Well, it is good to be back with you this week. I missed you all last week. A very special thanks to Pastor Dave for bringing the Word from 2 Peter. We are grateful to him. We can't ask him to do that very often because he's under the impression that he's retired. And we want him to continue to think that's the case. But we are grateful for your continued ministry to Christ and his church. But this week we return to our path through Ephesians. And as we turn to chapter three, we come to what some commentators have suggested is the most difficult passage in the whole letter. Not because the content itself is so difficult. but because people seem very unsure about why it is here at all. In fact, the only thing the commentaries seem to agree on is that they're not sure why these 13 verses are here. From there, they go all over the place, which I think gives me permission to be all over the place in the sermon this morning. I heard an older minister addressing a group of young preachers, encouraging them, for clarity's sake, to stick to three-point sermons, but on occasion to freshen things up, to preach a pointless one. I hope that's not the case this morning, but it does give you something to look forward to. But the truth is, is we come upon our passage and we find that the Apostle Paul goes on a bit of an excurses. He gets distracted for some reason. He begins, for this reason I, and if you look over at verse 14, you see this repeated, for this reason I bow my knees before the Father. Paul begins to pray, but then stops. for some reason and goes on a 13 verse excurses on something that seems completely out of place. He definitely changes a lot of the themes of the text. And this morning we are tasked with asking why, and hopefully we will gain some clarity and Paul will give us some cues as we make our way through this text. And we'll do so through three points, I promise, three points. And the first of which is power to a prisoner. When we come to difficult passages, especially in Paul's letters, it is important to ascertain the author's controlling question. Oftentimes he gives us this controlling question. He'll ask things like in Galatians, why then the law? And we can take a look at a fairly confusing passage, knowing that this is the question that Paul is seeking to answer. Or perhaps in Romans 6, should we go on sinning that grace may abound? We can have that controlling question in mind as we work through the passage. But sometimes we don't get the question. Sometimes we have to look for cues in what is implicit. What we know is that where we have been in chapters 1 and 2 is that Paul has been defending the sovereign acts of God the Father. along with the supremacy of his son, Jesus Christ. We have seen that a new mankind has been established in Christ's resurrection. And that in Christ, God has inaugurated a new creation, a creation that is better than the first garden, building a temple that is more grand and beautiful than Solomon's temple. and that Christ's redeemed people who make up this very temple are heirs to all of his riches. All of the heavenly Father's wealth are for those who have faith in Christ, for they are united to him. And based on these sublime realities, Paul is about to drop to his knees in prayer and praise for the God who has provided all of these things, but he stops. He stops to explain something. And I think the first and last phrases of Paul's excurses here in verses 1 and 13, give us some hints as to what it is that Paul is trying to answer. Again, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles. And if you look at our final verse in 13, he says, so I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Before praying, it dawns on Paul that perhaps he should explain the fact that Christ is ruling as supreme judge over both heaven and earth, and that Paul is Christ's prime ambassador to the Gentile world. Yet, how can all that be true and Paul himself find himself in chains? One might look upon Paul's situation and question his very thesis. If Christ is indeed ruling, why are you in prison? So Paul introducing himself as a prisoner of Christ stops to say, perhaps I need to explain this reality. How is it? that I can be a prisoner and Christ still be on his throne. And so I want to argue that in these verses, Paul is seeking to defend his imprisonment and his suffering by teaching us that suffering does not undermine his office as an apostle, but on the contrary, it is precisely how God works in the world. And so Paul begins to give a defense of his office, even though he is in chains, by pointing to the revelation that has been given to him. Verse two. I assume that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, Paul writes. This word stewardship picks up on the word play of household that we looked at at the end of chapter two several weeks ago. And this word could be translated household manager, that God is taking on this cosmic building project and Paul himself sees himself as a manager in this household. This great garden temple in which Christ is the cornerstone, Paul has a role of authority within this building project. But it is not because Paul is something special. He wants to make sure that we know that it is based on God's grace alone that he has been given revelation. And particularly, he's been granted the grace to see something that those in previous generations have not seen. Namely, that the Gentile nations are fellow heirs and members of the Commonwealth of Israel. Because of this, according to Paul, they will receive the same promises that were made to Israel. Promises that find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. Well, I say this is partially hidden because as we look through the Old Testament, we do see glimpses of the Gentiles being included in God's blessing. If we go back to the promise to Abraham, we find that an aspect of this promise is that all the families of the earth through him will be blessed. So in that way, it's not a big surprise that the Gentiles are being blessed. The prophets, we