Sermon Series: Ephesians–The Believer's Bank

A Model and a Mystery

Ephesians 3:1-13

PSBC 7/23/00

In a nutshell: This passage answers two questions: 1. What was Paul really like?; and 2. What is the mystery that God reveals to him? The answers are important because in them we receive a model for handling life (especially the difficult times), and understand a mystery that reveals we are part of something really, really BIG!

I. Introduction

A. Bunny trails

I think you all know what "bunny trails" are. Bunny trails are those times in our conversations when what we say, causes us to think of something else, and then we leave what we were talking about and start talking about what our talking about got us started thinking about.

I'm discovering that the older I get, the more I do this. Maybe it's because my mind is packed so full of "stuff", that the "stuff" has to come out somewhere.

Well, I say that because this evening we're going to be looking at a bunny trail, from the apostle Paul. And since the Bible is the inspired word of God and ultimately directed and written by the Holy Spirit of God, we might consider this an inspired bunny trial, that God thinks we should know something about.

The reason I say this section is a bunny trail, is because Paul starts out this section in verse one by saying...

Ephesians 3:1
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles–

...and then the bunny trail hits. Because he doesn't say what he was intending to say in verse one, until you get to verse 14, which we'll look at in 2 weeks. But right now, let's look at where Paul's train of thought takes him...

B. Reasons for this "bunny trail"

This section of Ephesians that we'll be looking at this evening answers two questions.

1. What was the apostle Paul like?
2. What is the mystery that God revealed to him?

When we discover the answers to these questions, we're going to find out two things that are very important to us...
–we're going to discover a model for handling life, and
–we're going to discover a mystery that clues us in to the fact that we are part of something far bigger than we ever imagined.

II. Model

So, let's answer the first question– What was the apostle Paul like? There are five parts to that answer...

A. Prisoner of Christ

First of all, as I've already read for you, Paul describes himself as "a prisoner of Christ Jesus." When Paul is writing this letter, he is literally chained to one of Emperor Nero's elite Praetorian guards. He is waiting to plead his case as a Roman citizen before the emperor. He had been waiting as a prisoner for two years in Palestine, and now three years in Rome. All because a group of influential Jewish leaders were offended by Paul's double whammy:
1. He was preaching about the risen Christ–whom they had put to death on the cross–and
2. He was preaching this message of salvation to the Gentiles–not the Jews!

So, this made him a prisoner of not only Rome, but the Jews as well. So where does this "prisoner of Christ Jesus thing" come into the picture? The answer is in how Paul viewed his life.

Paul viewed everything that was true about him in light of Jesus Christ. You see, Paul knew who was running the universe. He knew that Jesus Christ, his Lord, was far more powerful than any Roman authority or Caesar's authority, or the Jewish leaders' authority. He knew that all things happened at God's command, and no power or authority exists on earth without God's permission.

So, when Paul viewed his circumstance of being a prisoner, he viewed it as being a part of Jesus Christ's ultimate plan to carry the good news of His love to as many people as possible. Paul couldn't change his circumstance, but he did change his point of view. That's a matter of choice.

Illustration: There's a famous story of the days when Sir Christopher Wren was building St. Paul's Cathedral in London. On one occasion, the architect was making of tour of the work in progress. As he was walking, he came upon a man at work and asked him, "What are you doing?" The man replied, "I'm cutting this stone to a certain size and shape. What does it look like I'm doing?" Sir Christopher went to a second man and asked him the same question. This man replied, "I'm earning a living by chiseling stone." Then he came to a third man and asked him what he was doing. The man paused for a moment, straightened himself up and answered proudly, "I'm helping Sir Christopher Wren build St. Paul's Cathedral."

And friends, here's one of a bunch of questions I want you to wrestle with tonight..., "How do I view the circumstances of my life?"

You see, you have a choice–you can view the circumstances of your life like most people...
-as either making you a victim,
-or isolating you for personal benefit,
-or that stuff just that happens... ...
......OR you can understand that you are going through these experiences for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Lord, and the advancement of His Kingdom. In reality your attitude in your circumstances will define who you are serving as your Lord.

