Ephesians
3:1-21
In Ephesians chapter 2 we are presented with God’s view of the church.
Not only is the church a trophy to the "exceeding riches of his
grace", but it is very unique in its structure.
Yes, as we enter
this "holy temple in the Lord",
we are struck by the fact that there is no middle wall of partition separating
Jews and Gentiles.
And this very
interesting feature, like the church itself, has been a mystery, hidden in the
mind of God throughout the ages.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Let's take a few moments to talk about God's mysteries as they appear in
scripture.
A mystery is a truth hidden in the mind of God until such a time that it is
revealed through His holy apostles and prophets.
I believe there are about 11 mysteries in the New Testament scriptures of
which one of them is the
Church.
And like all the rest, the church has been "kept secret since the world began", to be revealed in
all its splendour on the day of
Pentecost.
No, in spite of
what some people might think, the church does not appear in the Old Testament
Scriptures, nor can it claim
Israel
's
blessings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However, even
though the church did not appear until the day of Pentecost, Jesus opened the
door to God's secret ever so slightly during His earthly sojourn.
Remember the time when
Peter said, "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God".
Actually, God had
given him a special insight to which Jesus responded, "and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it."
Also, during one of
Jesus’ parables concerning the Good Shepherd, He alluded to the church’s unique
makeup.
Remember His words
in John 10:3, "--- and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out."
He was referring to
the remnant in
Israel
who accepted Him.
Eventually, these
same individuals would become the nucleus of the church.
And in V16 of this
same chapter, He adds this comment --- "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: (referring to
the Gentiles) them also I must bring,
and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one
shepherd."
That's when He
revealed the unique makeup of the church.
It would be drawn
from two folds, and become "one
fold" with "one
shepherd."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In last week's
lesson, we talked about the doctrinal foundation of the church laid down in the
New Testament scriptures.
Certainly, God used
some of Jesus’ disciples, along with a few others, to record the New Testament
scriptures, but none so extensively as the Apostle Paul.
In fact, the
doctrine, position, walk, and destiny of the church have all flowed out from his
pen.
And as we observed
in our last lesson, Ephesians chapter 2 documents the Gentiles’ full membership
in Christ’s church, and on an equal basis.
No, they were not to
be second-class citizens in God’s family, but "--- fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his
promise in Christ by the gospel:"
And that particular
truth, which was so dear to Paul's heart, reappears in chapter 3 --- this time in
the form of a parenthesis.
Well, sort of a
parenthesis.
You see, it wasn't
enclosed in brackets, which would be usual in such a case, but in every other
way it looks very much like a parenthesis.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Now, I'm sure most
of you know what a parenthesis is, but for the benefit of those who might not, I
will include an example.
Supposing I said,
"I went sailing in a catamaran to a tropical island", and then, inserted
some additional information concerning the physical makeup of a catamaran.
This additional
information would be called a parenthesis, and should be enclosed in brackets.
Grammatically
speaking, the sentence would be complete without it, but some important
information would be missing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In Paul's case, the
principal subject of chapter 3 is his prayer for the Ephesians.
And then, right in
the middle of this chapter, he inserts some additional information concerning
the mystery he had been talking about in chapter 2.
And since he didn't
enclose it in brackets, let me suggest where I think it begins and ends.
In V1, Paul prefaces
his prayer with the words --- "For
this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for
you Gentiles," --- and then continues, in V14, "-- bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ", and so on.
In between verses 1
and 14, he explains the nature of the mystery contained in Chapter 2 and his
involvement in it.
So, let's read
Paul's parenthesis in its entirety.
Eph. 3:2-13 "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the
grace of God which is given me to youward:
3: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote
afore in few words, --- probably referring to the last part of Chapter
2 or elsewhere.
4: Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery
of Christ)
5: Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is
now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs,
and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of
God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ;
9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which
from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ:
10: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11: According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord:
12: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of
him.
13: Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,
which is your glory."
In V3 Paul makes
this statement --- "that by
revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words ---".
But then, in V5-6,
he adds --- "as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs,
and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel:"
So then, he isn't
claiming exclusive revelation, but he is claiming direct revelation.
And, in
Gal.1:11-12, he defends this point --- "But
I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after
man.
12: For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by
the revelation of Jesus Christ."
And then, jumping down
to V17-18, "Neither went I up to
Jerusalem
to them
which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto
Damascus
.
18: Then after three years I went up to
Jerusalem
to see Peter, and abode with him
fifteen days."
So the bottom line is
that Paul wasn't a student of the apostles.
He was a student of
God by direct revelation.
In the solitudes of
Arabia
, God took this man, who had been steeped
in the Old Testament Scriptures, and to whom He had given a keen intellect, and
poured His mysteries into him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And then Paul says,
in Eph.3:7, "Whereof I was made a
minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the
effectual working of his power."
So you see --- God
hadn't given him this special revelation in order to keep it under a bushel.
He was to be God’s
minister to the Gentiles.