see a similar thing or in the Psalms where we find the Gentile nations are flooding to God's holy mountain to be blessed by God. So the fact that the Gentiles are going to be blessed is not the thing that is hidden. So what exactly is it that has been hidden from generations past, but now has been revealed to Paul? Well, the mystery is that the Gentiles will not only be blessed, but that they will be united to believing Israel. What was once two distinct people, according to Paul, has been now made one new mankind. And therefore, the unique promises that were made to Israel find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. For all who are united to him in faith are heirs to those promises. As Paul says to the church at Corinth, all the promises of God find their yes in Jesus. We find this in Hebrews as well. If you look at Hebrews chapter 11, we have this very famous passage of this great cloud of witnesses, all those Old Testament saints who have faith. And the writer ends that chapter saying this of Abraham and Moses and all those who soldiered through the wilderness, but had faith in the promise. He says, all of these. though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. Since God had provided something better for all of us, that apart from us, the listener, the reader of Hebrews, they should not be made perfect. I mean, this is the story of the Bible that yes, Israel was a unique people, but now in Christ, what was two has become one. Now, there are those who continue to insist, those brothers that we can continue to debate with would insist that there are two distinct peoples and two distinct plans for redemption. And that would be completely understandable. until this mystery has now been revealed. And Paul is saying that, yeah, I can understand that you might see it that way, but now something unique and special has been given to me. That for all of time, God has had a plan for one humanity. One humanity united to his son. And this is what was hidden. This is the thing, this is the great mystery that has been revealed to me. That God's plan is for one people, no longer Jew or Gentile, but one new humanity in Christ Jesus. And Paul says the fact that this great mysterious doctrine has been revealed to me is evidence of my office. Look what he says. He writes, listen, I know I'm in prison and that probably confuses you, but look at my insights. These are not the insights of a commoner. They're insights of those who have been given a gift of grace. In fact, they're not my insights at all, Paul says, but they have been given to me by way of divine revelation. And we know from Pastor Dave's message last week that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Spirit. Paul is saying, I'm one of those. And if you want proof of it, look at what I'm saying. Look at the first two chapters. I have been given a revelation, not because I'm great, but because God is great. And that revelation is evidence that though Paul be in chains, he is truly a recipient of something special. And he wants to emphasize that the special place of authority and powers is not because of the man, but it is because of the message, which brings us to our next point, preached by the least. Paul continues in verse seven and following about this great power from this revelation, this gift of grace, of this good news, this gospel, Paul writes, I was made a minister or a servant according to the gift of God's grace. which was given to me by the working of his power." We have come across this power already in Ephesians. It is the same power that rose Christ Jesus from the grave. And now it is the power of this gospel that Paul proclaims. Paul wants to remind us once again, that this power has nothing to do with Paul. Look what he says in verse eight, to me, the very least of the saints, This grace was given. The ESV inserts the word though. To me, though I am the very least of the saints. And it could be translated that way. It could also be translated to me because I am the very least of all the saints. This grace was given. And I think this translation is what Paul is getting at here. God is working not merely despite Paul's situation of being a prisoner, but precisely in it. Paul is a prisoner, he tells us, for the sake of the Gentiles, that there is a purpose for his imprisonment, and it is for the salvation of those he has come to preach to. It's not arbitrary, it is for their good. He tells us, In the end, that this suffering that he is enduring is for their glory. God is working, not despite Paul being the least of the saints, but precisely because he is the least of all the saints. If you look at Paul's situation, it looks weak in every way. Paul himself is weak, he says. But God doesn't merely work despite these weaknesses, but he works in and through these weaknesses. And isn't this a constant refrain for Paul as we read his literature? That he is merely a jar of clay. That he is weak so that Christ might be strong. That he boasts in his weakness all the more. That he is the chief of sinners, that he is the least of the saints bound in Roman chains. But he insists on this being the case so that the gospel might be shown to be powerful. It sounds absolutely nuts. But think about where we have been thus far in Ephesians. Paul began by saying that your salvation was not of yourself, but secured by God's sovereign choice before you were even born. That his glorious grace might be praised. He then goes on to make this even more clear by saying that you were born into sin and dead in trespasses. But God, by his own will and desire, made you alive together with Christ Jesus. Not of your own doing, but a gift from God. Paul then goes on to stack these analogies by saying that you are alienated from all the promises of God. But by the blood of Christ, you have been brought near, not by your own doing, but by pure gift. And now Paul in this passage says that this message is not going out based on the strength or the power of the messenger. But once again, God's grace is what propels it. God does