Ephesians 3B Last week I dissected chapter 3 f Ephesians We nted hw the chapter was a prayer primarily Paul prayed fr the church t receive spiritual pwer frm the Father Fr the church t grw in cmprehending the lve f Christ T be rted and grunded in Christ s lve S they may be cntent and filled with the fullness f Gd Paul s prayer fr the church was a prayer fr unity, a unin f Jew and Gentile int ne bdy But as we saw last week, Paul interrupted his prayer t explain the mystery f the church I chse t cver the prayer in its entirety first skipping ver Paul s explanatin f the mystery Which means we need t g back t that sectin this mrning We start back again at the beginning f the chanter in v.1 Eph. 3:1 Fr this reasn I, Paul, the prisner f Christ Jesus fr the sake f yu Gentiles Eph. 3:2 if indeed yu have heard f the stewardship f Gd s grace which was given t me fr yu; Eph. 3:3 that by revelatin there was made knwn t me the mystery, as I wrte befre in brief. Eph. 3:4 By referring t this, when yu read yu can understand my insight int the mystery f Christ, Eph. 3:5 which in ther generatins was nt made knwn t the sns f men, as it has nw been revealed t His hly apstles and prphets in the Spirit; As we did last week, let s remember what reasn Paul was speaking f in v.1 In chapters 1 & 2 Paul painstakingly explained all the blessings that every believer pssess even nw while we await the Kingdm By faith we pssess them 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 2 f 15 S even thugh we dn t see all f them yet, they are n less urs And therefre, Paul argued every believer shuld be living in light f that truth We shuldn t be cmplaining abut what we lack r waste time chasing after pr substitutes n earth Neither shuld we perpetuate thse divisins that marked ur unbelieving life Because by faith we ve been united in a new family with a new future This cncept f unity is very imprtant, and thugh the things that divide us may have changed since Paul s day, the need fr unity hasn t In Paul s day, the mst cmmn wedge between between believers was Jew vs. Gentile That divisin had been created by the Law f Gd causing Israel t stand apart frm ther natins And the Law was s effective that nw that the Law was cmpleted in Christ, that divisin persisted inside the church S Paul needed t address the prblem f divisin in the church, which he did in fur parts The first part we studied earlier in chapter 2, the secnd and third parts we re studying nw in chapter 3, and the final part cmes in chapter 4 In chapter 2, Paul acknwledged that the Gentiles were nce far ff Yes, Gd did intend divisin between Jew and Gentile fr a time But that time has passed Tday in Christ Gd has brught the tw tgether int ne bdy, Paul explained The secnd part is fund here in chapter 3, as Paul prayed fr the church In his prayer, Paul petitined the Lrd t grant the church appreciatin fr Gd s lve 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 3 f 15 In particular, the Jews in the church had t understand that Gd s lve was capable f embracing the Gentiles......a grup f peple the Jews had written ff as unlvable Similarly, the Gentiles wh nw enjy the lve f Gd culdn t turn their backs n disbedient Israel The Lrd hadn t frsaken His peple S Gentiles must nt becme arrgant against the natin f Israel The furth part f Paul s answer cmes in the next chapter S tday, we re ging t study the third part f Paul s argument...explaining the purpse f this mystery At the end f v.1 Paul says he was a prisner f Christ fr the sake f the Gentiles And frm that pint, he takes a detur t explain why he was given respnsibility t preach t Gentiles And alng the way he s ging t explain why Gd determined t jin tgether different peple int ne bdy in the church Why He mved frm wrking with nly ne special natin He created t incrprating all kinds f peple int a single bdy And in typical frm, Paul s detur is a single lng sentence running t v.13 S like Paul s earlier lengthy sentence frm chapter 1, we need t take this thught apart t fllw it carefully The detur begins in v.2 with Paul asking rhetrically if his audience had heard hw Paul came t be a steward f Gd s plan f grace Paul s referring back t his cnversin accunt while n the rad t Damascus t arrest Christians Paul s stry is tld a ttal f three times in the bk f Acts Which tells us hw imprtant this accunt is t the church Acts 9:3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was appraching Damascus, and suddenly a light frm heaven flashed arund him; 