Again, our text is Ephesians chapter 3, verse 1. For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity that we can gather as your people and hear your word. We thank you that you have given us one day in seven that we can put away the the stresses and the concerns of this life and focus our minds and our hearts on you, oh Lord, and on our brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord, you are here where your word is preached, where your word is proclaimed, where your people are gathered. There you are in their midst. Lord, if you do not bless the word, if you do not open our ears, if you do not open our eyes, and soften our hearts. All this will be to our greater condemnation. So we are dependent upon you. We are dependent upon your spirit to illumine our minds, to focus our minds, to hear your word, to understand what you are teaching us, to give us obedience, to give us a love for you, a love for your word, a love for your people. The Lord be with us now, in Christ's holy name, amen. As we return to Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, it is always helpful to recount where we are in preaching the text of scripture, because we can easily get bogged down Sunday by Sunday, and especially if those sermons are spaced out amongst multiple weeks, and we lose the context in which we are in. So as a reiteration of the book of Ephesians, we are now in chapter three, we're in the midst of it. Often Ephesians is separated between chapters one through three as the doctrine of the epistle, and then four through six is the application of the epistle. And so Paul, in the first two chapters, he has discussed God, chapter one is God's eternal plan from before the foundation of the world of the redemption of his people to the glory of Christ. The predestination of the father of certain people, the election of those people, the salvation of those people. And in chapter 2, we see that where that comes to pass on the people, where they were the children of Satan, they were under condemnation, and now they are made reconciled to God and reconciled to his people. In chapters four through six, Paul says, therefore, this is how we must live. Therefore, this is what we must do. And chapter three almost is a parenthesis within the middle of that. The latter part of chapter three, which we will not discuss today, is his doxology, his praise. But the first 13 verses that we will discuss today, Paul discusses his part in that administration of God, that God determined before the foundation of the world, and then how it comes to the people of God. So we see in the first few words, for this cause, and if you read this, at first it doesn't seem to make sense, it doesn't seem to finish the thought, but in fact it's because Paul is not We can read this and expect that this is, read it out of its context. Paul is writing a letter to people, and Paul does not always follow the formal rules of rhetoric, and so many times Paul will begin a thought and seem to stop, speak on a different matter, and then continue that thought. So if you observe in verse 1, for this cause, he then picks it up in verse 14, for this cause, in which he breaks out into doxology. And so Paul begins to explain where this doxology comes from in chapters one through two. But then he puts the brakes on that for just a moment to explain his calling and his purpose and his function in this administration of grace, in this plan of God. For this cause, I, Paul, This is the Paul that they knew. This is the Paul that spent years with them. This is the Paul that laid his hands upon the elders. This is the Paul that they knew closely and intimately. The prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Philemon are what are known as prison epistles. This is when Paul, at the end of the book of Acts, he was arrested. put in prison, and these are the epistles that came out of that. And he's reminding them that he's in prison. He's in prison for them. And he doesn't just bring this up to say, hey, remember what I've suffered. He's going to bring it up again in verse 13 of why this matters, that he's in prison, and how they should relate to it. But notice, he doesn't say, I'm the prisoner of the Romans for you Gentiles, or I'm the prisoner of the Jews for you Gentiles. It's true. He was arrested, if you remember from the Book of Acts, because his ministry to the Gentiles stirred up the Jews to make a slanderous and a false claim that he was bringing Gentiles into the temple. And so, in a certain sense, yeah, he was a prisoner because of his ministry to the Gentiles. But Paul, by the grace of God, he doesn't see himself as ultimately a prisoner by the Romans, or ultimately a prisoner by the Jews. He recognizes his calling as a prisoner by Jesus Christ himself. The Romans don't decide his fate. The Jews don't decide his fate. They don't put his execution date with absolute sovereignty and determine when Paul was going to die. Paul recognized that no, his imprisonment is by Jesus Christ, Christ's determination. Not only did Christ determine his election, Not only did Christ determine his salvation, but he also determined his imprisonment. And he sees that. He sees that Christ ultimately determines the day he will die and where he's at. And how should that instruct us? I mean, let us stop here for just a moment and reflect how this should