The Mystery In Christ
Text: Eph. 3:1-13
Introduction
1. Illustration: Everybody loves a good mystery. My personal favorite is Sherlock Holmes. He would solve the most baffling cases using what he referred to as pure deductive reasoning.
2. The apostle Paul loved a good mystery too. However, the mystery he preferred had nothing to do with who killed whom, but about who gives new life.
3. In our text today, he talks about:
a. The revelation of the mystery.
b. The implementation of the mystery.
c. The exaltation of the mystery.
4. Read Ephesians 3:1-13
Proposition: The mystery that Paul talks about is God’s plan to include everyone who wants to serve Him.
Transition: First, Paul talks about...
I. The Revelation of the Mystery (1-5)
A. God Revealed His Mysterious Plan
1. Paul begins this chapter "When I think of all this. . ."
a. What he is doing is referring back to what he has already written.
b. When he thinks about our spiritual blessings in Christ.
c. When he thinks about God’s free gift of grace that has been bestowed upon all people.
d. When he thinks about the peace of Christ that is available to all who believe.
e. When he thinks of all of this, it makes what he is now going through worthwhile.
2. What he is going through is that he is "a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . ."
a. I want you to notice something. Paul at this time is under house arrest in Rome, but he does not say that he is a prisoner of Caesar.
b. He is in prison because of the Jews in Jerusalem, but he does not say he is a prisoner of the Jews.
c. He says that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
d. Whatever he did and wherever he went were under Christ’s control.
e. Without his Lord’s consent, he was not subject to the plans, power, punishment, or imprisonment of any man or government (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
3. Paul not only had the realization that his steps were ordered by God, but that he had a mission.
a. He was not just in prison for his own sake but for the sake of those he was called to serve - the Gentiles.
b. He talks about having the "special responsibility" of extending God’s grace to them.
c. The word being translated here refers both to the office of being a steward and to the carrying out of the responsibility (Snodgrass, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Ephesians, 159).
d. Paul is a steward in charge of God’s grace. If he fails in his task, the Gentiles will be deprived of God’s grace.
4. He says, "God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me."
a. Here is where we get into the idea of a mystery. However, the concept of mystery to those in Biblical times is quite different from the way we think of it today.
b. When we think of a mystery, we think of something that is hidden that we need to discover for ourselves - like Sherlock Holmes.
c. In their "context it refers to what is known only because God revealed it" (Snodgrass, 159).
d. Therefore, it wasn’t something we had to figure out for ourselves, but God himself revealed it to us.
e. His mysterious plan was to include all people, even the Gentiles, in His free gift of salvation.
f. Peter 3:9 (NASB)
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
5. Paul tells us "God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets."
a. It had been God’s plan all along to include the Gentiles in His gift of grace.
b. Genesis 12:3 (NLT)
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
c. However, the ones to whom God chose to bless the world did not realize it.
d. Consequently, since Jesus came and gave his life on the cross, thus making salvation possible, God has revealed the fact that His salvation is for anyone who chooses to receive it.
B. God’s Desire
1. Illustration: In July of 2005, Angelina Jolie adopted a little Ethiopian child. While she was touring drought and disease and famine stricken Ethiopia, she got the idea that although she couldn’t do every child in Africa a favor, she could grant favor to one child. So she stepped out of her world and into the world of this little girl whose existence was difficult at best. Can you imagine the difference in the life of this little girl before Jolie adopted her and after the adoption. Jolie chose her. She showed favor to her. Her life, once deprived, now had abundance. Her life, once without any real future, not exploded with possibility. What a difference it can be when someone who has everything shows favor to someone who may not have very much.
2. On the other hand, God has done all of us a favor.
a. He has given people who did not deserve it the greatest favor of all by sending His son to die for our sins.
b. He has given stubborn and rebellious people a second chance.
c. He has given helpless and hopeless people a way out of their circumstances.
3. He has given a great gift to people who could never repay him.
a. Isaiah 64:6 (NLT)
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
b. Even at our best, we could not even come close to meeting God’s righteous standard.
c. We owed a price we could not pay; He payed a price he did not owe.
4. God’s precious gift of salvation and grace is for everyone and not just a select few.
a. Revelation 5:9 (NLT)
And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
b. No one who calls on the name of the Lord will be left out.
c. No one who asks for fogiveness will be excluded.
d. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Transition: Not only has God revealed His plan, but He has also implemented His plan.
II. The Implementation of the Mystery (6-9)
A. Gave Me the Privilege
1. Paul now gets into what exactly God revealed. He says "And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus."
a. The Jews are God’s chosen people, but He has also chosen to adopt us into His family.
b. Not only has God adopted us, but also He has given us the same rights and privileges as His other children.
c. Illustration: When we lived in Arkansas, I was amused by many of the quaint sayings that people had there. One of my favorites was "I’ll slap you around like you’re a red-headed stepchild." The point of the saying is that this person is not quite accepted as part of the family.
d. However, it’s not that way with God. Once He accepts you as one of His children, you are full member of the family.
2. The way God chose to implement this plan was through Paul. Paul says, "By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News."
a. Paul had been made a servant because of "the gift of God’s grace."
b. "Grace" in this verse does not relate to Paul’s salvation, but to his ministry. Through grace, he became a servant of the gospel.
c. Grace not only connects us to God and Christ and to each other, but it also enlists and empowers us ( Snodgrass, 162).
d. Paul considered this a privilege, but it was a privilege that compelled him.
3. Part of the reason that Paul considered this a privilege was that he did not feel worthy of this task. In verse 8, he says, "Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ."
a. Because he had persecuted the church, Paul felt that he was the least of the least.
b. The term least deserving is a comparative, indicating less than the least.
c. That was not mock humility but his honest assessment of himself (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
d. Therefore, he considered it a privilege that God gave him such an important task.