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 4 f 15 Acts 9:4 and he fell t the grund and heard a vice saying t him, Saul, Saul, why are yu persecuting Me? Acts 9:5 And he said, Wh are Yu, Lrd? And He said, I am Jesus whm yu are persecuting, Acts 9:6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be tld yu what yu must d. Acts 9:7 The men wh traveled with him std speechless, hearing the vice but seeing n ne. Acts 9:8 Saul gt up frm the grund, and thugh his eyes were pen, he culd see nthing; and leading him by the hand, they brught him int Damascus. Acts 9:9 And he was three days withut sight, and neither ate nr drank. Acts 9:10 Nw there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lrd said t him in a visin, Ananias. And he said, Here I am, Lrd. Acts 9:11 And the Lrd said t him, Get up and g t the street called Straight, and inquire at the huse f Judas fr a man frm Tarsus named Saul, fr he is praying, Acts 9:12 and he has seen in a visin a man named Ananias cme in and lay his hands n him, s that he might regain his sight. Acts 9:13 But Ananias answered, Lrd, I have heard frm many abut this man, hw much harm he did t Yur saints at Jerusalem; Acts 9:14 and here he has authrity frm the chief priests t bind all wh call n Yur name. Acts 9:15 But the Lrd said t him, G, fr he is a chsen instrument f Mine, t bear My name befre the Gentiles and kings and the sns f Israel; Acts 9:16 fr I will shw him hw much he must suffer fr My name s sake. I knw this accunt is familiar t mst f us, but take nte f the key details nce again Paul is the enemy f the church, but he desn t view himself an enemy f Gd On the cntrary, Paul viewed himself t be aligned with Gd against a grup intent n perverting Judaism Paul saw himself ding the wrk f Gd by putting t death thse wh called Jesus the Messiah A zealus upright Jew like Saul culdn t imagine that the true Jewish Messiah culd be killed by Gentiles Rmans Therefre he persecuted the Christians in full cnvictin that he was n Gd s side 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 5 f 15 But when Jesus appeared t Saul, he came t see that everything he thught he knew was wrng Irnically, the Lrd used blindness t give Paul this new insight And mst shcking f all fr Paul, the Lrd gave him the missin f reaching the Gentiles as well as the sns f Israel It s this missin Paul is talking abut when he says he was given the stewardship f Gd s grace The Greek wrd fr stewardship means t manage n behalf f anther Paul was assigned respnsibility t manage the delivery f Gd s grace t the Gentile peple What an awesme respnsibility He had this respnsibility because the Lrd desired that Gentiles receive His mercy t And as reasnable and inevitable as this sunds t us tday, it was nt always that way In fact, I think it required that peple witness the miracle cnversin f a prminent Jew befre they might believe It s prbably why the stry f Paul s cnversin was repeated s ften in scripture It s Gd s way f demnstrating His determinatin t bring the Gspel t all peple In v.3 Paul describes this truth as a mystery, ne that made knwn t him by Revelatin Paul defines what a mystery is in v.5 It s a truth nt made knwn t the sns f men But it has nw been revealed thrugh the apstles and prphets This is the definitin f a Biblical mystery Gd held back imprtant infrmatin abut His plans frm mankind (sns f men) He was waiting fr His Sn s appearing 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 6 f 15 After His Sn was revealed, then the Father revealed hidden truths thrugh the apstle s And they came t knw these things nly because the Spirit f Gd revealed it t them s they culd share it There are 8 mysteries revealed in the New Testament writings f the apstles Five f thse mysteries related t the Church, f which Paul reveals fur f them Tw f thse Church mysteries are revealed in this letter And the first f thse mysteries is the ne Paul is discussing here Which is the mystery that Gd intended t unite Jew and Gentile in the church It didn t have t be this way...gd had ther ptins He culd have chsen t make the Church nly Jewish He culd have saved Gentiles in the New Testament days in the same way He did befre Jesus came He culd have left Gentile utside the assembly, watching the Jews enjying the fellwship f the saints Much like Gd-fearing Gentiles were kept utside the wall f the temple Had Gd decided t perate this way, He wuld have been n less faithful t His prmises He wuld still have been blessing all natins thrugh Abraham s