And "by the effectual working of his
power" he was to proclaim the good news far and wide.
It was a high
calling, but it was a calling that would exact a heavy price.
In Ephesians 3:1,
he refers to himself as "--- Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you
Gentiles," and he wasn't
kidding.
In fact, this very
epistle was written in a Roman prison.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So, let's take a
few moments to review the events that led up to Paul's imprisonment.
As the book of Acts
records, Paul spent a good deal of time in the Roman province of Asia, and
while there, great multitudes of Gentiles, including those in
Ephesus
, had been gathered into the fold.
However, even
though his converts were predominantly Gentile, he hadn't been neglectful of God's
Chosen People.
Following the
principle of "to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek", he had made it a priority to proclaim the gospel
of Jesus Christ to the local Jewish population.
However, as was
usually the case, when the Jews rejected his message, he turned to the
Gentiles.
So, as time went on,
an increasing number of Gentiles were added to the faith, and an increasing
number of Asian Jews became his mortal enemies.
Yes, they looked
upon him as a despicable traitor.
Here was a Pharisee
who had zealously persecuted the church, and now he was standing with them, and
even proclaiming that abominable doctrine that Gentiles could have direct
access to their God.
And I'm sure that last
proclamation was the salt that irritated their wounded pride most
severely.
As far as they were
concerned, they were God's Chosen People and the Gentiles were dogs.
How dare that wretched man preach such a doctrine!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And yet, this very doctrine
is contained in their scriptures.
That's right, even
though the church is not mentioned in the Old Testament Scriptures, the
ingathering of the Gentiles is.
For instance, in Isaiah 11:10 we read, "And in that day there shall be a root
of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the
Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."
And again, in Zachariah
2:10-11 "Sing and rejoice, O
daughter of
Zion
:
for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
11: And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall
be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto
thee."
And again, in Malachi
1:11 "For from the rising of the
sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the
Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure
offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts."
Nevertheless, they
had managed to overlook all of these scriptures, and labelled Paul's teaching a
damnable heresy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And they weren't
the only ones who had taken exception to Paul's teaching.
This new revelation
was not too popular in the church either.
In fact, many of
the Jewish Christians were convinced that the Gentiles should become sort of
Jewish, being circumcised and accepting some of the laws of Moses, before they
could become true Christians.
No doubt they were
clinging to the old Jewish proselyte idea, but Paul would have none of it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So there was a
problem, and the whole thing came to a head when Paul visited
Jerusalem
.
As you would expect,
Paul made contact with the local church, and found the elders sort of walking on
eggs.
Oh, they weren't
opposed to Paul's work among the Gentiles.
In fact, Acts
21:19-21 records --- "And when he
had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among
the Gentiles by his ministry.
20: And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord (but they had a
problem) and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which
believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
21: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they
ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the
customs."
Now, as is often
the case, this rumour was completely false.
Paul hadn't tried
to dissuade the Jewish Christians from circumcising their children, etc.
He had simply insisted
that the Gentiles should not be pressured to do so.
However, this piece
of misinformation had stirred up a lot of animosity, and the elders were
anxious to set the record straight.
Acts 21:23-24 "Do therefore this that we say to
thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
24: Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with
them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things,
whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself
also walkest orderly, and keepest the law."
Well, Paul agreed; and
by doing so, he jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
You see, the Jews who
lived in
Asia
had come up for the feast, and no
doubt were keeping a close eye on him.
When he entered the
temple to participate in this ritual, they jumped to conclusions.
Acts.21:27-29 "And when the seven days were almost
ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up
all the people, and laid hands on him,
28: Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the
law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath
polluted this holy place.
29: (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought
into the temple.)"
Again, Paul was
being falsely accused.
He had brought
Jews, not Gentiles, into the temple.
And even if he had,
he wouldn't have taken them beyond the wall that separated the court of the
Gentiles from the rest of the temple.
But, as is often
the case, the real facts didn't really matter.
This false
accusation started a riot, which in turn got the Roman authorities involved.
One thing led to
another, and in due time, Paul found himself in a prison in
Rome
.
And it was from
that very prison that he was writing this letter to the Ephesians.
So you see, Paul really
was "--- the prisoner of Jesus Christ" for the Gentiles.
But he wasn't
looking for sympathy.
In fact, in V13 of
this same chapter, he writes --- "Wherefore
I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your
glory."
No, Paul wasn't
licking his wounds; he was rejoicing in his commission.
In fact, he was
simply amazed that God had used him at all.
Eph.3:8-9 "Unto me, who am less than the least of all
saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ;
9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which
from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ:"
Yes, God had used
him extensively.
In fact, He had
used him so extensively that He must take the necessary precaution of giving
him "a thorn in the flesh".
Paul mentions this
in 2 Cor.12:7 --- "And lest I
should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest
I should be exalted above measure."
Initially, Paul had
struggled with this infirmity, but he had finally accepted God's wisdom in the
matter.
He had also come to
terms with the suffering he must endure as a result of his unpopular message.
