Sermon Notes: Ephesians 3:1-13, Part 2 – The Mystery
These are the notes of a sermon preached by Andy Evans on the morning of the 1 August 2010 at Firwood Church. Click here to stream or download the sermon audio.
Ephesians 3:1–13
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
1. INTRODUCTION: THE RICHNESS OF THE GOSPEL
a. Stewards of the Gospel of Grace
Paul’s arrival in Ephesus in Autumn of AD 52 is, in many ways, typical of his Apostolic and evangelistic strategy. On arrival he enters the synagogue and proclaims the gospel until the Jews tire of him at which point he then shifts the focus of his mission to the Gentiles.
In Acts 19, Luke describes Paul’s ministry in Ephesus,
Acts 19:8–10
8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
There is a boldness and courageousness in Paul’s presentation of the gospel. We can imagine that the three months spent in the synagogue involved difficult debate, opposition and even outright hostility. Despite Paul’s persistence, ‘some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation’ (verse 9). Those of us who have experienced infighting and church splits will understand how this must have felt. Paul poured time, effort and resources into this people. He was emotionally invested and yet they persisted in their rebellion and rejection of the gospel.
Paul does not abandon Ephesus, however, instead he moves next door to premises used for secular purposes and we assume that the emphasis of his ministry thus shifts to the Gentile community in Ephesus.
The fruit of all of this, of course, is the church to whom Paul is now writing and with this comes the assumption that they have,[1]
Ephesians 3:2-3
…heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation
Paul’s ties to this church in Ephesus are, therefore, strong. This church is the fruit of the two years spent reasoning, persuading and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Now Paul reveals that it was the grace of God which motivated him to persist in the synagogue for three months and, having finally been rejected, it was this same grace which motivated him to move next door and continue his ministry among those who were far off from the things of God (Ephesians 2:17).
All of this is possible because Paul understands that he is but a custodian of the gospel and that grace was given to him in order that he might pass it on.
This is where we finished last week reminding ourselves that we too are stewards of God’s grace. We receive grace that we might proclaim grace. We are recipients of ‘every spiritual blessing’ (Ephesians 1:3) that we might be a blessing to others.
b. The Mystery of the Gospel
But Paul reveals another deep truth about the gospel,
Ephesians 3:4-5
4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
It seems there is a great contradiction at work here.
On the one hand, Paul illustrates, in his life and in his writing, that the gospel must be proclaimed and that the Kingdom must advance. We receive the gospel that we might become ambassadors of the gospel. Yet it seems, however, that there is, simultaneously, something mysterious, hidden and secret about the gospel.
This sense of the mystery of the gospel is not unique to this passage,
Ephesians 1:7–9
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
Later, speaking of marriage and sexual union between a husband and a wife,
Ephesians 5:32
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
And, in the concluding exhortations of the letter, Paul urges the church to pray for him that he might boldly,
Ephesians 6:19
…proclaim the mystery of the gospel
Consider this final exhortation in particular, Paul is driven to ‘proclaim the mystery of the gospel’. As we learned last week, Paul is not alone in this commission. You and I are also called to be vessels of grace and bold proclaimers of Christ Jesus. It seems, however, that there is a difficult and weighty contradiction running through all of this, Paul and, by extension, we, are called to proclaim something which is, at once and in essence, altogether mysterious.
And this letter to the church in Ephesus is not an exception.
Indeed, in the Pauline Corpus the Apostle uses the Greek word, mysterion (here translated, ‘mystery) in connection with the gospel on some seventeen occasions.[2] Apart from Paul, the same word, mysterion, is used on just seven other occasions throughout the rest of the New Testament and only in relation to the gospel on three of these occasions.[3]
In some ways, the word, mysterion, is idiosyncratically Pauline and the way Paul uses this word indelibly tethers it to the gospel.
But this notion of the gospel as mysterious does not originate with Paul. Indeed, Jesus himself points to this hidden aspect of God’s dealings with and in the world,
Mark 4:10–12
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
“they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.”
Jesus’ teaching here becomes more difficult when we consider the context. Jesus has just taught the crowds using the imagery of the parable of the sower. The disciples’ subsequent approach to Jesus suggests that listeners are confused and do not understand what is being taught. There is, therefore, an implied criticism in the disciples’ questioning. They are, in effect, critiquing Jesus’ method of preaching and ministry.
Jesus’ response is stark. Jesus defends his use of parables by quoting from the prophet Isaiah; Jesus, it seems, speaks in parables so that people do not perceive and do not understand, ‘lest they should turn and be forgiven’.
All of this is because, Jesus explains, his teachings encapsulate ‘the secret of the kingdom of God’. The Greek word here translated, ‘secret’, is mysterion, the same word used elsewhere by Paul where it is invariably translated, ‘mystery’.
b. The Open-Secret of the Gospel
There is something mysterious, hidden and secret and yet there is a call to boldly proclaim the gospel. This tension runs through much of Paul’s thinking about the advance of the gospel, we ‘proclaim the mystery of the gospel’ (Ephesians 6:19).