4. Not only did he consider it a privilege to be chosen to implement God’s plan, but to share with them "the endless treasures available to them in Christ."
a. Paul means the unfathomable or inexhaustible resources available in Christ — that is, the grace and power for salvation, for life, and for bringing all things into unity (Snodgrass, 162).
b. Not only does God’s plan reveal that we are accept by God, but also that we are given an endless set of resources because we are accepted.
c. Ephesians 1:3 (NLT)
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
d. We are not just a bunch of street urchins, but also children of the King of Kings, with all of the resources of the Kingdom at our disposal.
B. The Result of the Implementation
1. Illustration: A number of years ago Orel Hirschheiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series, & Orel had been named “The most valuable player of the series.” One of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th inning started. He was leaning against the wall & his lips were moving. It was obvious that he was saying something to himself. Therefore, when he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked him what he had been saying. “I wasn’t saying anything,” Orel responded. “Well, then, tell us what you were doing.” Finally, Orel replied, “I was singing.” “You were singing?” Johnny said. “I didn’t know you were a singer.” “Aw,” Orel said, “I’m not.” Johnny persisted, “What were you singing? Sing it for us now.” “Nah, I don’t want to sing.” But by that time the audience was chiming in with “C’mon, sing it, sing it to us!” Finally, Orel Hirschheiser started to sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.” And Johnny Carson was speechless. The whole audience was dead silent. Then one person started clapping, & soon the whole audience joined in applause.
2. We need to realize who we are in Christ.
a. In Christ, we are people of blessing.
b. In Christ, we are people of power.
c. In Christ, we are people of authority.
3. We also need to realize who we are without Christ.
a. John 15:5 (NLT)
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
b. Without Him, we can do nothing.
c. Without Him, we are nothing.
d. Without Him, we are powerless.
e. Without Him, we will shrivel and die.
4. Because we have been accepted we are blessed.
a. Blessed with grace.
b. Blessed with salvation.
c. Blessed with abundance.
d. Blessed with gifts.
e. Blessed with everything the Kingdom has to offer.
5. With blessing comes responsibility.
a. Like Paul, we are privileged to be chosen to serve.
b. Like Paul, with that privilege comes responsibility.
c. Our privilege should compel us to share the gospel.
d. Our privilege should compel us to be His witnesses.
Transition: God has revealed His plan, implemented His plan, and He has exalted His plan.
III. The Exaltation of the Mystery (10-13)
A. Unseen Rulers and Authorities
1. In verse 10, Paul explains God’s purpose in this plan as "to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."
a. The focus in Ephesians on "the rulers and authorities" has to do with evil powers, not good angels or human institutions (Snodgrass, 164).
b. What he is saying is that it was God’s purpose to use the church to show His enemies, those evil forces that oppose Him, that He has accepted everyone who will receive Him.
c. He is not going to exclude people based on their race, nationality, or social standing.
d. Basically, God is saying to the Devil "you can’t have them!"
e. God’s purpose was to exalt Himself by saying "I can take this cross section of all people and make one unified people called the Church of Jesus Christ."
2. Paul says, "This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord."
a. The word translated "eternal" has to do with an unlimited duration of time Greek (Louw and Nidda, English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. In other words, this was not an afterthought or a plan B, but this was God’s plan from the very beginning.
c. He carried out this plan through Christ Jesus.
d. Everything that God does goes through Jesus.
e. Acts 4:12 (NLT)
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
f. Jesus is not a way to salvation, but He is the only way to salvation!
3. Paul goes on to say, "Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence."
a. In Judaism, only the high priest could enter the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, and that but briefly once a year on the Day of Atonement. For anyone else to come into God’s presence meant instant death.
b. But now Paul says, every person who comes to Christ in faith can come before God at any time and with boldness and confident access (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
c. Not only does God’s plan glorify and exalt Him, but it benefits us in that it gives us unlimited access to Him.
d. There is not longer and divider or a curtain to keep us from God, but through Jesus Christ we have free and unlimited access to God.
e. What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and grief’s to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.
B. We Are Part of God’s Plan
1. Illustration: The young husband was henpecked and he was going to a psychiatrist about the problem. The doctor told him, "You don’t have to let your wife bully you! Go home and show her you’re the boss! The young man got home, slammed the door, shook his fist in his wife’s face, and growled, "From now on, you’re taking orders from ME! When I get home from work, I want my supper ON the table. I want my clothes laid out. I’m will be going out with the boys. Your will be staying home. And another thing. Do you know who’s going to tie my tie Yes she said: The undertaker.
2. Aren’t you glad that God has a better plan.
3. His plan is to use us to bring Him glory.
a. To show the Devil that He has the unlitmate authority.
b. To show the world that He has the power to transform lives.
c. To show us that He has accepted us right where we’re at.
4. His plan is to reconcile all people through Jesus Christ.
a. To redeem us from our sinful lives.
b. To set us free from the power of sin, hell, and the grave.
c. To bring us together as one people.
5. His plan is to give us open access to Him.
a. Prayer shouldn’t be a chore but a privilege.
b. Martin Luther said that as it is the job of a cobbler to mend shoes, it is the job of Christians to pray.
c. James said you have not because you ask not.
d. O what peace we often forfeit because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
e. God’s plan is to give us access to His throne, and if we do not take advantage of it, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Conclusion
1. The mystery in Christ has been:
a. revealed
b. implemented
c. exalted
2. Have you discovered the mystery of Christ?
3. Are you being a part of His plan?
4. Are you taking advantage of the benefits of the mystery?
