Ephesians - The Mystery - Part 2

You are a part of God's great mystery program. You're a part of this one body, and you are in this world to help Him put things together. 

And now, as we open to Ephesians 3, let's pause to pray. Father, we do have a burden on our hearts to reach a world, and we cannot do it alone. And I pray You will stir the hearts of many people to go, to give, and all of us praying—oh Lord, send out laborers into Your harvest field. I pray Father, Your blessing upon our study of the word. Help us to receive it and then help us to act upon it. I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. 

Ephesians 3:1-13 is Paul's spiritual autobiography. He explains his ministry to us, and the key word here is mystery. He's talking about the mystery, and this mystery is, in Ephesians 3:6, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. Now he applies this mystery to himself in Ephesians 3:1-7. Here he talks about the revelation of the mystery—how God revealed the mystery to Paul. Paul was a prisoner because of the Gentiles. He had spoken the word "Gentiles" in the temple, Acts 22:21, and the orthodox Jewish people in the temple were so angry, they wanted to kill him. Paul was arrested, and there he was in prison because he wanted to be reaching the Gentiles with the gospel. I wonder how many of us would go to prison because we have a burden to reach others? 

You'll notice in Ephesians 3:1 he calls himself a prisoner. Then in Ephesians 3:2 he calls himself a steward. "If indeed you have heard of the dispensation," or the stewardship, "of the grace of God which was given to me for you," that is for you Gentiles. So in Ephesians 3:1, Paul is the prisoner. In Ephesians 3:2-6, Paul is the steward. And then in Ephesians 3:7 he is the minister: "of which I became a minister according to the gift of His grace." God called him, God gifted him, and God enabled him. 

The revelation of the mystery, Ephesians 3:1-7. Now in Ephesians 3:8-9, he tells us what this mystery means to the Gentiles, and here he talks about the fellowship of the mystery. "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all people see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ." 

Now let's make it very clear that when it comes to Jews and Gentiles, there is no difference in creation. Acts 17 tells us that when Paul is preaching to the philosophers at Mars Hill, and he tells us in Acts 17:26, "And He," God, "has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." So there's no difference in creation as far as Jew and Gentile are concerned. There is no difference in condemnation as far as Jew and Gentile are concerned. Romans 3:22-23: "For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." He's been talking about the guilt of the Jews and the guilt of the Gentiles and he says, now, there is no difference. 

So there's no difference in creation. There's no difference in condemnation. Oh, the Jew in Paul's day thought he was very high and close to God and the Gentiles were very low, but God made it very clear that all have sinned and the ground is level at the foot of the cross. There is no difference in conversion. In Acts 15:8-9, Peter is speaking and he says, "So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them," that is the Gentiles, "by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." Peter had gone to the household of Cornelius, Acts 10, and while he was preaching, he told them that if you believe on Jesus Christ you'll be saved. And they believed and they were saved, and the Holy Spirit was given to the Gentiles. Now some of the Jews were bothered by this. They thought that Gentiles had to become Jews before they could become Christians. And Paul said no, this is not true, and that's what Peter is saying. 

So there's no difference in creation. There's no difference in condemnation. There's no difference in conversion. The only difference is in our calling. God in His grace called out the Jews and gave to them the adoption—He adopted them as His firstborn; the glory—He put His glory in their temple; the covenants—He gave them covenants through Moses and others; the giving of the law, the service of God, the promises. These were gracious gifts from God who called the Jews to a special ministry. And so the Gentiles were, as it were, outsiders. 

Ephesians 2:12-13: "that at that time you were," you Gentiles, "without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ." And so the Gentiles are being told by the Apostle Paul about the unsearchable riches in Jesus Christ. He wants to make all people see the fellowship of this mystery. They have a new relationship to God. They have a new relationship to one another. They have a new relationship to the Jews. They have new resources, new riches. What a wonderful thing it is to know about this mystery. Now, if you understand this beautiful mystery, you will go out and build bridges, not walls. You will not operate on the basis of prejudice and bigotry. You will open your arms and your heart and reach out to all who know Jesus as their Savior, and more than that, we will go out and try to reach others to know Him. Oh, it's a good thing to understand the gospel and be saved; it's also a good thing to understand the mystery and help other people come to Christ. 