Actually, his only
concern was for the negative affect his suffering might have on the believers
in
Ephesus
.
Eph.3:13 "Wherefore I desire that ye faint not
at my tribulations for you, which is your glory."
And he was also
concerned for their spiritual growth.
In fact, it was this
same concern that gave rise to the prayer recorded in the rest of this chapter.
V14-15 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
15: Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named".
And God does have a
very large family.
There are the Old
Testament saints, and those in the bride of Christ, and thousands of believers who
will be brought into the fold during the tribulation.
Added to this are
myriads of angels who fill His courts with praise, and, of course, other heavenly
beings.
And it was to this
Almighty Father that Paul was making his request --- V16 "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man".
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I am told that John D.
Rockefeller, that great oil magnet and philanthropist, was in the habit of
giving his caddie a single dime for a tip.
There's no question that
he was paying him out of his riches, but had he been paying him "according to the riches", that young man would have gone home with his
pockets jingling!
Well, Paul wasn't
looking for a dime.
His prayer was based
upon the riches of God's glory, and not surprisingly, on another resource that
had been obtained in answer to Jesus’ prayer.
Remember His promise
to His disciples --
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever".
So then, with
complete confidence, Paul was asking --- "That
he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man".
When it comes to
our physical environment, God has given us five senses to keep us informed.
However, when it
comes to spiritual things, our "inner
man" must depend upon God's Holy Spirit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And then Paul
continues in V17-19 "That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18: May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height;
19: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
The real essence of
Christianity is Christ living in us.
For 33 years our
incarnate Lord lived among men, and then He returned to heaven.
Nevertheless, He
still makes His presence felt through the lives of His saints.
As Paul says in Gal. 2:20 --- "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me".
And one of the
telltale signs that Christ is in control of a believer’s life is a heart that is
"rooted and grounded in love".
Now, the term
"rooted" brings to mind a
plant that is growing and developing because of the nutrients that are supplied
through its roots.
So then, if a
Christian’s heart is not rooted in love, there will be a complete absence of that
beautiful fragrance of Christ wafting up to heaven.
That's what 1 Cor.13:1
tells us, doesn't it?
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity (or love), I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal."
The other
terminology used in this verse is "grounded", which is translated from a Greek word that gives the idea
of a foundation.
And a local church
that is not grounded on a foundation of love will soon lose its power.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Also, it is only as
Christ dwells in our "hearts by
faith" that we will "be
able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge".
How else can we
understand the breadth of God's love contained in Jesus’ words --- "Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" --- as He wrapped His loving
arms around the world.
And as for the
length of God's love, it existed "before
the foundation of the world", and it will continue to exist throughout
eternity.
And then there's the
depth of God's love poured out at
Calvary
as
His Son "became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross."
As to the height of
God's love, it brought Jesus all the way from glory to the grave, and has lifted
us "out of an horrible pit, out
of the miry clay," and has set our feet upon a rock.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Eph.3:19 "--- that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
That seems like a
rather ambitious prayer, doesn't it?
Is it possible to
be "filled with all the fullness of
God"?
Isn't that kind of
like asking the
Pacific Ocean
to be contained
in a teaspoon?
Well, Paul thought
it was possible, even essential.
And if you look at
the life of Jesus, you will see what being "filled
with all the fullness of God" is all about.
In a word, it's
about obedience.
Listen to Jesus’ words
in Heb. 2:8 --- "Then said I, Lo, I
come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O
God."
Phil. 2:8 "And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross."
And then, as we see
Jesus staring into that cup of suffering, which we have filled so full for Him,
we hear His words, "O my Father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as
thou wilt."
Yes, experiencing "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" and being "filled with all the fullness of God",
will lead us down the pathway of obedience.
Can we do it?
Of course we can't!
But Christ can.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Eph.
3:20 "Now unto him that is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think ---".
Certainly there are
a lot of legitimate things a Christian should pray for, but God "is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think --".
Look at Paul's life,
for instance.
He wanted to visit
Rome
as a free man, and God
sent him there in chains.
As a result, we have
been blessed by the Epistles: to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the
Colossians, and to Philemon, all written during his captivity.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And then V20 ends
with these words ---"according to
the power that worketh in us ---".
And I'll stop right
there.
Yes, it is God’s good
pleasure to work through His saints.
Consider Peter,
that impulsive hard to control fisherman, whom God fashioned into an
outstanding servant.
And even Paul, that
great enemy of the early church, was to be moulded into a unique vessel for His
purposes.
Yes, God "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in us ---".
I'm so glad He doesn't
limit Himself to our ineffectual plans.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And then Paul ends the
doctrinal part of this epistle with a benediction ---
V21
"Unto him be glory in the church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
A basic guide to
understanding Scripture is the recognition of the fact that God does everything
for His glory.
And where, in this
darkened world of sin, does God get the glory?
It is in His
church, which has the distinct privilege of glorifying Him publicly down here,
and will continue to do so throughout eternity.
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