EPHESIANS 3:1-132006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ephesians 3:1-13

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. Paul starts out Ephesians chapter 3.

Saying for this reason, and so in order for us to understand what Paul is talking about, we need to go back just a couple of verses into chapter two as we looked at last week. For this reason, for what reason is Paul talking about? Well, if we look at chapter two, verses 19 through 22, we'll get a better understanding. It says, now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit.

Here's what is the background for what Paul is about to say. He says, for this reason, since God has done this great work and you are no longer foreigners and strangers, since now you are being built together into one body as a temple for God by his spirit.

For this reason, Paul would go on to say, I will share these things with you. Now, what would normally follow a sentence like this is some type of exhortation or action, a call to an action. Paul would say, for this reason, I tell you this, or I say this, or I do this, or I encourage you to do this. For example, in Titus chapter 1, verse 5, Paul starts out that sentence by saying, for this reason...

Talking to Titus, for this reason, I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking. And so Paul starts out by saying, here's the reason I left you in Crete, Titus. And that is that you would be able to put things in order, all the things that are lacking.

Well, that same line of thought, that same understanding, that same normal context of the structure that Paul is using as far as his grammar and sentence structure is concerned, it doesn't follow. In fact, if you look at verse 2, you'll notice it begins with the word, if. He says, for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for you, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which was given to me for you. And so we know that verse 2, actually all the way through verse 13,

is a parenthetical thought. A parenthetical thought. He's expounding upon what he started to say in verse 1. He says, And then he takes the next few verses all the way up to verse 13 to explain what he means by that before he gets into what he is about to share for the reason that we are brought together into one body in Christ Jesus. He says, He says,

the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. It's not actually until verse 14 that he completes this thought. And so we'll look at that next week.

But this week, we need to take a look at Paul's thought here about him being the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. That word Gentiles, in the Greek, it's the word ethnos. It means multitude or nations. As we've shared before, the word Gentile, it refers to anybody who is not Jewish in descent.

And so Paul, he starts out saying, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you. And then he says, well, wait a minute. Maybe you don't know what I mean by that, that I'm a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you.

And then he'll begin to explain, well, see, I'm a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles because here's how it happened. And that's what he'll be explaining in verses 2 through 13. So let's jump into it together. Verse 2, it says, So here's how it began. Here's how he became a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles.

He says, you might have heard of it. There was a dispensation of grace that was given to me for you. Now, dispensation, it's a word that we don't use very frequently. In fact, when you came across it this morning in your reading, as you were reading out loud together, that word was kind of faded out. You know, it's kind of like, well, and then you continued on in the word. It's not a word that we use very often. It's not a word that we're comfortable with or really understand. What is dispensation?

Well, it means literally administration or stewardship. It described the responsibility of a steward of a home.

A steward of a home who would be in charge of everything to make sure that all the ends were met, everything, all the loose ends were tied up, everything was taken care of and everybody got what they needed. The steward of the home was responsible for all the activity and making sure everything went according to the way it was supposed to. Paul says, you may have heard that the grace of God was given to me in order to administer it to you, to give it to you.

The grace of God, Paul says, was given to me so that I can make sure that everybody gets their share of the grace. That everybody gets the amount of grace, the exact grace that they need. Now, it's not Paul's grace that he is dispensing or administering or he's a steward of, but it's the grace of God. And so he makes sure that we receive the grace of God that we need by teaching us about God's grace.

So that we are able to receive it. He teaches us what God has done for us. That's what we've been looking at. So that we're able to understand and receive that work and all that God has done for us. And Paul goes on to say, it was given to me for you. This ministry that the Apostle Paul was involved in, his call to apostleship, it was given to him by God specifically for the Gentiles.

Paul says, I have a special understanding of the grace of God intended for you Gentiles because God called me specifically to the Gentiles, not to the Jews, not to the Jewish people, but to the Gentiles. Now, this is something that was not understood. And that's why Paul will begin to talk now about this mystery. It's a mystery. The ministry that Paul is involved in was a mystery for 4000 years prior to

For all of creation, to the time of the Apostle Paul, to the time of Jesus Christ, really, there was this mystery that is now revealed. And that's what Paul is talking about. Now, how did Paul receive this special understanding or insight of grace in order to be able to teach us? Well, he says it was by revelation in verse 3. Verse 3 says, "...how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery."

as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Paul received the stewardship of grace of God for the Gentiles. When? When God revealed to him the mystery. And the subject of these verses that we'll be looking at this morning, the mystery. What is this mystery? It sounds very intriguing, doesn't it? He says...