Now in Ephesians 3:10-11, Paul deals with an interesting truth, namely, the mystery as it relates to the angels. Now we don't often think about the angels, do we? But Paul wants us to think about the angels. Ephesians 3:10: "to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church," by means of the church, "to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Here we're talking about the angels and the wisdom of the mystery. You see, in the Old Testament, the angels watched the development of God's plan. Of course, the angels were there at creation. We understand from scripture that the angels were first created and then God created the universe because Job tells us that the morning stars sang together and all the servants of God shouted for joy. So when God by a word created the universe, the angels saw His power and His great glory. 

Then throughout the Old Testament development of history, the angels were watching. 1 Peter 1:10: "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He," the Holy Spirit, "testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow." Now here we have the inquiring prophets as they looked at the prophecies that were given to them. They were trying to understand what God was doing. On the one hand, there are prophecies like Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, of a suffering servant who would die in a shameful way. On the other hand, you have prophecies like Isaiah 66, Isaiah 11, where the prophets talk about a wonderful kingdom with the Messiah reigning in glory. Now here they are trying to figure out what is the relationship between the suffering of the Messiah and the glory that would follow. 

1 Peter 1:12: "To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into." That's an interesting phrase. The angels were watching the development of the Old Testament plan as God was working out His providential plan. The angels were seeing God's grace being revealed, God's glory being revealed. 

This little phrase, "which things the angels desire to look into," reminds me of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. You'll recall that there was on the ark of the covenant the mercy seat, and at either end of the mercy seat these two golden cherubim. And they were looking down into the mercy seat. They were watching the development of God's great plan of salvation. So the angels are interested in learning God's wisdom from the Old Testament plan of salvation as it developed in history. And the angels today are watching the church. 

The Lord tells us that the angels experience rejoicing when a sinner is converted. Luke 15:10: "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Now angels don't have to repent. Fallen angels cannot repent. And yet when they see you lead someone to Jesus Christ, there is joy. The angels are watching the church and learning as this program is being developed, learning about the wisdom of God and the grace of God. 

Paul talks about the angels watching in 1 Corinthians 4:9: "For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men." Talking about the arena when they used to bring out the prisoners and the last prisoners, of course, were the ones who really got thrown to the lions. He said, here we are as spectacles, the angels are watching from us. 

Now I take it from Ephesians 3:10, he's talking not only about the godly angels, the holy angels, but also the unholy angels—the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. The reason God did not reveal many of these things in the Old Testament was to keep the devil in the dark. The devil knows his Bible better than anybody else of God's created beings. The devil knows how to use the word of God. Now God kept many of these things hidden in the Old Testament so Satan would not know what He was doing. 

When Satan filled Judas and Judas went out and sold Jesus, Satan thought he had really won the victory. And yet the cross was Satan's greatest defeat. Satan did not understand and the principalities and powers did not understand God's plan. Now God is revealing His plan because He has already won the victory. Jesus Christ has completed the great plan of salvation. The work is done. Notice what it says in Ephesians 3:11: "according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." It is finished. He has accomplished His eternal purpose and now He's working out that purpose on this earth. So God's not afraid for the devil to read the New Testament. God's not afraid for Satan to watch in the church the development of God's wisdom. He has already won the victory. 

The tragedy is the people in the church don't know what God's program is. The angels are watching, but the people aren't paying much attention because this mystery that Paul talks about in Ephesians 3 has not been given the emphasis it ought to be given. The church has fallen into lethargy; it's fallen into disobedience, confusion. What is the church supposed to do on this earth? Why are we here? We're here to help God achieve His eternal purpose. What is that eternal purpose? To bring all things together in Jesus Christ. How do you do that? Well, you become a minister of God, a witness of God, an ambassador, and you take out the message of the gospel and you get people saved. If you're a witness, a soul winner, you're helping God put things together. If we're not, we're helping the devil tear things apart. 

