The Eternal Mystery Revealed and Proclaimed (Ephesians Sermon 17)

Well, three weeks ago, I was right in the middle of a sermon. So, how do you begin a sermon, like that? So I want you to take that outline that I’ve given you in the back and just forget about it. I’m not doing that. I did a lot of that last time. I want to do something else. And I want to zero in on Ephesians 3, specifically verses 8-10, and make that the centerpiece of what I want to say to you today. I want to focus in on God’s purpose in Paul’s proclamation.

Let me just lay my cards on the table. My idea in this sermon is that Paul is an utterly unique individual in redemptive history as the Apostle to the Gentiles. That is true, but he is also a paradigm example of an ordinary Christian, “less than the least of all God’s people,” who was given a powerful ministry that has eternal ramifications, and in that way, he’s an example for us. We, who are also, we should and could say, “less than the least of all God’s people,” less than the least of the saints, we can have a powerful ministry of proclamation of the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” as mentioned here in Ephesians 3. We have that power through the Holy Spirit. We have that calling. Kyle talked about that in his sermon in John 20, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And so I want to heighten awareness of this and this especially comes on the heels of me having been three days in New Orleans as a trustee of the International Mission Board, and these are trying and challenging times for the IMB.

Many of you may know, many of you may not know that because of financial restrictions the IMB gave out a voluntary retirement initiative, a V.R.I., to missionaries on the field above 50 years and older voluntarily inviting them to retire from missions work. And the numbers are in the range of about 600 missionaries coming off the field. That’s obviously a soul-searching time for the IMB, it’s a soul-searching time for Southern Baptist churches, and a time for us, I think, as a local church to recommit ourselves as never before to missions to unreached people group missions. And so I want to do some of that through this sermon. I want to zero in on Ephesians 3:8-10, and I want to give you a sense of the grandeur and the glory of what God is doing in the world. I want you to be captivated by it. I want you to be captivated by the work of display that God is doing of his own wisdom and glory in the Church. I want you to see that.

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity, I was going to Serbia and I went with my daughter, Carolyn, and we stopped at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and they have some of the most astonishing works of art there by the Dutch masters, some of these incredible paintings, and they’re just huge. And one of the biggest paintings in the museum is a painting called The Night Watch by Rembrandt, and it’s just absolutely massive. 12 feet wide 14 feet high. I’m thinking, “How much paint went into that, how many cans of paint?” You know how you go to Lowe’s and it’s like, “Well, I’m… ” if Rembrandt were hearing this, “Cans of paint, really?” But this was a masterpiece. And you have this picture of this scene from Dutch history, and I’m not going to go into what’s being depicted there, but he uses light and darkness very well, and different colors, and he highlights certain individuals and others are more back in the darkness. And it gave me a picture of just the vast complexity of what God is doing in redemptive history, the vast complexity of light and darkness, of successes and apparent failures, of pleasureful moments, and moments of great affliction and suffering that go together to make this master work.

It’s an illustration of God’s sovereign design in history, and I want to zero in on missionaries and Christ’s servants, that’s all of us, as somewhat like various ragged different sized paint brushes that the Lord is using to paint this masterpiece. And he’s got a plan, it says in verse 11, that he worked out before the foundation of the world. He’s got it all figured out in his mind, and we can be in the hands of the master to paint this incredible masterwork, greater than anything that we can possibly imagine, even greater than a 12 by 14 painting.

Now, I was reading recently a sermon by John Piper on this Scripture and I’m indebted to him for the structure. He does a very interesting thing here; he goes right to verse 10 as the centerpiece and then backs out as he often does. Some of you hear this kind of preaching, and it’s helpful. He says, “What’s the main point of all of this?” And he’s going to say in verse 10, the main point is the display of the wisdom of God, that there’s a display of the multifaceted various variegated wisdom of God in the Church, to the angels, so the powers and principalities. The means to that, and he backs up one step, is in verse 10, the Church. It is by the Church that the wisdom of God is displayed. The gathering of the people of God, “chosen before the foundation of the world,” elect from before the foundation of the world by sovereign grace completely apart from works, chosen by God, predestined, but then gathered into the Church, the gathering of the people of God, verse 10a, from all Gentile nations. The means to the end of that one step back in verse nine is the preaching of the unsearchable riches of Christ among the nations. And then one step back from that, the means to that is the “least of the saints,” that’s you and me being set apart unto God to do that proclamation. Now, the word preaching may not be incredibly helpful because not many of us are called to be public preachers, but we can proclaim “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” to the end that the Church be gathered from all the Gentile nations, to the end that the manifold wisdom of God would be put on display for the angels to see. That’s what’s going on in Ephesians 3:8-10.

