Ephesians 3:1-13
Isaiah 52:6-10
The mystery of Christ- revealed
There are many mysteries in life………and when I say mystery, I mean there are many things which we see happing with our own eyes, but we don’t fully understand how they actually work- they are a mystery to us.
Like the mystery of clean and folded clothes.
My children leave their dirty washing in the laundry basket and in a couple of days those same clothes are clean and folded, sitting on the end of their beds.
How did that happen?- It’s a mystery.
How those clothes are then put away neatly into their wardrobes is not so much of a mystery, as my children, over the following few days, possibly weeks, start to put those clean clothes away.
Or what about the mystery of clean cups and dishes.
My children leave their dirty cups and dishes all over the house, under the longue, on the table, on the coach, under their beds, and overnight, those same dirty cups and dishes have been cleaned and put away in the cupboards in the kitchen.
How did that happen?- It’s a mystery.
Friends, the apostle Paul tells us here in his letter to the church at Ephesus, that one of the great mysteries of God, the greatest mystery in history, had been revealed in the work and person of Jesus, and what was this mystery?
Paul tells us……Look at verse 6 with me:
This mystery is: that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
This is the same mystery that Paul wrote about back in chapter 2.
A mystery that has been revealed to us for 2,000 years now, and so it perhaps no longer astounds us as it should, a mystery which we know- we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
The mystery, that both Jews and gentiles are members of God’s one family, that is all people, from all nations, from all tribes, from all languages, are members of God’s family, through and only through the cross of Jesus.
Now, as obvious as that seems to us now, remember at the time, in the first century, just a few years after the resurrection of Christ, when this revelation was revealed to the apostle Paul, this was a huge, defining moment in history.
A moment which all of eternity, both past and future points to.
By the way……
As an apostle, Paul had this mystery revealed to him by some sort of revelation, whether the risen Jesus explained it to him, whether he had a dream or vision, I don’t know, but we do know, that it was revealed to him, as an apostle, although the least of all the apostles- by Paul’s own admission. And when Paul received that revelation, that vision, that dream, whatever it was- he wrote it down for us.
Paul was making it clear, that he didn’t make this plan of God’s salvation up, by himself, it wasn’t something he dreamt from his own head, but it was by God’s grace, God’s revealed plan to him.- He was just a steward of the plan.
Look at verses 2 and 3 with me:
assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
Paul writes that he was a steward of God’s plan- in other words, his job wasn’t to make “stuff” up, but to preserve and look after and be responsible for the revelation that was given to him.
Friends, my job as a pastor, as a shepherd, is to primarily preserve the message that has been given to us in the scriptures. I am not a prophet. I don’t just tell you stuff that I make up, NO, by the grace of God I am steward of the message of the gospel. It’s all here in the bible for us!
A lot of what you hear, week in and week out will be the same- “repent and believe” – why? because there is no other way for salvation- it is only through Jesus.
Our purpose here: is salvation- eternal salvation- there is nothing greater we offer, because there is nothing more important than the eternal state of you being.
Paul tells the pastor timothy, in thew book of 1 Timothy, that as a pastor he needed to keep a close watch on himself, his living before God, and what he was teaching his flock…..why?…because in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 16 it tells us that by doing so, by being a good steward of the scriptures you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Yes, we help people in all sorts of ways, but salvation is our main thing.
I was contacted this week by an organisation who help the poor and the needy. They would like to use the church space at Krambach one day in the week, where people can get help, get food, get clothes, just have someone to talk with- and that is a wonderful thing, and something we should do…………. but it’s not our main thing…….we are all about salvation…..we are all about God’s plan A of salvation-Jesus.
Now back to the Jew and gentile issue that was bubbling in the first century.
When Christ came to this earth and fulfilled all the promises made to Isreal and in fact all the promises made to all the nations, there was a real danger that both Jew and gentile wouldn’t accept this truth…….and many didn’t………and many still don’t believe this truth today.
Many Jews still insisted that Jesus wasn’t part of God’s plans for the Jews, and so they kept their laws and insisted that all people still had to be Jewish to really be part of God’s true family.
That is why many of the Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, still insisted that circumcision was still necessary if you really wanted to be part of God’s family. Many gentiles who came to faith through Christ were still being circumcised, in fear that they needed to be Jewish, to really be part of God’s family.
Paul made it clear in the letter to the Galatians, that since Jesus came to this earth, lived, died and rose again, circumcision no longer counted for anything.
Since we are not marked for God by a physical mark, we are marked for God with a spiritual mark, as his Holy Spirit circumcises our hearts, gives us hearts which want to follow him.
You can understand why this mystery of the cross for both Jew and gentile was so shocking.
Up until when Jesus came down from heaven to earth, to tabernacle/ to dwell amongst people, God up until that time, that fullness of time, had given all his promises to the nation of Israel.
He had promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation. He had given Moses his law. He had promised king David, that a king that would sit on his throne forever. He had promised Isreal, a land flowing with milk and honey. He gave Israel a temple, a place where God and man met.
Friends Jesus came to this earth, and fulfilled all those promises to Isreal, but not only to Israel but to the whole world. Australia, England, Egypt….all nations.
As Paul wrote these words to the church in Ephesus, there must have been a thought, that many today, still may have……..
