Ephesians The Great Mystery ~ The Church Ephesians 3:1-13

Transcription

1 Ephesians The Great Mystery ~ The Church Ephesians 3:1-13 Life is full of mysteries. Paul s concern, in this passage, is a mystery revealed, a body made up of Jew and Gentile. Included in this mystery are a number of secondary mysteries. For example if we are one and God has come to bring us peace, why is there so little peace within the body? This is why we talked last time about the need to live out the reality of peace and unity within the local community of believers. The struggles within the body are simply reflections of the greater struggle of humanity at large. Stedman explains this mystery with the following illustration. The present civilization we are living in secular life, with its politics, its education, its legislative system, its reportage of news events can be likened to a cocoon, clinging lifeless to the branch of history. But inside that cocoon, God is working a metamorphosis. A transformation is taking place. And one of these days that cocoon will open, in the springtime which is being created at this time right within the cocoon. This is the great parable that God teaches us in nature. Did you ever wonder why caterpillars crawl on the ground? Why don t they run around on four legs? They are intended to be a picture of life in the flesh, the natural human life. Everything that lies in a caterpillar s path is horrible obstacle over which it must painfully crawl. It cannot see very far, and doesn t know which turn to take. This is an apt description of the way we live our lives as natural human beings. But God has a program for a caterpillar. He has a wonderful plan for its life. I don t know if anyone has told the Four Spiritual Laws to a caterpillar, but the first point would be, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. What is it? That you ll die, that you ll come to the end, that somehow all your old life as a caterpillar will decay and you will be left lifeless in a cocoon of your own spinning, hanging on a limb and apparently it will be over. But it isn t over. Right in the midst of that death something happens. We don t really know what it is. Nobody has ever found out what goes on inside a cocoon that transforms a caterpillar into a butterfly. But we know that one of these days, when the sun begins to shine, all these dread-looking cocoons will begin to break open, and beautiful creatures will emerge, designed no longer for a life on the lower level, crawling along over every obstacle, but able to rise above them, able to spread their wings and fly as an expression of beauty and joy throughout the world. This is God s lesson regarding what he is doing now. 1 I Introduction II A Prisoner Verse 1 III A Mystery Verses 2-6 IV A Revelation Verses 7-13 IV Conclusion Introduction: Keep in mind when we started this series, we noted that the first three chapters presented the doctrinal aspect of the letter while the last three focus on how to apply this doctrine. Chapter three then completes the foundation. Here Paul also talks about his calling and the Church as a mystery. 1 Stedman, Ray C., Riches in Christ, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1976, p

2 When we speak of the Church as a mystery, there is unfortunately some confusion depending on one s theological bent. For those who hold to a replacement theology, that is the Church has replaced Israel, they are also off base on understanding the concept of the mystery of the church. For those who understand that god is not done with Israel, the mystery concept is much easier to understand. If you will bear with me, I want to read a section from Dr. McGee s introduction to this chapter. Dr. McGee speaks of two extremes, the second being hyperdispensationalism, Because this view is a minority view I m not going to included that discussion, but focus only on the first. This is important in understanding Paul s intent in this section. One extreme group ignores the clear-cut statement of Paul that the church is not a revelation of the Old Testament. They treat the church as a continuation of Israel. This is known as covenant theology. The appropriate all the promises made to Israel and apply them to the church. Years ago Dr. Harry Ironside showed me a Bible used by the group holding the covenant theology viewpoint. In the books of the Old Testament prophets, they had headed some of the chapters: Blessings for the Church. Other chapters were headed: Curses for Israel. It s quite interesting that the church that took the blessings but left the curses for Israel! The truth is both the blessings and curses apply to Israel. 2 Paul s mystery is the revelation that the church which was not revealed in the Old Testament but is solely revealed in the New Testament. 3 Verse 1: But first, Paul had taken the Gospel to the Gentiles. He had given them all we have seen in the previous chapter. As a consequence of his preaching he had been imprisoned. He was the prisoner of Nero because he had appealed to the emperor. Then Paul made his defense: I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar. Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges? Paul answered: I am now standing before Caesar s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar! (Acts 25:8-11). When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him (Acts 28:16, 30). But what should be noted here, is that though Paul was a prisoner of Rome, from his perspective he was actually a prisoner of Christ. When we live in obedience to the Lord, no one has any power over us, but what He allows. Christ Himself noted this, speaking of the cross, when He said: 2 McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 5, Ephesians, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN 1982, p Ibid. ) 78 (

3 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father (John 10:17-18). Paul was going to tell the Gentile believers of his praying for them (vs. 14), but he had a parametrical thought relating to the mystery of the Church. Verses 2-6: Paul s calling was to administer or be the steward of this mystery. The church was not known to Scripture (the Old Testament). The concept of a body which served God and was made up of both Jew and Gentile wasn t even hinted at. It was something new. Keep in mind, while the prophets were clear God would reach out to the Gentile, Jewish thinking wouldn t have looked for something new, but simply proselytized Gentiles. Paul was the steward of this dispensation. (see Strong s) He was a Jew called to the Gentiles. And this message came in a revelation. Whether it was something that arrived specifically through the Holy Spirit, or from Him in the context of the Damascus experience isn t spelled out clearly. But Paul, unlike the other apostles had a very specific ministry outside of Israel. The difference between this mystery and what the Jew had historically understood was the fact that Gentiles were no longer second class citizens, but were joint heirs with the Jew. As we saw last time, that wall which separated the Jew from Gentile had been torn down by the shed blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Ephesians 2:14-16). Because of Christ, Gentiles are fellow partakers (RV) of the covenant promise made originally though never isolationally to the Jews. This union of Jews and Gentiles in one body, which was so astonishing to all who saw it, is a logical consequence of the central doctrine of the gospel that God accepts all who believe. 4 Stott summarizes the passage this way: oijkonomi a oikonomia, oy-konom-ee -ah; from 3623; administration (of a household or estate); specially, a (religious) economy : dispensation, To sum up, we may say that the mystery of Christ is the complete union of Jewis and Gentiles with each other through the union of both with Christ. It is this double union, with Christ and with each other, which was the substance of the mystery. 5 Verses 7-13: It isn t surprising the Jew didn t appreciate Paul s message, because it removed them as the sole purveyor of God s salvation. And as a consequence of His call, Paul spend many years as a prisoner. 4 Wood, A. Skevington, The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Ephesians, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Stott, John R. W., The Message of Ephesians, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1979, p ) 79 (

