Witnessing To The Angels

INTRODUCTION

Today, we’re moving on to Ephesians 3. In my first talk, I showed you this picture. It’s produced by the BibleProject and it presents the structure of Ephesians. Ephesians 1 and 2 both get a lot of space. But look at Ephesians 3! It just gets a little corner! It seems that the BibleProject doesn’t think Ephesians 3 has much to say! But there’s lots in this chapter that’s VERY interesting.

THE CHURCH MAKES GOD’S WISDOM KNOWN TO THE RULERS AND AUTHORITIES IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES

In this talk, I’m going to be talking about the church. Please remember that the church in the Bible isn’t a building: it’s God’s people.

There are several things I want to look at in this chapter but I’m going to start off with what I think is the most remarkable thing Paul says. It comes in verses 8-10. Let’s look at it:

‘To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things;

SO THAT the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.’

[Ephesians 3:8-10, NASB. I thought the NASB was clearer than some other versions.]

Paul has a plan SO THAT … what?

‘The multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.’

Who are the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places? Angels? Demons? Satan?

That is mind-boggling! God’s plan is that the church, meaning us, is how his wisdom is to be made known to heavenly beings – beings which we don’t see or feel. Why?! How?! It’s an amazing statement! I’m going to leave it for a moment and come back to it.

RECAP

Let’s briefly review what we’ve looked at so far.

In Chapter 1, Paul tells the church in Ephesus the amazing heavenly blessings they have. He writes, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING in the heavenly places in Christ’ [1:3, NASB]. The Ephesians weren’t missing out on a single blessing in the heavenly places. Wow! And that’s our situation too. We have a lot to thank God for!

Paul then lists the blessings, and he then prays for the Ephesians that God would help them to grasp just how much they have. That’s a great prayer for us to pray for each other!

In Chapter 2, Paul then tells the church in Ephesus that God has opened the way for Gentiles – people who are not Jews – to come to him. Jew and Gentile now come to God in the same way, based on God’s grace. Because of that, Christ has made Jew and Gentile one.

There are big differences between Christians today, but we all come to Christ the same way and we’re all part of one body. That’s going to be a major theme of Ephesians 4.

A SIDETRACK

In Chapter 3, Paul is just about to say another prayer for the Ephesians. But as he starts, he gets sidetracked. Why does he get sidetracked? Paul starts by writing [3:1]: ‘For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus…’ Something went through Paul’s mind when he noted that he was a prisoner. He probably thought, ‘What will the Christians in Ephesus think about me suffering in prison?’ But Paul knows he has a huge amount to thank God for. I’m going to look at that in a moment. Look on to Verse 13. He writes, ‘So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you.’ This is how Paul concludes his sidetrack. Paul could be in miserable in prison. But he reflects on how much God has given him and he doesn’t seem down at all. It’s a great example for us, if things are going badly wrong. Reflect on just how much we have in Christ.

GRACE

So, what does Paul have? There are three words which Paul uses three or four times. They are ‘grace’, ‘mystery’, and ‘together.’ Grace means God’s gift or God’s favour. Some people say that GRACE is an acronym for ‘God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.’ Paul mentions grace three times: ‘God’s grace given to me’ [Verse 2], ‘the gift of God’s grace, which was given me’ [Verse 7], ‘this grace was given’ [Verse 8]. Paul is saying that he’s received something from God. What? Well, several things, actually.

MYSTERY

One gift God gave Paul was to reveal a mystery to him. Look at Verse 3. Paul writes: ‘that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery’ [NASB]. What is this mystery?