And so I want to zero in on this masterpiece and just look at it. I want us to see it. And as you look at verse 10, we’ve got this idea of the “manifold wisdom of God.” Now what does that word “manifold” mean? It’s not an easy word; it’s not a word that we usually would use in everyday speech. And for that matter in the Greek, it’s a one-off, it’s only used this one time, and so it’s an unusual word. Half of the word Poikilos. I usually don’t say Greek words from the pulpit, but that word, it means variegated, wrought in various colors, a sense of variety. We could use the word diversity, a sense of the complexity of the wisdom of God. It’s subtle; it’s varied, it’s intricate. But then Paul puts a prefix, polu, so the much variegated wisdom of God in the Gentile nations that are coming to faith in Christ; that’s what he’s talking about. And so we have very many colors in this masterpiece painting, different shades, some bright some dark. It’s complex, it’s astonishing, it’s variegated.

There are people groups from all over the world, every continent on the face of the earth, and you think about it, Europeans, so blond Scandinavians, people from Norway or Sweden, or from the lowlands like Netherlands, Holland, Germany, Britain, and Southern Europe. You’ve got Italians and Greeks, etcetera. Then you have people from Africa, different tribes, and they have various genetic appearances like the Ethiopians, with what Isaiah calls tall and smooth skin. And then you’ve got the Congolese or Nigerians, different people groups, and that God has elect from each of these groups and it’s an astonishingly varied thing that God is doing here. And you’ve got people from Asia and Latin America and all over the world, and God is doing all of this incredible work, it says to display His wisdom. So look at verse 10b, it says, “So that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known.” So this is purpose language. There’s a reason why all of this has happened and God has a purpose. What is that purpose? The ultimate purpose of missions and evangelism, the ultimate purpose of the Church is display, that God would be put on display. That everyone might know how great a God He is, how glorious and radiant He is to put Him on display.

I. God’s Glory: The Purpose of All Creation

God does all things for the display of His glory, that’s why He created the universe. That’s why God said, “Let there be light,” and why God created the heavens and the earth, and all of these things were for the display of His glory. Nothing’s more important than that. Missions is not more important than that. Nothing’s more important. God does everything for the display of His glory, all things. And not only did God create the world and all of its complexity, and it’s amazing, I mean this planet Earth. We saw the movie Martian, and the theme of that movie is “Earth is better than Mars.” That’s what I get out of that. If you want to live somewhere definitely live on Earth, not Mars. Things just grow better here and it’s just better in every respect. There are other themes in that movie, whatever.

But Earth is amazing and it’s just beautiful and it’s rich and complex, and the people that have grown here created in the image of God and spread out to the distant islands, and all over, and mountains, and valleys and all that; they’re all over the earth. God did all of this so that the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That’s why God made everything. Well that’s also why He redeemed the elect in Christ. His purpose is for the display. We’re his “sons and daughters,” Isaiah 43 says, “so created for his glory.” And redeemed for his glory. And so, we’re redeemed. And so Ephesians 2 talks about all of that in terms of the Gentiles, how “They were dead in their transgressions and sins in which they used to live when they followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature following his desires and thoughts, like the rest we were by nature objects of wrath. But God because of His great mercy, with which He loved us, and showed mercy on us in Christ.” God made us alive with Christ, and he redeemed us out of “every tribe, and language, and people, and nation,” and he forgave us all our sins. And we, it says in Ephesians 2, second half of the chapter, we were at one point, “aliens and strangers, and excluded.” Now, mysteriously, according to Ephesians 3, we are “equal heirs with the sons and daughters of Abraham.” We are like “wild olive shoots that have been grafted in now.” We’ll get into more of that. Romans 11 uses that language, but we, the Gentiles, we have been redeemed, and we are now deriving life-giving sap from this developed complex tree of Abraham’s descendants. And we’re just drawing, through Christ, drawing life-giving sap through this incredible work that God’s doing in redemptive history.

We wild, weird Gentiles grafted into that, and now we’re heirs with the Jews. How amazing is that? And that’s incredibly complicated and it’s varied and diverse and beautiful. And that puts the wisdom of God on display. And the audience, if you’re going to have display, you’re going to have an audience. And the audience here interestingly are the “powers and principalities.” That’s language for the angels, the angelic beings. And so, God is putting His wisdom on display to the angels.

Now, there are two categories of angels; there are good angels, and there are bad angels. I don’t know which he has in mind here. Well, let’s go with both for a minute. That God is putting the Church, or putting His wisdom on display, through the Church, to the good angels, who it says in 1 Peter 1:12, “Even angels long to look into these things.” They are really into what God’s doing in missions. Angels are fascinated with missions; they’re fascinated with everything Christ is doing, and they’re leaning forward to look at what is happening. And they care about unreached people groups; they care about the lost. They care about lost people in engineering departments and at hospitals; they care about lost neighbors. They’re interested in seeing the elect come to Christ, and they celebrate, and they get excited when it happens. So, good angels are watching the unfolding manifold wisdom of God here. They’re excited about it, and they don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s why they’re longing to look into these things. Like, “What’s going to happen next?” And it’s so exciting; it’s just crackling with energy up there in Heaven. What’s the next thing that’s going to happen?

