SERMON OUTLINE:
• (1). The Mystery Concealed (vs 1-5)
• (2). The Mystery Revealed (vs 6-9)
• (3).The Mystery Fulfilled (vs 10-11)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
Joke - Prison life versus a full-time job
• In prison you spend the majority of your time in an 8’ X 10’ cell.
• At work you spend most of your time in a 6’ X 8’ cubicle.
• In prison you get three meals a day.
• At work you only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for that one.
• In prison you get time off for good behaviour.
• At work you get rewarded for good behaviour with more work.
• In prison a guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
• At work you must carry around a security card and unlock and open all the doors yourself.
• In prison you can watch TV and play games.
• At work you get fired for watching TV and playing games.
• In prison they ball-and-chain you when you go somewhere.
• At work you are just ball-and-chained.
• In prison you get your own toilet.
• At work you have to share.
• In prison they allow your family and friends to visit.
• At work you cannot even speak to your family and friends.
• In prison all expenses are paid by taxpayers, with no work required.
• At work you get to pay all the expenses to go to work;
• And then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for the prisoners.
• In prison you spend most of your life looking through bars from the inside wanting to get out.
• At work you spend most of your time wanting to get out and inside bars.
• In prison you can join many programs which you can leave at any time.
• At work there are some programs you can never get out of.
• In prison there are wardens who are often sadistic.
• At work we have managers.
Well that may be humorous;
• But let me tell you as someone who has been inside prisons;
• (I might add) - visiting only to take prison Church services)
• Prison is a horrible place;
• And I would want to avoid it at all costs!
TRANSITION:
• Twice in this letter Paul reminds his readers that he is a prisoner;
• Chapter 3 verse 1 and chapter 4 verse 1.
• And at the close of the letter he calls himself an " ambassador in chains";
• Chapter 6 verse 20.
Question: Why was Paul a prisoner?
Answer: Because he took the good news of the gospel to Gentiles.
• If you read the book of Acts chapters 20-28:
• You will notice that every time Paul preached he upset the Jewish people;
• Joke: I preach and they serve tea at the end of the meeting;
• Paul reached and he caused riots!
• Now because of this message Paul was met by a flurry of opposition.
• (see Acts chapter 22 verses 21-22, chapter 26 verses 22-24, chapter 28 verses 28-29)
• For the sake of peaceful communities that apostle Paul was arrested;
• And for three years he was made a prisoner and held under house arrest.
• Don’t miss that – three very long frustrating years!
• Using his Roman citizenship Paul appealed to Caesar;
• And so he is in prison waiting to be sent to Rome, where he might appeal before Caesar.
Question: What was the message that upset those Jewish listeners?
Answer:
• The message that upset them was:
• That salvation had come to both Gentiles and Jews;
Question: Why did that message upset them?
Answer: Two reasons.
FIRST: Paul struck at the heart of the Jew’s sense of spiritual privilege.
• They were God’s chosen ones.
• They were the recipients of God’s Law.
• They were the ones through whom God communicated to the world.
• They were his children and not like the ‘Unclean’ Gentiles.
• The very thought;
• That they were no longer the unique people of God aroused their anger!
• And they vented that anger against Paul and his companions.
SECOND: Racial superiority.
• Bigotry injected its poison into their already prideful hearts.
• ill: Prayer prayed every day by Jewish men; “Thank you God you have not made me a Gentile”
• Jews often referred to Gentiles as ‘dogs’ as those who were ‘unclean’.
• And now these Jews are being told that ‘in Christ’ they are equals with Gentiles.
• And equal without any distinctions!
Question: Was God’s message stopped by Paul’s imprisonment?
Answer: Not at all!
• While in prison Paul wrote four letters;
• Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
• God worked through Paul’s imprisonment for the Good.
• These four letters not only impacted the world of the New Testament;
• But continue to shape our lives today!
CHAPTER 3:
• In chapter 3 of Ephesians we learn more about the message and ministry;
• That put the apostle Paul in Jail.
(1). The Mystery Concealed (vs 1-5)
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
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.
