Due to technical difficulties, there is no sermon audio, but here is the manuscript.
Good morning. My name is Dale, and it is my joy and honor to once again bring you the Word of God. We pray last week’s message from Pastor James Ross was a blessing. I know I learned a great deal and as God so often works, it was exactly the message I needed to hear.
This morning, we had the opportunity to love on the Collier family as they begin the next phase of their journey to a new assignment. We will pray over them to send them off at the end of the service, but these are bittersweet moments. We are grateful for our time together and will miss them as they depart. But this is also a regular part of the rhythms of church planting in military communities. The good part is that by God’s grace there will be another church to receive you when you go, and we will get to fellowship once again in another assignment.
And in the preordained plan of God, He has also chosen that not only should we be planning a move ourselves, but two of our children and their families are also planning moves right now. It must be a Marks’ thing. I’ve tried to tell them to imitate the good things, not the bad in my life, but there you have it. But as I was speaking with one of my daughters about their move, and we were talking through all the options of moving with a toddler and a dog, two cars and all their stuff, (some of you have been there or are there now) I reminded her that just because it is hard doesn’t mean those are obstacles in your path to stop you. Just because it is hard, doesn’t necessarily mean it is wrong.
We’ve somehow come to believe that comfort, ease, convenience, and a lack of conflict, are the benchmarks for the Christian life. But if you spend even a short time reading God’s Word, you are going to see that following Christ comes at a cost. It’s a cost worth paying (by the way).
We agonize over our plans, try to work out the best, or maybe least expensive options, or most useful ways to do things. And yet, we struggle. It’s been said, if you want to see God laugh, show Him your plans.
Now I’ve said it before, it’s not wrong to plan. But it is wrong to love your plan; to be so committed to it that when things go wrong – and they so often do – that we feel we’ve made mistakes. Or we become so overwhelmed that we fail to act, believing failure is right around the corner, so we do nothing but worry.
Listen, I have nothing against planning, I am a consummate planner. But sometimes in the difficulties and chaos of life we tend to think there is no plan for what is taking place in our lives, our families, or our world. How do we make sense of any of this? I’m glad you asked.
At the beginning of our series, I posed two questions: 1) who are you? And 2) how will you live? The answer to the first question is what we have been studying in Ephesians chapters one through three. We are children of God, joint heirs with Christ. We have been saved by grace through faith; not of our own doing, but a gift from God. The answer to the second comes in chapters four through six but is built upon our understanding of the first three chapters.
Today, what we want to see is how the plan of God, founded before time began, is being worked out through the church – through you and me. God uses His church to accomplish his plan, and we get to be a part of that plan. This is the marvelous mystery hidden in ages past but now revealed to us. This is the amazing grace of God’s love poured out on us that we Gentiles – we outcasts – have been grafted into God’s family, adopted by Abba Father as His children.
But what is even more amazing is that all of this is based upon the plan of God being worked out in each and every moment of our lives. We might not understand it or even see it. In most cases, I can tell you, it seems like a mystery at every turn. And yet, we can trust His plan, trust His heart, and know for certain that we are held close by the Father. Therefore, we should not lose heart because of the chaos or suffering that we experience and see around us.
So, our simple message for our time this morning is this: trust the plan even when we cannot understand it.
With that, let’s read Ephesians 3:1-13
And would you stand with me if you are able for the reading of God’s holy word.
Ephesians 3:1-13
Let’s pray…
Paul begins by saying, “For this reason I, Paul.” What is this reason? To understand this, we must look first back at Ephesians 2, where we ended two weeks ago. Let’s read Ephesians 2:19-22 to set the context.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Paul is saying that instead of being outcasts, people outside the promises of God, we are now fellow citizens of the Kingdom. Through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we now have access to the Father. In Him, in Christ, our purpose, our action, our working out of our salvation is that we are being built together. It doesn’t say that we are being built individually and then we are joined together, it says we are being built together. At the same time. Maybe sometimes at different speeds, but at the same time. We are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. We call that the church.
But that’s only part of the reason. Paul beings by telling us in verse one, he is “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”
Now before I address that, let me point out something about the context of this writing. Notice in your Bibles at the end of verse one, there is a long hyphen? That’s there because what Paul is going to do is take a side-journey in verses two through twelve to talk about the mystery of God’s plan. But what he is also doing is tying together verses one and thirteen into one thought.
His point in doing this is because he recognizes that the Ephesian church realized that he is in chains, in prison. Technically, he is a prisoner of Rome, but Paul says in verse one that he is a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.” In other words, it is for his faith, his position as a Christ follower, and for many of them as their spiritual leader, that Paul is in prison. It is a work of God, in His plan.