Or we could say it’s bad angels, as we’re going to get in Ephesians 6:12. We’re told to “put on the full armor of God, so we can take our stand against our enemies in the heavenly realms,” who are demonic forces, demons, bad angels. And you could see that too, how God is putting the “manifold wisdom of God,” in the Church, on display to the bad angels. “You can’t stop them. I will build my Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. You demons can’t stop the spread of the Gospel.”

And so that’s a beautiful thing whether good angels or bad angels doesn’t matter; to the “powers and principalities,” God is putting His wisdom on display, and that’s an awesome thing. And you should be drawn into that; it should matter to you more than anything else in the world, the glory of God. So, missions exists to put God’s variegated wisdom on display to the angels, good and bad, and to us. God has a lot to show to us too. Doesn’t He? It’s not just to the angels. We got that back in Ephesians 2:7 “That in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of His grace.” God shows no grace to the angels, good or bad. The good angels don’t need it; they never sin. You think about Amazing Grace. Were they ever wretches? Were they ever lost? No they weren’t. They’ve never been wretches who were lost and saved by grace. And then the demons, there is no Gospel for them. There’s never been any hope of their redemption ever. There’s no promise of it. But we can sing and forever. In Ephesians 2:7, “we’re going to see in the coming ages just how much grace God has shown to all of us;” it’s going to be amazing.

And so all of this is for the display. The masterpiece is being painted now; missionaries and messengers of every type we are the messy brushes God is using to paint that painting. Let me just pause and say “Are you involved?” I mean are you a part of this? Are you involved in the external journey of missions and evangelism? Are you making sacrifices to speak the word Jesus to lost people around you?  And if not, I just want to, as winsomely as I can plead with you to come and get involved because this is the work that God iss doing in the world. Alright, so that’s the center step, the centerpiece of this, Ephesians 3:8-10.

II. Riches in His Wisdom

Now, let’s take one step further removed. It’s like a so that, so that, so that journey. So, the ultimate end is the display of God’s wisdom. One step back is the gathering of God’s worldwide Church, so that His wisdom can be put on display, so that’s in verse 10a, “So that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known.” So the Church being gathered from all nations, that’s how it’s happening. And Paul talks about his own ministry here in seeing that happen. He says, “to me, although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given to me to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”

Now, I’ve already talked about the mystery. It’s that Gentiles could be fully heirs with the Jews; that we can be grafted in. It’s interesting in Romans 11 when Paul gives us that image of wild olive shoots being grafted into a cultivated olive tree. And then just talks about that and what God’s doing with the Jews as well. And at the end of that, he celebrates the same thing. “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor?” It’s just amazing what God’s doing, isn’t it? It’s stunning. God is gathering His global Church; He’s gathering elect people, chosen from before the foundation of the world. He knows who they are, He knows what their names are, He knows where they’re living, and He will not fail to bring them in, elect from every nation, but they’re called by the proclamation of the Gospel. And so, it is as the Church is being built, it is through the Church, believers in Jesus Christ, that the manifold wisdom of God is on display to the angels.

So that’s one step back now let’s take the next step back. The preaching of Christ’s unsearchable riches builds the Church; that’s how it happens. It’s the proclamation of Jesus Christ, and not as a historical figure but I mean, as one in whom is all the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God in bodily form, Jesus as unsearchable wealth. The proclamation of that. “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people this grace was given to me to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” That’s what missionaries get to do. They get to sell everything they own. Christy and I did that to go to Japan. I’ll never forget that. I’ll never forget that yard sale. I’ll never forget. I am not permitted by one of my kids to say that person’s name without asking permission first, and I’ve not asked permission, but that was a hard day for that person as that person saw that person’s toys being sold. I will never forget that. I’m not sure if that person has forgotten it. Probably has. But just selling everything. And you go as a missionary, and you go live in a foreign country. And why do you do that? Well, this is what you get to do. What you get to do is proclaim to people who have never heard of Jesus, or have heard of him, but don’t understand who he really is, haven’t made a commitment to him. They get to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. Do you see that right in the text, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Well, what does that mean, unsearchable?

I think there’s another word, like fathomless. Okay, the fathomless depths, you think about it. There’s this story about Ferdinand Magellan who was circumnavigating the globe. He got into the Pacific Ocean, and it was just immense, and amazing and all that, and he wanted to find out how deep it was, so he spliced together the rope they found lying around on the deck, attached it to a cannonball, and it’s like, didn’t hit bottom. So they said, alright, we need more rope. So they went and got more rope and then it didn’t hit the bottom, and then they got all the rope they had available and it still didn’t hit the bottom; that’s fathomless.

