store for all who believe in Jesus. Now, let’s make this mystery known to all people!
Perhaps you made a New Year’s Resolution. For some, maybe it didn’t take us long to break it. Would there be anything wrong with adopting this resolution: “I resolve to make known the mystery of Christ in 2008!” Maybe that means identifying someone in your life who needs Jesus or just needs to get closer to Jesus. Maybe that means bringing that person to worship with us as often as possible. Maybe it means saying, “If you’d like, I’ll take the Bible Information Course with you. Let’s learn about Jesus together.” Maybe it means just being as friendly as we can with the people coming into church. Maybe it means finding out about the WELS Kingdom Worker Volunteer opportunities here in the US and around the world. Maybe it means just explaining to someone that they are exceedingly rich in Jesus, our Savior.
In whatever way we can, God calls on us to make known this mystery. The only mystery that all need to know for heaven is how rich they are in Jesus Christ. May the newborn baby Jesus bless us with his love that God’s grace may be known to all. Amen.
