The Greatness of God's Gospel
Ephesians 3:1-13
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Series: The Book of Ephesians
(Prepared April 8, 2024)
BACKGROUND:
*Today in Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul talks about the greatness of the "gospel." That's simply the "good news" about Jesus Christ. But before we read this passage we need to understand that Paul was about to write one of his greatest prayers for God's Church. This prayer was on Paul's mind in vs. 1, and he will return to it in vs. 14.
*But have you ever been talking about one thing, -- then gone to a completely different subject for a while? I've done that lots of times. And under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that's what Paul did here. One scholar I trust called today's Scripture "a parenthesis." Another called it one of Paul's "famous digressions." So today's Scripture is an important parenthesis on the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how God chose to reveal it to the world. With this background in mind, let's read Ephesians 3:1-13. (1)
MESSAGE:
*What is the greatest thing in the world today? If you asked ten people, you might get ten different answers. But nothing is more important to humanity than the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other hope for humanity. There is no other way for people to avoid spending eternity in hell. And in a nutshell, the good news is that just over 2,000 years ago, the eternal Son of God was born as a mortal man. When He was about 30, Jesus revealed Himself to the world by living a perfect life and working countless miracles. Then our perfect Savior died on the cross for our sins. But 3 days later, Jesus rose again forever from the dead, and now He offers everlasting life to everyone who will believe in Him.
*This is the gospel, and in today's Scripture, God's Word tells us about the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. FIRST, NOTICE THAT THE GOSPEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOD'S PLAN.
*The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been God's plan to save people, but this great news was a mystery for most of history. God did not reveal it until Jesus ascended back into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to reveal the mystery to the Lord's holy apostles and prophets.
*Paul explained this in vs. 1-5 and said:
1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles
2. if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3. how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in a few words,
4. by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
5. which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
*The good news about Jesus Christ was an unknown mystery for most of history. We saw this truth during our studies of the Great Tribulation. And part of the mystery was an unexpected gap in the schedule that God revealed to Daniel through the angel Gabriel. The prophet Daniel had been praying, confessing his sins and the sins of his people. And in answer to his prayers, the Lord sent Gabriel.
*Please listen to part of the angel's message from Daniel 9:24-26. Speaking about the Jewish people, Gabriel said:
24. Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
26. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself (Thank God for the cross!); and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
*These words were spoken to Daniel over 500 years before Jesus was born. And they are not talking about the church. They are talking about the Jews. The weeks there were weeks of years, and God's angel Gabriel was telling Daniel that there would be 70 times 7, or 490 years, to the Kingdom of the Messiah.
*This 490-year period began: "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." That occurred in 445 BC when the king of Persia issued a decree allowing the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. From that date, 7 weeks plus 62 weeks, gives a total of 69 weeks or 483 years to pass before the coming of Messiah the Prince.
*That left 7 years unaccounted for. The first 69 weeks ended when Jesus came, but the 70th week hasn't come yet. We know this because after those seven years, the Lord will return to rule the earth for a thousand years. Of course, that hasn't happened yet, and Daniel's 70th week, the 7-year period of the Great Tribulation must come first.
*So for over 2,000 years now there has been an unexpected gap for the church age. Thie church age was still very young when Paul wrote this letter, and in vs. 2 Paul called it "the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you." The original word there for "dispensation" means the "management," "oversight," or "administration of a household or an estate." That's why vs. 2 in the NIV shows Paul saying, "Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you."
*Down through the ages, God has had different dispensations in His plan for mankind. The easiest way for me to understand it is to think about the dispensers we have all around us today, like paper towel dispensers. They all put out paper towels, but they work differently. On some of them the paper towels just hang down, on some of them you have to push the handle down, and you only wave your hand near the newest dispensers. Those are different "dispensations."
*And over time, God has had different ways of dispensing His plan for humanity. But please understand that we are not talking about different ways of being saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells Christians, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
*God's plan of salvation has always been by grace through faith, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Old Testament believers were saved by God's grace through faith in the promise of the coming Messiah. Paul made this truth very clear in Romans 4:1-8. There the Apostle asked:
1. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?
2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something of which to boast, but not before God.
3. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.''
4. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
5. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
6. just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7. "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8. blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.''