He also says that he is a prisoner, “on behalf of you Gentiles.” Think about the confusion this caused. Having just reassured them they are fellow citizens of the kingdom, grafted into the family, he tells them that he has been imprisoned not only for His faith in Jesus Christ, but for them as well. Their hero is in prison because of them. That would cause serious concern. This can’t be the plan, can it?
Imagine what this must feel like. You’ve received the Gospel implanted, seen your life change, only to realize that it comes potentially with prison. Or at least for your leader. It would make you question what you know. Or you would feel badly for Paul who is in prison at your expense, for your purposes. How do you take this?
Paul does not see this as catastrophic. Instead, he sees it as opportunity. Moreover, he says that it is for their glory, for their benefit. Lifting them up.
This is where the plans and purposes of God run headlong into the realities of life. Instead of them feeling badly about his circumstances, Paul is exhorting them to praise, to worship, to give God glory. It’s all about perspective. Because Paul understands the plan and perspective of his suffering for Christ, he also understands the purpose of it. We’ll see more of this in verse 13.
But how do you respond when the plans of God don’t line up with your expectations? Are you prone to worry? Anger? Do you try to control the attitudes and actions of others? Even those you don’t even have a relationship with. Do you condemn what others are doing all the while ignoring your own selfish and sin-biased opinions? Do your words and actions reflect Jesus Christ – and I am not talking turning over tables here – or rather, are you claiming the name of Jesus all the while living like the devil? Being more about your own kingdom rather than God’s Kingdom.
Paul believed caring for the name of Jesus, stewarding the beauty of the gospel was his highest honor and charge. Back in 1 Corinthians 4:1, he says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” Servants of Christ. Servants reflect their Master in humble obedience. And then stewards. We have been entrusted, called to care for, the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the only gift that grows bigger and greater the more you give it away. This is who we are. This is what we are to prioritize and not let the things of this world – which can be important – distract us from what is MOST important.
Can I ask you, what is most important in your life? Is it your rightness to your causes? Is it your lifestyle? Your reputation? Is it in recognition of your performance, being seen as better than others? Or is it living for Christ a life, perhaps imperfectly, of grace, mercy, love and forgiveness so that others can see Jesus?
It comes down to this, don’t expect others to prioritize what you marginalize.
Here’s how Paul begins his sidebar in verses 2-3.
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.
Paul says to them, “you know how I received this; that this was not of me.” That I received “The stewardship of God’s grace.” His mission in life is a gift from God. But Paul rightly perceives that his imprisonment is causing confusion, even questioning, or perhaps they feel badly that he is in chains. But Paul won’t have it. Instead of asking for grace to see him through – which he no doubt has done elsewhere – here he is looking at it from the perspective that he is a steward, a caregiver of the very grace given to him. It is the very grace given to him that he is freely giving away to them for their good, their encouragement. To steward God’s grace is to extend grace to others.
He goes on to say that a mystery was revealed to him. What is a mystery? Well, we are not talking about mystery books, or mystery theater. Like a puzzling crime drama, you gather clues to solve. Not that kind of mystery.
In this case, we think of things we cannot figure out. Things well beyond our comprehension. And then that thing that was concealed for a long time is now revealed. This is really what Ephesians 2:11-22 is all about as we previously discussed. What Paul is saying is, that which was not known has now been made known.
And it was made known as Paul has written about it previously. Here he is referencing not only the opening chapter of Ephesians, but throughout all his writings. Just one reference, to show you this. Go back one book to Galatians 3:7-9. Paul, writing that this mystery, that the Gentiles are heirs of the promise, that they will be blessed as nations through Abraham, are part of the covenant. This is the declaration that the separation between Jews and Gentiles is no longer there. Paul writes this,
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, [there’s that mystery we spoke of] preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations [ meaning not just the Jews] be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
This is the mystery as we will see revealed in verse six.
Let’s look at verses 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.
“When you read this.” Reading the Word of God is so fundamental to everything we live as Christians. You cannot begin to perceive the mind of God if you do not read the Word of God. In the Scriptures, God reveals Himself to us. There is intimate conversation. We begin to hear His voice and can discern what is His will for us versus our own thoughts and ideas. If you ever want to test what you think is happening when you hear God speak, always go to the Word of God to test his voice. If it aligns with Scripture, it is Him speaking. This is also why we pray Scripture back to God. One of the best ways to honor God is to pray His own words to Him.
About the mystery, Paul is saying here that God’s mystery has been revealed to the apostles – those who had direct connection to Jesus – wrote letters (think of the Gospels for instance) that encouraged and strengthened our hearts, where we were enlightened by the Spirit of God, giving us understanding. All of this done to the praise of His glory.
Verse 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.
