Mystery Unraveled
Ephesians Series
CCCAG, March 6, 2022
Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-13
I’ve always been a bit fascinated by magic.
Now I’m not talking about Harry Potter, casting spells, or witchcraft. I’m talking about illusion, magic tricks, Penn and Teller or David Copperfield type of magic. Where a person is able to fool the senses and do what seems to be the impossible.
I guess it triggers the part of my brain that needs to solve mysteries
I’m the kind of person that needs the answer to the puzzle.
It didn’t matter if it was something that really didn’t matter.
I’ve always been that way.
I remember a time in 5th grade I got sent to the office by my teacher because I wouldn’t let a subject drop and I insisted that she tell me the answer to the question.
It started with her seeing me stick my gum to the underside of my desk, and she was scolding me for it.
So, I asked the question- How come our gum sticks to the bottom of our desks.
She answered- “Because it’s sticky”
I asked, “What makes it sticky?”
She said, “It’s just the way it’s made”
I asked, “But why? What makes it sticky”
Now getting a bit flustered- Because of the ingredients it’s made out of”
Me- “Which ingredient is the sticky ingredient, and why is it sticky?”
She said, “That’s not the point, the point is I don’t want you to put your gum under the desk because it’s very hard to get it off”
Me- “But why is it sticky? Don’t you know the answer?”
Teacher- “Why don’t you go ask the principle in the office?”
I know what you are all thinking-
Yes, my being a nerd started at an early age.
But the thing is, looking back on it, God was putting something in me that would serve me well later in life.
It served me in the military
It really served me as a paramedic- asking the why question and not just treating what was in front of me.
It’s serving me really well as an RN.
And most importantly, it’s served me well as a bible teacher- asking the question, “Why?”
Do you know that God wants you to ask HIM that question?
You know-
It’s one of the things that makes the Christian religion unique- our God actively encourages us to reason with HIM, and allow truth to be made known to us.
God has always been that way. However, he has sometimes hidden certain truths from us until we can handle it.
Sometimes we are not at a maturity level to handle a big truth, and revealing that truth would be disastrous to us.
I like to use the comparison of handing a loaded pistol to a two year old and expecting them to remember the 4 rules of firearm safety. It’s probably not going to end well for anyone.
Similarly, God hides certain things from us until we have the maturity to handle those kinds of truth.
He does that as individuals
He does that with church’s, cultures, and even nations.
And, He has done that throughout biblical history.
Let me show you this- it will completely blow your mind.
Abraham is the father of the three great monotheistic religions on earth- Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
Yet, he didn’t know what you know today.
Moses, the greatest lawgiver who has ever lived. Every single person on earth lives under some form of the 10 commandments today. If anyone should know the secrets of God, it’s Moses.
But, he didn’t have even 10% of the competed picture that is available to you today.
King David or King Solomon, as mighty and wise as they were, only knew God as Adonai, or El Shaddai.
The greatest evangelist that ever lived was John the Baptist- he told the entire world of his time that Jesus was hear, yet Jesus said that you and I are greater than he was.
Why are we greater? Because we have the whole picture.
Old Testament people only had a small fraction of the whole puzzle, and the main picture it created always had holes in it. Particularly when it came to how God wanted to interact with all of us.
They thought it was all about religious ceremony.
Do this, do that, make sure you avoid that, and God will be happy.
God has never wanted that for His people- He wants to be Abba- Father.
Jesus didn’t teach us to pray- “Our distant, uninterested all mighty diety, hallowed be your name”
He said, pray Our Father….
That intimacy is what Paul is teaching the Ephesian church. He wants to be the God of the question, the God of your doubts, the God of your fears, and the God of every mystery or unanswered question you may ever have.
Today as we continue our study on Paul’s letter to the Ephesian’s, we will see how God used thousands of years of history to prepare the world for the arrival of His son as we explore the subject of the Marvelous Mystery.
Eph 3:1-13
3 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. 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.
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. 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.
Prayer
I mentioned a few moments ago that sometimes the things of God are hidden from us until we can handle them. This was also true in biblical history. This administration of God’s grace that we call the Gospel, or good news, has always been hinting at, even in the Old Testament.
I. Hidden in the Old Testament
Bible scholars say that the Old Testament is Jesus concealed, while the New Testament is Jesus revealed.
But why did God conceal his plan from the patriarchs, or the leaders of the Old Testament. Even the prophets didn’t have the whole picture, but only the snippet God gave them.
First thing we have to realize is that God has been superintending a restoration project since the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden.
People often ask- “What does God want?”
I say, to go back to Genesis chapter 2- walking in the garden with you and me- completely innocent of sin, and existing in perfect love with you and I.
I didn’t really realize this, even when I was in bible school studying for the ministry. Actually, I found the more I studied the bible, the more questions I had.
That was kind of distressing for me, because I thought I’d get to have all the mysteries I’ve always wondered about answered as I went through school.
As I was studying the subject of soteriology- which is the study of the order of salvation, a ton of questions popped into my mind as I mentally dissected all of the teaching on that subject from both sides.
What I thought would answer all of my questions was causing me to question even more.
What I didn’t realize then was that when humanity sinned, they completely marred the image of God that was stamped on their spirits.
