The Mystery of the Third Race Ephesians 3:1-13 Rev. Min J. Chung (Lord s Day Service, November 11, 2018) Ephesians 3:1-13 1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles 2 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. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 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. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 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, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Introduction Chapter 1 is a telescopic view of salvation from God's perspective. Chapter 2 is the microscopic view of salvation from our perspective. In the beginning part of Chapter 2, God brings individual change. Right before this passage, God brings corporate unity in a broken community, making it into a church of Jesus Christ. Before Christ came, humanity was divided into Jews and Gentiles. In the second half of Ephesians 2, Paul speaks from the Gentile's perspective and paints a picture of how the Gentiles were alienated from both God and Israel. However, now they were reconciled to God and Israel through Jesus Christ and introduced a third race made up of Jews and Gentiles. By Christ s death, he created for himself a single, multi-ethnic human society, which is the family of God and the temple he lives in. In Ephesians 3, Paul uses the word mystery four times and it is critical to understand the mystery Paul speaks of. We relate mystery with something hidden and where we feel that it is our job to discover it. Biblical mystery is both similar and different. It is similar in that we have to discover, but it is different in that we could never discover it on our own. The 10 commandments are not a mystery because it says that if you obey The Law, you will be blessed. But the gospel is a mystery because it shows that we could never obey The Law in its entirety and yet somehow through Jesus Christ, we receive all things. So, I ask you today, is the gospel mysterious to you? Redemptive history is resolving the problem of mankind. Paul talks about how he is involved in redemptive history. There are two types of grace in chapters 2 and 3. In Chapter 2, Paul talks about the gracious gift of salvation. It is by grace you have been saved and that is a gift of God.
But in Chapter 3, he talks about the gracious gift of calling as it says in verse 7, "of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace God called Paul when he was spiritually dead and gave him a new purpose and calling to live for the gospel. He was called for the sake of the Gentiles and nothing else mattered to him. Like Paul, we need to simplify our lives. When we know what we are living for, life becomes simple especially in moments where important decisions are to be made. Sometimes, we think we understand the gospel and the Christian life. But the first step of understanding the depth of the gospel is to ask yourself, how can this be? Paul could not get over the fact that he was part of this mystery and he will teach us that you and I are part of the same glorious mystery. I. The Mystery Revealed [1-5] 1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles 2 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. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Through these verses, Paul talks about how this mystery was revealed to him and how the same mystery was revealed to us, the readers. A. The mystery revealed to Paul [1-3] 1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles 2 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. In verse 1, Paul says that he was a prisoner of Christ Humanly speaking, he was not an actual prisoner of Christ because he was currently imprisoned by the Roman Empire. However, he believed in the sovereignty of God above the affairs of men because he did not complain of the obstacles and difficult situations he faced. Paul was in prison for Jesus Christ as he was trying to spread the gospel and he was also a prisoner of love for Jesus Christ as he would do anything for Jesus even to the point of being imprisoned. In the same way, Christians are people who are so free from the condemnation of their sins but so captured or imprisoned by the love for Christ and his people. Grace will not only free us but also imprison us because of our love for him and others. His death makes us live and gives us a cause to live for and even die for. Paul was a prisoner of Rome and a prisoner of love. He was in an earthly prison for Christ, but he was also in the heavenly throne in Jesus Christ right beside the Father. Anyone in Christ is around the throne and anyone in Christ is someone in love. Because of our love for Christ and love for his people, we keep going and then transform any environment we are part of. That is what it means when it says the stewardship of God s grace in verse 2. God called Paul to be the minister of the gospel and Paul would have given up being a prime minister of a country for God s calling. There is not only grace of salvation but also grace of calling. We are saved, but we are saved to serve.
In verse 3, Paul mentions that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. How did Paul receive this revelation? He is primarily talking about his understanding of the Old Testament. Before his conversion, Paul was a Pharisee who knew the Old Testament very well. When he became Christian, the Old Testament started to make sense and he learned of the mystery of Christ. As the revelation was revealed to Paul, he was revealing it to us. B. The mystery revealed to us [4-5] 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. The phrase when you read this refers to the reading of both the Old Testament and the New Testament and Paul is saying that the mystery of Christ will be made known to us when you read both. Essentially, studying more of Paul s insight and knowledge will reveal more of the mystery of Christ. The Old Testament speaks of Christ in depth and the New Testament gives clarity of Christ. Therefore, we need both the Old and the New Testament to understand the mystery and the big picture of Christ. We will see throughout the Bible that Jesus Christ is THE mystery solver and that everything will be solved through him. The phrase not made known to the sons of men in other generations suggests that throughout the biblical time, things were revealed in glimpses which is called progressive revelation. The Bible was not like a book that we hold today. Rather, it was a scroll that you unrolled, and therefore revelation at that time was like a progressive unrolling of God s revelations. When the Bible was finished, the fulfillment of what was written was continuously being revealed to us and the whole redemptive history is in progressive revelation. We have an incredible gift to see and understand things that the previous generations were unable to understand. Progressive revelation helps us to understand more of the Scripture, ourselves, and our lives just like Paul. Throughout Paul s life, God has been revealing who Paul is and what he should be living for. Persecutor Ephesians 3:8 To me, though I am the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, Paul is thinking about how he used to persecute and kill Christians. Prisoner Ephesians 3:1 For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles Preacher Ephesians 3:8 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, Perseverer Ephesians 3:13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