instruct us to think of our situations, our problems in our lives. Many of us, maybe you're in a difficult marriage or a difficult job or a difficult family relation, or you're not where you want to be, or we live in a country that seems to be going more and more and more towards the kingdom of Satan. This isn't just random. You're not under the sovereignty of man. This is where you are because of God and what he is calling you and how you should react to that. Think of it in light of, who is ultimately behind it. He is teaching us something to be in a nation where, as hard as it is difficult, as difficult as to think about, he's teaching us to be in a nation that is so hostile to God. He's instructing us. He's weaning us off this world. So remember that wherever we are, wherever we are, it is ultimately Christ is behind it. to his reproach, but it's under the control of the loving God. Remember David, when he counted the Israelites, he says, why did he pick the plague rather than the sacking by the nations? Because with man there is no mercy, but with God is plenty of mercy. God is merciful. And so too, when we look at the second causes, when we look at their situations, if Paul looked at him being a prisoner of Rome, there's no hope there, there's despair there. But he did not look at his situation simply for the second causes, but he saw Christ behind it all. Furthermore, he's a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. Also, I think Paul is making a point here is not only does he see Christ as one, ultimately the reason why he's in prison, but he also is a prisoner of Christ to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. He is a prisoner of Christ, he is bound, and he is compelled to bring the truth of God to the Gentiles. He says in verse two, if ye have heard the dispensation of the grace of God which is given to me to you, word. That dispensation word is word that has been distorted, especially amongst the last 200 years. We hear dispensation, we think of dispensationalism, but the word is synonymous with administration, which is often, I think, how most modern translations translate it, is that it is the structure, the plan of God, and if you have heard of the Administration, the plan of God, or the grace of God, which was given to me, to you, Word. And it's the grace that was given to Paul, not the administration. Paul is not ultimately the one who's given this administration to distribute it, but God gave him grace to proclaim this administration of God. How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, which I wrote afore in a few words. He wrote a 4 in a few words because he's referring to chapters 1 and 2. Chapters 1 and 2 is where he unfolds the mystery. But what is this mystery? This is a word that must be defined. It's a transliteration of the Greek word. It is not mystery in the sense that we think of in theology. We speak of the Trinity as being a mystery, or we speak of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man as a mystery. This is not at all what Paul is referring to. That idea is something that is beyond our comprehension. The word mystery in the Greek word essentially means secret or riddle. And to show you an example from scriptures of how it can be used and how it was used, if you would turn with me to the book of Daniel, chapter two. We see how the word mystery was used in Greek. Because early, before Paul wrote his epistles, the Greek translation of the Bible came out, which was the Septuagint, where there's a translation of the Hebrew and Aramaic scriptures into Greek. And this word, mystery, appears in Daniel 2. If you recall, Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream, and he orders the diviners to determine the meaning of the dream. In fact, he doesn't even tell them the dream. He says, you have to tell me the dream and the interpretation. if you don't then You're false diviners and you're gonna die. I mean it was not he was not a gracious monarch But the news comes to Daniel And Daniel praise to God And let me find where bit Daniel And Chad in verse 14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Ariok, the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. And he answered and said to Ariok, the king's captain, why is the decree hasty from the king? Then Ariok made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time and that he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions. Then they would desire mercies of God of heaven concerning this secret, which is translated in Greek as mystery, that Daniel and his fellows would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the mystery, or secret, revealed unto Daniel in the night vision. And Daniel blessed God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes his kings and setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom from the wise and knowledge of them that know understanding. He revealeth the deep and mysterious things. He knows what is in darkness, and the light dwelleth within. I thank thee and praise thee, O God of my fathers, who gave me wisdom in my debt, and hast made known unto me now what we have desired of thee, and thou hast made known unto us the king's matter. And you see, secret there is not something that's incomprehensible. It's something that is hidden from the minds of men. It's something