According to his secretary, Tobias Lear, it was a cold, wet December afternoon when the former president came in from riding on his estate. He intentionally stayed in his wet clothes so that he would not be late for dinner. It was that evening that he told his wife that he was feeling poorly. The 67-year-old man then informed his wife that he was having difficulty breathing. And then he informed his overseer, Albin Rollins, to bleed him, as was the medical wisdom of the day. Doctors did so four times over the period of eight hours, and they drained 40% of his blood supply. On December 14, 1799, our country's first president died after a 21-hour illness. Medical professionals, historians have debated for now decades, centuries, as to the true nature of why George Washington died. Was it a virus? Was it a bacterial infection? Was it the fact that he had 40% of his blood supply drained from his body? likely we will never know. But we do know that medical advances have progressed to the point regarding curing viruses and bacteria that no longer will you go to the doctor or to the hospital and will they drain you of 40% of your blood supply. for which you can give thanks to the Lord. These kinds of mysteries are routinely solved in the fields of science and medicine when new information is presented in solving the problem. In the first century There were a number of religious groups called mystery religions that prided themselves on having secret information and that secret information was given only to the initiated. They were the ones to receive that revelation. When it comes to the New Testament we also talk about the mystery. mystery of the gospel. That mystery is not given just to the initiated, it's given to the public. But we had to have more information to solve mankind's problem of sin and the Lord was faithful to give that to us. With regard to man's sin, God promised way back in Genesis chapter 3 that he was going to offer a solution. He was going to give us an answer to man's problem. And over the period of the time that the Old Testament was written, We have pieces of information that have been given by revelation through the prophets that will tell us, or that do tell us, did tell us, how God was going to bring about this solution. Historians and theologians call that progressive revelation. Little bit of revelation now, little bit more, little bit more. and now we find it fully revealed to us in Jesus. Our text this morning is from the book of Ephesians chapter 3. We opened that chapter this morning. This idea of mystery shows up six times explicitly in the letter to the Ephesians and three times in chapter 3 alone. It's a major theme in this particular chapter. I want you to follow along with me as I read Ephesians chapter 3 beginning at verse 1. I'm going to read through verse 13, but this morning we're only going to have time to deal with the first seven verses. For this reason, Paul writes, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you, that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel of which I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of his power to me the very least of all the saints, this grace was given. To preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ. And to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things. So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance to the eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. Therefore, I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory. I want to step back from chapter 3 for just a moment, give you a very brief synopsis of where we've been so far. I want you to see the fullness and the wholeness of this book. It begins, you remember, with a very long sentence. a sentence of doxology, a word of glory. The first half of chapter 1, the Apostle Paul tells us about the wonder and the magnificence of what Christ has done on the behalf of those who believe. And then at the end of chapter 1, he wants us to know, by way of his prayer, the power of God's work in us who believe. And then he gets a little bit more specific. In chapter two, he begins by saying, we were stiffs. We were spiritually dead, unable to respond, unable to even grasp what God has done in Christ. But we who were dead are made alive in him. After detailing how God does that through his grace, he then goes on in the second half of chapter 2 to say that we were alienated from God and we were alienated from one another. But now in Christ, he says, not only are we reconciled to God, we are reconciled to one another. Gentiles, it doesn't matter what stripe you are, what language you speak, what culture you come from, what color your skin, it doesn't matter. What matters is Christ, and in Him, for all who believe, we are reconciled to the Lord. We are reconciled to one another. Formerly, verse 12 of chapter 2, we were separate from Christ, excluded. We were strangers, but now we have been brought near. We are fellow citizens, members of God's household. We are being built into a holy temple in the Lord. So here, by the end of chapter two, we're beginning to taste the glory and the wonder of God in Christ, not only personally, but interpersonally for those who collectively believe in the risen