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Title: The Man, the Mystery, and the Ministry, Ephesians 3:1-13
- The Man (1-2)
- The Mystery (3-6)
- The Ministry (7-13)
REVIEW: Ephesians 2:16, “...that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.”
- The Man 2 Ephesians 3:1-2 (NASB), “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — 2 if indeed you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you…”
• A prisoner of Christ (1) • An administrator of God’s grace (2) • For you (1,2)
• Paul’s conversion and new commission (Acts 9):
Acts 26:17, “I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes [Gentiles] so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”
Painting: The Conversion of St. Paul, by Caravaggio
- The Mystery
Ephesians 3:3, “...that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel…”
• The Mystery is NOT: That Gentiles could be saved and enter into blessing along with Israel. That was already in place.
• The mystery IS: That God has joined believing Jews and Gentiles as equals in one new body, which is the church, and one new people, Christians.
- The Ministry
Ephesians 3:7 (NASB), “...of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 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;”
• Grace not only saved Paul, grace empowers Paul for ministry. • Grace not only saves us; grace empowers us for ministry. • Paul’s ministry is to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, and bring them into the light, and that requires grace for the preacher and grace for the people… or nothing of any eternal significance happens. • Because Paul was a “least” he was humble before the Lord, and that made him “great” in grace. • James 4 says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. • Do you want more grace? Humble yourself before the LORD. • When we humble ourselves, God gives more grace, more power, more ministry.
- The Ministry
Ephesians 3:10, “...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. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to become discouraged about my tribulations in your behalf, since they are your glory.” • Harold Hoehner, “Through the church, the angelic leaders, both good and evil, gain knowledge of the manifold wisdom of God. It is a defeat for evil angels who would like to continue to engender animosity between Jews and Gentiles in order to frustrate the plan of God. The formation of the church is tangible evidence that the evil angelic leaders’ power has been broken!”
CONCLUSION:
- God’s mystery revealed in Christ is to make new people united in a new Spirit-filled body of Christ.
- The ministry of the church is to make the mystery of Christ known and to distribute the free riches of God’s grace to everyone, everywhere.
- Grace empowers Gospel ministry through humility and suffering.