So Jesus Christ is so glorious, you can take all the rope you could ever find, in terms of your own mind, and you’ll never hit bottom. That’s the greatness of Christ. Or the unsearchable riches, another image comes to my mind from my favorite movie Ben Hur. And they’re about to have this awesome chariot race, you know what I’m talking about, that’s one of the greatest scenes ever in movies. And they’re going to have this chariot race. But before that this Arab guy, who owns the team of horses that Charlton Heston is going to drive goes to this Roman enemy and he wants to make a bet; he wants to bet on the race. So he’s got a bunch of guys with him carrying heavy boxes of golden coins, and it’s really pretty cool because he takes this metal stick, and he opens up the chest and he starts rummaging around and pushing the stick down. Rummage, push, rummage, push, rummage, push. And there’s the bottom. And he’s got like six boxes like that. And he wants to bet all of this money on Ben Hur. Well you can get, I don’t care what size stick you get, you can rummage and push and rummage and push. Jesus’ greatness, his infinite glory is immeasurable. It’s unsearchable; you’re not going to get to the bottom of the gold box. You’ll be forever finding out just how great your Savior is, how great He was in saving you, how great He is, how great He always will be.

So perhaps the unsearchable riches of Christ could refer to the infinite mystery of His person, his humanity and deity, fully God fully man. It could refer to that; it’s unsearchable. Or the perfection of His life, His sinlessness, that He lived a life “tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin”. Unsearchable. You’ll never get done thinking about this. Or you could think about the greatness of the power he displayed in all of the miracles he did; walking on water, changing the water into wine. And raising the dead, Lazarus dead four days, and there was nothing He couldn’t do. You could ponder all of the things, speaking to the wind and the waves and it obeyed His voice. “What kind of man is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him?” The “unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Well you might talk about just the infinite mystery of His substitutionary death, how He died in our place on the cross under the infinite wrath of God we all deserve for violating God’s laws. For not “loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and not loving our neighbor as ourself,” or our corruptions and our immoralities and all of that wickedness. Put on Jesus and the fathomless wrath of God, the infinite wrath of God poured out on Jesus our substitute, unsearchable riches of Christ. And then the glory of His resurrection, the fact that God raised Him from the dead on the third day and He appeared in a resurrection body never to die again, and He ascended through the heavens, through the clouds, and sits at the right hand of Almighty God and from that place, he will return some day to judge the living and the dead, the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” You’re never going to get done thinking about the greatness of Christ. And we are witnesses of all this.

I had a witnessing opportunity on the plane coming back from New Orleans sitting next to an African-American woman who had a ministry to public defenders. And she talked about some of the problems with the penal system, specifically with African-American men, and what she does, the training she does with public defenders. But as interested as I was in her work, I was more interested in her soul. So at some point, we’re going to change the subject a little bit. Talk about Jesus. So I asked her what her spiritual background was. She said, well, she was raised a Muslim. Her mother had converted from being a Baptist to a Muslim to marry a Muslim man, but then he divorced her, so then she converted back to being a Baptist after he left her. But she was kind of raised as a Muslim. She married an atheistic Jew, and now she’s kind of in the middle of nothing. I’m thinking, “Alright, God brought her to me.” And we had an amazing conversation. She had question after question after question. She said to me, she said, “I swore I would never talk about religion and politics, but here we are talking about religion.” I said “It’s fine to talk as long as we don’t get heated. Treat each other with kindness.” And so, she was encouraged and she had questions about Jesus, about substitution, about Islam. There just wasn’t enough time on the flight. We get to do that. Brothers and sisters, we get to do that. We get to have conversations like that, and it’s a little bumpy to get into those conversations, but once you’re in, you may find somebody who really has a lot of questions and who wants to know more about Jesus. We get to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

III. Less than the Least

One step back and the final one. The people who do this proclamation are “less than the least of all God’s people,” that’s who they are. That’s who Paul is. Now Paul, I don’t deny I already said it. He is utterly unique in redemptive history. There will never be another Paul ever. And we’re not Paul, we can’t be. We won’t be. But, Paul talks about himself in verse 8, “To me was given although I am less than the least of all God’s people of the saints to preach to the Gentiles.” But Paul, I believe, is a role model for us, as he is a role model in redemption and forgiveness. In 1 Timothy 1 he says, “This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.” “But in order to display His unlimited patience and His mercy to sinners like you, He saved the worst, me, so that you’d be encouraged that He can save you too.” That’s the logic of 1 Timothy 1.

Well, here’s the logic. I’m going with Ephesians 3. The logic is if God can use me to preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” Paul would say, “He can definitely use you.” That’s what he would say, I think. So, do you qualify as less than the least of all God’s people. You’re like, “No, I think I’m actually better than most of God’s people.” Alright, well, tell you what, why don’t you just go out and do some witnessing and some missions and you’ll start getting sanctified and then you’ll say, “You know, I really am a sinner saved by grace. I am less than the least of all God’s people.” But wherever you think you are, God can use you to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to elect people who haven’t been converted yet, so that the Church can be built, so that the manifold wisdom of God can be put on display to the angels. That’s what’s going on in this text.