Jesus also unpacks the truth beating at the heart of this tension. On the one hand Jesus preaches in parables lest the people perceive, see and repent, and yet… there is an ‘and yet’,
Mark 4:11
…To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God…
This is the good news in the gospel. For those on the outside, the gospel is veiled and hidden, but to those on the inside, the gospel is revealed.
The gospel is the open-secret.
2. THE REVELATION OF THE GOSPEL
a. Revelation to Paul
This is the sense in which the mysteriousness of Christianity differs from that in other world religions and philosophies of Paul’s day.
Paul was writing to a culture familiar with mystery cults and religions in which the governing principles, philosophies and knowledge were a closely guarded secret reserved for the initiates only.[4] Indeed, in this context the word, mysterion, was understood as ‘a secret, secret rite, secret teaching’.[5] In Christianity, however, the mystery of the gospel, by proclamation, becomes the open-secret of the gospel.
This is a crucial distinction and defines Christianity apart from cults and other world religions who demand particular observances and rituals before one is initiated into the mystery. Other religions demand that one be on the inside before knowledge is imparted.
The gospel, however, is altogether different. The content is boldly and openly proclaimed up front. It is this knowledge, the gospel content, which is the route by which one enters into to the heart of the gospel and God’s purposes in Christ Jesus.
For Paul, the mystery is exposed in a very specific way,
Ephesians 3:1–3
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
Jesus explains to his disciples that the secrets of the kingdom will be disclosed to them and Paul and the Apostles are the first realisation of this promise. We see that there are two elements to this opening of the mystery of the gospel.
Firstly, Paul receives the mystery of the gospel by revelation. Paul does not unpack this in detail here, but, in his letter to the church in Galatia, he describes the way in which Jesus, personally and dramatically, revealed himself in all his glory.[6] Paul describes the moment in which everything changed,
Galatians 1:11–16
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But […] he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me…
Paul feels the weighty mysteriousness of the gospel because he too was once utterly blind and ignorant to the mystery of the gospel. Indeed, such was his blindness that he had dedicated himself to the eradication of Christians and the church and, in doing so, he believed that he was performing a service for God.
Things changed with a radical intervention from God in which Paul received revelation and, through this revelation, insight into the mystery of the gospel. This then is the background to Ephesians chapter 3,
Ephesians 3:3
…the mystery was made known to me by revelation…
b. Revelation to the Apostles
And Paul, as a recipient of this revelation, is not alone
Ephesians 3:4-5
4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
There was a time when people were ignorant of the truth of God’s purposes in Christ Jesus. Other generation did not see, know and love Christ Jesus. Other generations did not perceive the way in which the purposes of God intersected in the person and work of the Son of God. This is the hidden-ness of the gospel.
People of other generations were blind to the purposes of God and there was a time when the apostles were similarly ignorant. Once again, however, God intervened ‘by the Spirit’ and revealed ‘the mystery of Christ’ (verse 5) to ‘his holy apostles and prophets’ (verse 6).
This dynamic in which God reveals the mystery of the gospel is fundamental to proving the authenticity of the gospel. This is precisely Paul’s point in reminding the church in Galatia of how he came to be a Christian and an apostle,
Galatians 1:12
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Revelation is necessary because the gospel originates from heaven and from God himself. Paul and the other apostles repeatedly remind us of this truth. Indeed, Peter assures his readers,
2 Peter 1:16
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
The gospel is grounded upon a revelation from God and this revelation is bound into historical events in human history: the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of God and the moment on the Damascus road when Christ visibly and gloriously appeared to Paul.
Moreover, the mystery of the gospel is inextricably tied to the mystery of God. Paul addresses this in his letter to the church in Rome,
Romans 11:33–36
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
God’s ways are different and altogether higher than our ways. God is not an object to be scrutinised, he is not a puzzle to be solved and he is beholden to no man.
c. Revelation to Everyone
The gospel is mysterious because, ultimately, God is mysterious. This is why we depend upon revelation from him. And God is both infinitely glorious and gracious and it is from this gracious heart that he chooses to reveal himself and his purposes.
Paul spent the remainder of his life overwhelmed by this grace in which he was appointed apostle and steward of the gospel,
Ephesians 3:7–9
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a great mystery which was hidden for ages and to men and women of other generations. Consider the implications of this truth. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah and the rest of the patriarchs, kings and prophets did not see the fullness of the nature and purposes of God now revealed in the gospel. All of this remained hidden.
Now, however, it pleased God to reveal the ‘mystery’ to firstly the apostles and then, later, the Apostle Paul. But the openness of the gospel is greater still, it pleased God to uses his apostles to,
Ephesians 3:9
…to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things
There are two truths simultaneously at work here.
Firstly, the application of the gospel is expansive: it is for everyone. Secondly, the mystery of the gospel is unveiled through specific means,
Ephesians 3:8–9
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things
Paul is, in all of this, seeking to explain how the mystery of the gospel arrived and took hold among Gentiles in Ephesus: the Apostle received, by revelation, the mystery of God and then, through them, it pleased God to reveal the gospel to men and women everywhere.