God gave me. He revealed this mystery without telling us yet specifically what it is. What is this mystery? Well, first, Paul says it was by revelation that it was revealed to him. Of course, revelation is revealed to him. That's kind of redundant, but you know what I mean. It was given to him by revelation, which means unveiling. Now, unveiling is the idea of this. If this pulpit was covered with a sheet, you would be able to see the form of it.

You would be able to understand that there was something there that had some physical properties and there was some substance to it, but you wouldn't be able to see the color or the detail. You wouldn't be able to see the specifics about it until that cover was taken away, until it was unveiled. And that's what Paul is talking about. He's talking about this mystery, which is something hidden, something that's secret, but it's been there, the form has been there in the Scriptures forever.

For the prior 4,000 years in the Old Testament, the form was there for this mystery, but wasn't quite understood. The details were not given. The unveiling did not happen until Jesus Christ died upon the cross. So this mystery that was revealed to Paul, it was always there, but it was covered so that it was not recognized that the details were not given. Now, then Paul goes on to share with us another side note.

In verses 3 and 4, he says, So Paul says now, hey, I've already written to you about this event, this revelation of the mystery, so that you could understand a little bit how I have this insight into the grace of God and this mystery that I will begin to share with you.

He says, there's another letter. I've already briefly written and there's probably another letter that was circulating throughout the churches explaining more in detail how Paul received this revelation, how God revealed to Paul what this mystery was and what God had called him to do. So Paul says, when you read that, then you will understand my insight into this mystery.

Now, we don't have that other thing that he is referring to, but we do have hints within the scripture. In fact, in Acts chapter 22, verses 17 through 21, you might remember it's toward the end of Paul's ministry and he's there in Jerusalem and the Jews accuse him of defiling the temple. And so there's this big riot in which they're trying to beat the apostle Paul to death.

Well, the Roman guards at the Antonio Fortress see what's going on. They go down and they save Paul from their hands. And Paul, being the passionate guy about his people that he is,

He asked the Roman guard to let him speak to the crowd, to the mob that's gathered there that was trying to beat him to death. And he begins to share with them the gospel message. And he shares with them what took place in his life, his testimony, how Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus. And it's there as he's sharing that with them

He talks about in verse 17, he says, Now it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple that I was in a trance. And so Paul says, look, I was on the way to Damascus. God appeared to me. I spent a few, a little bit of time there, but then I came back. I was here in the temple and I was in a trance. I had a vision. God was speaking to me. And then in verse 21, he shares what God told him. He said, Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.

So Paul, sharing with the Jews at that time, says, listen, it wasn't long after I received Christ and Christ appeared to me that God spoke to me and said that he was going to send me specifically to the Gentiles. In Acts chapter 9 verse 15, we have the man Ananias who God sent to pray for the Apostle Paul when he got into Damascus just after his conversion experience. Ananias, of course, said,

Kind of disputed with the Lord and said, well, Lord, you know who this guy is, right? What he's done and he's here to torture us and to cause us to denounce your name. And God says, no, go and pray for him. For he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. The Apostle Paul, his ministry, his apostleship was specifically for the Gentiles, the other nations, right?

Not the Jewish people, like the other apostles. In fact, it's something that was disputed at that time and something that would be very shocking that he would be sent to the Gentiles because it was not known at that time

that the Gentiles would be saved. In fact, last week I shared with you that if you wanted to worship God in those times, what you would have to do before Jesus came is you would have to convert to Judaism. You would have to keep the law and offer the sacrifices and do all the ceremonial things of the law in order to worship God. You would have to become a convert of Judaism. They had no idea that

That God had something else in store. In verse 5, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men. Now you might be wondering, what are we talking about? Where are we? I got lost. Okay, verse 3. Look at verse 3, the beginning. How that by revelation he made known to me the mystery. It's the mystery that we were talking about. Then in verse 5, this mystery, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. So Paul says, okay,