that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. The dream meant something. But he didn't know what it meant. But then when that mystery was revealed, you could look at the dream and understand what the dream meant. And so essentially, that is what is revealed to Paul. If it helps, think of it as the answer to a riddle. All the parts make sense once you get this key. And so the mystery of Christ is revealed so that Paul understands now what God has revealed in the Old Testament, but was shadowed, unclear. And now it has been revealed to Paul. Notice it wasn't by Paul's divining, but by Paul's revelation that he received from God, as the secret was to Daniel. We see again the mystery mentioned in Colossians chapter one. verse 26, even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations but now is made manifest to his saints to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory. So this mystery has been existing since God revealed indeed to Adam and Eve with the promise of the seed of the woman who crushed the serpent's head Mystery has been throughout the Old Testament and now in Christ has come to revelation to to reveal to Paul Is what she means in verse 3 when he says as I wrote before to you in a few words whereby when you read Read what he's not saying read something else. He's saying read what you're reading right now Ephesians This is the mystery that was revealed to Paul in whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ." Understand that Paul didn't make this up and he's not ignorant of it. He's saying, if you read this, you'll understand what Christ has revealed to me, the debts that Christ has revealed this unto me, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of man. Again, this answer, this revelation as we see it in Christ, was not made known as it is to Paul, but is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Right here is the apostles, the 13, the 12 and then Paul, and also the New Testament prophets in this context. that there's a contrast what was before and now what is made manifest to Paul in the prophets. In verse 6 we see the content of this mystery which we had a taste of it in Colossians. What is this mystery? That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body in partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. It is the Reconciliation of man to God and man to one another. It's a reconciliation of bringing all the people of God, Jews and Gentiles, under the headship of Christ and creating a new Israel, as it were. Notice that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs. We see in Ephesians that there is no Israel of God and then there's the church. In Christ, the Gentiles are brought to be fellow heirs with the Jews of the first century. That in Christ, all the promises come to both Jews and Greeks, Jews and Gentiles. We see that in chapter two, verse 19, that they should be fellow citizens. They should be of the household of God. This is the mystery that Christ is not just saving one people group. He is saving every tribe, every tongue, every nation by representation, not every individual, but by every people group in a general sense so that all the world to worship Christ. that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs. That means of equality. There's no distinction, as often is made today, of the Jews and the Church, that they all made under one headship of Christ, of the same body. It's not two bodies. It's one body, and it's joining them. And partakers of his promises, the promises promised to the people of God are old, are now fulfilled in the Church and given to the Church. And how? It's in Christ and by the gospel. This message that Paul has brought forth, this mystery that Paul has brought forth of the eternal purposes of God is what unites them. And so that's the content of Paul's message that has been revealed to him and now has been brought to him, which is really just a summation of Ephesians chapter one and two. Now his person. 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." God set apart Paul to bring this ministry to the Gentiles. And he's done this only by the grace of God, and it's only by working in him to bring that message, both in revelation and in power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given? This, we first must note of Paul's humility. That Paul, that great apostle, he says, I'm the less of all saints. I'm the least of all saints. And indeed, to a certain degree, we all must say that. We all must recognize that we are the least of all saints. But I think when Paul uses such language, he's not simply expressing humility. But we see that Paul has been made an exemplar, sinner, to be an example of the grace of God in 1 Timothy. Paul says that in as much 1 Timothy 1, Paul says, who was before a blasphemer and persecutor and injurious, but I have obtained mercy because I did it ignorant and in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. Jesus, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Albeit for this cause, I obtain mercy. Why did Paul obtain mercy? That in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern of them which should hereafter believe on him for life everlasting." So when Paul comes as the least of all saints, again, it expresses his humility, but it's also an example. And this is very important when he's coming to the