The way in which the gospel is disclosed is hugely important to believers throughout subsequent generations and to believers at Firwood Church today. God still chooses to reveal himself and the mystery of the Gospel by his Spirit through the words recorded by the apostles.
The church in Ephesus was able to enter into the secret things of God and receive the gospel because Paul proclaimed this truth to them. We are able to enter into the secret things of God and receive the gospel through the words of Scripture recorded for our benefit.
All of this calls us to hold to the highest possible view of Scripture. These words are literally life to us. God uses these words to illuminate and open our eyes to things hidden to previous generations.
3. THE NATURE OF THE GOSPEL
a. Christ-Centred
And the content of the mystery of the gospel is Christ,
Ephesians 3:8
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ
The gospel is Christ focused and Christ-centred. This also helps us to understand the mysterious nature of the gospel. Note the contradiction here, Paul is called to preach ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ’. Now, in one sense, this does not make sense; how on earth does one go about preaching something which is so inscrutable?
But Paul’s point here is that the riches of Christ are unsearchable because they are inexhaustible. This is a cause of great hope for preachers, bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, evangelists and believers everywhere. The gospel is the open-secret, everyone is invited in, and yet the gospel remains mysterious because Christ is mysterious.
This is the glorious tension in the gospel.
Christ calls us to draw near, to see and to know him and yet his glory, his beauty and his worth is inexhaustible. No matter how long we might have been a believer, no matter how many times we might have shared the gospel with our friends, there is always more to see and to say.
The end of the gospel is Christ Jesus and the gospel is as expansive and glorious as Christ Jesus.
b. Church-Centred
Secondly, the gospel is church-centred. Consider,
Ephesians 3:6
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
The end of the gospel is Christ Jesus, his glory and his fame. The outcome of the gospel is, however, the church. There is no contradiction between these two gospel strands. It is because the gospel is Christ-centred that the formation of a church incorporating both Jew and Gentiles is possible. No longer is inclusion dependent upon the observance of the Law, rather those who are ‘in Christ’ are the Church.[7]
This Church-centred focus is hugely important in our day in which the value and relevance of the church is under constant attack. Paul understands and calls us to see that the formation of the church lies at the very heart of the gospel.
This is particularly true for us Gentiles.
At one time we were firmly on the outside looking in. The only way we could enter into the things of God was to become a Jew. In Christ this has changed. No longer are Gentiles called to be Jews and Jews are most certainly not called to be Gentiles. Rather God,
Ephesians 2:15
…creates in himself once new man in place of the two, so making peace
The outcome of this is that we (whoever the ‘we’ may be) become fellow heirs and partakers of the promise. We are made to be ‘members of the same body’ (Ephesians 3:6).
The Church, therefore, stands close to the very heart of the gospel. Moreover, we are the evidence of the effectiveness of the gospel,
Ephesians 3:8–10
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
We will return to this over the coming weeks, but note the way in which the Church is made to be the vessel through which the ‘manifold wisdom of God’ is displayed. The wisdom, the will and the purposes of God, once mysterious and hidden, are now revealed in you and me.
[1] Harold Hoehner argues that the grammar in verse 2 (the enclitic particle, ge) adds a concessive nuance (e.g. ‘inasmuch’). If Hoehner is correct then verse 2 is emphatic, ‘surely you have heard of the administration of the grace of God that was given to me for you’. See Hoehner, Harold (Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2007), p. 421.
[2] The Greek word, mysterion, here translated, ‘mystery’, is used in connection with the gospel in Romans 11:25, 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7, 4:1, 15:51, Ephesians 1:9, 3:3, 4, 9, 5:32, 6:19, Colossians 1:26, 27, 2:2, 4:3, 1 Timothy 3:9 and 16. Mysterion is used by Paul in contexts apart from the gospel in 1 Corinthians 13:2, 14:2 and 2 Thessalonians 2:7. The NIV marks a textual variation as a footnote to 1 Corinthians 2:1 which would raise the count to twenty-one occurrences of mysterion across the Pauline corpus. For further discussion of the specific occurrences, see Peter T. O’Brien, ‘Mystery’ in Hawthorne, Gerald F., Ralph P. Martin and Daniel G. Reid (eds.) Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 621-623.
[3] Matthew 13:11, Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10, Revelation 1:20, 10:7, 17:5 and 7.
[4] Myer, Marvin W., ‘Mystery Religions’ in Freedman, David Noel (eds.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1996), p. Vol. 4, 941-945.
[5] Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), p. 661.
[6] Peter T. O’Brien and Harold Hoehner argue that Ephesians 3:3, ‘as I have written briefly’, refers back to the previous pericope (Ephesians 2:11-22) and the content of the revelation rather than the revelation itself. We must, therefore, go elsewhere to understand how this revelation came to Paul. See O’Brien, Peter T., The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), p. 226-229 and Hoehner, p. 427-428.
[7] O’Brien, Peter T., The Letter to the Ephesians, p. 230-231.