There's this mystery and it's been revealed to me. It's a mystery that was not revealed to the sons of men any time prior. From the beginning of time, creation, up until the time of Christ. It was not made known. The sons of men, mankind, had no idea that

what the contents of this mystery were since the beginning of time. It had not been revealed or unveiled until now. Paul says, as it is now been revealed by the Spirit. It's now, at that time, Paul's time, Paul's day, it was being revealed what God wanted to do. And this mystery that was there in the Scriptures, it was revealed by the Spirit to the apostles and prophets.

It's a good point. Paul's making two important points here that we need to take note of. The first point that Paul makes is that he didn't figure it out or discover it. It wasn't, you know, Paul's great insight into the scripture, his intellect that he was able to to really figure out this mystery. And no, it was revealed to him by the spirit of God. It was given to him. He received it.

It wasn't that he was able with his detective-like senses to figure it out and understand the plan of God. No, it was given to him. The second thing he tells us, which is also very important, is that it was given by the Spirit, but he's not the only one. He says it's been revealed to the prophets and apostles.

And so it was a mystery that was revealed at a specific time, but not just to the Apostle Paul, but it was revealed to the apostles as well as the prophets. And so it was something that God was speaking, not just to Paul, which is something very important to take note of, because when God speaks, he speaks universally.

He speaks to his apostles and prophets. And so Paul can't be the one saying, well, I'm the only one who has this special knowledge and special insight and special revelation. No, God made sure. Listen, when you want to believe something, make sure it's something that's taught by the apostles and prophets. Not just by one person who has faith

Quote unquote special revelation. But the Apostle Paul says, no, this was given. It was a mystery before. Nobody knew. But now the apostles and the prophets, the spirit has revealed it to them. It's not just me telling you these things, but it's something that is shared as well by the others who teach and preach the word of God. Example, the rapture.

See, the idea of the mystery is that nobody is supposed to know during the time that it's kept hidden. But at some point there's an unveiling, there's a revealing, and then everybody is supposed to know.

The rapture of the church is a perfect example. The day and the hour are not known. It's a mystery. Nobody knows and nobody will know until it actually takes place, until the time is right. And then once it happens, then everybody will know. It's a mystery, not that it's meant to be a secret and kept hidden forever, but until the perfect, right, exact time. And then afterwards, everyone will know when the rapture of the church was going to take place or did take place.

It's something that's meant to be revealed and the same is true with this mystery. Now, what is this mystery that the Apostle Paul is talking about? What is this mystery that has been revealed to him? We find it in verse 6. Now, just to back up real quick, verse 3, he's talking about the mystery. In verse 5, he says, which in other ages was not known, but here's what it is. Verse 6 tells us this is the mystery.

And verse 6 says that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The mystery is this. Gentiles are fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel. That's the mystery. It's something that was there throughout the scriptures but hidden. The form was there. The shape was there.

But it was not understood. The details were not given until Christ died on the cross.

Prior to the coming of Jesus Christ, it was not known what part the Gentiles would have in God's plan. As I shared last week and again this morning, if you wanted to worship God, you would have to become Jewish. You would have to become a proselyte or convert to Judaism so that you keep the laws and the sacrifices and do all the ceremonies so that you're able to approach God and to worship him. That's what you had to do prior to Jesus Christ's coming.

Now salvation or the scripture, I'm sorry, did speak about salvation of the Gentiles, but nobody knew that what God had planned was to actually make them, the Gentiles, fellow heirs, part of the same body and partakers of his promise. I'll give you an example. The apostle Peter, Acts chapter 10, you might remember the story of Cornelius and his household. And Peter, through a variety of circumstances where God speaks to him and tells him to go there,

shows up at Cornelius' house. And as he's there, Cornelius, being a Roman centurion, he's a Gentile, not a Jewish person. And at that point, the gospel was only shared with those who were Jewish. Those who had converted to Judaism or those who were practicing Judaism or those who were raised of Jewish descent. That was their nationality, their background. But here in Cornelius' home,