B. Part of God's Team

But there is a second way that Paul views himself. He views himself as part of God's team. That's in verse 2...

Ephesians 3:2
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you,

The word "administration" in this verse is the Greek word, oikonomia. It literally means "house-law". We get our word, economy from it. It had its application in the efficient running of the house of a wealthy person, through a division of labor among his trusted servants. No one person could do all the jobs that it took to make the household run properly, so, "administration" was the way that the division of labor and responsibilities in a household were given out. This way, a household could run efficiently and effectively. If you had a part in this administration, you had your responsibilities to do and you did them as part of a team.

So, as part of God's team, Paul went all around the world and started churches in various areas, and in doing that, he focused the bulk of his ministry on the Gentile world.

He viewed what he had done–starting churches; preaching to the Gentiles; and what he was now doing–writing to the churches and the individuals he had influenced, even while chained to a guard in prison–as being part of his team-responsibility for God.

Do you view what you do as part of a team effort? Serving on the Board, or one of the Committees of the church, or teaching Sunday School, working in AWANA, or the nursery, singing in the choir, praying at the Prayer Offensives, working with the Gideon's or with Christian Women's Club. These things are all part of being on God's team.

You each have a vital part to make this team operate effectively and efficiently so that the Kingdom of God will be able to advance through the ministries of this church. That's why one of the things we've identified as being part of our purpose for existing as a church is... "We will partner with each other to intentionally do Great Commission work in the Coachella Valley and the world." Everyone of us has at least one thing to do and be doing to partner with God to help do what is most important to Him.

C. Recipient of revelation

The next way he viewed himself is in verses 3-4...

Ephesians 3:3-4
3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

Paul saw himself as being a recipient of a direct message from God. Now, I'll get into the "mystery" he refers to, in a few minutes. But that's not what I want you to see in these 2 verses right now. What I want you to see is the fact that he received a message from God and he used that revelation that God had given Him. In this case, he used it to instruct the Ephesian Christians.

Now, let me ask you, "What do you do with the information, the knowledge and the insight you receive from your Sunday School class, or my messages, or from your Flock groups, or what you might read in your personal devotions?" Let me give you a hint that has helped me in this area:

It comes from a wonderful evangelist who lived in the early 1900's. His name was J. Wilbur Chapman, and this is what he wrote, concerning personal Bible study, and it can be applied to all forms of Bible Study:
1. Study it through. Never begin a day without mastering a verse from its pages.
2. Pray it in. Never lay aside your Bible until the verse or passage you have studied has become a part of your being.
3. Put it down. The thoughts that God gives you, put down in the margin of your Bible or your notebook.
4. Work it out. Live the truth you get in the morning through each hour of the day.

Friends, it's important we view ourselves like Paul did–as recipients of God's revelation. And when you receive it, then you must do something with it. Work it out, live the truth, incorporate it in a conversation, use it to teach someone, or just speak about it to someone else.

D. Servant of the Gospel

Drop down to verse 7 to see the next way that Paul viewed himself...

Ephesians 3:7
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

Illustration: When we lived in the Phoenix area, Mother Teresa visited our city to open a home for the destitute. During that brief visit, she was interviewed by KTAR, which was the largest radio station in town.

In a private moment, the Pat Mc Mahon, the good Catholic announcer asked Mother Teresa if there was anything he could do for her. He was expecting her to request a contribution or media help to raise money for her new home for the impoverished in Phoenix.

Instead, she replied, "Yes, there is. Find somebody nobody else loves and love them."

That's the statement of a servant of the gospel. Love for others is a very important part of the gospel. In fact, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt. 25:40).

Do you look for ways to show a living/loving gospel to people in your circle of influence? A servant of the Gospel will keep this uppermost in his or her mind.

E. One Who Makes it Plain

The final way Paul viewed himself is found in verses 8 and 9...

Ephesians 3:8-9
8 Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the un-searchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Paul was a preacher. His job was to preach or proclaim the un-searchable riches of Christ. Not all of you are preachers. But everyone of you can do something that Paul did–you can make what you know about Jesus Christ, PLAIN TO EVERYONE you know.

