The Big Reveal (Eph. 3:1-13)

Stephen Jones

Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

1 Corinthians 15:50–58

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Introduction

· Please take your Bible and turn with me back to the Book of Ephesians.

· Last week, we learned that both Jew and Gentile now have equal access to God through Jesus Christ, and are together forming a new structure, a holy temple of the living God. There are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. Paul continues that thought right into chapter 3…

· Read Ephesians 3:1-13

· My first question upon reading this passage was, “Paul, why is this section even necessary?” Haven’t you already made his point in ch. 2? You already said “in Christ Jesus we who once were far off have been brought near” (2:13). That God made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall (v. 14). That God created ‘one new man in place of the two” (v. 15). And that through him we “both have access in one Spirit” (v. 18). So we are “no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow citizen with the saints” (v. 19).

· I think Paul has been very effective in communicating that the two have become one, that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile in this church age. Why then does he spend another 13 verses covering the same territory? And I think the answer is this…This truth is so profound, so unexpected, that Paul needs to explain how it came into being. And the word he uses is “mystery.”

The Mystery

· Usually, when we hear the word “mystery,” we think of a good detective story like Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. But that is not quite the meaning of the word here. The word “mystery” or Gk. μυστήριον refers to something that was previously hidden. It had once been kept secret, but only now has been revealed or disclosed.

· Every year, the 5th-grade class at Logos Academy in York, PA participates in a mystery painting. The teacher, Mrs. Shank, chooses an American artist and one famous painting. She then assigns each student the responsibility to paint a 4” x 4” square of the painting, without knowing what the other students are paining, or the image they are together creating. At the end of the project, the entire study body gathers together, and the students come up one by one to place their square in the appropriate part of the picture. Suddenly, what was once hidden is now “revealed.”

· On the first Easter Sunday, after Jesus rose from the dead, he took a long walk on the road to Emmaus with two disciples. One of their names was Cleopas, and we’re not told the name of the other. During that conversation, Jesus talked with them and explained how the Old Testament had actually foretold the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Luke 24:25–27 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

· When Paul went on a missions trip, he often first entered the Jewish synagogue and explained that the Messiah they had hoped for and prayed their entire lives had now arrived, and his name was Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, this Jesus died and rose for their sins. Acts 17:2–3 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 17:11–12 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

· Indeed, many of the events surrounding Christ were prophesied in the OT. The virgin birth, his arrival in Bethlehem, that he would travel to Egypt, that he would be called a Nazarene, that he would perform great miracles and healings, that lots would be cast for his garments, that the people would reject him, that he would speak in parables, that he would ride on a donkey, that he would be betrayed, hung on a tree, that he would rise again, and that his spirit would be poured out on Pentecost. All of these things had been foretold by the scriptures.

· But when it comes time for Paul to explain that Jews and Gentiles now stand on equal footing, and that there was spiritual equality between these two people groups, he does something very interesting. He does not appeal to Scripture. Rather, he appeals to new revelation he received as an apostle of Jesus Christ. There was not a single scripture in all the OT that inferred Gentiles would ever be given equal standing with Jews. At first glance, it might even seem to contradict the scriptures. But upon a closer look, there is nothing in the OT that actually prohibits God from promoting Gentiles to an equal inheritance with the Jews. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Rom. 9:15). Since this truth was previously unknown, Paul calls it a “mystery.” Only now had been revealed.

· We like to watch home improvement shows, and at the end of each episode, there is “the big reveal.” It’s that moment when the designer opens the front door, and the couple walk in. The camera zooms in on the couple. The camera cuts between before and after shots of the house. The man and the woman gasp in amazement. I don’t care how many times I’ve seen it. It never gets old!

· As a side note, there is another mystery Paul reveals in 1 Cor. 15. One that I think will interest you. 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 Behold! I tell you a mystery. [remember, a mystery is something previously hidden]. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. The “mystery” is not the resurrection. Jews had always believed in the resurrection from the dead. The “mystery” is that some would be resurrected without dying. That is, they would be raptured and immediately translated into their glorified body. That is a hope that you and I still have today.

