Ephesians 3:1-13 – Tawa Baptist

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-13

Title: The Big Reveal

Structure:

Introduction
God reveals his plan
Paul preaches Christ
The church reveals God’s wisdom
Conclusion

Introduction:

Walk on to stage with a blindfold on: I can’t see. Can anyone help me?

Wait for someone to tell me to take the blindfold off
That’s better – now all is revealed

The goodness of God, the providence of God, the grace of God, the beauty of God, the thoughtfulness of God, the wisdom of God, the kindness of God, the plan & purpose of God is all around us

But we don’t always see it because we haven’t removed our blindfold

This morning we continue our series in Ephesians by focusing on chapter 3, verses 1-13

In chapter 2 Paul had been talking about our salvation in Christ, both our personal salvation and the salvation of the group
Now, in chapter 3, Paul is about to pray for the Ephesians when he gets side tracked for a few moments talking about the work God has given him to do – this is essentially the work of revealing God’s eternal plan
Paul’s job is to help remove the blindfold by preaching Jesus
From Ephesians 3, verse 1, we read…

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture

Following Paul’s train of thought can a little difficult at times – like a braided river Paul’s stream of consciousness is complex and intertwined

We need to step back to try and see the bigger picture – where is this braided river heading?
Well, Paul is essentially talking about the revelation of God’s eternal plan
In Ephesians 3 Paul describes the revelation of God’s plan like this…

By his Spirit, God reveals the mystery of his plan to Paul and the other apostles

Paul (and the other apostles) then reveal God’s plan of salvation to humanity by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ
As a result of their preaching people find peace with God and with each other – communities of like-minded believers become the church
And, through the church, God reveals his wisdom to the unseen (non-human) spiritual beings
So that’s the big picture of this passage – now let’s look at the different braids of Paul’s thought
First let’s consider the mystery of God’s plan revealed to Paul

God reveals his plan:

Hold up a USB stick. I have here, in my hand, a USB stick

No one here (but me) knows what secrets are held in this device
And none of you, just by looking at it, can know – not without plugging it in to a computer – but even then you might not understand it

In verses 2-5 of Ephesians 3 Paul talks about the mystery of God’s plan revealed to him

In this context a ‘mystery’ is a truth known only by divine revelation
In some ways the Old Testament Scriptures were sort of like a USB stick – they contained a secret, the mystery of God’s plan, but no one knew how to properly access the Scriptures to reveal the contents
Jesus and the Holy Spirit unlock the USB of the Scriptures to reveal God’s plan
Paul, and the other apostles of the first century, got to see the contents because God showed them – he opened their minds with insight to understand
Therefore, the writings of the New Testament achieve the status of holy Scripture because they are a record of God’s revelation to human beings

When we were kids we would go to birthday parties and almost always we would play a game of pass the parcel

Sitting in a circle we would pass the present around and each time the music stopped the person holding the present would remove a layer of paper. Pass the parcel was exciting because it was full of mystery
No one knew when the music would stop or how many layers of paper there were or what present was waiting inside
The mystery of God’s plan is a bit like the present hidden inside layers of paper in a pass the parcel game
Each generation removed a layer and got a bit closer to revealing the mystery inside but it was Paul’s generation who were at the right time and place in history to open the final layer

So what is God’s mystery plan then? Well, it was a gift no one expected. Paul spells it out in verse 6…

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Notice here the repetition of the word ‘together’

Paul is talking about God’s creation of the church in this verse

Those of us who have grown up in NZ probably don’t realise how incredible and audacious God’s plan is because most of us haven’t been close to the kind of Jewish / Gentile hostility that Paul was in touch with

But we do have some idea. Throughout our lifetime we have watched news reports of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel’s other Gentile neighbours
God’s mystery plan is to bring the Jews & Gentiles together, in peace, and make us one in Christ
And it’s the church’s purpose to model that togetherness – it is the church which embodies the hope of that peace
But God’s plan goes beyond mere reconciliation – God’s plan is to give believing Jews & Gentiles equal status in Christ
While the Old Testament does talk about the Gentiles turning to the God of Israel no one thought we would be included on an equal footing with the Jews, as members of God’s family – no one foresaw the Christian church hidden in the USB of the Hebrew Bible

Paul preaches Christ:

Having received the revelation of God’s plan, Paul then shares it with others by preaching Christ to people – he realises he can’t keep it to himself

If you are a scientist and you discover a cure for cancer you don’t keep it to yourself – you share it with the world
Evangelism, sharing the good news, is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread

In verses 8-9 Paul says…

Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery…

Paul hasn’t forgotten how he used to persecute the followers of Christ and so he refers to himself as less than the least of all the Lord’s people

Paul describes the preaching task he has been given as a ‘grace’ – that is, a gift, a privilege, something beautiful that God has given him

As well as being a privilege preaching is also hard work and it can get you in trouble
Preaching that it was God’s plan to include the Gentiles on an equal footing with the Jews got Paul arrested and jailed
He was under house arrest when writing this because of the message he preached, but his eyes weren’t on his chains
His eyes were on the privilege of being the one who got to unwrap the final layer of God’s parcel of truth to share with others

The content of Paul’s preaching is the boundless riches of Christ

Paul has already touched on the nature of these riches in the first two chapters of Ephesians – let me refresh your memory…
Christ’s riches include: resurrection from death,
Enthronement with Jesus in the heavenly realms,
Reconciliation with God and peace with other believers
Citizenship in the Kingdom of God
Adoption into God’s family
And intimacy with God – becoming a part of God’s new temple, where his Spirit dwells