Do you want in? I want in. I want to be part of that. I don’t want to waste my life on something God’s not doing. He’s painting a masterpiece. I want to be a brush in his hand. What about you? What about you? I don’t think it’s shameful that this VRI is going on. I don’t think it’s shameful that 600 missionaries are coming off the field. God does amazingly complicated things. And how is he going to use those 600 missionaries; he’s going to use them wherever they go. And God’s going to raise up national partners in those countries to step up into the gap and do some of those ministries. He prunes trees to make them even more fruitful. I’m not in any way discouraged, but I do think it’s a time for reflection, a time for prayer, a time for recommitment. And that’s true of every local church; it’s true of our church.

IV. Application

So where are we at in all of this? Are we committed to missions? Are we committed to evangelism? Are we ready to take the Gospel to people that we know that are lost? Are we willing to bear the burden of their reaction to our witnessing? Put up with that so that we can get over that and talk about Jesus and his unsearchable riches? Are we willing to suffer? Are you involved in evangelism? Do you have five lost people that you’re praying for by name that God would raise up someone to witness to them? Someone to share the Gospel with them. Maybe you’re ready to say, “Hey, maybe I could be that person.” It doesn’t have to be you; just you’re praying for that person.

Are we, as a church, ready to be more than ever before committed to unreached people group missions? We’re going into our Lottie Moon Christmas offering season; Southern Baptist Churches have a time when we sacrificial give to missions that pays the salary of career missions and missionaries and others that are serving. We set goals and we always seem to meet them. I don’t want to set a goal that we wouldn’t meet. “We are going to raise $5,000,000.” God can do anything, but I think for me, I would love to see us give more money to Lottie Moon than we’ve ever given before. I would love to see the number go up from generally in the $132,000 range up to something like $150,000. And where is that extra $20,000 going to come from? Well, it’s going to come from us. It’s going to come from us asking questions about our lifestyle, about what we eat, where we go, what we do for entertainment, what we wear, and say, “What can I sacrifice? Missionaries are sacrificing, what can I sacrifice to give? But that’s not enough. I want us to be heart and soul committed, not just financially.

I want us to say, “Maybe God wants me to go.” I mean, we have a lot of younger people. There could be people in the youth ministry. I think about the youth retreat. I was praying for you guys, so thrilled at the work Kevin’s doing. But there could be some young people, youth, who are going to go as missionaries in the future. I want this to be a sending church, a church where you caught the vision for missions here. There are college students, a lot of you all sit over here in this area, but you could be scattered around, what are you going to do with your life? What are you going to do with your talents and your abilities? What are you called to do vocationally? And there’s going to be more and more opportunities for people to go, not as traditional missionaries, but what has been called tent makers, etcetera, where you go use your vocation in a cross-cultural setting to lead people to Christ.

Now, as I close, I want to say one thing, and I’ve been talking to you as Christians, but I know that God may well have brought unbelievers here today. And for me, I’ve had the privilege of proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ to all of you, but I’m speaking to you, who know yourself to be outsiders. You’re lost right now. I want to plead with you to repent and believe in Jesus, just like I pled with Illi, that’s her name, that young woman that I talked to and I just wanted her to know Christ. I said to her, I said, “You know, I really believe that God wants to know you in an intimate relationship.” She said, “Oh he knows me.” I said, “Well I know he knows all about you, but I want you to know him through Christ.” And she was quiet listening to that, so I’m pleading with you if you know yourself to be an outsider God wants to forgive your sins through faith in Christ, trust in him.

Now, I’m going to close the sermon and a prayer and then we’re going to have a time of celebration of the ordinance, the Lord’s supper. So let’s close this sermon then we’ll go to the table. Father, I thank you for Ephesians 3. We thank you for what you have taught us; thank you for the manifolds, the variegated, the incredibly diverse display of the wisdom of God in the Church. Thank you that you do that through the proclamation of the unsearchable riches of Christ. You can do that through “less than the least of all God’s people.” I pray that we would be faithfully involved in evangelism and missions for your glory. And now, Lord, as we turn to the table, we pray that you would just send forth your Spirit in Jesus’ name, amen.

God, the keeper of mysteries

When our kids were young, they would see pictures of Christi and I before they were born, and they would often ask the question: “Where was I, Daddy?” We have learned to answer, “You were in the mind of God.”

God keeps a lot of secrets!!

The Bible seems to indicate that God had a LOT in his mind before it came to be

This passage today speaks of an eternal mystery that has now been revealed

Ephesians 3:9 this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever

1 Corinthians 2:7 No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

Isaiah 45:15 Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.