Revealed to Apostles and Prophets

· Now, getting back to the equality of Jew and Gentile, Paul was not the only one to receive this message. See v. 5. We think also of Peter in Acts 10, who received a vision three times that all animals were now considered clean, and that all people were now declared clean by God. Acts 10:28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

· Jesus actually foretold that there were some things they were not yet ready to hear, but that would be revealed in due time. John 16:12–13 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. Surely this must have been one of those truths.

Any Distinction At All?

· Perhaps you are wondering, have all distinctions been erased between Jew and Gentile? Is there no benefit whatsoever in being a Jew? Theologians disagree on this point, but I believe that in spite of our equality, there are still some distinctions between Jew and Gentile. Let me give you five reasons why…

o 1. The covenants. God made certain irrevocable promises to ethnic Israel. He is free to expand those promises to include Gentiles, but he will never erase the original recipients.

o 2. The prophets. They foretold a future restoration of the entire nation of Israel that has not yet happened.

o 3. The olive tree. in Rom. 11 Paul describes Israel like an olive tree. He says the Gentiles have been “grafted in” to this tree, but that Jews will eventually be “grafted back” into their own olive tree, and that there be a national revival of Jews.

o 4. Parallel statements. There are other statements of equality that do not flatten all distinctions – Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female. Gal. 3:28

o 5. End times prophecy (the Book of Daniel, Zechariah, the Olivet Discourse, and the Book of Revelation) seem to center back around Israel as a distinct ethnic people.

The Manifold Wisdom of God

· “The manifold wisdom of God may now be made known.” Listen to how theologian Wayne Grudem explains this: “When Paul preaches the gospel both to Jews and to Gentiles, and they become unified in the one body of Christ (Eph. 3:6), the incredible “mystery” … is plain for all to see, namely, that in Christ such totally diverse people become united. … God’s wisdom is shown even to angels and demons (“principalities and powers”) when people from different racial and cultural backgrounds are united in Christ in the church. If the Christian church is faithful to God’s wise plan, it will be always in the forefront in breaking down racial and social barriers in societies around the world, and will thus be a visible manifestation of God’s amazingly wise plan to bring great unity out of great diversity and thereby to cause all creation to honor him.”

· In 1787, a black man named Absalom Jones gathered together with several other black parishioners at St. George’s Methodist Church. They sat down in a new pew that, unbeknownst to them, had been reserved for whites. As these blacks knelt in prayer, a white trustee came over and grabbed Absalom Jones, Allen’s associate, and began pulling on him, saying, “You must get up—you must not kneel here.” Jones asked him to wait until prayer was over, but the trustee retorted, “No, you must get up now, or I will call for aid and force you away.” But the group finished praying before they got up and walked out. That may have been the last time they ever set foot in that church. A short time later, they founded the African Methodist Episcopal church so they could worship God in peace (131 Christians Everyone Should Know, p. 188)

· Clearly, St. Georges was not displaying the manifold wisdom of God to men on earth or to angels in heaven. Such things were common in the 18th century. Sadly, they still echo down even into the 21st century. But these things also happened back in the 1st century. There is nothing new under the sun. Factions and prejudice have always plagued God’s people. But Paul wrote to say there was no place for this type of behavior among God’s people. A multi-cultural, multi-racial church is God’s wise design, and should be the goal of his people.

Conclusion

· Let me close by making one final application. We have considered the manifold wisdom of God. CSB translates this “God’s multi-faceted wisdom.” Let us just pause for a moment and consider just how wise our God is.

· Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

· Job 12:13–15 “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

· All that God is, and all that God does is wise. Some of you need to be reminded of that truth today. God knows what he is doing. His plan is perfect. It could not be improved upon. He who created the universe in wisdom has made this day, and is orchestrating every human event for his glory and for your good. He does not owe us an explanation, and in many cases, we would not understand anyway.

· Vance Havner: “If I could stand for five minutes at his vantage point and see the entire scheme of things as he sees it, how absurd would be my dreads, and how ridiculous my fears and tears!”

· Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Let us trust in him today.

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