January 6, 2002 Ephesians 3:2-12
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.
How many of you enjoy a good mystery? I have always been one who has been intrigued by a good mystery. The assassination of JFK, for instance, has always been a story that has fascinated me. After watching movies and documentaries on it, as well as visiting the sight, I am convinced that there had to be more than one gunman - that Lee Harvey Oswald may have just been as they called him, “a patsy,” or at least an associate at best. The best explanation I have heard is that a gunman was sitting in the sewer and shot him through there. But what is really intriguing about this mystery is that any number of people could have killed Kennedy. It could have been the Russians, the FBI, the vice-president, the mafia - anyone. And that’s what makes it a good mystery.
The entertainment industry has made a living on “mysteries”. They will make documentaries on unsolved crimes, the building of the pyramids, and every other “mystery” under the sun. In order for it to be a mystery, there needs to be a seemingly unexplainable situation - something that you can’t figure out without help. If it involves murder, hatred, politics, or romance - it’s all the better. When the mystery is revealed by clear an indisputable evidence - it makes it perfect. Today’s text talks about a mystery. I hope that it grabs your attention. I hope that it satisfies you like none other as Paul shows us -
The Mystery is Made Known
What is the mystery? 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. At first sight this “mystery” doesn’t seem to have the ingredients for a good mystery - murder, love, hate, politics or romance! It might seem dry to you who are listening. But the background of the mystery shows a much different story - a love story that goes back centuries - of a seemingly unexplainable situation that needed an unlikely twist for a solution.
Paul said that this mystery. . . for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. In order to understand this, you need to know your Old Testament. It basically is a book about how God would keep his promise of the Savior alive through the Jews - God’s chosen people. So the book is a history of how God’s people were carried from this country to the next, torn down and raised up - surviving to have Jesus be born through them. Never in the Old Testament do non-Jewish people like you and me take a major part. They are part of the Canaanites and the Assyrians and the Babylonians and the Egyptians who were all actually referred to as the ENEMIES of God’s people. More often than not they were wiped out by God’s people or wiping out God’s people. They were described as people walking in darkness - on the way to hell. Right here you can see the elements for a mystery when you see two sworn enemies - God and the Gentiles. The Jews and the Gentiles. You would expect a murder mystery, then, to take place. For God - the holy God - you would expect to wipe out the opposition.
But that is not the only mystery involved. In the Old Testament - God made it clear that he wanted these non-Jews to be saved. When the Jews entered the promised land, the Gibeonites were allowed to be a part of the Jewish community after they tricked Joshua. Rahab, the Gentile ex-prostitute, ended up being a forerunner of Christ. God promised Abraham that all nations on earth will be blessed through his offspring. And Jeremiah boldly predicted in 49 that he would make the Savior - a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. God always had in mind to convert the Gentiles. Another mystery - a romance of so
The mystery was in the “how” he would do this and to what extent it would happen. How could God turn these heathen dogs into followers of his? Paul explained the how when he said 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. The murder and romance mystery takes place in the story of Jesus Christ. God took Jesus, His only Son, and nailed HIM to the cross. Mystery of mysteries! Why would God put his own Son to death for a crime that he did not commit? Why would God blame his own son and send him to hell when he was innocent? The mystery is called grace - God’s undeserved love. Out of love for us God would put to death his own son - to pay the punishment for our sins! It is undescribable. It remains a mystery. But it is the very essence of our salvation. That when Christ was on the cross - all the sins of the world were crucified in Christ. He didn’t just crucify the Jews on the cross. Or he didn’t pay for their sins, and then the Gentiles. All at once, Jesus said, “it is finished, paid in full.” That, my friends - is a mystery to our logic. When we say that we should pay for our own sins, Jesus volunteered for the job. It’s mysterious to us. But it sounds good!
The next “mystery” is almost just as amazing! Paul said, 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. Instead of choosing one of his believers and followers, God chose the absolute enemy of Christ - the murderer of Christians - to go out and tell Gentiles about God’s grace and his love for them! I would compare it to trying to convert Usama Bin Laden to Christianity so he can be our missionary - this would be no less of a miracle. Paul, too, was a zealot for his religion - willing to murder for his cause. And God chose HIM of all people to be his spokesman! The unsearchable riches of Christ! What a mystery!
But the ultimate mystery takes place in the result! Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. It is in the fact that the Gentiles - the long time enemies of the Jews and of God - would be considered as EQUAL to the Jews, co-heirs of eternal salvation. Why? Because they all enter with the same price. When you enter a game - everyone gets different seats according to different prices paid for tickets. But for heaven, there’s only one price of every ticket. Whether you’re a Jew, American, Hispanic, or African American - the price is the same. The blood of Christ. Therefore, whoever enters gets the same seat - eternity in heaven.
If I would have predicted twenty years ago that our country would be about 50% hispanic by the year 2010, you might have laughed. But now, this is an understatement. In the same way, if you think of the makeup of the Christian Church now, what is it’s main ingredient? Gentile! This did not take place over night. Jesus was called mainly to the Jews. Sure, there are incidences of him talking to the Samaritan woman and the Centurion. But Jesus made no qualms about the fact he was coming to talk to the Jews. Even at the time of the Pentecost - it was mainly Jewish imports who came back to Jerusalem who heard the message of the Gospel. By Acts chapter 8, the Gospel started making inroads into the Samaritan community. But it wasn’t until Acts 13 that Paul finally was commissioned and started his work among the Gentiles! Who would have guessed that the Christian Church would be some predominately Gentile now - when Jesus was a Jew and all of the 12 disciples were Jews! That, my friends is a mystery!
