Text: Ephesians 3:1-13: 1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for 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.
Some people don’t like surprises, assuming that surprises always bring bad news. Unfortunately, surprises often live up to this perception.
Fortunately, some surprises actually bring good things: surprise promotions, surprise opportunities, surprise parties. Some of the best things in life often come from surprises.
In the history of salvation, everyone knew how it worked: The Jews had it, the Gentiles didn’t even know they needed it. Then, when some of the Gentiles figured it out, they learned, to their chagrin, that it came with a heavy price: They had to accept Judaism, even if it meant circumcision for men. Needless to say, most Gentiles balked at the requirements.
Then, Jesus came, and as we discussed this morning, His appearing united both Jews and Gentiles. No one signified this unification more than the apostle Paul. Paul, the “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” transformed the Church by going into Greek areas and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. No one else could have fit the qualifications of “missionary to the Gentiles.” Only a former “Pharisee of the Pharisees” could have successfully demonstrated Jesus’ love for the Gentiles.
In this passage in Ephesians, Paul tried to explain to the Ephesians the great surprise: God’s mystery of salvation included Gentiles.
God’s plan of salvation includes the blessing of telling others. vv. 1-3. Paul told the Ephesians he had received a “stewardship,” a responsibility, to spread the gospel to them and other Gentiles. First, God called Paul to salvation through Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road (Acts 9); then, God revealed to Paul that He had a special calling for Paul to fulfill. Paul said that God had made “known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10).
However, notice that God did not choose a supernatural revelation to reveal the mystery to the Gentiles; He chose to send Paul. Paul came to understand that the mystery of salvation included another mystery: God chooses to use people in His plan.
Christians, we have a great task ahead of us: God wants us to participate in the salvation of others. It’s important that we fulfill this part of God’s mystery.
God’s plan of salvation unites all people in the rule of Christ. vv. 4-6. These words bring hope to us all! Notice that although God blessed Paul and the other apostles with the mystery, the mystery itself included everyone in the world. The mystery is that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Whatever the Jews had thought, actually, the plan of salvation had never been confined solely to them. God told Moses in Exodus 19 that He intended to create a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Priests intercede on behalf of others; the Jews had a role to intercede for the world before God. Unfortunately, they failed to live up to this responsibility.
Paul had already told the Romans that God had a plan for the Gentiles beforehand: “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law” (Romans 2:13-14). However, the grace of God called for the Gentiles to know of the saving power of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Jesus, after all, had fulfilled the Law; therefore, the Gentiles needed to hear about Jesus.
Now, in Jesus, there was no “Jew nor Greek,” as Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28. Gentiles became “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” We gained the right to call God “Father,” not because we earned it because He graciously adopted us (Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:14-17).
God’s plan of salvation blesses the Church to participate in the mystery. vv. 7-13. God didn’t choose a lot of individuals and give us “lone ranger” assignments to spread the gospel; rather, He chose to unite us into a body, an organism to support one another and spread the gospel. He gives us the “working of His power” to spread the gospel.
Look at the message we have:
We have all this, along with the “boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” With all this, how can we fail to tell the world the news we have?
This mystery surprised the world: Jesus came to save both Jews and Gentiles. The Church has a great responsibility as well as a wondrous blessing. The believers who fulfill our role in the mystery will find great blessings in their lives, both now and in the life to come. Of all the surprises of eternity, God’s gracious inclusion of us in His plan proved the greatest. When we reach out to others in His name, our obedience leads to blessings. There’s nothing mysterious about God’s joy in the lives of obedient saints.