Notice in verse 2 how Paul describes his ministry to the Gentiles:
• NIV: “The administration of God’s grace”.
• LB: “The special responsibility of extending his grace”
• KJB: “The dispensation of the grace of God”.
God entrusted the apostle Paul with a message of grace:
Ill:
• In an old Dennis the Menace cartoon,
• Dennis and his little friend Joey are leaving Mrs. Wilson’s house,
• Their hands full of cookies.
• Joey says to Dennis, "I wonder what we did to deserve this."
• Dennis answers,
• "Look, Joey. Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we’re nice, but because she’s nice."
• I think of that carton as a simple picture of grace:
• God saved us not because we were nice and deserved it;
• But because he is nice and he loves us!
God entrusted the apostle Paul with a message of grace:
• That message was given to Paul to take to the Gentiles.
• Question: How did he get that message?
• Answer: By revelation.
• Verse 3: “The mystery made known to me by revelation”.
• It was not Paul’s idea to go and preach to the Gentiles;
• This was a message that came to him direct from God.
• i.e. Acts chapter 26 verse 17-18 – Paul giving his testimony to King Agrippa..
“And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles.
Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles 18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.
Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’”
Notice: Paul uses the word ‘Mystery’ in verse 2 of Ephesians chapter 3.
• In fact he uses that word ‘mystery’ three times in this chapter;
• Verse 3, verse 4 & verse 6.
• And six times in the whole letter.
• (chapter 1 verse 9, chapter 5 verse 32 , and chapter 6 verse 19)
Question: What does Paul mean by that word ‘mystery’?
Answer:
• We need to remember that our English word and this Greek word translated ‘mystery’;
• Do not have the same meaning:
• In English the word, “mystery” might make us think of Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes etc.
• In English a ‘mystery’ is something dark, obscure, secret, puzzling.
• In English a ‘mystery’ is something that you cannot explain, it is baffling.
• But a ‘mystery’ in the New Testament is the opposite of that:
• It is something that was hidden by God in times past;
• But now he has revealed it in his word to those who are in His family – the Church.
• In other words a ‘mystery’ was a closely guarded secret;
• But now that secret has been revealed, it has been made known.
• Quote: “A mystery is a "sacred secret" that is unknown to unbelievers,
• But understood and treasured by the people of God.”
(2). The Mystery Revealed (vs 6-9)
“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.
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”.
Note: Verse 6 is stunning – don’t miss it!
“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”.
• Notice the three-fold emphasis in that verse:
• ‘Heirs together’, ‘Members together’ & ‘Sharers together’.
• Three times Paul emphasises the equal footing that Gentiles now have with Jews;
• Because of Jesus Christ.
• Previous generations had been told about the coming of a Messiah;
• But they assumed he was a Jewish Messiah for the Jewish people.
• What a surprise it was (an unwelcome one for many of them);
• When they discovered that this Jewish Messiah was for BOTH Jew and Gentile.
• Three times Paul emphasises the equal footing that Gentiles now have with Jews;
• Because of Jesus Christ.
• Human birth may bring racial distinctions,
• But supernatural birth erases them!
• ill: When it comes to sport I proudly sport England whenever they play.
• ill: I will support Team GB at the Olympics.
• ill: But never forget - I (and every Christian) left my/their nationality at the cross!
In verses 6-7 Paul reminds us once again that he was made a guardian of this mystery:
• This message that:
• In Christ Gentiles now have an equal standing with Jews;
• The apostle Paul says he was chosen to be the guardian of this message:
• Not because he had superior qualifications!
• But according to verse 7&8 it was because of ‘God’s grace given to me’
Ill:
• Remember the unconverted Paul (Saul of Tarsus);
• Had all the same bigotry and Jewish prejudices;
• That those Jews who demanded his arrest had!
That is why in verse 8 he calls himself ‘The least of all God’s people’.
• Paul never forgot that before his conversion he was a persecutor of Christians.
• He was a very religious and very angry Jew who vented his anger against Christians!
• He tells us in verse 7 it took the ‘grace of God’ and ‘his power’
• To change this man of hate into the apostle of love – a messenger to the Gentiles.
