We noted how the chapter was a prayer interrupted by a mystery
In the prayer, Paul asked the Lord to grant the church spiritual power
So they might comprehend the love of Christ
That they might be rooted and grounded in that love
So they may be content and filled with the fullness of God
But almost from the start, Paul suspended his prayer to explain an important mystery of the church
The mystery and the prayer were connected as we’ll see today
Essentially, Paul was praying for unity in the body, a bond of love between Jew and Gentile
And the mystery he explained relates to that union
Let’s start back again at the beginning of the chapter in v.1
Eph. 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — Eph. 3:2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; Eph. 3:3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. Eph. 3:4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, Eph. 3:5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
As we did last week, we’ll start with the “reason” Paul was speaking of in v.1
In Chapters 1 & 2 Paul carefully explained all the blessings that every believer possesses even now while we await the Kingdom
We possess them by faith in Jesus Christ
This was a plan before the foundations of the earth
So even though we don’t see all of them yet, they are no less ours and we will have them one day soon
And therefore, Paul argued every believer should be living in light of that truth
We shouldn’t complain about what we lack or waste time chasing after poor substitutes on earth
Neither should we perpetuate divisions that marked our unbelieving life
By faith we’ve been united in a new family with a new future, so let’s live in light of that reality now
This concept of unity is very important, and though the things that divide us may have changed since Paul’s day, the need for unity hasn’t
In Paul’s day, the most common wedge between believers was Jew vs. Gentile
That division was the result of the Law of God which required Israel to stand apart from other nations
And the Law was so effective in that regard that even after the Law was fulfilled by Christ, that division persisted inside the church
So Paul wanted to address the problem of division in the church, which he does in four parts
The first part we studied earlier in Chapter 2, while the second and third parts we’re studying now are in Chapter 3, and the final part comes in Chapter 4
In Chapter 2, Paul acknowledged that the Gentiles were once far off
Yes, God did intend division between Jew and Gentile for a time
But that time has passed
Today in Christ God has brought the two together into one body, Paul explained
The second part is found here in Chapter 3, as Paul prayed for the church to comprehend the all-encompassing power of God’s love
In particular, the Jews in the church had to understand that God’s love was capable of embracing the Gentiles…
…a group of people the Jews had written off as “unlovable”
Similarly, the Gentiles who now enjoy the love of God couldn’t turn their backs on disobedient Israel
The Lord hadn’t forsaken His people, so Gentiles must not become arrogant against the nation of Israel
The fourth part of Paul’s antidote to division is found in the next chapter
In Chapter 4 we’ll study the life of a unified body
And so today, we’re studying the third part of Paul’s argument…explaining the mystery of a united church
At the end of v.1 Paul says he was a prisoner of Christ for the sake of the Gentiles
And from that point, he takes his detour to explain why he was given responsibility to preach to Gentiles
And in typical form, Paul’s detour is one long sentence running to v.13
And like Paul’s earlier lengthy sentence from Chapter 1, we need to take this thought apart to follow it carefully
The detour begins in v.2 with Paul asking rhetorically if his audience had heard how Paul came to be a steward of God’s plan of grace
Paul’s referring back to his conversion account while on the road to Damascus to arrest Christians
Paul’s story is told a total of three times in the book of Acts, including the first account in Acts 9
Acts 9:3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; Acts 9:4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, Acts 9:6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” Acts 9:7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Acts 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. Acts 9:9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” Acts 9:11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, Acts 9:12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” Acts 9:13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; Acts 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; Acts 9:16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
I know this account is familiar to most of us, but take note of the key details once again
Paul was an enemy of the church, but he didn’t view himself at odds with God
On the contrary, Paul viewed himself to be aligned with God against a people intent on perverting Judaism
Paul saw himself doing the work of God by putting to death those who declared Jesus as the Messiah
A zealous, upright Jew like Saul couldn’t imagine that the true Jewish Messiah could be killed by Gentile Romans
Therefore he persecuted the Christians in full conviction that he was on God’s side
But when Jesus appeared to Saul, he came to understand that everything he thought he knew was wrong
Ironically, the Lord used blindness to grant Paul this new insight
And most shocking of all for Paul, the Lord assigned him the mission of reaching Gentiles as well as the sons of Israel
It’s this mission Paul is talking about when he says in v.2 he was given the stewardship of God’s grace
The Greek word for stewardship means to manage on behalf of another
Paul was assigned responsibility to manage the delivery of God’s grace to the Gentile people on Christ’s behalf
What an awesome responsibility
Paul says he received this mission because the Lord desired that Gentiles receive mercy too
And as reasonable and inevitable as this plan sounds to us today, it was not always seen in that way
In fact, I think it required that a prominent Jew reach out to Gentiles as Paul did before many in the early church could accept this possibility
It’s probably why the story of Paul’s conversion was repeated so often in scripture
It’s God’s way of demonstrating His determination to bring the Gospel to all people
In v.3 Paul describes this reality as a mystery, one made known to him by revelation
Paul defines what a mystery is in v.5
It’s a truth not made known to the sons of men
But it has now been revealed through the apostles and prophets
This is the definition of a Biblical mystery
God held back important information about His plans from mankind (sons of men)
He was waiting for His Son’s appearing
After His Son was revealed, then the Father revealed hidden truths through the apostles
And they came to know these things only because the Spirit of God revealed it to them so they could share it
There are 8 mysteries revealed in the New Testament writings of the apostles
Five of those mysteries related to the Church, of which Paul reveals four of them