*Old Testament believers were saved by God's grace through faith in the promise of the coming Messiah. New Testament believers are saved by grace through faith in the Messiah Jesus Christ who already came, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again forever from the dead.
*But over time, God has had different ways of dispensing His plan for mankind. For example, we can see a difference in the way things worked before the flood and after the flood. We can see a big shift from the way things operated under Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to the way things operated under the law in Moses' day. And now we are still in the dispensation of grace that Paul talked about here in vs. 2. Aren't you glad that we got to live in the age of grace!
*Remember that under Old Testament Law, God was almost completely unapproachable. God's visible glory was present over the Mercy Seat in the Temple at Jerusalem. But the Temple was divided by walls. The first wall held back the people of all other races and nations, the Gentiles. That's us. And Gentiles could only go as far as the outer court. Signs were posted in Latin and Greek warning Gentiles not to go any farther under the penalty of death.
*The second wall held back the women and children. The third wall held back Jewish men. Only the priests could go farther. Last was the veil surrounding the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, only once a year, and only by the sprinkling of blood to protect him from death.
*That veil in front of the Holy of Holies was no ordinary curtain. 1 Kings 6:2 tells us that Solomon’s temple was 30 cubits high, but according to the ancient historian Josephus, King Herod had increased the height to 40 cubits. That would be about 60 feet high. Early Jewish tradition said it was 4 inches thick. But why did God go to so much trouble to keep people away from Him? One answer is because of our sin. God is a holy, holy, holy God who cannot tolerate the presence of sin. (2)
*But that curtain separating people from God's presence was also a sign. It was a sign that God revealed when His Son Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It was a sign that the only possible way for people to enter into God's presence was through the sacrificial death of His Son. That's why just when Jesus died on the cross, God the Father miraculously tore that curtain in two from top to bottom. God was showing us that the door to Heaven and to Him was opened through the cross of Jesus Christ.
*I love the story of the pastor who was telling some children how this curtain miraculously split open. Then a little boy asked, "How big was the hole?" And the preacher wisely replied, "Big enough for anyone to get through." -- Big enough, that is, for anyone who will put their faith in Jesus Christ. (3)
*So now, by trusting in our crucified and risen Savior, you will get to know God in a personal way. You will have the constant presence of His Holy Spirit in your heart. And you will have eternal life with God in Heaven. Thank God that we got to live on the resurrection side of the cross!
2. BUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOD'S PLAN. THE GOSPEL HAS ALSO ALWAYS INVOLVED PREACHING.
*We see this truth in both the Old and New Testaments. So for example, 1 Peter 2:5 tells us that Noah was "a preacher of righteousness." And in Jonah 3:1-2, "The word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.'''
*Matthew 4:23 also tells us that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people."
*And just after Jesus chose the twelve apostles, Matthew 10:5-8 says:
5. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
*Acts 10 tells us that Peter was to first apostle to preach to the Gentiles or non-Jews. But Paul had a unique place among the Apostles when it came to preaching to the Gentiles. In Acts 22, Paul had returned to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. There he was almost murdered by a mob of Jews, but Paul was rescued, and then arrested by the Roman soldiers. As they were leading him away, Paul was allowed to give his testimony.
*Paul told about his coming to Jerusalem years before, after he had met Jesus on the road to Damascus. And in Acts 22:17-21 Paul said,
17. "Then it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance
18. and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.'
19. "So I said, 'Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.
20. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'
21. Then He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.'''
[1] JESUS SENT PAUL TO PREACH TO THE GENTILES, SO THE LORD EQUIPPED PAUL WITH A SPECIAL REVELATION OF THE GOSPEL.
*Again in vs. 2-4 Paul said:
2. if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3. how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in a few words,
4. by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
*This revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ was miraculously given to Paul by the Lord. Paul talked about this in his letter to the Galatians. And in Galatians 1:11-19 Paul said:
11. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.
14. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
15. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,
16. to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.
19. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.
[2] JESUS GAVE PAUL A SPECIAL REVELATION TO PREACH TO THE GENTILES. BUT JESUS ALSO GAVE PAUL SPECIAL GRACE TO PREACH.
*We can see this truth here in vs. 7-8 where Paul said, "I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
*God gave Paul the grace to preach to the Gentiles. And I promise you that it is only by God's grace that I have been able to preach. The Lord has also poured out many other kinds of grace in our lives.
3. BUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST HAS ALWAYS INVOLVED PREACHING. AND IT WILL ALWAYS ACCOMPLISH GOD'S PURPOSES.
*In vs. 8-11, Paul talks about God's purpose for the gospel. And there are at least two great purposes in these verses.
[1] THE FIRST PURPOSE IS TO MAKE ALL PEOPLE SEE THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS CHRIST.
*Paul stressed this purpose in vs. 8-9, where he said:
8. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9. and to make all people see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
*In other words, the purpose of the gospel is to make all people see the great mysteries revealed by Jesus coming into the world. These mysteries include the unsearchable riches of Christ, and how we can be part of the fellowship of God's people. They also include the great truths that God the Son, Jesus Christ is creator of all things, the Lord of all, and the only Savior of the world. The purpose of the gospel is to make all people see these things, so they will turn to the Lord and be saved.
[2] BUT ANOTHER GREAT PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL IS TO MAKE THE ANGELS SEE THE MANIFOLD WISDOM OF GOD.
*We see this purpose in vs. 10-11, where Paul said he was preaching:
10. to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
11. according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
*William McDonald explained that in these verses, "God is the Teacher, the universe is the classroom, and the angels are the students. The lesson is on the 'manifold' or 'multi-faceted' wisdom of God. The word picture for "manifold" wisdom is a piece of cloth or a painting with a flood of different colors, and the Amplified Bible calls it the "complicated, many-sided wisdom of God." (4)
*It reminds me of the praise Paul wrote in Romans 11:33-36.
33. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34. "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?''
35. "Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?''
36. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
4. PRAISE THE LORD! THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST WILL ALWAYS ACCOMPLISH GOD'S PURPOSES. AND IT INCLUDES PRECIOUS GIFTS.
*The gospel showers great gifts on everyone who will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, we can see some of God's greatest gifts in vs. 6 where Paul said, "that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel."
*In other words, we all can be part of the family of the God, and that's a great gift! We can also be "of the same body." This means us being spiritually in Christ. And if we are Christians, we are "partakers of His promise in Christ." That's talking about the Holy Spirit of God being in us. The promise also includes eternal life for all who believe, and what could be greater than that?
*But all of these gifts in vs. 6 can only come "through the gospel" good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, and rose again from the dead to give eternal life to everyone who will believe in Him.
*The gospel showers precious gifts on everyone who will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see even more gospel gifts down in vs. 12, where Paul tells Christians that "in whom (that is, in Jesus) we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
*Here God gives us four words to help us understand the great gift of God's salvation:
1-Boldness: That’s our confident freedom to speak to God openly and honestly.
2-Access: That’s our ability to come before God, secure in the knowledge that we have a relationship with God whereby we are acceptable to him.
3-Confidence: That's our reliance on God based on the fact that He has convinced us and persuaded us that He is our Best Friend.
4-And faith: That’s our belief, trust, and persuasion that God can and will do what He says He will do. (5)
*These are the greatest gifts anyone can ever have, and they all come to God's church through the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
*The Apostle Paul was a bitter enemy of the gospel until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Then Paul discovered that the gospel is worth any suffering or sacrifice we could go through for the cause of Jesus Christ. That's why in vs. 13 Paul said, "Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory."
*Have you discovered the infinite value of the gospel of Jesus Christ? It is the greatest thing in the world! There is no other way to be saved. So Christians, thank God for the gospel of Jesus Christ! And if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, call on our crucified and risen Lord to save you now, as we go back to God in prayer. You will be glad you did forever and ever!
(1) Sources:
-WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT by Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson - Published in 1930-1933 - Ephesians 3:1 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "William MacDonald - "A Parenthesis on the Mystery" - Ephesians 3:1-13 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-EXPLORING EPHESIANS & PHILIPPIANS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Revelations Of The Christian Life" - Ephesians 3:1-21 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(2) GotQuestions.org - "What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two when Jesus died? - https://www.gotquestions.org/temple-veil-torn.html
(3) "Preparing for Easter Sunday" - "Dynamic Preaching" email 03/13/2002
(4) Adapted from BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "A Parenthesis on the Mystery" - Ephesians 3:1-13 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(5) Original source unknown