-Everyone of you can tell your story of how you came to know Jesus Christ as the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life.
-Everyone of you can tell the story of how God loved people so much that He sent His only Son Jesus to die for them as the perfect sacrifice for sin.
-And everyone of you can shine the light of God's love into the lives of people who need that love, by just being available to help, love and pray for them.

Your consistent articulation and demonstration of these basic Christian principles will make what you know about Jesus Christ PLAIN TO EVERYONE you know. And then leave the results up to God.

F. Wrap up of this portion

So there you have it–the way the apostle Paul viewed himself. A Prisoner of Christ; A Part of God's Team; A Recipient of Revelation; A Servant of the Gospel; and One Who Is Responsible to Make It Plain.

But you say, "Come on, Tom, I'm no Saint Paul." And that's true. There was only one–that's all the world could handle. We don't need any more Saint Paul's. But we do need a whole lot more St. Gordons; St. Ella Maes; St. Davids; St. Mistys; St. Dianes; St. Barrys; etc. Does this description meet your understanding of yourself? It should. Because that's how God intends all of us to work to advance His Kingdom.

III. Mystery

A. What is Mystery?

Here's the second question Paul addresses in this section– What is this mystery that is revealed to him?

First, let me define what this word mystery means. When the Bible talks about a mystery, it is not talking about something that is irrational or vague or non-sensical or eerie, or perplexing. Those things are called mysticism. And mystery and mysticism are not the same.

Mystery simply means "something that was previously unknown, and now that it is known, it makes perfect sense."

Illustration: It's something like a good murder-mystery book or TV show. These things always start out with a "mystery" as to who did the crime. But as the story unfolds and the evidence gathered, and revealed, the final revelation of who did the crime makes perfect sense.

B. What is this Mystery?

So, what is this mystery that God unveils to Paul, and to us?

Ephesians 3:6
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.

In other words, in the Church of Jesus Christ, there are no divisions, no distinctions, no upper class & lower class, no special people & ordinary people, no divisions whatsoever. William Barclay, the commentator, wrote, "The secret was that the love, mercy and grace of God were meant not for the Jews alone, but for all nationalities."

C. Purpose of revealing this mystery

Now, I think this is going to blow you away. The purpose for God revealing this mystery carries with it an intentionality that goes beyond our church or denomination or the United States, or the planet earth. The purpose is stated in verses 10-12...

Ephesians 3:10-12
10 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,
11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

God's purpose for us living together–as His church–everyone of us sinners who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ–with no divisions between its members...
...is to educate the angels who live in realms that we cannot see.

In other words, we are the graduate faculty who teach the angels about God's multi-faceted wisdom in designing a plan of salvation that breaks down every human barrier.

God's plan is that all human beings, regardless of their nationality, color, race, or background, know of His love for them. And when the heavenly hosts see a bunch of St. Darrins and St. Davids and St. Merles and St. Kays making this happen, the angels do what they were designed to do–they give praise to God for his wisdom, his work, his power and his plans.

IV. Conclusion

A. Conclude the "bunny trail"

This is how Paul concludes this bunny trail...

Ephesians 3:13
13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Paul is saying, "Hey, guys, don't be discouraged about what's happening to me. It's all part of God's plan. Follow my example–
-view your circumstances as being a natural part of following Christ;
-view yourself as a member of God's Team;
-view yourself as someone who has received and continues to receive direct revelation from God;
-view yourself as a servant of the Gospel;
-and view yourself as one who has the ability and must use that ability to make the good news of God's love plain to the people you know.
When you do that, you'll advance the Kingdom of God right past every known and unknown barrier ever set up by human beings. The angels will see this and praise God in the heavenly realms. And God will receive the glory for doing all that!"

B. What happened

Do you know what happened when this view of things was demonstrated by this little Jewish guy who was chained to a guard 24 hours a day?

Philippians 1:13
13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

The good news of God's love and plan of salvation even penetrated the Praetorian Guard of Emperor Nero–talk about an impossible barrier to break down! Yet that's the power of God through committed people who view themselves with the commitment of Paul.

Here's my last question for you tonight...What impossible barriers can God break down through a committed you?

Amen.