Gentiles, because the Gentiles, generation after generation after generation, have worshipped things that are not God, worshipped false things, false deities. They worshipped wood and stone. And Paul comes as this chief of sinners, the one who has persecuted the church, the one who has been showered with all the learning and scriptures and spurred it and rejected it. He then is transformed by the grace of God, showing that anyone, anyone can be saved by Christ. Some of you have been going to church all your lives and you reject the gospel. You deny the gospel. You may go through the motions. And in fact, you're just hiding from God. You're trying to clean your conscience. He can save even you. Even you who are sitting here in unbelief to this day. He saved Paul. He saved the Jerusalem sinners that The very ones who cried out, crucify him, crucify him. So too, Christ can save you. He can deliver you from your iniquity. No one is beyond the grace of God. The only thing that separates you from Christ is your unbelief. Turn to him. Turn to him today. Unto me, verse 8, unto me, who am less than least of all saints, is this grace given. Why is this grace given to Paul? Again, for the Gentiles, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. He is the prisoner of Christ, bound to proclaim the message to the Gentiles, and he does this by the grace of God. And so his purpose of his grace is twofold. One, to bring the message of salvation to the nations. And then two, is in verse nine, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery. So let me explain this. First is, those of God's elect is proclaiming the message of salvation that will save them. But then there's a broader context in which to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery. Some of your translations may say administration, there's a minor textual variant. This one is not as significant as others. It comes essentially the same thing, it's just a different nuance, is that the administration is the plan of God, the fellowship is the result of that plan. But the purpose is to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, to display to the world this mystery of Christ. So not only to bring salvation, but also to be a city on fire, to be a light, is the purpose of Paul's calling and the grace that Paul was given, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God. This fellowship has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Again, it's stressing the fact that this is revealed to Paul, and it's setting a backdrop to this display that is going to happen. A display to all men. That there is this going on with history with no revelation of the grace of God to the Gentiles apart from small snippets throughout the Old Testament as we see of Rahab, as we see of Ruth. But predominantly salvation would mean exclusively to the nation of Israel. from the beginning, to the intent that now, so why is he making all men see this? Why? To the intent that now, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Principalities and powers, as used in Ephesians, both in chapter one and in chapter six, has to do with physical authorities, but more so with the spiritual the spiritual nature behind those authorities. It's the world, and it's to make the display to the world, to the wicked world, to our community, to our nation, to our friends at work, to display the manifold wisdom of God. I skipped over it by the church. So Paul's purpose is to display the glory of this mystery, but how is this displayed? It's by the church. And what is this? It's the manifold wisdom of God. Right here is where the manifold wisdom of God is displayed. We often have such a low view of church. We have such a low view of the gathering of God's people. The manifold wisdom of God, the display where God is doing His work, where God is displaying to the world His purposes is not in the academy. It's not in Washington, D.C. It's not in political elections. It's not in the U.N. It's in small gatherings like this, which he displays unity. He displays reconciliation that man has with God in Christ. He displays the reconciliation that man has with one another in Christ, in church. Would your ecclesiology, would your understanding of the church be the manifold wisdom of God? What we do now, what we do as a body, would you describe that as the manifold wisdom of God? And understand, this is what the church is. I mean, it's not, okay, let us display the manifold wisdom of God. This is what we are as a body. Now we have to walk in it, as Paul will go on in chapters four onward. to display this reconciliation. But this is what we are. This is what we do as a body of believers, is display to the world, to be a city on the hill, to be a city on the hill to our community. We live in a world that's talking about reparations, talking about racial reconciliation. And this is where it happens. And the world says, this is stupid. And God, in this display, showing the folly of man. He is destroying the wisdom of the wise and the foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of the wise. According to the eternal purpose that he's purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul is building up this eternal purpose to break out in doxology as he gets to the conclusion of this chapter. that this was all planned by God. The church is not a plan B. This was all