Peter begins to share with them the gospel message, who Jesus was and what he did. And as he is sharing, the Holy Spirit comes upon them in power and they begin to prophesy and to speak in tongues. And Peter is completely shocked. The Jews who are with Peter, they're completely blown away. They don't understand. We can't even believe this. They're saying to each other that God would pour out his spirit and include them just like he did with us.

as part of his body and that he would indwell them and do that same work in the Gentiles that he is doing with the Jews. It astounded them. It blew them away. They had no idea that that was God's plan. That was the unveiling for Peter of the mystery that God had ordained for the Gentiles to be a part of the same body, fellow heirs, partakers of God's promise, the promise of the Holy Spirit. It was unknown before.

Nobody knew about it. In fact, when Peter went back to Jerusalem, the rest of the apostles kind of ganged up on him and said, hey, what do you think you're doing? Going in and preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. See, for us, it's a little bit harder to understand because we go, well, of course Christ died for us. I mean, we're America. He died for us. I don't know about everybody else, but for us, at least for sure, right? Well, Israel was God's chosen people.

If you wanted to worship God, you had to become one of God's chosen people at that time, prior to Christ. The mystery, the amazing, wonderful thing is that God had something so great in store. That you don't have to convert to Judaism and keep all the sacrifices and keep the laws and offer the offerings that you're supposed to offer. You don't have to do all of that to approach God. But now, because of the work of Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ...

We have become fellow heirs, part of the same body, partakers of his promise. Amazing, this work of God. He abolished. That's what we looked at last week in chapter 2. He abolished in himself the dividing wall, the thing that separated Jews and Gentiles, male and female. He took care of it all. He wiped it all out. And that was Paul's great mission, to share with the Gentiles their call to salvation, that they should be fellow heirs.

part of the same body and partakers of his promise. In Galatians chapter 3, we saw that as well. Verse 28 and 29 says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are one in Christ, or if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

The work of Jesus Christ abolished the walls, the separation, to bring unity that we might become, as we saw at the end of chapter 2, His temple, His body, that He might indwell in us and be glorified through us. Now, this unity is only possible, as Paul takes care to point out over and over again, it's only possible in Christ alone.

There's no other way to be part of the family of God, part of the body of Christ, part of the temple. The only way is to be in Christ. And the only way to be in Christ, Paul goes on to say, is through the gospel. He says that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel. It's through the gospel message that

that we are able to be in Christ. What is the gospel message? The good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came and died upon the cross for our sins. That believing in Him, we might have everlasting life and not perish. Complete forgiveness of sins. He died, resurrected, and was ascended to the right hand of the throne of the Father in heaven. The gospel message. And this gospel message, through which we are in Christ...

We have the revelation of the mystery and that we get to be partakers, fellow heirs, part of his body and partakers of his promise. We are the body of Christ. It's not only for Jews any longer, nor is it only for Gentiles. It's not just for Calvary chapels or Baptists or Methodists or any other denomination. Christ abolished all lines so that we can be united together.

Gathered together as one body, one temple to the Lord around this one theme, this one thought. And that is the gospel message. It's the gospel. Anybody who believes in the gospel and preaches the gospel and teaches the gospel is our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The gospel message. It's what unites the body of Christ. And all who believe and preach the gospel are one.

In Christ Jesus, we're brothers and sisters, part of the family of God. In this room, extending across the street and down the street to all of the churches all over this nation and around the world, we're one. God has designed. It's a mystery. It wasn't known before. For 4,000 years, they had no idea. But now God has chosen to reveal it.

That we get to be a part of the body of Christ through the work of Jesus Christ by believing in what he did for us on the cross. That's the gospel message. Now Paul says in verse 7, of which, again, you might be a little confused, but going back to verse 6,

It was in Christ through the gospel. And so he's making reference to the gospel, verse 7, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power. So I became a minister of the gospel, Paul says, according to the gift of the grace of God that was given to me by the effective working of his power. How did he become a minister of the gospel? Well, it was given to him by the power of God.