4 The Gospel changes lives, Paul s most of all. He is ever grateful for God saving Him. He considers himself as nothing. While we are forgive for our sins, this doesn t mean we escape the consequences, and Paul carried the burden of all those dead followers of The Way for the rest of his life. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13). So, if anyone understood the reality of forgiveness, it would certainly be Paul. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:14). Paul calls himself a servant for the Gospel. His life is centered around reaching people with the message of salvation. Everything else is secondary. He was what could truly be called a fanatic, a fanatic for the truth. The Encarta World English Dictionary defines fanatic as: 1. somebody who has extreme and sometimes irrational enthusiasms or beliefs, especially in religion or politics. 6 Obviously the irrational wouldn t apply to Paul. But to be fanatical about truth is something that should be strived for in a world which doesn t even believe there is truth. And so Paul risked even his freedom to give out the Gospel. The aspects Paul identifies here are: 1. God s unspeakable riches, which Paul referred to back in Chapter 1. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). 2. An understanding of the mystery that is the Church, a body made up of Jew and Gentile. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). 3. The Church becomes a statement of God s wisdom to those in the heavenly realm. We often forget that what goes on in our lives, the life of the Church, not only should serve to bring glory to God before the fallen of the earth, but also serves as a testimony to His wisdom before the heavenlies. Peter spoke to this when he said: It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the 6 Encarta World English Dictionary 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ) 80 (

5 gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things (1 Peter 1:12). Arthur Custance puts it this way: The key to the existence of such a universe as this lies, I believe, in the fact that God wished to show forth that aspect of his being which the angels have never comprehended, namely his love, without at the same time surrendering that part of his being which they do comprehend, namely his holiness As believers we have constant access to the Father. What is exciting about this access to the Father, is that it is freely available. We don t have to go through so-called saints. We don t have to go through priests. We don t have to have any mediators between us and God other than Christ. In addition to the freedom to go to God s throne, we can do go with confidence because we are His children, joint heirs with Christ. Even when we come to the Father to confess sin, we can have confidence that they have already been paid for by the shed blood of Christ. Conclusion: Paul really puts his own conclusion to this passage when he encourages his readers not to be fearful for him in the midst of his suffering. All is used for God s glory. He may even have an inkling that his imprisonment may have greater ramifications that he can realize. And we know that was the case. 1. So, we are called to live in the reality of the unity and peace which is part of the body of Christ. Note the focus on being part of community. The call of the Gospel isn t a call to being the Lone Ranger. 2. We are called to live with confidence in our relationship to the Father, which will give us the ability to live above our circumstances, whether we are talking about the struggles within the community of believers or within are own small sphere. 3. We are called to live within the reality of our testimony before a fallen world and the glorious heavenlies. We are to be testimonies to God s love, mercy and wisdom before all His creation, fallen and otherwise. Stott closes this section with an emphasis on the importance of the local body of believers. The major lesson taught by this first half of Ephesians 3 is the biblical centrality of the church. Some people construct a Christianity which consists entirely of a personal relationship to Jesus Christ and has virtually nothing to do with the church. Others make a grudging concession to the need for church membership, but add that they have given up the ecclesiastical institution as hopeless. Now it is understandable, even inevitable, that we are critical of many of the church s inherited structures and traditions. Every church in every place at every time is in need of reform and renewal. But we need to beware lest we despise the church of God, and are blind to his work in history. We may safely say that God has not abandoned his church, however displeased with it he may be. He is still building and refining it. And if God has not abandoned it, how can we? It has a central place in his plan. 8 7 Stedman, p Stott, p ) 81 (

6 The church s one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is his new creation, By Spirit and the Word: From heav n he came and sought her To be his holy bride, With his own blood he bought her, And for her life he died. Elect from ev ry nation, Yet one o er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With ev ry grace endued. Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore; Till with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blest, And the great church victorious Shall be the church at rest. 9 9 Stone, Samuel J., public domain. ) 82 (

7 Ephesians The Great Mystery ~ The Church Ephesians 3:1-13 I Introduction II A Prisoner Verse 1 III A Mystery Verses 2-6 IV A Revelation Verses 7-13 IV Conclusion I Introduction: II A Prisoner: (Acts 25:8-11, 28:16, 30; John 10:17-18) III A Mystery: (Ephesians 2:14-16)

8 IV A Revelation: (1 Timothy 1:13-14) 1. God s riches (Ephesians 1:3) 2. the Church, a made up of and. (Ephesians 2:13) 3. the Church becomes a of God s (1 Peter 1:12) 4. As believers we have to the Father Conclusion: Personal Application: Let us build on what we have been considering. First, praising God for all His blessings. Next, striving to live out the peace and unity within the body. And finally, meditate on the importance of the local community of believers. Prayer for the Week: Lord, may I come to value our church and to live out that importance in my life, In Christ s name, amen