the redeeming top to bottom. As one commentator notes, if Paul were in a position of political strength or earthly power, the clarity of God's power in some measure would be diminished. As we see the theology of Ephesians work out, we see that it is by God's grace from top to bottom. The people who receive it were dead. The people who give it out are the least. Even the method of delivery is foolish. Paul says that God has taken over the world through preaching. But Paul tells us that it is this word proclaimed and preach that will transform the nations. and call many to God's Son. The preaching of a weak prisoner is what is establishing this church. And as we look around, even that at this point in history looks foolish. But God uses foolish people and foolish means to show that His grace is sufficient. Perhaps a page from Paul's own biography might help us. If we look at Acts 16, we find Paul and Silas have just been beaten, thrown into jail because they cast a demon out of a young girl. And so they find themselves at midnight in prison singing hymns, which is, I guess, what you do at midnight in prison. At least it's what Paul does. And what happens? An earthquake comes and this earthquake loosens all the chains of all the prisoners. The shackles are released. And when the jailer comes to and sees what has happened, he takes up his own sword, not to go chasing prisoners, but to take his own life. Realizing it would be better to be dead than for his bosses to see what had happened on his watch. But the surprising thing is Paul is still there. Silas is still there. And Paul preaches to this jailer, this gospel, which he had been made a minister. In that very hour, the jailer and his family are baptized into Christ. I mean, we're familiar with these stories, but how much more low could this moment get? Paul himself, probably still bleeding from the beating that he had gotten earlier in the day. A jailer, suicidal, for his life and career were certainly at their end. In the darkness of a jail cell, God works in situations that seem completely unredeemable. And in this dark jail cell starts the Church of Philippi. Of course, the fact that God works through the most horrid of situations shouldn't surprise us. For God uses suffering for our glory. And that's what I want to conclude with this morning, suffering for glory. Before Paul picks up his train of thought in verse 14, which Lord willing we'll consider next week, Paul says this, therefore, I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, for it is your glory. Paul doesn't minimize his situation or shrug it off like it's no big deal. He recognizes it as suffering. And if you look at Paul's life and ministry, suffering is a common theme. But Paul recognizes that suffering is not in vain for he suffers for others. He willingly pours out his own life for the sake of his ministry. He gets beaten and arrested and shipwrecked and snake bitten, persecuted and exiled all for the sake of those that might hear. He says it's for their glory. And in this way, Paul's ministry epitomizes the ministry of his Savior, who had no form or majesty that we should look at Him. No outward beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. But in this grief, in this suffering, in this misery, He purchases your glory. The cross, the most cruel symbol of death that the Romans could come up with is transformed into a symbol of life. Some of you are wearing one now, which is a wild thing to think about. But God transforms suffering into a picture of what life and glory look like. In September 1955, five missionaries who had been searching by plane for a colony of tribal people in the jungle of Ecuador finally made contact with this tribe. And what initially seemed to be a fairly positive meeting where they exchanged gifts and greetings as much as they could in various languages turned soon into a bloodbath as the tribesmen killed the five missionaries with spears. The radio call that was supposed to go back to the wives back home never came through. Elizabeth Elliot, widow of one of the slain missionaries, writes this, Elizabeth herself would go back to this group two years later and see many of them come to faith in Jesus. In fact, the pilot that was killed, Nate Saint, the man that took his life would go on to baptize his son. Not unlike Paul, suffering led to great glory. And these are powerful stories of life being transformed through suffering. Books have been written, movies have been made, and there are wonderful books to read, wonderful movies to see, because we can see the big picture. We can see how it all works out in the end, that God really does work through suffering. That murderous tribesmen become pastors. That violent persecutors like Saul become the Apostle Paul. We love stories like this. But what about our own suffering? It is unlikely that anyone will write a book about your cancer. It is unlikely that anyone will make a movie about your sick child. No museum will be built to tell the story of your poverty or your pain. I mean, most of our suffering in this life goes completely unnoticed, but that doesn't mean it's in vain. The reality is that God is in the business of transforming suffering. The God who transforms a Roman cross into a picture of glory. It's powerful enough to transform your suffering. And you're not called to minimize it, but we are called to trust that God is good, even in our suffering. He makes no promises to take it away, but he does promise to redeem it for our glory. We are afflicted in every way, Paul writes elsewhere, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Caring in the body of death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. And as we heard it already this morning, as we spoke it over our new member, after you have suffered a little while, Which by the way, is a very strange way to introduce someone to a new club. And yet that is the Christian life. But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, comfort, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Let's pray.