It's interesting. It was given to him. It was the gift of the grace of God, Paul describes it. And he always had in his mind the grace of God. He knew that it was nothing in him

that had caused God to call him to be a minister of the gospel. Grace. It's a word we're familiar with. It means undeserved favor and kindness. It means Paul did not deserve this gift, this calling as a minister of the gospel. He didn't earn it. It wasn't anything about him. It was just because God wanted to give him something he did not deserve. It wasn't because of his talent or strength.

It had nothing to do with him, but it was God's work through the power of God. Now, this is very important for us to know because every single one of us are called to be ministers of the gospel. We've been given the ministry of reconciliation as we saw quite a few months back now in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

Ministers of reconciliation in that we are called to share the gospel with others and bring them into right relationship with God. Now, we can look at ourselves and say, why me? How can I? How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to be able to share the gospel? How am I supposed to be able to know what to say or how to do it? Or how am I supposed to be a witness to those around me? It's not possible. It's not. I'm not able to. Not me. No way.

But it's interesting, Paul points it out, so that we can take note ourselves, that it's not about me. The only way that we can be ministers is by the effective working of his power, God's power in our lives, because that's the way that the Apostle Paul was a minister. So may I encourage you to share the gospel message, to be a minister of the gospel by relying upon God's power and his strength to do the work, to give the words, to do what he wants to do.

Now, Paul continues on with the same line of thought. In verse 8, he says, He says, He gave me this privilege of ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He gave me this revelation of this mystery that I might be sent to the Gentiles and share with them. Listen, God has a plan for you to be a part of his body and to be a part of his temple. He wants to indwell you and do a great work within you. Paul says to me, I can't even believe it. I'm the least of all the saints. Why does he call himself that? The least of all the saints.

Well, we know again the background of the Apostle Paul. He's saying, I'm not worthy to share the gospel message because I persecuted the church of God. I was completely against the name of Jesus Christ. In fact, I caused people to blaspheme his name who previous to that were believers in his name. Torturing, putting in prison. Acts chapter 8 talks about Paul wrecking havoc in the church. He made a mess of everything because he hated the work of Jesus Christ.

And Paul says to me, I'm not worthy of this privilege, of this awesome, but it was the grace of God. I don't deserve it. That's the point. It was his power working in me that transformed me from what I used to be to what I am now to be able to share the gospel message. By God's grace, he saved me. He revealed the mystery to me and called me to preach it among the Gentiles.

Now, why did he give this grace to me? Paul will share with us two reasons. Number one, so that he could preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. And then number two, we'll see in verse nine, and that is to make all see the unity of the body of Christ. But here he says,

I was given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. You ever wonder how you can preach something that's unsearchable? Pretty difficult. Unsearchable, it means past finding out. Past finding out. Now, this is something that I pray you will take to heart. Do you know this? Christ has unsearchable riches for you. He has so much to offer you.

His grace and what He wants to give you is more than you can fathom or understand. It cannot really be explained or understood. The riches that He has for you, they're unsearchable. The fullness of Christ, it's past finding out. So does that mean that we quit searching since, well, I can't figure it out anyways. Why try to figure it out if you can't figure it out? Why try to know something that's not knowable?

Well, that's not what Paul is saying. He's saying it's so vast. The riches and the wonders that he provides, that he gives to us are so vast, it will take the rest of eternity for us to comprehend them. It's like the scientific exploration of space. It's so vast. In reality, it's unsearchable. But they continue on, they persist to know as much as can be known, to keep going farther and understanding more, going deeper and deeper.

The same is true with the unsearchable riches of Christ. Do you know that Christ has so much to offer to the point that your passion, that your desire is to go deeper and deeper in understanding who he is and what he has done and what he has in store for those who diligently seek him. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. He who comes to him must believe that he exists.

and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. God will reward those who diligently seek out and search out the unsearchable riches of Christ. No, we won't know them completely, but he has great things in store for you and things he wants to reveal to you, just like he revealed this mystery to the Apostle Paul. There's so much riches found in Jesus Christ that are just waiting for you.

to spend some time with him that he may reveal them to you. The second reason that this grace was given to Paul, we find in verse 9 where he says, The second reason that grace was given to Paul was to make all see the unity or the fellowship of the mystery.