God hides himself and God hides his plans… and then, at the right time, he unfolds them into beautiful clarity

This includes his people, their names, their purpose, their lifespan

God has known us by name from before the foundation of the world

Ephesians 1:4-5 he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

God has woven together a magnificent plan for his glory and our joy and he is skillfully unfolding it a little at a time

Think of a skillful story-teller, and his techniques in unfolding his story… he has the whole narrative in his mind, including the characters, the plot, and the climax. He uses foreshadowing… saying dramatic things like

“The elderly man woke up in his Brooklyn flat like he had done every day for the past twenty-seven years. He stretched and swung his feet out of bed and onto the floor. As he stood up and walked away from his bed, he had no idea that he would never sleep in that bed again. As he looked out the window at the wind blowing a scrap of paper across the street, a wind of change was about to blow into his life that would carry him away from his native land to a distant place, never to return again.”

God uses foreshadowing too… he calls it “prophecy”; God unfolds his astonishingly fascinating story one day at a time, never telling us more than we need to know.

Genesis 12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

How about the Apostle Paul:

Acts 20:22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.

So God’s glorious Redemptive Plan unfolds as a mystery… a mystery kept hidden in God, who created all things

Today, we are going to immerse ourselves in the central mystery of the Bible… the mystery of Christ and his saving purposes for the nations of the world

This mystery is not a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie mystery where you have to accumulate the clues and figure out what God is doing. No one can do it! But rather it is the glorious purpose of God which he had established in his own mind before the foundation of the world and now has revealed to us in Christ.

Paul the Apostle is the revealer of this mystery, and he is the secondary focus of this chapter

I.   Paul, the Prisoner of the Mystery (vs. 1, 13)

Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

A.   The Immediate Focus: Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles

B.   One Long, Glorious Interruption (Parenthesis)

Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father

1.   Paul is about to pray for these Gentile Christians (vss. 14-21)

a.   That Christ will dwell in their hearts by faith

b.   That they will have a sense through the Spirit of how wide, and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ for them

2.   But, before he does, Paul wants them to know him better, and to know the work of Christ better

3.   So, we have this massive interruption

Ephesians 3:1-2 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…

Notice the interruption between verses 1 and 2… the NIV, ESV, put a “dash”

C.   Deeper Knowledge of Paul Before He Prays for them

1.   He has already introduced himself as an apostle

Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God

2.   Now, he wants them to understand his special role in the Redemptive Plan of God

3.   Other than Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul was the central figure of the New Testament

a.   God used Paul to write at least thirteen books of the NT

b.   AND Paul’s conversion is the most significant event of the Book of Acts (reported for us THREE TIMES in that book)

c.   AND Paul’s ministry in Acts of planting churches among the Gentiles is the focus of Acts 13-21

d.   AND Paul’s trials before the Jews and the Romans is the focus of Acts 22-28

4.   The Book of Acts is essentially about the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ from Jew only in the upper room in Jerusalem to Jew

+ Gentile in Rome and many other places in the world… PAUL is the main figure in that

5.   The spectacular conversion of Saul of Tarsus from a murderous destroyer of the church of Jesus Christ to its most significant builder is amazing

6.   Paul would say it’s great proof of the power of God in Christ and the saving intention of God toward the Gentiles… “Because of ME, you can know how much God wants to save Gentiles!!”

D.   Big Concern: Understanding Him, His Ministry, His Imprisonment

1.   Paul talks a lot about himself in these 13 verses… Ephesians 3:1-13

a.   The section begins with “I PAUL…”

b.   It continues with many verses of description about his calling, his insights, his ministry, his preaching, his stewardship of the gospel

2.   Vital for them to understand Paul’s role as “Apostle to the Gentiles”

a.   “For this reason…” goes back to Ephesians 2:11-22

b.   Jew-Gentile unity now that Christ has come and abolished the Law and broken down the BARRIERS that kept Jews and Gentiles apart

c.   Temple rising to become a dwelling for God through the Holy Spirit

3.   Then… “for this reason…”

a.   For what reason? For the glory of God in the building of such a magnificent spiritual temple in which he will live eternally

b.   For this reason I Paul… DO WHAT????

c.   Well… pray:

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I kneel before the Father…that CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS… that you would KNOW THE LOVE of Christ

4.   Paul especially wants them to understand his sufferings… his imprisonment (vs. 1, 13)

a.   His great concern is that they not be shocked or put off by his imprisonment

b.   This imprisonment is not for anything SHAMEFUL…

c.   The Ephesians must understand that Paul’s chains are actually their GLORY

Ephesians 3:13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

d.   Paul’s chains are essential to their getting the gospel and their FINAL glorification

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

e.   Paul’s sufferings are their glory because by the suffering of the messengers of the gospel the church grows and grows

John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Paul doesn’t want them to be discouraged… or to discredit his letter or his teaching ministry simply because he is in chains

E.   A “Prisoner of Christ Jesus”… not of the Jews or Rome or any man

Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

1.   Paul knew he was in chains FOR CHRIST… it was no accident… it was Christ’s expressed purpose for his life

Acts 9:15-16 the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

F.   A “Prisoner on behalf of you Gentiles…” for THEIR BENEFIT

G.   Desire: Not Discouragement but Glory! (vs. 13)

Ephesians 3:13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

II.   Paul, the Revealer of the Mystery (vs. 2-5)

Ephesians 3:2-5 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.

