The Mystery

The Mystery

Eph 3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

NIV

Grasp the message

Have you ever been surprised when a mystery is revealed? Who Shot JR? What am I getting for my birthday? Maybe it was a plot twisting movie or a book that had a shocker ending. Maybe it was just wondering what was inside that can of food in the cupboard that had no label.

I. The mystery – that we too are God’s chosen people along with Israel (the mystery ain’t no mystery anymore. The mystery is why God loves us so much)

a. Gal 3:28-29 - 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

b. When we don’t understand the mystery, we eventually lose interest. “I don’t get it.” Example: English 7th grade – learned how to do a movie instead of diagramming sentences. I didn’t get it. So I didn’t like doing it. If we don’t get this, then our passion and zeal for sharing it with others will be missing.

II. The second part of this mystery is that God would love us this much. It’s like buying your wife a new vacuum cleaner for your anniversary, and she buys you a new sports car. You just don’t understand how she could love you that much.

a. Rom 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

b. We may consciously grasp that God has extended the promise He made to Abraham to the Gentile people, but subconsciously we fail to realize that means us personally! We didn’t deserve it, and we know it. Yet still God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die for us.

III. Paul prays that we may have the power or ability to grasp, or comprehend this great love God has for us.

a. Frederick M. Lehman strove to convey this measureless love when he penned these words in the song “The Love of God”

Could we with ink the ocean fill

and were the sky of parchment made

were every stalk on earth a quill

and every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above

would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

tho’ stretched from sky to sky

b. Oh, how wonderful, and limitless is the love of God toward us.

IV. When Paul says he is praying that we grasp the fullness of God, he is inferring that we would live a Godly life. That God’s ways would permeate every fiber of our being that our every action would demonstrate Him to the world around us. Thomas a’ Kempis, a 15th century monk, said this regarding Holiness:

"Truly, at the day of judgment we shall not be examined by what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how religiously we have lived."

a. 2 Cor 7:1 - Since we have these promises, (that God will live with us and walk with us and be a Father to us and we will be his children 6:14-18), dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.