There's great fellowship in this mystery. Understanding that we are one in the Lord. Understanding that he has put us together to form his body and his temple. We're the body of Christ. Now, understanding this is essential to our Christian walk. Now, many of you, you might have experienced this unity that is within the body of Christ.

Maybe you've gone on a mission trip to American Samoa with us, or Okinawa, or Northern California, or Virginia, or Idaho. And as you go there, you meet people that you've never met before. And you get to hang out and spend time with people that you have not known prior. Yet, because they are believers in Jesus Christ, because there is this unity found around the Gospel message, very quickly you find yourself like old friends.

There's such sweet fellowship and intimacy between believers in Jesus Christ and the works that God has done in our lives. What a wonderful fellowship that we have.

This wonderful fellowship, it's meant to set us apart from the rest of the world. Jesus said in John 13, 35, The world will know that you are my disciples by your love for one another. This fellowship, in this mystery, this unity that is the church, the body of Christ, is to be something that distinguishes us, that marks us as different than the rest of the world because of the unity, the love that we have for one another. Now, unfortunately,

Sometimes in the church we demonstrate just as much love as any other social club on the face of the earth. But there's to be within between us a love like Christ loves us. Agape, unconditional, self-sacrificing love for one another. And it's to be the demonstration to the rest of the world that God is real and that we are his disciples. Understanding this, the fellowship that's there between brothers and sisters in the Lord, the fellowship that's there

As we're united in the body of Christ, understanding this is essential to our Christian walk. We need to know that we are a part of the body of Christ so that we can come and be a part of the body of Christ, that we can serve and use the gifts that God has given to us. We'll look at that in detail in chapter 4 in a couple of weeks when we get there. How God has called us and placed us a specific part within the body of Christ.

And as every part does its share, the body grows together. And that's how it grows. But it can't grow when all the pieces aren't there doing their part, holding the body together. He's given every single one of us talents, abilities, gifts, a place, an important special place to demonstrate His love, His grace within the body of Christ, to serve one another within the body of Christ. So it's important to know that

that we are a part of the body of Christ, so that we can come and be our part in the body of Christ. But it's also important, essential to know that we're a part of the body of Christ, to know that we are not alone. Because many times, life can become very difficult, very hard, unbearable. But to know that as Christians, the Lord doesn't call us to be out there by ourselves as lone rangers.

But he calls us to be a part of the body of Christ, that our brothers and sisters in the Lord might be able to encourage us, uplift us, pray for us, admonish us, correct us, keep us on the right track, teach us the ways of the Lord, display to us the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, and so on and so forth. So much, the body of Christ, we need each other desperately. There's unity. He's created us together, united us, knitted us together as a living organism.

It was a mystery that the Gentiles would be a part, would be fellow heirs, part of the same body, partakers of the promise. But it was revealed to Paul so that he could preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and that he could make us all understand the importance of the fellowship in the body of Christ. We, like Paul, have all received the grace of God and we've received it for the same reasons so that we might preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

As we dig in and God reveals himself to us, the unsearchable riches are given to us. It's by his grace that we might preach them to others, that we might share with others the wonders, the wealth of resources, of all that we need that's found in Jesus Christ. He is sufficient for every need. The grace of God was also given to us that we might take part in the fellowship of the body of Christ and that we might help others to understand the importance of

Verse 10. So Paul says, here's the reason behind all of this. Why was it a mystery? Why was it a mystery? Why was it a mystery?

Why did God keep it hidden for so long? And why did he reveal it now? Paul says, here's why. It's to the intent that now, right now, it's the proper appropriate time, the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. What was the intent? Well, that all creation, specifically, he says, to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

Bible students, can I ask you, who is he referring to when he says principalities and powers in the heavenly places? Anybody know? It's okay. Shout it out. What's that? Rulers? Almost. Very close. Angels. We look at, we saw it in Ephesians chapter 1. We'll see it again in Ephesians chapter 6. He's referring to principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Listen, this really stuck out as I was meditating on this portion of scripture this week.

Man, this really spoke to me and I got really excited about this verse. And I don't know if I'll be able to convey that or transmit that to you, but this is so exciting to me. How amazing and powerful this is. He says, this is why it was a mystery. So that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to angels, to all of creation, but specifically to the angels. Now, manifold, it means multifaceted or many-colored wisdom.