• God by ‘his grace’ turned the persecutor into the preacher!
(3).The Mystery Fulfilled (vs 10-13)
“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.
Verses 10-11 Paul tells us that:
• God’s whole purpose in Paul’s preaching, teaching and praying ministry;
• Was that the Church should be built up;
• So that it can declare ‘the manifold wisdom of God’
ill
• That word ‘manifold’ means ‘multi coloured’;
• It’s the idea of variety, multiple, various, assorted.
• God’s wisdom is so rich you cannot ever exhaust it;
• It is so ‘manifold’ it meets each and every situation.
Did you notice in verse 10 that this message of the ‘unsearchable riches of Christ’.
• Doesn’t just impact our world;
• But it also impacts the spiritual realm as well.
• Quote: John Stott comments:
• “The history of the Christian Church becomes a graduate schools for angels”.
• In other words the spiritual realms look on and learn;
• They witness the redeeming and the reuniting work of Christ;
• Through the Church in the world.
Question: Is that what the angels see when they look at your Church & your life?
• If I understand these verses right then the mystery is only fulfilled;
• When God’s people act like His people.
• We do that by going into the world;
• And through words and actions share the love of God with everyone (ne exceptions).
• Our collective mandate is to take the gospel to the world.
• As individual members of the body,
• Our mandate is to do whatever is necessary to contribute to His overall mission goal.
• We accomplish this mandate first as individuals
• And second as a unified body.
Paul then ends this little section of Ephesians chapter 3;
• By focussing on Christ;
• By encouraging his fellow Christians.
Notice in verse 11 that little expression ‘eternal purpose’.
• In other words the message of we declare has eternal roots.
• Before Adam and Eve, before the animals, before the plants, before there was even light.
• God planned to bring salvation and unity through Jesus Christ.
• The scriptures teach us that:
• God planned it. The Son implemented it, and the Spirit empowered it.
• The triune God planned before the beginning of time;
• That he would declare this message through his Church.
• That in itself is awesome;
• And in the next verse (12) it gets even better!
• “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
• Because our roots are in Christ we have a secure relationship with the Father:
Ill:
• If you listen to the radio station ‘Talk Sport’;
• You may have heard the competition that they recently offered.
• The winner of the competition got to spend the day with Lionel Messi
• Probably the best footballer on planet earth at this moment in time.
• Not only could you enjoy his company for the day;
• But you had full access to the Barcelona stadium and changing rooms.
• In other words because of your attachment to one man;
• You had access to places that other people can only dream about!
• Verse 12 is telling every Christian that they are a winner!
• Because of their attachment to one man – Jesus Christ.
• You had access to God’s presence – to a place that other people can only dream about!
That is why Paul puts a ‘Therefore’ at the beginning of verse 13:
• ‘Therefore’ always means ‘in view of what I have just said’.
• No suffering, no hardship, no problem can take that away from us.
• Paul could say in verse 13 that his sufferings were for their ‘glory’.
• In other words through his sufferings;
• He was able to share the message of Jesus Christ with Gentiles.
• If he had not shared that message they would still be in spiritual darkness;
• They would still be strangers and aliens without hope.
• But instead they were now fellow heirs, members
• And sharers (partakers) in Christ’s unfathomable riches.
• By grace Paul made known God’s grace to the Gentiles.
• By grace, Christ made Jew and Gentile one in his Church.
• And by grace, we, Christ’s Church,
• Proclaim the riches of God’s grace to the next generation.
Ill:
• During World War II, Britons placed large signs;
• At the entrance to their munitions factories.
• The signs carried only five letters: "IADOM."
• A stranger in England during that time probably didn’t understand what the signs meant.
• But the British people knew that the letters were an abbreviation for the words,
• "It all depends on me."
• It was a slogan to remind them that they were fighting for their land and their lives,
• That victory depended on them – they played a key role!
Listen folks:
• We are PLAN A for reaching, Hampshire, England, Europe, the world for Jesus Christ!
• There is no PLAN B!
• Our major emphasis may be local, i.e. church, community etc
• But if we are to be biblical then we must think world!