So he has applied this mystery to himself—we have the revelation of the mystery in Ephesians 3:1-7. Then Paul applies it to the Gentiles in Ephesians 3:8-9, the fellowship of the mystery. To the angels, Ephesians 3:10-11, the wisdom of the mystery. And now in Ephesians 3:12-13, he applies it to believers today. He talks about the encouragement of the mystery. "In whom," Jesus Christ, "we have boldness," that means freedom of speech, "and access with confidence through faith in Him." Access to whom? Access to God. We are now able to come into the very presence of God. Ephesians 2:18: "For through Him we both," Jew and Gentile, "have access by one Spirit to the Father." 

Remember when Jesus died on the cross, He destroyed two things. The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom—we have access to God. The middle wall of partition in the temple was destroyed as far as God was concerned—Jew and Gentile have access to each other. And now in Jesus Christ we have boldness and we have access and we have confidence. I tell you, knowing what this mystery is all about can give you the courage you need to face life. We are not here on a playground; we're on a battleground, and there are people who don't understand what God is doing in this world. We have boldness—that means freedom of speech. We have access—that means we can come right into the presence of God. 

I have had access to places where I did not have freedom of speech. I was in the White House one day on a tour—I couldn't say anything I wanted to say, but I had access into those rooms. I can come to my Father in heaven knowing what He is doing in this world. I can have confidence through faith in Him. "Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." Why was Paul going through pressure and trouble? For somebody else. He said that in Ephesians 3:1: "I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles." Ephesians 3:13: "my tribulations for you." What are we doing for others? 

Paul wants us to be doing the job God has called us to do, that every one of us may be doing our part. He says that in Ephesians 4:16: "from whom the whole body," Jew and Gentile, saved through faith in Christ, "joined and knit together," not pulled apart, "by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." I like that phrase—it convicts me—"every part does its share." Are you doing your share? 

God doesn't call us all to be missionaries or evangelists or Bible teachers or authors, preachers, but God calls all of us to do our share. And the part you have in building the body of Christ is just as important as the part Charles Spurgeon had or D.L. Moody. You find what God wants you to do. You are a part of God's great mystery program. You're a part of this one body, and you are in this world to help Him put things together. Oh, what courage and confidence we ought to have. What boldness we ought to have. Let's not lose heart. We are part of the great thing God is doing in this world. Let's every one do his share. 

[Interview]
Up next, Warren talks with Arnie Cole, CEO of Back to the Bible International. 

Warren, Ephesians 5:15 tells us to walk wisely and make the best use of our time because the days are evil. What are some of the best uses of our time these days? 

Actually, we should have more time because we have more time-saving gadgets than we've ever had. Time is something we have to invest. We can waste it, we can spend it, or we can invest it. And I prefer to invest my time in that which is going to, number one, be obedient to the Lord, number two, bring Him glory, and number three, help other people. The best thing I can do in this world is help somebody. Sometimes it seems like a burden, but it isn't, to help somebody. So I don't waste a lot of time on the newspaper. I don't waste a lot of time on television. I'm not saying that these things are wrong. When people phone me, I try not to hang on too long, for their sake, not just mine. Every day I have to start the day with the Lord and give Him, Lord, here's my schedule. Now get rid of what You don't want there, add what You do want. And He's done that. I've seen my whole day rearranged, but it was the best way. So I think we need to read the word of God every day, we need to pray every day, we need to ask God to help us to help somebody today. And most of all, always ask ourselves the question: am I glorifying Jesus? It's amazing how the Christian life doesn't waste time. If we are following the Lord, He's got something for us to do even if it's only to help somebody across the street.