Christ. And now he begins chapter three. Let me point out something important. It begins with the phrase, for this reason, Now, look at verse 14 of the same chapter. For this reason, Paul is repeating himself. Why? Because verses 1 through 13 are a digression. Paul wants to write what he writes in verse 14 of chapter 3. It's another prayer. He wants us to know the strength and the experience of walking with the risen Christ. He's just talked about the glories of our salvation, talked about being reconciled to God, reconciled with one another, and he says, I want you to grow in this knowledge of God's deep and abiding love for you in Christ. But he realizes he's got to say some other words before he gets there. So before he starts another prayer in verse 14, he says, for this reason, wait a minute, I need to say something. It has to do with his state and his status. his state specifically as a prisoner, and his status as an apostle, as a steward, as a minister of God, he has a responsibility before the Lord. And they need to know, A, that God is still in control. He's reminding of that even though he's a prisoner. God is in the midst of that circumstance in his life. Secondly, they need to know, they need to be reminded of the fact that he is speaking of this mystery as an ambassador from the Lord. He has been given a commission. He has the responsibility on behalf of the Lord to impose obligation on them. which is where Paul's gonna end in chapters four, five, and six. So here's this little parenthesis that we'll look at this week and next week, Lord's willing, where Paul is saying, I need you to be reminded of the fact of who I am, my station in life right now presently, and what God has called me to do. Verse one. Point number one. This is the stewardship of the mystery. I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles... He is the prisoner of Christ Jesus. Now Paul did not say that he is a prisoner of the Jews. Neither did he say he was a prisoner of the Romans. He could have said either. He could have said either and been correct. He was falsely accused by the Jews in Jerusalem. That's what led to his imprisonment. He was falsely detained by the Romans. That was what kept him in prison. But Paul does not say he was a prisoner of the Jews or a prisoner of the Gentiles, specifically the Romans. That would have meant that Paul looked at his circumstance from a human point of view. And Paul was pretty consistent at looking at life from an eternal perspective. He said, I am the prisoner of Christ Jesus. He is saying on the one hand that he is under obligation to the Lord Jesus. He is my master, Paul says. I bow to him, I submit to him, I do his bidding. It is as though he is saying I am his slave. He doesn't say that. He does elsewhere. but he is saying I am a prisoner because he is indeed in prison in Rome and verse 13 of chapter 3 I don't want you to lose heart because of this. I want you to know God is still in control. In the book of Ephesians he tells a little bit of what he's experiencing here Philippians chapter 1 verse 12 he writes to that particular church, I want you to know brethren that my circumstances there in the Roman prison have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has been well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else and that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. God says, see, the Lord is firmly in control. I'm not worried, and neither should you be. I don't want you to lose heart. Now this idea of being the prisoner of the Lord, and there is an article there, he does not say that he is a prisoner, he says he is the prisoner of the Lord because he has a specific role, a specific responsibility, a specific status, if you will, specifically that of being a steward. Now a steward is one who is responsible for caring for something owned by another person. And Paul is here saying, I have been given the stewardship of the mystery of Christ. Now a mystery is, from this New Testament perspective, something that is concealed from natural reason but is revealed by divine revelation. Or maybe to make it a little bit more rhymey and tight A New Testament mystery is that which is concealed from deductive reasoning but is revealed by divine revelation. Paul's a steward of that. He has been given a gift In 1st Timothy 1 he says, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful putting me into service. Paul recognized I have a job to do. The Lord has called me to this. And he goes back a little further in explaining this to the churches in the province of Galatia. He wrote, God who has set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace was pleased to reveal his son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles. This mystery, this mystery of Christ which we have not yet defined. Paul does later in verse 6, we'll get there. But this mystery is that which has been entrusted to Paul. It's a revelation. It's new information. God purposely gave the Apostle to fill in all of the blanks, to make known his will in Christ. As with every other gift that we are given, this gift given to Paul comes with a responsibility. First Peter 4, as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Paul was a good steward. He