planned by God to display the glory of Christ in his people. In Christ, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. In Christ, we have this boldness. And boldness word in Greek is Parousia, which traditionally meant freedom of speech. And it can mean a boldness of speech towards a high official. And he's saying, in Christ, we have freedom of speech. We have liberty to speak. To who? To God. We have access. We have access to God's presence in Christ. And again, Paul's conception of reconciliation is to be reconciled to God is to be reconciled to your fellow man. Transitioning multiple times in between what we are as Jews and Gentiles together and then our reconciliation with God He says we have boldness Believer you have boldness you have freedom of speech to come to God not in yourself But in Christ you can come as a son and a daughter Octavius Winslow a Baptist preacher in the 19th century, his mother told him, tell God, I'm paraphrasing, but go to God as if he knew nothing about you, but know that he knows everything about you. In other words, be open, express to God. You have that boldness. You don't come before, as Esther did to her husband, wondering if the scepter is going to be lowered into his presence. In Christ, you can come. with boldness, you can come as a child. And that's the approach, the access, with confidence, by the faith of him. This is not Christ's faith, it's by faith in Christ. Faith in Christ allows you to come to God. Wherefore, and this is where he brings back the prisoner, wherefore I desire that ye faint not of my tribulations for you, which is your reward. The faint not in my tribulations, the tribulation is his imprisonment. It's his persecution. And that word faint, it's not like somebody fainting at a wedding. It has to be getting tired, being discouraged. He's saying, don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged for my afflictions. Why? Look at this display of the grace of God that we are as a congregation. Don't faint because, The world hates me because the world hates you. For this is, which is your glory? This is, and you can find many interpretations of this, what does it mean by this is the glory of the Ephesians, Paul's tribulations. I think the most persuasive argument is that it's their glory that they're persevering even in tribulations. Even when the apostle who brought them the message is persecuted. The shame of the cross has come upon them. And he's saying, it's your glory that you're persevering. Brethren and sisters in Christ, don't faint because the world hates you. Don't faint because your family doesn't understand you, doesn't understand why you gather to hear God's word. Don't faint because your family doesn't understand why you miss events because you're gathering with a small congregation that doesn't seem to make a difference in the world. Don't faint because the world says you're unloving, that you're stupid. This is your glory, is that Christ is working in you despite all that. Don't faint if, should tribulations come in your life. It wouldn't surprise me if the U.S. began to have harder and harder and harder tribulations to the Christians. Don't faint. It's the glory of Christ that you persevere. It's the glory of Christ that we maintain as a congregation. Don't faint when tribulations come in this congregation, when church discipline or any other matter comes upon us. Don't faint. Persevere that Christ's glory may be displayed amongst us. Let us persevere. Let us realize who we are in Christ. And how is this not fainting as a brief summary of what is to come? It's by being... It's summarized in verse 4 through 6, or it's explained in verse 4 through 6. It's not lying to one another. It's loving one another. It's being generous to one another. It's singing songs with gladness. It's wives being submissive to their husbands. Husbands ruling over their home with the love of Christ. It's children being obedient to their parents. It's parents not provoking their children to wrath. It's employers being generous and aware of their master in heaven instead of being generous to their employees. It's employees doing what they're called to do. Doing your job well. And then he culminates in the wear the armor of God because this is a fight. This is a war. Don't think. May God give us the grace to persevere in these times. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great display of your glory in local churches, in bodies of believers. The world scoffs at such an idea. They have for 2,000 years. And yet, for 2,000 years, you have been building your church in the backdrop of godless nations. Well, Lord, this is what we are. We are reconciled to you. We are reconciled one to another. Give us the grace to live like that. Give us the grace to know one another better, to love one another better, to pray for one another better. And that in our homes, and in our families, and in our workplaces, and in our community, the world would still hate us. The world will still hate us. But they can't deny what is being displayed. reconciliation between God and man, and man to man. Oh, Lord, may your word have its full effect in our lives, for your own glory. Christ's holy and precious name, amen. Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior, with glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now forever. Amen. Dismissed.