In verse 12 of Ephesians 3 Paul describes another one of the riches of Christ

In Christ and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
This connects with what Paul had been saying at the end of chapter 2 when he talked about us being part of God’s family and indeed his temple
This access of all Christian people to God through Christ is what the sixteenth century reformers termed ‘the priesthood of all believers’ [1]
In Old Testament times, only the descendants of Aaron could serve as priests in the temple but through faith in Christ we too can draw near to God as his priests

So it’s not like Daryl & I are the only priests here, you also are priests

The role of a priest is to help people in their relationship with God
When you intercede in prayer for others you are acting as a priest
When you listen with compassion to someone at work and encourage them to find the right path you are acting as a priest
When you say a blessing over your children at home and proclaim the goodness of God to them you are acting as a priest
When you sacrifice your time and your money for the sake of God’s church and God’s purpose in the world you are acting as a priest

Paul’s message to everyone also includes the administration of this mystery

In verse 2 Paul talks about the administration of God’s grace
Two ways of referring to the same thing – God’s plan of salvation
Paul’s use of the word administration is quite refreshing
Normally we associate administration with tedious paper work but Paul associates it with the mystery of God’s grace
Medicine might be administered in the form of a pill or by an injection
And the payment of money might be administered by cash or eftpos
But the mystery of God’s grace is administered by faith in Christ and by preaching

When I was reflecting on this passage over the past week or so I was reminded of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was an administrator of God’s grace

Sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph proved to be a good manager and, through the revelation and insight God gave him to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph rose to the position of Prime Minister where he administered God’s grace in the form of food security

We, like Paul and Joseph, can also administer God’s grace at least to the extent that we have received it

What grace or gift has God given you as one of his priests?
Is it the grace to be present and listen – who would God have you come alongside?
Is it the grace to speak words of encouragement into the lives of others – what would God have you say?
Is it the grace of being in a position to help people with your influence or your resources – who would God have you empower?
Is it the grace to remove someone’s blindfold so they can see God’s goodness in the world around us – who can you help to see the good news?
There are many other gifts of course but the question is: What grace has God given you to share as one of his priests?

God revealed his plan to Paul and Paul didn’t keep it to himself – he preached Christ to all kinds of people because Christ is the key to God’s plan, Christ opens God’s USB

The church reveals God’s wisdom:

But there is another level of revelation going on that we can’t see and might not even be aware of: The church reveals God’s wisdom, not to humankind necessarily but to non-human spiritual beings in the heavenly realms

A tapestry has two sides – a top side and an underside

The underside of the tapestry usually looks like a mess – you can barely tell from the underside what’s going on up top
The physical / material world in which we live is like the underside of the tapestry, while the spiritual world is like the top
From our perspective (in the upside down, from underneath) we can’t see things as they really are in the spiritual realm

In verse 10 of Ephesians 3 Paul writes…

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers & authorities in the heavenly realms,

God’s wisdom is manifold – it is multi-faceted, with many different threads forming a coherent and beautiful picture

The rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms is most likely a reference to spiritual (non-human) creatures like angels and demons
The main idea here is that God reveals his wisdom to these spiritual beings through the church on earth
From our perspective below, the church doesn’t always seem beautiful or gracious or perfectly ordered – it often looks and feels a bit messy
But when angels & demons look at the church they see the topside of the tapestry and they are in awe of what God has done through Christ

We might wonder why God would do this – using a church comprised of imperfect human beings to reveal his wisdom to the spiritual realm

I don’t think it is just to make himself look good
More likely God does it to redeem his non-human creation
It is, after all, God’s plan and purpose to reconcile all things to himself through Christ – ‘all things’ includes the creatures of the spiritual realm

Now, if you think about it, this places a very high value and meaning on church

The church isn’t just about us – it’s also about a whole dimension of reality that we can’t see
When we gather for worship each Sunday our audience is greater than we might imagine

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard how God, by his Spirit, reveals the mystery of his plan to Paul and the other apostles

Paul (and the other apostles) then reveal God’s plan of salvation to humanity by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ
As a result of their preaching people find peace with God and with each other – communities of like-minded believers become the church
And, through the church, God reveals his wisdom to the unseen (non-human) spiritual beings

This morning’s reading finishes with Paul saying…

I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
The reason Paul was in prison was that he believed Gentiles now have the same access to God that Jews have
Paul’s suffering tells us that he really loved the Gentiles and believed in God’s plan for them
‘Glory’ is a weighty word, it refers to something substantial and meaningful, something lasting
Paul’s suffering for the Gentiles gives real weight and substance to his message and it gives glory to his Gentile readers also
Paul’s suffering says people like us matter to God
You might not feel that glorious – you might not think your life is that significant but Paul’s suffering for us says otherwise
You are glorious, your life is significant, you do matter to God
We matter to God

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?
- Why do you think this stood out to you?
Have you ever had a significant ‘aha’ moment, when God revealed to you a deeper insight about himself and his purpose?
- What happened? What was the revelation you received? How did you respond?
What revelation did God give Paul?
- How did Paul respond?
Why do you think Paul describes the task of preaching as a ‘grace’?
- What grace (or gift) has God given you to share with (or administer to) others?
- In what ways can you act as a priest?
Discuss / reflect on / give thanks for the boundless riches of Christ
What are the implications of Ephesians 3:10 for us?
- How might this verse inform our attitude and behaviour regarding church?
Take some time to reflect on Paul’s suffering for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
- How do you feel knowing that Paul (and others) have paid a high price so that you/we can be included in God’s family?
- How might you/we honour Paul’s sacrifice?

[1] John Stott, The Message of Ephesians, page 124.