This is the mystery revealed. Now you might be thinking, “that’s it? That’s the great mystery of the unknown?” Child of God, have you become so numb to the sacrifice of our Lord over your sin? Have we so minimized or become so complacent to the penalty of our sin as to not realize that this is the greatest news ever?
Imagine your favorite food. For Pastor Alex, it’s ice cream. So, imagine for a moment I tell Alex there is the greatest ice cream he will ever taste right inside that room. But then I also tell him that he can never go in there. That he will never be qualified or able to enter into that room. Look how sad he is. As we are talking, other people enter in to get their ice cream. How do you think Alex feels about this? How would you feel if it was happening to you?
This pales in comparison to the eternal depths of what comes from a true realization of how far our sin separates us from God. And speaks to the amazing sacrifice our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did for us. He did so for the glory of God, but we are the benefactors of his grace. This is why Paul says in verse 6, we are partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Partakers. We have been included. Alex can go get his ice cream [not now]. We are active participants in the promise – God’s eternal promise formed before time began – in Christ Jesus, our Messiah, through the good news – the gospel.
Verse 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.
Of this gospel and of his power. Are there sweeter words known? The transforming power of grace through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what radically changes lives. It is what lives through His church. It is what lives through each of us who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
It was this gospel of which Paul was made a minister. He was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In almost all his writings, Paul testifies to this mission, his charge as a minister of the gospel. This is what Paul said to King Agrippa in Acts 26:22-23 when he was testifying before him of the work of Christ in his life. He said, 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
By the working of God’s power Paul was a minister, testifying to the greatness of our God and the plan from ages past. And all of this was a gift of God’s grace. Think back to verse 2, that he, Paul, is a steward of God’s grace which was given to him for their benefit. And because of that, Paul must exercise that gift. In fact, in 1 Corinthians, Paul basically exclaims that he is compelled to preach the Gospel. This is what he goes on to say in 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.
There is a very poignant sense of irony here that the man many consider to be the greatest Biblical writer, the greatest missionary of all time for the Gospel considers himself to be the very least of all the saints – of the believers in Jesus Christ. This says so much about Paul and how he saw himself versus that of his Savior. The incredible privilege, knowing who he was and what he once did, to now preach the very Christ he had sought to eliminate. I think that was never lost on Paul a moment of his life.
And he says it was by grace given to him, to preach, to proclaim, and to exhort. He preached to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let’s take a look at that phrase, “unsearchable riches.” What do we mean here? For something to be unsearchable seems to indicate that it cannot be found. But that isn’t quite what Paul means. He’s referring here to the fear that our resources will run out. In other words, it is impossible to come to the end of the riches of God. His resources, his love, his grace, his mercy, his forgiveness can never run out. It is inexhaustible. The inexhaustible riches of Jesus Christ.
But it is more than just what Christ gives. It is the very fact that Christ Himself IS our riches. He is both the giver of the riches and the riches themselves. Through the forgiveness of sins, we have access to the inexhaustible riches of the grace and love in Christ. When we gain the riches of Christ, we gain Christ.
Verse 9. and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
To bring to light. To receive divine revelation from God. To reveal what had been hidden in ages past now revealed to the sons of men. And what again is this revelation? How do we get it? Paul told us in chapter 1:18-21
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
So, with the eyes of hearts enlightened, God’s revelation made real to us, we see the immeasurable greatness of his power through the finished work of Christ. But not only that, Paul says back in verse 9, this is the plan.
Let’s camp on that word “plan” for a moment. When we speak of God’s plan, what do we mean? Broadly, it is why we have this incredible Book. God’s plan from before time, was about Creation, the Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. We should be familiar with the story of Creation; Genesis 1:1, “in the beginning, God”…[full stop]. We either believe the opening statement of Genesis, or the rest does not matter. This is the story of God. It is HIS story, not ours.
Because when we / man enter into the story, it falls apart (see what I did there). Man’s sin, the first Adam’s sin, condemns us. We are separated from God and death enters the world. That’s why the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That’s where Redemption comes in. Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, willingly took our sin upon Himself, dying the death we deserved and taking on our punishment for sin. But he didn’t stay dead. He rose again and is seated victoriously at the right hand of God.
And He will return to judge the living and the dead. Those in Christ will enter into eternal rest. Those who have not bowed the knee on earth, will bow the knee in heaven and will be punished for all eternity.
Now here’s the thing. Every aspect of our lives is meant to be part of that plan. You might think to yourself, every part? Yes, every part. In the sovereignty of God, all things work out for His glory and our very best. And when we believe that, when we live like that, we too can have the perspective of Paul about the things that come into our lives.
Again, from verse 1:10. as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
This is what Paul is referring to when he says here in verse 9, “who created all things.”
What then was the purpose of the plan? Verse 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.