Did God change his mind, when it came to Israel?
And if he did change his mind, what is to stop him from changing his mind again?
The simple answer is NO- God did not change his mind when it came to Israel and we can be sure that God’s plan won’t change, because his plan of salvation for the world has always been Jesus, before the foundation of the world it was Jesus, and it always will be Jesus.
God’s plan of salvation was always to save people from all nations, not just from the nation of Israel.
Even back to the promise that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, God told Abraham that in Him, all the families of the earth would be blessed- not just Israel.
Throughout the Old Testament scriptures there are clues scattered all over, clues which show us that God was going to bless all the families on earth, the only mystery was, HOW?
How on earth would God carry out his promise to Abraham, to Moses, to David…..or more the question, through whom would all these mysteries be made known- Abraham wasn’t the answer, Moses wasn’t the answer, King David wasn’t the answer- Jesus was and is the answer.
All the promises of God find there YES AND AMEN in Jesus.
Just like the mystery of the clean clothes and clean plates wasn’t found in a system or a mechanism, although the dishwasher and washing machine were part of the solution, the real answer to the mystery was found in a person- ME- NO- my wife Kari, - she was the one who sorted out the dirty clothes and dishes.
Jesus is the one who washes us clean by his blood, so that as Paul writes in verse 12, we now we have access to meet with God Himself……..Wow…..
No wonder this mystery revealed was and is mind blowing.
Paul tells us that through Jesus, we now, both Jew and gentile can have a relationship with God. No more taking animals to the temple to be sacrificed year after year, since Jesus became our sacrifice for us, no more meeting the high priest week after week, since Jesus is our high priest, no more sitting on the outside court of the temple, if you were a gentile, no more circumcision if you were a Jew, but now, through Jesus and his blood, shed on the cross, which covers our sins, we can have a relationship with God.
Jesus was and is and always will be, God’s plan of salvation for the world.
Mystery solved!
Paul tells us this in verse 11
Look at verse 11 with me:
This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord
The cross of Christ was there in eternity past, as it’s shadow fell across the world, the cross of Christ is there in eternity future, as we will be gathered around the lamb that was the slain, as his the holes in his hands, will be a constant reminder to us, of the salvation that he brought us through the cross.
And perhaps even more amazingly, this plan of God which has been revealed to us through the person of Jesus is displayed through the church, both the global church and the local church. The eternal purpose of God is on display right now, in this place….
Just look at verses 8-10 with me again.
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
The manifold wisdom of God- which means the multiple layers of God’s plan of salvation that were promised through the nation of Israel has been made know through the person of Jesus, and we the church display God’s wisdom, not only to the world, but to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
Angels look upon this rag-tag gathering here today and are amazed.
Amazed that a undeserving group of sinners have been saved by the blood of the cross. Amazed that this grace is open to all people, from all tribes, from all nations.
Demons and satan look upon this rag-tag gathering and are hugely discouraged, discouraged that he is reminded that Christ has defeated Him on the cross,
discouraged that Christ has purchased God’s people for Himself through the cross, discouraged, that despite him doing his darnest to stop God’s people gathering together under Christ, we still do.
What we do here week in and week out- matters- it really matters……..
Now I could leave you with a simple application………
Come to church each week…..and in fact that is an application I want to leave with you, however, I don’t want to make church a stumbling block for you, coming to church is not a requirement for your salvation.
Just like circumcision, you don’t have to come to church to be saved….you are saved through faith alone in Christ alone….by God’s grace alone.
My prayer for you, is that Church will be the first thing you circle on your diary each week. It will become your number one priority.
Why, because it is of eternal worth.
The whole plan of God’s salvation is shown through church.
You are part of the greatest thing in history and of the future.
The whole of history centres on Jesus and Jesus is displayed through the church- as God planned.
When I was 8 years old, I played soccer (football).
Some people thought I was decent.
I had a chance to train with the Everton academy.
I used to play against players like Steven Gerrard (whose that – you may ask).
Anyway, I had a chance to make it into the Everton academy, but I didn’t even make it to a trial as my parents didn’t want me to miss church on a Sunday- when the trials were.
At the time, I was devastated….I think I have just gotten over it now, although I follow Steven Gerrard’s career and wonder….if only……..
And yes, could my parents allowed me to miss a few Sundays for trials- yes, could they have gone to a night service on Sunday- yes…..could they have done many different things….yes……
But, and this is one of my buts….not the buts in Ephesians,
I lost nothing…..and gained everything.
Yes, I could have glorified God on a football field, I still do, although my kids would argue otherwise, but it is obvious that God is most glorified as he brings people together in Christ. We glorify God together- this was one of the main objectives of the mystery of Christ being revealed- it brought Jew and gentile together.
Your salvation was never meant to be lived out in isolation, but within a community of believers.
If you want to glorify God by doing your individual thing- you are more prone to brining glory to yourself, and yet….as we gather together as God’s people, under his word, joined in one spirit, we cannot help but Glorify Jesus together- as members of his body, members that are not only dependent on Jesus but on one another.
Friends, when you commit yourself to a local church- you are part of the greatest story ever told- why wouldn’t you want to be part of that.
Let us pray.
Comments