understood he was given something very special, very precious, very costly and worthwhile. Look at verse 7. We're not taking these verses in order but we're trying to fill out this idea of Paul's status before these people. Verse 7, he says, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of his power, my Holy Spirit power. Paul was conscripted, commissioned, given a job, a task, a gift to make known the mystery of the gospel in Acts chapter 26. Paul relates the words spoken to him by the Lord Jesus upon his conversion as he went from Jerusalem to the city of Damascus. We read about that conversion in Acts chapter 9 but it's in chapter 26 where Paul is speaking to King Agrippa and he is relating to him repeating what the Lord Jesus told Paul. This is part of Paul's commission for which he is responsible as a steward, as a servant, a minister. Acts chapter 19 verse 26 I'm sorry verse chapter 26 verse 16 middle of the verse I have appeared to you said Jesus to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen but also to the things in which I will appear to you rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me. So Paul He's not just a prisoner, he is the prisoner. He is the prisoner because he is given a charge, a responsibility, a stewardship for disseminating the mystery of the gospel. And now we're ready for point number two, second page of your notes. The showing of this mystery. Look again in our text at verse 3. Let me start with verse 2. If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you, of course they had heard about it. Paul writes this in this manner. He was there in Ephesus for three years but it has been five years since he has been there. No doubt there are many people that have come to faith that have not ever met Paul personally, but they've heard the stories and they've read his letters and they know his doctrine. If you've heard of the stewardship of God's grace, oh yes they have. Verse 3, that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief. Now commentators will say well maybe this writing that he briefly wrote to them is a previous letter. That's possible, but I don't think we have to go beyond what we already read in chapter 2 to know, Paul's already briefly said what this mystery is and how it affects this largely Gentile audience. Verse four, by referring to this, when you read, you can begin to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations has not been made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit. Progressive revelation. God has spoken in the past knowing man's sin problem. He has given a promise. I'm going to send a Redeemer. And he gives a little bit more information about that. But after the death and resurrection of Christ, there was still much that needed to be revealed. God revealed that to his apostles and prophets. Remember chapter two, these are the ones that we are built upon. That is their teaching, is the foundation of our faith. Paul, as a good steward, not only received that revelation but now is recording it. He's recorded it verbally and now he's recording it on paper. Let me spend just a couple minutes looking at those things that have been revealed yet that are concealed in the Old Testament and how we are dependent upon the revelation that we read about in the New Testament. Let me give you three examples. Number one, in Genesis 12 and in Genesis 22 God promised to the patriarch Abraham that the Jews, his posterity, Abraham's posterity, would be a blessing to all families. They would bless all the nations. Well, we don't know what that blessing entailed exactly. If you look at Galatians chapter 3 verse 7, We read this, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The scripture says, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel before him to Abraham saying all the nations will be blessed in you. Genesis 12, Genesis 22, yes we know that they will be blessed. What does that mean? Well, the Jews concluded, well, that means that the sons of Abraham are blessed, they are privileged, they are saved. Well, what needed to be revealed is that those who are true sons of Abraham come through faith in God's promise, specifically revealed in Christ. And that Gentiles come into the faith in exactly the same way. Jews are justified, Gentiles are justified by God's grace through faith alone in the promise of God. Specifically found in Jesus. We had to have that additional revelation to solve the problem of man's sin. Example number two. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 49, the prophet says this for the Lord. He's writing for the Lord. I will make you, that is the tribes of Jacob, light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." My salvation will reach to the end of the earth. How did you understand that? Well it's a little hard to say. but if we put this particular verse from Psalm 135 in the mix we can have a pretty good guess of what they mean or what they understood Isaiah to say. Psalm 135 verse 4 says, the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession. Now you put that in the mix and when Isaiah says speaks on behalf of God my salvation will reach to the end of the earth the Jew is thinking wherever there's a Jew he will be saved salvation is going to go to the end of the earth for the Jew because Psalm 135 God has chosen Jacob God has chosen Israel for his own possession well that's a true statement But it's also true that there will be many Gentiles, many Gentiles that will come to faith. So the revelation that needed to be given was God's not done simply by blessing the Jews, giving them the Messiah. Messiah goes to the nations. Acts chapter 13. one place we might look to to see this revelation given from the Apostles and Prophets of the New Testament. It was necessary that the Word of God be spoken to you first as Paul is speaking to the Jews. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life behold we are turning to the Gentiles for so the Lord has commanded us to And he's quoting from Isaiah, I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth. It's not just for the Jew. It's for the Jew, but it's also for the Gentile. Then he needed that piece of additional revelation to expose, to expound on, to explain the mystery of the gospel. Example number three. I have you turn to the book of Acts chapter 10. I want to read an extended portion from this particular chapter. We find the Apostle Peter at a home on the seacoast where he has a vision and he receives some visitors. Acts chapter 10 verse 9, on the next day they were making their way approaching the city. Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. He became hungry and was desiring to eat, but while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. And he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground. And there were on it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him. Get up, Peter. Kill and eat. But Peter said, But by no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean. Again, a voice came to him a second time, what God has cleansed no longer consider unholy. This happened three times. And immediately the object was taken up into the sky. It was at that moment, immediately, that there was a knock on the door and Peter received some guests, Gentiles. They asked him to come with them to the home of their master, a man named Cornelius, a soldier, a commander. A God-fearing man, but a Gentile. to a Jew he was a them, he was not an us, even though he was a God-fearer. Verse 24, following day they went into Caesarea where Cornelius lived, he was waiting for them, he called together his relatives, close friends, and Peter says in verse 28 you yourselves know how unlawful catch that word you yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him and yet God has shown me by revelation that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. The Apostle Peter needed a word of revelation and that word of revelation he passed on to this Gentile named Cornelius Subsequently, he preached the gospel, exposing the mystery of that gospel regarding Gentiles being accepted, Gentiles coming into the faith by God's grace. And we read in verse 15 of Ephesians chapter 2, the law of commandments contained in ordinances was abolished in Christ's flesh. That's the revelation. It never occurred to Paul or Peter, James, John, any of the Apostles, any of the Jews in Jesus' day. It never occurred to them that we should divide Mosaic law into three categories. Civil law, ceremonial law, moral law. Never occurred to them But when it came to the ceremonial part of Mosaic law, having to do with sacrifices, having to do with feasts and Sabbath days, having to do with dietary restrictions, all of these were abolished because they were fulfilled in Christ. He is the focal point of all the feasts. He is the one last sacrifice that needed to be made. Peter needed that revelation. Paul needed that revelation. The Gentile world needed that revelation. Previously they thought, well the way to deal with a A virus is to bleed you. No. New information tells us differently. John MacArthur says that this process, this new revelation given that Gentiles are on equal footing with Jews as they come to God in faith in the Lord Jesus. MacArthur says that it's like welcoming lepers back into town, into your home, after having been banished because of their disease. The mystery of the Gospels, there's no longer an us versus them. We are together, we are fellow heirs, fellow members, fellow partakers of the promise. Which leads me to my third point, the substance of the mystery. Look at verse 6. Now Paul is rehearsing what he's already said in chapter 2. He says, to be specific, this is what we're talking about, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. This is what we're talking about here. fellow heirs, fellow members, fellow partakers. Let's think about each of those. When the patriarch dies, or the person who is the one who owns the assets in the family, when that individual dies, the inheritors gather together and they learn that there is a particular sum of money, there is a particular number of properties that are to be divided. Now those don't have to be divided equally, but oftentimes when the inheritors are together and they're all children of the deceased, for example, oftentimes they are all given an equal share. Now, this becomes a problem if, when, there is an increased number of inheritors. A single amount, a fixed amount