Two of those Church mysteries are revealed in this letter
And the first of those mysteries is the one Paul is discussing here
Which is the mystery that God intended to unite Jew and Gentile in the church
It didn’t have to be this way…God had other options
He could have chosen to make the Church only Jewish
He could have saved Gentiles in the New Testament days in the same way He did before Jesus came
He could have left Gentiles outside the assembly, watching the Jews enjoying the fellowship of the saints
Much like God-fearing Gentiles were kept outside the wall of the temple
Had God decided to operate this way, He would have been no less faithful to His promises
He would still have been blessing all nations through Abraham’s Seed
After all, no one even knew that the possibility existed for God to do otherwise
But God preferred to bring Jew and Gentile together into one body in the Church, and so He did
Why? Paul is working toward that answer
Knowing that God desired to unite these two groups was critical for building unity in the church
Both Jew and Gentile entered the church with prejudices concerning the other
Those prejudices were the result of sinful flesh reacting absent spiritual understanding
If they didn’t know God’s heart and His purposes, they would operate in spiritual ignorance
And spiritual ignorance gives opportunity for the flesh to take charge
Notice Paul emphasizes that he had already explained this to them briefly earlier
Paul could be referring to his earlier comments in this letter about the mystery of the church
Though it’s also possible Paul is referring to an earlier letter
In either case, Paul says he only briefly mentioned the mystery in passing previously
Therefore, now he explains it in detail so they may understand this mystery of Christ
Obviously, it was important for the church to know and appreciate this truth
Because understanding this mystery and obeying it requires both groups change their thinking and behavior
Paul will explain this later in Chapter 4
And now Paul begins his explanation of this mystery…
Eph. 3:6 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, Eph. 3:7 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. Eph. 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, Eph. 3:9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
Specifically, the Lord revealed to Paul that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body of God’s people
Jews had long held this position of privilege and had been promised many good things by God
They had promise of a Deliverer to lead them out of sin and into everlasting righteousness
They had promise of an inheritance in a Kingdom where they enjoy peace and security
They had promise of an abiding relationship with their God
The Jews received these promises by God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
The Jewish people did nothing to deserve nor earn these things
In fact, they weren’t even a people until God Himself made them out of Abraham’s barren wife
And because the Jewish people were descended from Abraham, they were heirs to these promises
An heir is typically a family member, and so they receive an inheritance because they have a relationship with the one who died
When the Son of God died, He delivered an inheritance to God’s people
This inheritance was promised to those Jews who were in the family of God by faith
Now Paul reveals to the world that God desired for Gentiles to be fellow heirs of these promises with the Jewish people
God intended the Gentiles to be fellow partakers in the promises given to Israel
How did these strangers become fellow heirs?
How did they obtain that opportunity?
Paul says at the end of v.6 that they obtained it through the Gospel
The Gospel is the call to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior
It’s the call to be born again, to receive a new spirit
It’s a message that resurrects dead souls and bodies
Salvation has always been by faith in the promises of God
And the promise of a Messiah has always been the salvation message for both Jew and Gentile
The difference now is that God was prepared to bring repentance to Gentile as well as Jew
As the apostles themselves discovered early in the life of the Church
Acts 13:44 The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Acts 13:46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. Acts 13:47 “For so the Lord has commanded us,
‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles,
That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Paul and Barnabas were preaching the Gospel to Jews who were hardened and did not receive it
So the apostles declared they were turning to preach to Gentiles instead
And when Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced in the same message, leading to their salvation
The message for both is the same
But the difference is that God was now prepared to appoint salvation to the ends of the earth
Furthermore, Paul says in v.7 that he was God’s chosen minister of this Gospel by the power of God
The Greek word for minister means deacon, which is an office of service to God
Paul served God in bringing this message to the world
Paul didn’t invent this idea
He worked this plan because he was entrusted with the plan by God
Furthermore, Paul served in the power God gave Paul to validate his calling
Paul, like all apostles, possessed supernatural gifts intended to demonstrate the working of the Spirit in these men
Paul united service with God’s power and that’s a powerful combination
We know we can’t accomplish anything in our own power
But neither can we accomplish anything if we make no effort to serve God
Paul says in vs.8-9 he was the very least of the saints, and certainly many in the early church would have agreed with Paul’s assessment
He’s referring to his past of persecuting Christians
If opportunities to serve God were based on merit, Paul would have been the last person qualified to serve God
But then so would we
We all serve in our own way according to the same terms
We serve God because he entrusts some work of service to Him
We serve despite our disqualification
And we serve in His power so that everything we accomplish is credit to Him
And this is why Paul’s personal history was so important to His work in the church, and particularly to this mystery
Paul was the last person you would expect to encourage inviting Gentiles to come to God
Paul’s unlikely conversion story disarmed his critics, because they couldn’t claim Paul had been a lifelong Gentile sympathizer
Everyone knew Paul hated Gentiles, or so he used to
Therefore, his sudden affection for Gentiles could only be explained supernaturally
So Paul says in v.9 that he brought to light the plan of this mystery which had been hidden for past ages
For centuries and millennia the Lord held back this truth
Generations of Gentiles came and went without opportunity to know God
Then the Lord appeared and then the mystery was revealed
Why did God chose to reveal this truth in this way? And why wait until Jesus’ appearing before uniting the two peoples?
Paul gives the answer in v.10
Eph. 3:10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.