God is using the church to show all creation, specifically the angels, his wonderful, marvelous wisdom. How wonderful he is. Remember Ephesians 2, 7, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We've been put on display. He's using the church, this body that he's bringing together and uniting to demonstrate his incredible wisdom.

to demonstrate how wonderful he is. Now, 1 Peter 1, verses 10-12, Peter talks about the same type of thing. He says in verse 10 that this salvation that we have, it was prophesied by the prophets,

And they searched carefully and inquired. They wanted to know the details about this salvation, about this Messiah and all that was going to take place. But they couldn't. They couldn't quite grasp it and get a hold on it. It was veiled. It was covered. It was a mystery. Yet they were writing it down as they were influenced by the Holy Spirit. But at the same time, they were searching and trying to figure out what exactly does this mean? How is that going to work? And what is that going to mean for Jesus?

Believers in God. And Peter says in verse 12, Then he ends with this last phrase, Things which angels desire to look into.

Peter says essentially the same thing as the Apostle Paul. He says, listen, this salvation, this work of God, it was a mystery before. The prophets, they prophesied about it, but they longed to look into it. They couldn't understand it. And then they understood that it wasn't for them that they were writing those things, but for us. The things that have now been, Peter says, reported to you because it's been unveiled. The mystery is not there. So they've been reported to you now. This salvation, this grace of God, this work of God.

But then he also says things that angels desire to look into. Incredible. Amazing. They didn't know the plan of God. They didn't know how it was all going to work out. They didn't understand. But now they're looking into these things. They're desiring. I love how Corsten puts it. He says angels are scratching their heads going, you want to fill that guy's

You want to be a part of that guy? You want to inhabit him? You want him to be a part of your body and your temple? It doesn't make sense. I don't understand, God. What are you doing? Incredible, this work of God, the manifold wisdom of God. Now, this is also important for us to understand the crucifixion of Jesus Christ because angels didn't understand the plan. They didn't know what was happening, how God was going to accomplish all this. It was veiled. It was hidden from the beginning of time.

Which also means and tells us that Satan did not know what was happening when Jesus Christ was crucified. He didn't know the plan of God. So crucifying the Son of God seemed like a great plan. It seemed like the greatest victory. And it wasn't until afterwards that he understood and realized. After it had been unveiled, then as Christ died, the curtain in the temple was torn, giving Jew and Gentile access to God, that it was realized the mistake that he had made.

They didn't understand. There's been a mystery from the beginning of time. Incredible. God and his wisdom. It was his plan all along. As we see in verse 11, he says, according to the eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Christ Jesus, our Lord. It was a surprise to the angels, surprise to mankind. They didn't know. Nobody knew about it. It was a mystery.

But God, it was his eternal purpose. He knew all along what he was going to do and he accomplished it through Jesus Christ, our Lord. His whole plan, his eternal purpose was accomplished by Jesus Christ. That's why we continually say everything that God has for you is found in the person and through the work of Jesus Christ there on the cross. His giving us access to the throne, filling us with the spirit, inhabiting us, gifting us,

All that he has in store for us, it's found through Jesus Christ. Then in verse 12, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. So the purpose of God's plan was to give us access to his throne. It was accomplished in Jesus and we have access to it by faith in him and what he has done for us. Finally, verse 13, he says, therefore, I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Now, here he points us back. Remember verse 1? Paul called himself the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. And so he's concluding this thought and then next week we'll pick up on the for this reason and look at his prayer that he offers there for the Ephesians. But he calls himself the prisoner of Christ Jesus and then here in verse 13 he says, I ask that you do not lose heart and my tribulations for you.

Paul says, in light of all of this that I've just shared, verses 2 through 13, the fact that I'm a prisoner, don't let that make you lose heart. The fact that I'm going through tribulations, don't let that make you lose heart. Because I'm doing what I've been called to do. It's by the grace of God.

that I'm able to preach the gospel and to be in these chains. It's a privilege, Paul would say, that I do not deserve to be imprisoned and to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Now, from our perspective, the Apostle Paul, he was a prisoner of Rome. He was there chained to a Roman guard in a Roman prison waiting to appear before the Roman court, specifically Caesar. He was there. But Paul had a different perspective. He says it wasn't

that I'm a prisoner of Rome, but I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Because it's not Rome's doing, there's someone higher, Jesus Christ, and I've been doing what he has called me to do. And as a result of that, I'm here in these chains. And if I wanted to denounce Christ or walk away from the Lord, if I hadn't been captivated or captured by the grace of God, then I wouldn't be here in these chains. No, I'm here because I've been captured, captivated by God's amazing, wonderful, incredible grace.