In fact, so much that Paul says that God’s 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. For years and years the rulers in the heavenly realms - that’s the angels - didn’t know how God would include Jews and Gentiles in his plan of salvation. But now, in the fulfillment of the promise - they could see God’s wisdom coming to fruition. It was all coming around! The mystery was revealed! God was in charge! They would simply be amazed at how God would do this!
One thing that bothers me about a mystery is when you never find out the truth! It used to bother me when I’d read a Hardy Boys book and they’d leave me hanging until the next chapter. I just had to read on! It bothers me that I can’t figure out who really murdered JFK. I hate it when movies leave you hanging! But when a mystery is finally solved, that’s what I love!
The purpose of Epiphany is to show how God reveals who he is - that Jesus is the Christ! Lots of questions have been asked about who the wise men were - what the star was - how many children died in the slaughter of the innocents! These are mysteries - but they are senseless mysteries. It doesn’t matter who the wise men were - where they came from or what kind of star they followed. What matters is that they found the Christ child. And it was revealed who the child was who was born - it was Christ the Lord. God had come in human flesh to make the payment for sins! These Gentiles could return back to Babylon with the good news that Christ the Savior was born! The mystery has been revealed!
Isn’t that exciting? One problem I had when preparing this text - was trying to figure out how to recreate the excitement that Paul felt! He was honored and awed by the fact that he had the opportunity to reveal this mystery to the Gentiles! For ages nobody knew how much the Gentiles would be involved in God’s mission plan - and here he was to reveal it! It was like he knew the punch line - like when you know the answer to a puzzle - he was able to solve the factor of how a holy God could love sinful men - and he couldn’t wait to explain it! But when we read this text, it’s easy for us to miss the whole point. It’s like when a movie is remade - and you already know the actors and the plot - and the ending - it just isn’t as intriguing! Here we are, Gentiles who have grown up with the Gospel - we hear that God loves Gentiles too and we think, “no big deal.” Do we then sit in our pews and wonder when the preacher will finish preaching. Do we sneak a peak at our watches and wonder how much time is left? Will he go over the twenty minute mark?
Kurt Warner - an MVP Superbowl winner and Pro Bowl quarterback - also a Christian - was once cut from the Green Bay Packers. For a year afterwards, he sacked groceries at a local grocery store. Now, in his fame, he usually makes mention of his past - he doesn’t want to forget it! Notice how Paul also, made mention of his past. He called himself, less than the least of all God’s people. Why? Because he never forgot that he took part in the murder and persecution of Christians. He remembered his past. And because of that, it kept him APPRECIATIVE of his present. My friends, remember where you came from! You were born dead in your sins. Satan owned your soul. You, like many in this world, were on the way to hell. If the Holy Spirit withdrew his presence from you for one second you could very easily be abusing drugs, having illicit sex, or be greedily chasing after possessions. Remember your past, and you will better appreciate what God did for you in Christ. He washed you clean through your baptism. He took your sins and nailed them to the cross. He brought you to faith in Christ. He gave you the ability to approach God with FREEDOM and CONFIDENCE, no matter how sinful you’ve been, knowing that your sins have been wiped away by the blood of Christ.
That’s one reason why I enjoy doing prison Bible studies. When I did my first prison Bible study, I explained who Christ was and what he did for us. I had the privilege to reveal the mystery of God’s grace for all people. This young man came to me and said, “that’s more than I ever learned from going to church.” It was as if his eyes were open to a Savior that he’d never known before. That was wonderful. It’s wonderful to be able to preach to a congregation of people who keep on coming to listen - even though they know the answer to the mystery. Even after you hear about Christ twenty times, thirty, a hundred, and two hundred times - you still enjoy the story. God became man to live and die for you. That is a mystery, isn’t it? How come it doesn’t get old? It’s a mystery - a mystery of God’s grace - of the Holy Spirit working in you. But as sinners, we never tire of hearing God loves us and forgives us!
When John Walsh - the host of America’s Most Wanted - when his son was missing - they tried for days and days to solve the mystery as to where he went. When the truth was finally revealed, it was a difficult revelation of the mystery. A man had abducted and murdered their son. Sometimes mysteries are not fun to solve.
The murder of JFK is a great mystery. But it is sad, because we don’t know why it happened. We don’t know who did it. And it looks like it will never be solved. In this sense, it is a mystery that leaves us hanging - the worst kind of sorts.
The story of the Gospel and the Gentiles was a mystery. How would God save the world? How could he love the Gentiles? How would he involve them in his ministry? It is all revealed in Christ. Jesus would come and die not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. God would reveal this Gospel to a Christian hater - and designate him to tell the Gentiles about Christ. Who would have guessed? What a mystery! Now we are living in the greatest mystery of all - that many Gentiles are living and breathing as the Church of Christ! What a mystery! The mystery is made known - it doesn’t leave us hanging. But even though we know the ending - we keep listening to it again and again. Why? Because it has a happy ending. It involves us and Jews, and all Christians - living with Christ - in heaven. By faith, this will be no mystery to us. Amen.