Do you know the manifold wisdom of God exists in you? It’s true. God’s word says, the purpose, the way in which God is working out His plan is through the church. Are you a part of the church? Then you are part of the plan of God.
Church comes from the Greek word, Ecclesia, which means “called out ones.” We see it used first in Acts, and then repeatedly used in Corinthians, Colossians, and here in Ephesians, to name a few. Paul addresses the gathering of saints, those coming together in an assembly – that’s really what ecclesia means – to do the work of the church. This is a demonstration of the wisdom of God over all time.
You might wonder, by the way, if we reference ecclesia as the word for church, why doesn’t it sound that way? The word church in English comes from a Scottish work, Kuriakose, which means church. There is your tidbit of random knowledge today.
Going on, we see it is through the church, the saints of God – all of you – that the manifold wisdom of God is being made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This is an odd phrase for us, and we will get into it more in Ephesians chapter 6 when we talk about putting on the armor of God, but what Paul is saying here is that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men, and the rulers and authorities, in others words demons, who are in the heavenly places.
That probably doesn’t help, so let me try to explain. Back in the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples that everyone who acknowledges Jesus before me, the Son of Man will also acknowledge them before the angels of God. And then in Luke 12:11-12, he says this: 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Here Jesus is referring to earthly authorities, the Pharisees and Sadducees. But here in Ephesians 3, verse 10, he says these rulers and authorities are in the heavenly places. In the heavenly places doesn’t mean in the place of God, in his presence, but the language is one of the prince and power of the air. The in-between. The location less than heaven. Paul spoke of this in chapter one where he said that Jesus was above all rule and authority. And these rulers and authorities are those who rebelled, to whom the wisdom of God is seen as foolishness. Therefore, the church, God’s church of whom Christ is its head, is the method by which He will work out all His plan for His glory and our very best. The wisdom of God is seen as foolishness to men.
Verse 11. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
The calling of Paul to be a minister by the grace of God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and bring forward the plan for all time, was in complete harmony with God’s eternal purpose. Remember this is what we said in Ephesians 1:9-10. It was His will, God’s good pleasure, according to the counsel of His will, to put forth his plan, his purpose, that was realized through the work of Jesus Christ. In other words, God is not making up history as He goes along. He isn’t caught off guard. He isn’t surprised. “God doesn’t exclaim, wow, I didn’t see that coming.” He is acting according to an eternal plan and purpose. He has foreseen these authorities, these demons, these problems, and sin did not take God by surprise.
Verse 12. in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
In whom, in Christ, we – the church – that’s us – have boldness and access with confidence. Are you feeling bold? You should be. If you’ve trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have boldness. Where does this boldness come from? It comes because we have access to the Father. And not just like I get to stand in the parking lot of the stadium of God and hope to see him leave, this is front and center access to Abba Father with confidence. Sinners, broken ones, shattered lives, making mistakes, repeatedly, get to have access to the God of the universe with confidence because our faith in Jesus Christ and his gift of grace. What a truth. What a mystery!
And so, Paul finishes this thought in verse 13 with this: So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Having reminded the church of their place and purpose, Paul finishes this thought by exhorting them to not feel badly about his imprisonment, or his circumstances, and to not lose heart over what he is suffering for them. But notice how he finishes. He says that this is for their glory.
Did you expect it to say that? For their glory? Wouldn’t you think it would have said for the glory of Christ. But here, what Paul is trying to say, is that instead of them looking at the plans of God and getting downhearted, looking at Paul’s suffering as a burden he just has to bear begrudgingly, Paul is trying to get them to see that this is for their glory. When we walk in the light of Jesus Christ, when we reflect Him and show Him glorious, we too receive the benefit. It’s about our attitude. Our suffering doesn’t need to be in front of everyone. Yes, there is a time and place to share, and carry our burdens together, that is what the church does and what the Scriptures exhort us to do.
But instead of seeing suffering as a bad thing, Paul is saying that we are honored. Remember in Acts when the Apostles were beaten and said they counted it honor to have suffered for Christ in that way? This is what Paul is talking about. We receive glory when we live for Christ, and do not lose heart when the hard times come.
I would also say that this perspective comes from a deep trust in the sovereignty of God, knowing that He has all of this worked out, and is not surprised. We get surprised all the time, but not our God. Do I always know how this will fit or work out. Absolutely not. But I know that I can trust our God because His plans are always perfect, even when I cannot understand them.
So, like Paul, won’t you join us in sharing the gospel locally and globally through his church so that our communities will know the glory that is Jesus and the confidence we can have to enter into the throne room of God.
And celebrate the boldness and confidence we have because of the access we have to God through Jesus Christ. We have this because we can trust the plan of God set into motion before the beginning of time will be completed. Spoiler alert: I read the end of the book. We win in the end!
Trust the plan even when we cannot understand it.