THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST
SCRIPTURE
I. Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles
1. 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,
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 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 the 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.
13. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
II. A Prayer for the Church at Ephesus/Carthage, NY
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 his 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 throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen
INTRODUCTION:
It is a curious thing that in the oldest manuscripts of this epistle, verse one of chapter one does not say, “To the saints [in
Following that practice we could probably get away with reading it [“to the saints in
Today I am going to preach from Ephesians, Chapter 3.
In general the Chapter is about the Mystery of Christ.
When I was younger I loved to read Sherlock Holmes, because the author challenged my problem solving abilities. One of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s techniques in mystery weaving was the use of (analogy). An “analogy” is a logical method whereby two otherwise different things are compared for their relative similarities. An analogy problem might look like this: Water is to ice: as magma is to lava.
or the serpent of brass in the Old Testament(Numbers 21:9) is to healing as the cross of Christ’s crucifixion is to our salvation. This analogy is laid out in John 3 14-16.
A mystery–specifically, is something that is beyond the ordinary or human comprehension;
something that has not been or cannot be easily explained.
The word mystery is used, in a biblical sense, to tell of things
that had been hidden,
but were then revealed, at a strategic time.
It is still used to describe things which we are unable,
by reason of our limited knowledge and understanding,
to comprehend or explain.
Mysteries are solved, many times, by thinking outside the box.
There are mysteries concerning life and death and God
which God is not yet willing that we should understand,
and that may not be revealed to us until—
We get to glory.
Such was the mystery of Christ as it relates to the world scope of the Gospel of his Kingdom.
In ancient times God confined the nation of
· a Unique Language
· Circumcision: a sign of a covenant people in the flesh.
· Geographical isolation:
· Location: a hub for outreach to the world at the fullness of time
o “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
· Blood Sacrifices: lamb sacrifice
o A type of the Messiah’s blood sacrifice, once for all
· Special Holy Days;
o Purim,
o Passover,
o Feast of Pentecost,
o Feasts of Trumpets,
o Day of Atonement,
o Feast of Tabernacles,
o Hanukkah
o Events of
o Abraham’s journey of obedience into the promised land
o Moses’ Exodus, crossing the
o The Ten Commandments.
o Manna in the wilderness
o The Serpent of Brass
o Foreign Occupations:
1.Babylonians
2.Persians: under the influence of Daniel >incarnation>star
3.Greeks>Hellenistic influence> Koine Greek language
4.Romans
§ governmental structure>
§ Jurisprudence>
§ roads>
§ postal service>
§ “Pax Romana”
o Gentile history, preparation of redemptive analogies
to facilitate the reception of the Gospel of Christ;
There are connection points in all the cultures of the world that facilitate human understanding of redemption. Their God-ordained purpose is to precondition the mind in a culturally significant way so that they can recognize Jesus as Messiah. Outside of scripture, it appears that God’s general revelation is the source of redemptive analogies worldwide.
o Restriction: One God; no idols
o Development of the Synagogues.
All of these things served to separate
A. Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles
I. Paul the Prisoner 3:1
1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
II. Paul the Steward of Grace
2. Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
(1) A previous letter?( v.3)
3. that is the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
(2) The New Revelation (vv.4-6)
4. in reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5. which was not 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.
(3)Revelation that Enlists (3:7)
7. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
In 1 Corinthians 15:9 Paul referred to himself as “the least of the apostles,” while in Eph. 3:8 he refers to himself as “the least of all God’s people.” For all his great sense of the privilege of being an apostle, Paul had no great sense of his ability or of a high rank. He felt that he should have been rejected because he persecuted the church, but he was chosen—a choice not based on his ability, but on God’s grace. Anything he accomplished was a result of the power of God at work in him. He was blinded on the road to
A. 3: 8b -11 To proclaim and to reveal.
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.
When the Gentiles understand the riches of Christ, the church will be the place where the wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and authorities.
In the end it is to make known the gospel in which God reveals himself as the God who saves and unites Jews and Gentiles. With “unsearchable riches of Christ” (3:8) Paul means the unfathomable or inexhaustible resources available in Christ
· grace
· and power for salvation
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation; to the Jew first and then to the Gentile” (Rom. ).
o for life
o and for bringing all things into unity.
o He wants everyone to know the secret hidden in God but now made known, that the Gentiles are accepted by God as equals with Jewish believers.
B. To Proclaim and to Reveal (v 12-13)
12. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
13. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
WHAT SUFFERINGS?
Read 1 COR 1:8-11, .
Following Paul’s trail, many missionaries have suffered great hardship to bring the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. Missionary biographies are full of accounts of great suffering and deprivation to give this great Gospel to “every tribe and nation.”
Read in Revelation 7:4-17