A.   “Surely you have heard of me…”

B.   Administration of God’s grace

Ephesians 3:2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you

1.   Another word would be “stewardship”… management

2.   Stewards do not OWN the resources… they MANAGE them for the true owner

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

3.   It was given to him FOR YOU… for the Gentiles to receive the grace of God

C.   Mystery!!! (vs. 3, 4)

Ephesians 3:3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

1.   Something that we could NEVER have figured out by reason or by science

2.   It can only be known by REVELATION… God unfolding it to a human mind by the work of the Holy Spirit

3.   Paul uses the word mystery again in verse 4:

Ephesians 3:4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ

4.   This idea of MYSTERY is central to this section of the Epistle

D.   Insight into Mystery of Christ

1.   Paul’s special insight into the mystery of Christ

a.   The ultimate “AHA!!” moment… “I see it now! I understand who Christ is and what his purposes are!!”

2.   “Christ” is the mystery… but not just the mystery of his person, his incarnation, which is very great

3.   Rather it is a different aspect of the mystery… Christ as the Savior of the Gentiles in such a way that they are ONE BODY with Jews

E.   The Mystery Not Previously Revealed

Ephesians 3:5 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.

1.   No one on earth had this insight into Christ; though people all over the world can discern the existence of God and his nature from looking at creation, no one can discern the mystery of Christ except by direct revelation from God the Father through the Holy Spirit

2.   AND Paul says it was not made known in previous generations

a.   Surprising… because God revealed Christ to Old Testament prophets

Isaiah 49:6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

b.   BUT the prophets did not PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

c.   Jewish Christians STRUGGLED MIGHTILY with this!!!

Acts 10:28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

Acts 10:44-45 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

Acts 11:2-4 when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened

Acts 11:18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

3.   Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel… it was not revealed to them the scope and magnitude of what God was planning for the New Covenant, how amazing it would be among the Gentiles

F.   Now Revealed by the Apostles and Prophets

Ephesians 3:5 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.

1.   NOW… at this moment in time…

2.   The “holy Apostles and prophets”… these are the New Testament revealers to the church

3.   “Prophets” includes people like Jude and James and others who were not apostles but were authoritative teachers of the gospel and writers of NT books

III.   The Mystery: Gentiles One with Jews (vs. 6)

A.   The Mystery Plainly Declared: Full Jew-Gentile Unity Apart from the Law

Ephesians 3:6 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.

B.   Gentiles Heirs Together with Israel

1.   Ready to inherit what God had promised to Abraham

2.   What is that?

a.   First, GOD HIMSELF

Genesis 15:1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

b.   Second, the world!!!

Romans 4:13 Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world

C.   Gentiles Members Together of Same Body as Israel

1.   Gentile Christians are not SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS!

D.   Gentiles Sharers Together of the Promise in Christ… Life-giving SAP

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Romans 11:17 you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root

E.   Through the Gospel

1.   All of these blessings come ONLY THROUGH THE GOSPEL

IV.   Paul, the Proclaimer of the Mystery (vs. 7-9)

Ephesians 3:7-9   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.

A.   Paul a Servant of the Gospel

Acts 20:24 I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me– the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

B.   Paul’s Ministry a Gift of God’s Grace

C.   Paul’s Ministry a Display of God’s Power

1.   The transformation of Saul of Tarsus is a miracle of God’s power

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.

Acts 9:3-6 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

2.   This is a MIRACLE OF GOD’S POWER!!!

3.   God raised Paul from the dead spiritually and gave him a love for Christ that has only been growing and growing ever since

D.   Paul’s Deep Humility about Himself (vs. 8)

Ephesians 3:8 Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me

1.   Paul cuts off any inquiry about his own intrinsic greatness

2.   “What makes you so great that you have this special insight into God’s mystery??”

3.   NOTHING!! I am “less than the least of all God’s people!”

4.   Actually, it was IN SPITE of who I was

1 Timothy 1:12-13 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy

1 Timothy 1:15-16 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am

Paul is VERY HUMBLE about himself… but he SOARS in his statement about his ministry!!

E.   Paul’s Soaring Exaltation of His Ministry (vs. 8)

Ephesians 3:8-9 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.