We can see how a persecutor of the Christians can become a prisoner for Christ and now a perseverer for Christ as Paul preached for the church. This shows the progressive unfolding of Paul s life as he matured into a servant of God. Every part of his life was part of a cosmic plan and this is the same for us. We need to constantly look into Scripture to know what we are to live for. Progressive revelation will always lead to progressive glorification. We will become more like Christ and continue to represent him to the world. II. The Mystery Explained [6-9] 6 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. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 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, A. What is the mystery? [6-7] 6 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. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. What is the mystery? Verse 6 says that "this mystery was that the Gentiles are fellow heirs." This mystery involved the inclusion of the Gentiles that the Israelites could have never fathomed during their time. Before the coming of Christ, a Gentile became a Jew through proselytizing, which meant you become a Jew through circumcision. However, the mystery that was revealed to Paul suggested that proselytization was not necessary because Christ has broken down the wall of hostility between the Jews and Gentiles. Previously divided people became one through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles now have equal access to God. To define the mystery in more depth, Paul assembles three parallel composite expressions. Each phrase has the same prefix syn, which means together with. Three composite words that explain the mystery are fellow heirs or co-heirs, members of the same body or co-members, and partakers of the promise or co-partakers. Co-heirs suggest that we share in both blessings and sufferings for the sake of Christ. Co-members mean that we are part of the body where Christ is the head. Co-partakers mean that we participate in the great mystery which was revealed to Paul. The mystery of Christ is the complete union of Jews and Gentiles with each other through the union with Jesus Christ. B. How was the solved mystery made known to us? [8-9]
8 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, Paul sees himself as the worst of all sinners as he says that he is the very least of all the saints. He takes the Greek word for least and adds an ending to say leastest, which is impossible linguistically. 1 Timothy 1:15 - The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. Why was he saying this? Paul was thinking about his past. 1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. Paul was a murderer of Christians. As he thought about that all the time, he says that he is the worst among the apostles, the saints, and the worst sinners. He thought about the past not to self-condemn himself but to exalt the grace given by God. He knew what he was, but he also understood God s grace in giving him this privilege to minister for God s glory. That is why he says that this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles. Gospel was preached to Paul and therefore, gospel was preached by Paul. That is a summary of our Christian lives. In verse 8, Paul preaches of the unsearchable riches of Christ. The word unsearchable means untraceable, unsearchable, unfathomable, and etc. Some translate as infinite and that is the wisdom of God. There is an unlimited aspect of Christ that we need to learn and receive. Then Paul explains in more detail of verse 8 through verse 9. He relates preaching to the word photizo, which means light. He is not only externally preaching but the preaching of the word is bringing everyone to light. We are not apostles like Paul because we did not receive direct revelation like he did. However, the same revelation he received is just as much as ours and we still have the responsibility to proclaim it. God s plan is to proclaim his message through the church so that dead people will come alive. III. The Mystery Solvers [10-13] 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. A. Progression Big picture [10] 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
There is progression of redemptive history as it says in verse 10 that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known. The word manifold suggests multi-colored or multi-faceted wisdom of God. Think of all the reasons why you were miserable during a hard time you faced. Although you may have been thinking of two or three reasons as to why you were going through hard times, God was thinking of million things for our good, for the good of others, and ultimately for His glory because his wisdom is multi-faceted wisdom. God says that He is going to declare through us to the universe as it says in the latter half of verse 10, to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. These rulers and authorities refer to angels and demons and we are to think of them as spectators of salvation. The point is that God is going to declare the victory of Christ through the third race to the entire universe. That is why 1 Peter 1:12 says, for these are the things which angels long to look into. The angels long to look at how God s plan is going to be carried out and as they watch the church, God will continue to reveal His manifold wisdom. B. Purpose Solid plan [11] 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, Verse 11 says that this was according to the eternal purpose... The reality of life is that things fall apart. Racism shows how people are falling apart. Societal injustice shows how culture is falling apart. Natural disasters show how nature is falling apart. Diseases show that our human bodies are falling apart. Despite this, God put everything under Christ and Jesus will bring everything together in the end. So, when you get confused during chaos, relax and focus on your purpose because God is under control. C. Power Available strength [12] 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. Our faith in him means that we will have spiritual strength, and access with confidence means that we will have supernatural strength. The word access applies to both Gentiles and Jews as God broke the wall of hostility. D. Perseverance Enduring hope [13] 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Verse 13 emphasizes believers not to lose heart. When you go through suffering, remember that it will lead to glory. Therefore, do not lose heart. If you had to choose the most important verse from this passage, which one would you choose? In Paul s mind, verse 13 is the most important verse. Why? Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of the Gentiles
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, Paul wanted to start off Ephesians 3 with verse 14, which is a prayer for our power. However, as he thought about himself in prison, he ends up writing Ephesians 3 with verse 1 and dives into the suffering he currently faced. Paul must have thought that the readers were going to be discouraged as they read that he was going through much suffering. So, he dedicated verse 13 to encourage the readers and to remind them that suffering will lead to glory. Sometimes, we suffer because we are following Christ. In those moments, we have choices. We can either think about our prison or think about our love for Christ. We can either mope and cry, or pray and make differences in other people s lives. Paul talks about his suffering in light of his calling. You can either focus on your falling or your calling and Paul chose to think about his calling. If you use God because your happiness is the goal, you will be bitter in your suffering. However, if your life is the means for God s glory, you will never be bitter in your suffering because you understand that God is using you. God suffered on our behalves so that we might be like Him in our suffering. If you suffer in Christ, you suffer like Christ. If you suffer like Christ, you suffer for showing Christ. Whatever you are going through is temporary because there is an eternal reality. God is bigger than your depression, pain, anger, doubt, fear, shame, anxiety, and scars. All suffering will be led to His glory. So, look up and keep on going for His sake because He will empower you and use you. Conclusion Kirk Franklin My life is in your hands Let us be encouraged in the reality that our lives are in God s hands.