of assets, be it cash, property, whatever, jewelry. The more people you have that will inherit, the less each one gets. But when Jews and Gentiles come together by God's grace, through faith, they are fellow heirs of God's unlimited riches. We are equal inheritors. Now when it comes to our rewards for our faithful service to the Lord, that's something different. That's something in addition to. But as brothers and sisters in Christ, doesn't matter what our background is, we are joint heirs. We are together. We are on equal footing. When sportscasters talk about horse racing, typically they will right about the top three finishes, right? That's where the money is. Everybody else is relegated to the bottom of the article, as also ran. These are the people that, they were in the race, but they didn't make any money. Why spend any time talking about them? There's no interest there. but in God's church there are no also rants, also mention. We are equal in Christ. We are joint fellow heirs with Christ. Paul says we are not only fellow heirs but fellow members of the body. Now he's kind of mixing two metaphors together here. He's using the body metaphor that we're familiar with. Each part contributes and has a place in the functioning of that body. And he's also mixing in that idea of being built into a holy temple that we found at the end of chapter two. If you turn with me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul talks about our giftedness, our place in the body as members of the body. He writes in chapter 12 verse 14, for the body is not one member but many. If the foot says Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, because I'm not an eye, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now, God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as he desired. So whether we go with this metaphor of the body and we talk about being a member of the body, being an eye, being a hand, being a spleen, Or whether we're using the image of being built into a holy temple. Living stones, as we looked at last week, being built together. We each have a place. Last week after we got home from worship, I had been talking about how unbelievers, Gentiles specifically, coming into faith formerly were nobodies. They were strangers, aliens. And I said, well, in regard to Paul's words in chapter 2, where he says we are now fellow citizens, members of God's household, part of this holy temple. My dear wife said, well, when we are brought into the kingdom, we are given three things. We're given a new passport. We have a new citizenship. We are given adoption papers. We belong to God's family. And we're given a blueprint. We're being built into a holy temple. To say, you have a place in God's church, in God's holy temple. As a living stone, you fit someplace. Now, you may fit here for a season of time, and then you fit over here, and maybe then over here. But you have a place to contribute in God's body. Paul says we've got the privilege of being fellow heirs, fellow members, and then kind of as a catch-all, a summary, we are fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Same blessing, same body, same promise, doesn't matter what color your skin is, what your education level is, how much money is in your bank account, what language you speak, culture you're from, country you were born in. All that does not matter. What matters is our faith in the risen Christ. In John Stott's book, The Cross of Christ, he wrote this. Hindus, though they can accept its historicity, reject the cross's saving significance. Gandhi, for example, the founder of modern India, who while working in South Africa as a young lawyer was attracted to Christianity, wrote of himself while there in 1894. So now Stott is quoting Gandhi. Gandhi said, I could accept Jesus as a martyr, an embodiment of sacrifice, and a divine teacher, but not as the most perfect man ever born. His death on the cross was a great example to the world but that there was anything like a mysterious or miraculous virtue in it, my heart could not accept. Was there anything mysterious, miraculous in the death of Christ? Absolutely. what was mysterious had to be revealed. And it was revealed to the New Testament apostles and prophets. And that had to do with now all people can be brought into God's family through repentance and faith in the risen Christ. This did not come by deductive reasoning but by divine revelation. The unknown had to be known. There had to be trust in that which was revealed. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your faithfulness to us, not just this morning, but over the millennia. You have revealed yourself over and over again, and now perfectly in Christ. We see the glory, the wonder, the majesty of your perfect, righteous, just, redeeming hand. It's all found in Jesus and how we thank you for that. Open up our mouths that we might speak of this mystery now revealed. How does man deal with his sin problem? It's all in Jesus. move us, give us boldness, give us doors of open opportunity. Allow us to see that and declare, even through our stammering tongue, what you have done in Jesus and what you ordain for those who put their faith in him. In the passionate name of Jesus do we pray this, Amen.