1.   What a magnificent calling this is!!

2.   Paul was called to PREACH TO THE GENTILES

3.   Just the “foolishness of preaching”… but it was transforming lives all over the world

4.   And the topic was infinitely glorious: the UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST

a.   “unsearchable” = “unfathomable”, “bottomless”; “trackless”; “immeasurable”

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

b.   Paul is preaching to Gentiles how infinitely rich they will become if Christ is their treasure

c.   Turn away from the riches of this world which are nothing

d.   Turn instead to unsearchable riches…the limitless wealth of Christ… he owns all things, but that is nothing compared to the riches of wisdom, knowledge, and love IN HIM

F.   Bringing to Light the Administration of the Mystery

Ephesians 3:9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things

1.   Paul’s ministry is not merely PROCLAMATION of the facts of the gospel

2.   It is also a deepening understanding of the person of Christ as he reveals the glory of God the Father

3.   Paul’s task is to BRING TO LIGHT the PLAN of the mystery

4.   Like predestination, as we’ve already seen

Ephesians 1:4-6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– 6 to the praise of his glorious grace

Soaring 50,000 feet above history to give us a sense of the majesty of God’s PLAN for the world

5.   And the mystery of the future marriage of the church and Christ

Ephesians 5:31-32 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery– but I am talking about Christ and the church.

6.   And the future resurrection glory of the church of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

7.   And the future of the Jewish nation, like in Romans 11

Romans 11:25-26 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

MYSTERIES!!!

G.   Kept Hidden in God for Ages

Vs. 9 the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

V.   God, the Purpose of the Mystery (vs. 10-12)

Ephesians 3:10-12 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.

A.   An Eternal Purpose in all this (vs. 11)

Ephesians 3:11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

B.   God is the Focus of all this

C.   A Display of God’s Glory

Ephesians 3:10 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

1.   Display: MADE KNOWN

2.   Audience: Rulers and Authorities in the Heavenly Realms

a.   “good angels”

b.   The angelic audience is powerful in the book of Daniel and Revelation

Daniel 7:10 Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

Revelation 5:11-12 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

3.   Vehicle of Display: the Church

a.   “through the CHURCH”

b.   The construction of the church of Jesus Christ from the elect from every tribe, language, people and nation is the MOST GLORIOUS THING God has ever done

c.   The GREATEST DISPLAY of the glory of God ever!

4.   Aspect of God’s Glory: The Manifold Wisdom of God

a.   Manifold = varied, diverse, complex

b.   Wisdom= how wise God has been in this salvation plan of Jews and Gentiles in Christ!

So, this unfolding MYSTERY of Gentile salvation in Christ puts the MANIFOLD WISDOM of God on display for the angels to see forever!

D.   A Destination for God’s People (vs. 12)

Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

1.   In the past, Gentiles (and Jews) excluded from God’s presence

Ephesians 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

2.   Now… in Christ… we have access with freedom and confidence

Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

VI.   Applications

A.   Take Advantage of God’s Saving Intention for the Gentiles: COME TO CHRIST!

1.   God has been planning the salvation of people all over the world since before the creation of the universe

2.   He sent his Son for sinners like you and me

3.   God in his mysterious plan brought you here today to hear this gospel

4.   God wants to SET YOU FREE from the invisible chains of sin and guilt that are binding you… God wants to rescue you from the terrifying wrath to come

5.   FLEE TO CHRIST… now!

6.   The Apostle Paul is gone… but his ministry to the Gentiles continues through his writings

7.   He was the one who wrote these wonderful words:

1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst.

8.   Simple logic: If God can save someone as rebellious and sinful as Paul, he can save anyone

9.   TRUST IN CHRIST!

B.   Christians: Ponder the MYSTERIES NOW REVEALED

1.   God has unfolded more of His eternal plan to you than to any previous generations

2.   We can see what He’s doing… saving multitudes from every ethnic group on earth

3.   The gospel has made astonishing progress even in our lifetimes…

a.   When I was in college, there were several nations that had no known Christians

b.   Among them were Albania, Mongolia, and some North African, Muslim nations

c.   Now, God is revealing more and more clearly his plan for all Gentile nations to have a witness, a remnant of elect believers standing courageously for Christ

4.   Delight in the UNFOLDING OF THE MYSTERIOUS PLAN OF GOD!

5.   Delight in the fact that God’s plan has YET MORE MYSTERIES to be revealed

6.   There are aspects of our heavenly life that will remain mysterious until Christ returns to reveal them

7.   Trust God to reveal his mysteries at the right time, and in the right way!

C.   Study Scripture to Understand the Manifold Wisdom of God in the Church

1.   Delight in the variety and wisdom of God in the church

2.   Celebrate how the church shows the glory of God

3.   Embrace commitment to the church more and more

D.   Meditate on, Delight in, and Worship God for “the Unsearchable riches of Christ” (vs. 8)

1.   Let this phrase lead you into deeper and richer worship of Christ than ever before

2.   Ask God to send the Holy Spirit powerfully upon you to worship Christ

3.   Understand how rich we are in Christ!

E.   PRAY: Take advantage of the “freedom and access” we have to God through Christ

F.   Understand the Sufferings of the Servants of God necessary to advance the gospel

1.   Paul was in prison for the gospel

2.   So are many brothers and sisters today

3.   Learn about the persecuted church

4.   Pray for them!

5.   Their sufferings are our GLORY!

6.   Be willing to suffer to advance the gospel