Seed After all, n ne even knew that the pssibility existed fr Gd t d therwise But Gd preferred t bring Jew and Gentile tgether int ne bdy in the Church, and s He did Why? Paul is wrking tward that answer Knwing that Gd desired t unite these tw grups was critical fr building unity in the church 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 7 f 15 Bth Jew and Gentile entered the church with prejudices cncerning the ther Thse prejudices were the result f sinful flesh reacting absent spiritual understanding If they didn t knw Gd s heart and His purpses, they wuld perate in spiritual ignrance And spiritual ignrance gives pprtunity fr the flesh t take charge Ntice Paul emphasizes that he had already explained this t them briefly earlier Paul culd be referring t his earlier cmments in this letter abut the mystery f the church Thugh it s als pssible Paul is referring t an earlier letter In either case, Paul says he nly briefly mentined the mystery in passing previusly Therefre, nw he explains it in detail s they may understand this mystery f Christ Obviusly, it was imprtant fr the church t knw and appreciate this truth Because understanding this mystery and beying it requires bth grups change their thinking and behavir Paul will explain this later in chapter 4 And nw Paul begins his explanatin f this mystery... Eph. 3:6 t be specific, that the Gentiles are fellw heirs and fellw members f the bdy, and fellw partakers f the prmise in Christ Jesus thrugh the gspel, Eph. 3:7 f which I was made a minister, accrding t the gift f Gd s grace which was given t me accrding t the wrking f His pwer. Eph. 3:8 T me, the very least f all saints, this grace was given, t preach t the Gentiles the unfathmable riches f Christ, Eph. 3:9 and t bring t light what is the administratin f the mystery which fr ages has been hidden in Gd wh created all things; 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 8 f 15 Specifically, the Lrd revealed t Paul that the Gentiles are fellw heirs and fellw members f the bdy f Gd s peple Jews had lng held this psitin f privilege and had been prmised many gd things by Gd They had prmise f a Deliverer t lead them ut f sin and int everlasting righteusness They had prmise f an inheritance in a Kingdm where they enjy peace and security They had prmise f an abiding relatinship with their Gd The Jews received these prmises by Gd s prmises t Abraham, Isaac and Jacb The Jewish peple did nthing t deserve nr earn these things In fact, they weren t even a peple until Gd Himself made them ut f Abraham s barren wife And because the Jewish peple were descended frm Abraham, they were heirs t these prmises An heir is typically a family member, and s they receive an inheritance because they have a relatinship with the ne wh died When the Sn f Gd died, He delivered an inheritance t Gd s peple This inheritance was prmised t thse Jews wh were in the family f Gd by faith Nw Paul reveals t the wrld that Gd desired fr Gentiles t be fellw heirs f these prmises with the Jewish peple Gd intended the Gentiles t be fellw partakers in the prmises given t Israel Hw did these strangers becme fellw heirs? Hw did they btain that pprtunity? Paul says at the end f v.6 that they btained it thrugh the Gspel The Gspel is the call t repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Savir 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 9 f 15 It s the call t be brn again, t receive a new spirit It a message that resurrects dead suls and bdies Salvatin has always been by faith in the prmises f Gd And the prmises f a Messiah has always been the salvatin message fr bth Jew and Gentile The difference nw is that Gd was prepared t bring repentance t Gentile as well as Jew As the apstles themselves discvered early in the life f the Church Acts 13:44 The next Sabbath nearly the whle city assembled t hear the wrd f the Lrd. Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the crwds, they were filled with jealusy and began cntradicting the things spken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Acts 13:46 Paul and Barnabas spke ut bldly and said, It was necessary that the wrd f Gd be spken t yu first; since yu repudiate it and judge yurselves unwrthy f eternal life, behld, we are turning t the Gentiles. Acts 13:47 Fr s the Lrd has cmmanded us, I have placed Yu as a light fr the Gentiles, That Yu may bring salvatin t the end f the earth. Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejicing and glrifying the wrd f the Lrd; and as many as had been appinted t eternal life believed. Paul and Barnabas were preaching the Gspel t Jews wh were hardened and did nt receive it S the apstles declared they were turning t preach t Gentiles instead And when Gentiles heard this, they rejiced in the same message, leading t their salvatin The message fr bth is the same But the difference is that Gd was nw prepared t appint salvatin t the ends f the earth Furthermre, Paul says in v.7 that he was the Gd s chsen minister f this Gspel by the pwer f Gd 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 10 f 15 The Greek wrd fr minister means deacn, which is an ffice f service t Gd Paul served Gd in bringing this message t the wrld Paul didn t invent this idea He wrked this plan because he was entrusted with the plan by Gd Furthermre, Paul served in the pwer Gd gave Paul t validate his calling Paul, like all apstles, pssessed supernatural gifts intended t demnstrate the wrking f the Spirit in these men Paul united service with Gd s pwer and that s a pwerful cmbinatin We knw we can t accmplish anything in ur wn pwer But neither can we accmplish anything if we make n effrt t serve Gd Paul says in vs.8-9 he was the very least f the saints, and certainly many in the early church wuld have agreed with Paul s assessment He s referring t his past f persecuting Christians If pprtunities t serve Gd were based n merit, Paul wuld have been the last persn qualified t serve Gd But then s wuld we We all serve in ur wn way accrding t the same terms We serve Gd because he entrusts sme wrk f service t Him We serve despite ur disqualificatin And we serve in His pwer s that everything we accmplish is credit t Him And this is why Paul s persnal histry was s imprtant t His wrk in the church and particularly t this mystery Paul was the last persn yu wuld expect t encurage invite Gentiles t cme t Gd 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 11 f 15 Paul s unlikely cnversin stry disarmed his critics, because they culdn t claim Paul had been a lifelng Gentile sympathizer Everyne knew Paul hated Gentiles, r s he used t Therefre, his sudden affectin fr Gentiles culd nly be explained supernaturally S Paul says in v.9 that he brught t light the plan f this mystery which had been hidden fr past ages Fr centuries and millennia the Lrd held back this truth Generatins f Gentiles came and went withut pprtunity t knw Gd Then the Lrd appeared and then the mystery was revealed Why did Gd chse t reveal this truth in this way? And why wait until Jesus appearing befre uniting the tw peples? Paul gives the answer in v.10 Eph. 3:10 s that the manifld wisdm f Gd might nw be made knwn thrugh the church t the rulers and the authrities in the heavenly places. Eph. 3:11 This was in accrdance with the eternal purpse which He carried ut in Christ Jesus ur Lrd, Eph. 3:12 in whm we have bldness and cnfident access thrugh faith in Him. Paul says this mystery was hidden fr ages t be revealed by the apstles s that Gd s manifld wisdm wuld be made knwn The wrd manifld means diverse, multifaceted, made up f many kinds Paul s talking abut the intricacies f Gd s wrk The incredible details and unexpected twist and turns f hw Gd shuts us all peple in disbedience yet bring salvatin t many The unfathmable depths f his wisdm that bring all events in human histry tgether culminating in the wrk f His church Fr truly the Church is the pinnacle f that wrk 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 12 f 15 The Church is where every detail f the Old and New Testaments cme tgether The Church is where the Spirit f Gd dwells, where the Law f Gd is written, where perfect bedience will ccur And it s the place where the Sn f Gd is preached in His full revelatin in fulfillment f past prphecies That s why this mystery waited fr s lng t be revealed The Lrd was waiting fr the appearing f His Sn befre He revealed the plans fr His church In prir generatins, the Lrd alluded t this day Speaking thrugh prphets, the Lrd said He wuld make His peple jealus by a peple wh were nt Gd s peple And He used pictures like Baz and Ruth t leave clues t the cming unin f Christ and Gentiles But n ne culd understand thse things until the mystery was fully revealed in the New Testament, as Gd intended The Church wuld be Gd s grand display, the piece de resistance And s it waited fr His Sn s befre it culd be knwn and appreciated Paul says in v.11 that all these things were in accrdance with the eternal purpse He carried ut in Jesus Christ Frm the beginning f Creatin, the plan f Gd centered n Jesus dying t redeem humanity frm sin That plan existed befre sin existed And therefre, the plan f a Church uniting Jew and Gentile existed befre either Jew r Gentile existed That s why bth Jew and Gentile ca have bldness and cnfident access t the Father thrugh Jesus Christ Because after all, if Gd planned all this fr ur sake frm s lng ag, why be timid? Why dubt? 