And because of that, don't worry. Don't be freaked out about my chains and my tribulation. No, it's okay. It's a privilege. It's an honor to be here and to share the gospel message. In chapters 1 through 3, Paul is sharing with us what we have in Christ. And this morning is no different. He shares with us the unveiling of this mystery today.

that we may understand that we have a special place in the body of Christ. And it's been his plan all along to include us and to administer this grace to us. We don't deserve this favor, this kindness that he's showing to us, nor can we earn it, but he gives it to us simply because he loves us. And all we must do to receive all that God has for us is to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, to believe in the gospel message that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins.

And in that we become a part of the body of Christ. This grace is given to us. It was given to Paul, first of all, that we could understand that he could share with us the unsearchable riches of Christ. It was given to the Apostle Paul that we might be able to see the fellowship, the unity in the body of Christ. It was given to us or given to Paul that we might understand that we have access to God through faith. But the same grace is given to us

that we might take the understanding of those things beyond just that and actually put them into practice. This grace of God is given to you so that you can preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. This grace of God is given to you that you can have fellowship in the body of Christ. You can take part in the body of Christ and you can make others to see and understand the beauty and the blessing of being a part of God's people. And finally, the grace was given to you that you could have access to God and

By faith. Who would have thought the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would look at you and say, I love you. I want you to have complete access to me anytime, anywhere, no matter what. Simply by faith in Jesus Christ. What a marvelous, wonderful position that God has given to us as it's been unveiled and revealed that we get to be fellow heirs, part of his body and partakers of his promise. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, this morning we thank you for your word and these promises to us. Lord, we thank you for your work in the Apostle Paul and Lord, how it ministers to us so powerfully about what you've done for him as well as for us and the grace that you've given and extended, administered through him. So God, I ask for us that you would help us, Lord, to understand and know the unsearchable riches of Christ. Lord, I pray that you would help us to seek out and to search out

how wonderful and amazing you are. Lord, that you would reveal yourself to us. As your word says, if we seek you with all of our heart, we will find you. Lord, show us, demonstrate to us this week, we pray, your wonderful riches and how much you have in store for us. God, I also pray for us as a body, Lord, that we would understand what it means to be a part and to have fellowship in the body of Christ. Stir up within us, God, a passion and a love.

for those around us, for the body of Christ. Lord, this body here and all who preach the gospel, Lord, especially those who are being persecuted because of the gospel message. Lord, it's not something that we can understand, not having experienced it ourselves. But Lord, we lift them up to you. Give us a love and a passion for them that we would get to experience that unity in the body of Christ, that we would pray for them and encourage them. God, we also ask that

as we receive the grace that is given to us, Lord, that we would respond to this access that you've given to us and that we would come to you by faith. Lord, that we would boldly approach the throne of grace and find mercy to help in time of need. Lord, I pray for those who have burdens here this evening or this morning. God, those who are going through hard times and difficult situations. Lord, those who need to hear from you. Lord, those who need to experience your presence. I ask, Lord, that you

You've given us access. Lord, take us into your presence. Take us into your throne room. Lord, I pray for those who are here this morning and have not been walking in a relationship with you. Maybe they never have or maybe they were at some time, Lord, but they've walked away. God, I pray that you would reveal to them and remind them how much you love them, God. The unsearchable riches that await those who follow you. The fellowship and the unity that awaits those who come to you in faith.

Lord, the access to God that awaits those who approach your Son because you are the way, the truth, and the life. And no one goes to the Father but by you. So, Lord, I pray that you would draw those who need to be drawn to you. Draw us all, Lord, to the foot of the cross that we might experience all that you have in store for us. We thank you, Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen.

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