Since the fall, humanity has tried dozens of different ways, all recorded in the Old Testament, of returning to God on their own.
But they never really asked God want He wanted. It was our peace, our comfort, our prosperity we were worried about, not the creator God’s.
Even the tabernacle, in all of it’s symbolic richness, didn’t come close to cleansing the heart of wickedness, or making the people more holy.
Hebrews 10 spells that out for us and comes to the conclusion that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin.
Why?
Why do we have thousands of different religions all trying to do the same thing but failing?
Let’s just take a look at a couple-
The one we hear the most about- Islam-
A 8th century offshoot of Arabic Judaism that rose in opposition to the spread of Christianity into the Middle East. Central beliefs is that through obedience to the Koran and Allah, one may achieve paradise through strict obedience to Islamic law and tradition.
In other words, it’s all up to your effort
Buddhism- it’s primary focus is to achieve enlightenment, which would be somewhat similar to our belief in heaven. Your deeds go into a scale that measures good and bad, and you achieve levels of karma, both good and bad that determines your level of reincarnation into a different form of existence or rebirth into a different form of yourself. Once you hit perfection, you become part of the universal force.
In other words, it’s all on your effort in life that determines your next life
Hinduism- God is part of all creation. He is as much in the rocks outside as he is in a temple. There are many deities, with Brahman being the chief of them. They also believe in reincarnation based on Karma. Yoga is practiced as a religious exercise, and they follow several religious books and writings of the Vega’s, or religious elite.
In other words, it’s all about your effort in this life that determines your next.
Judaism we know pretty well as Christians. They follow the same general principle we do except they don’t recognize Jesus as the savior messiah. You must follow the law of Moses, and follow the rules of your synagogue.
Again, all up to you.
And that is the problem.
Why can’t any of these man-made religions get you closer to God?
Because they never address the central problem.
Humanity was created in the perfect image of God. That image was dealt a death blow when humanity fell into sin.
What caused the fall?
Satan casting doubt in God’s word. “Did God really say?”
Same tactic the devil uses today- casting doubt on God’s word.
What saves us?
Believing in God’s word through the expression of Faith in Jesus.
That brings us to the New Testament- Jesus revealed-
II. Revealed in the New Testament
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.
The Gospel that saves us is that administration of God’s grace that Paul is talking about.
If you don’t know any other parts of the bible, become experts in Genesis chapter 3
that shows the problem
and John Chapter 3 that shows God’s solution,
and you will then be able to interpret not only the bible, but life as we see it today.
Genesis chapter 3 will show you the reality- you finally realize that all of humanity is fallen, incapable of true goodness in God’s eyes.
It will help you understand why there is war, why there is selfishness, why there is crime and why it is worse where people have tried to legislate a form of Godliness but kept God out of it.
What happened in those places like Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angles?
People living like animals, on the streets, using drugs and having sex in front of people. Homelessness is huge.
But the people running these cities will tell you- give us a little more power, a little more money, and we can fix it.
It’s really another man made religion- the religion of big government.
You can’t fix it if you never look at the source of the disease.
The disease is a lack of God. We try to cover it up with money, we try to get yet one more tax subsided program going thinking it will work but it never will and can’t fix the problem.
This is like giving a liver transplant to a raging alcoholic. Sure, they might feel better for a few weeks, but as soon as they pick up a bottle again they will start the process all over again.
This is why Paul spoke so powerfully about the power of the gospel. It’s the only thing that can fix this world and the people within it.
It’s why Jesus said in John 3-
John 3:3"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
Then he says something very important, and this will help you make sense of the world we live in-
Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
Flesh gives birth to flesh.
Apply that to life and the world we live in-
Can a fleshly, human government save us?
Nope
Can a man-made religion based on our performance save us?
Nope
Can a political candidate save us?
Definitely no- I don’t care how strong of a Christian they are, they won’t be able to overcome the fleshliness of their surroundings.
This is a spiritual problem that can only be cured through spiritual means.
The Gospel is that cure.
That administration of God’s grace is meant to address the central problem- that humanity carries with them the virus of sin, and it has made every single person a zombie to sin.
Only through believing and exercising faith in Jesus to save you can you be born again into the true life that God has for every person.
This is what God has always wante for us.
Bring us from death, and give us life.
In this message, I’ve tried to give you some answers as to some of life’s mysteries and why things happen the way they do.
Answers are great, but I also want to leave you with this-
III. Be comfortable with mystery.
God’s isn’t always going to give you the why.
What he does ask, is that you trust Him.
There was a song I heard early in my Christian life when I was struggling with many of the whys. I had just read though he bible for the first time, and had dozens of questions and it lead me to question this new faith I had found.
Then there was an Easter presentation we had at our church, and it pictured Mary questioning God’s purpose for Jesus.
There is a line in the song that says,
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When you can’t see his plan
When you can’t feel his hand
Trust His Heart.
I don’t know everything everyone is going through today, or what tomorrow might hold, but I encourage you to carry those words with you as you face your tomorrows.
Even if you don’t understand, trust HIS heart.
Landing Strip
Eph 3:12 In Jesus and through faith in Jesus we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Prayer