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 13 f 15 Instead, we shuld celebrate ur place in the family f Gd We shuld live as children f the King, secure in ur place in His family, determined t serve Him and enjying access t His wisdm and pwer And we shuld unite with thers wh share thse same privileges But Paul says Gd was wrking this plan fr anther audience beynd yu and me Did yu ntice at the end f v.10 that Paul made mentin f anther grup f bservers? He says that Gd wanted t make knwn his multifaceted wisdm t rulers and authrities in the heavenly places Wh are these rulers in heavenly places? At first, we might think angels But this desn t make a lt f sense Because angels need nt be taught f Gd s wisdm r even his plan They are spirits created t minister t the needs f the saints, including the Gentiles Certainly Gd s wisdm is self-evident t the angels S what ther heavenly rulers need t be taught the wisdm f Gd? Cnsider anther verse frm this same letter Eph. 6:12 Fr ur struggle is nt against flesh and bld, but against the rulers, against the pwers, against the wrld frces f this darkness, against the spiritual frces f wickedness in the heavenly places. In this verse Paul is clearly speaking abut unhly frces He calls them wicked and darkness Yet ntice he als refers t them as rules, as authrities in heavenly places 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 14 f 15 All three f these wrds are the same nes Paul uses in here in v. 10 These are the demnic frces that inhabit the spiritual wrld and war against Gd and Gd s peple Remember, the enemy fell int sin because in his beauty and pride he thught himself a rival fr Gd s thrne Smehw he imagined he culd cmpete with Gd and even exceed Him in pwer and wisdm In Revelatin 12, we learn that Satan recruited a third f the angelic realm t fllw him int rebellin against Gd These are the rulers, the authrities in heavenly places They are nt ultimate rulers, they d nt have ultimate authrity But they pssess authrity fr a time And they are an audience fr this amazing wrk f Gd Here s the message I think Gd wanted t send t thse rebellius angels thrugh His mystery f the church That Gd s wisdm and pwer is far beynd anything they culd cmprehend That Gd culd wrk fr s lng, thrugh s many peple and natins t accmplish His plan That every details wuld cme tgether in the end That prmises made s lng ag wuld still cme t pass in time That peple seemingly beynd reach were yet fund And that nthing the enemy might try wuld change even ne detail That even when he thught he was destrying the seed prmise with Abel, with Isaac, with Judah, with David, with the Christ child Still, the prmise kept mving And even when the Enemy was killing Jesus, he was actually hammering the nails int his wn cffin 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ephesians 3B 15 f 15 The mystery f the church is Gd s triumphant statement t spiritual darkness: Game Over! Yu lst, and yur prf is that the Gspel is reaching t the ends f the earth Nt nly are Jews begin saved, but s are Gentiles And nt nly did Christ live again, but s will all these But fallen angels have nly ne future As the writer f Hebrews says Heb. 2:16 Fr assuredly He des nt give help t angels, but He gives help t the descendant f Abraham. They are destined fr destructin fr there is n prmise f salvatin fr them They knw this, and the existence f the Church simply stands as testimny that Gd culd have saved them...but chse nt t S these fallen angels see the Church as prf they have been pass ver in Gd s mercy, and s they hate Gd all the mre Which is why Paul ends this passage in v.13 Eph. 3:13 Therefre I ask yu nt t lse heart at my tribulatins n yur behalf, fr they are yur glry. The demns take ut their hatred fr Gd n Gd s peple, including Paul And s Paul says his tribulatins are simply prf f the glry Gd has brught t Gentiles like yu and me Rm. 11:33 Oh, the depth f the riches bth f the wisdm and knwledge f Gd! Hw unsearchable are His judgments and unfathmable His ways! 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.