"The Mystery Revealed" Sermon: Ephesians 3:1-12

“The Mystery Revealed”
[Ephesians 3:1-12]
January 4, 2009 Second Reformed Church

Today is Epiphany Sunday. What does “epiphany” mean? Have you ever heard someone say they had an epiphany? Most generally, it refers to an insight, to something being revealed, to a revelation. This morning, we are turning to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians to look at a mystery that was revealed to Paul.

In the first three verses of chapter three, Paul is defending himself as an apostle. We will remember that Paul, who was named Saul, was one of the most vicious persecutors of the Church. He will a murderer who sought to stamp out Christianity, so when he converted, there were not a few sceptics.

So Paul tells the Ephesians to remember that he was now in prison for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles – to the non-Jews. He reminds them of the work he did by God’s Grace in Ephesus. And he tells them to remember how the mystery of Christ was revealed to him. Do you remember?

After Paul’s conversion, many did not believe him and sought to cast him away, if not kill him. In the book of Acts, we have Paul’s testimony:

“‘Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.’

“And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:

“‘I am a Jew; born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted the Way to death, blinding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed towards Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

“‘As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, at noon a great light from heaven suddenly shown around me. And I heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, “What shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to me, “Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.” And since I could not see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand of those who were with me, and we came into Damascus.’

“‘And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” And that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”’

“‘When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance, and I saw him saying to me, “Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.” And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.” And he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles”’” (Acts 22:1-21, ESV).

Paul told them, when they remember how he, a prominent Jewish rabbi and scholar, became the apostle to the Gentiles (Ephesus was in what we now call south-western Turkey), and they remembered the mystery of Christ, which he just went over in chapter two: that all mere human beings are born dead in sin and under the Wrath of God, but God in His Mercy sent Christ to save us, while we were dead in our sin and didn’t want anything to do with Christ – God chose some to be His and made us His without our help and without our will – remember, Paul hated Jesus and he hated Christians, but Jesus took Saul and made him Paul, suddenly, unexpectedly, without the help or will of Paul, then, Paul told them, they could also understand the mystery that was revealed to him: the Gentiles – the non-Jews – “are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”

Remember, the Jews were looking for the Savior of the Jews to come, not the Savior of all peoples. They understood that there was an occasional faithful non-Jew that God saved in His Mercy, but the history of the Old Testament is the history of a people – the Jewish people – that God chose to be His people – the people through whom He would work out His Plan of Salvation. They had become blind to the wideness of God’s Mercy. They forgot the promise of God to Father Abraham, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3, ESV). This is exactly what Jesus was referring to when He said, “‘And I have other sheep who are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd’” (John 10:16).

Yes, God chose the Jews to be His people, but all the peoples of the world are to be blessed through the Savior. Jesus came first to bring the Gospel to the Jews, but the Gospel is for every type of person and every nation.

When I was in college, I read the autobiography of Charles “Tex” Watson, Will You Die for Me? Watson was the man who actually committed the infamous Manson murders. Watson’s story is the story of how he went from being willing to die for Charles Manson to being willing to die for Jesus Christ.

I read the book and there was an address you could write to, so we began corresponding, and I told my pastor at the time about Watson and his conversion to Christ, and he told me it is not possible for a murderer to come to Christ. That pastor is wrong. All I have to do is ask the question, “What about the murderer, Saul of Tarsus? Was his conversion a fraud?”

Even if we believe that God can change all types of persons, it’s not easy to sit next to a former murderer, a former rapist, a former politician. We only sin polite sins. We only sin nice sins. No one would have a reason to be afraid to sit by us. Because we’re better than they are – though we wouldn’t say it, because we’re better than they are.

No, all believers in Christ, no matter what our past, are “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” Certainly, we need to do what we can to keep each other out of situations where we might fall into sin: a former pedophile should not be the sole provider in the nursery; a former gossip should not be told things that need to be kept private. We all have sins we struggle with, but in Christ we are one. Paul, the murderer, was made a minister of the Gospel, by the Power of God. You and I and all who believe receive Christ by the Power of God.

Then Paul says in verses eight and nine, “To me, though I am the very least of the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”

Why does Paul call himself, “the least of the saints”? Is this false modesty? Paul is recognizing that he was a murderer of Christians, and he still was a sinner, but mostly, he was recognizing that his joy was not found in himself or what he had become, but in the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” We remember we saw John the Baptist say that same thing a few weeks ago: “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30, ESV).

In other words: the Gospel is not about you and me, it’s about Jesus Christ. And the more we get our eyes off ourselves and off our church and off our minister and off our perceived problems and, instead, focus on Jesus and making sure that we make His Name Glorious, that we let others know Who He is, our joy will increase!

When I was first in seminary, some of my classmates encouraged me not to go into the ministry because I had just found out I had some heart issues. They said the ministry is too stressful; this is probably a sign that you should teach or do something else. I have been fairly frank with you about my health: I am chronically and incurably ill. Some days are better; some days are worse. I’m told I will have more worse days than good as time goes by. I don’t tell you that for your sympathy, and I don’t enjoy being sick – sometimes it’s very difficult for me.

However, there is a real sense in which I rejoice in being ill, because it is a reminder to me that I cannot save myself. I cannot do anything except through Jesus Christ. And it is my privilege and my joy to be the pastor of this church because I want you to see Jesus – not me – not us – Jesus. Everyone in this sanctuary and everyone outside of these doors needs to know that Jesus Alone will save you if you repent and believe in Him. He is able – we are not – I am not.

John said he must decrease. Paul said he was the least of the saints. We need to present the Gospel as it is – the lifting up and glorifying of Jesus. The Gospel is not about what you and I can get or be – though God gives us “unsearchable riches in Christ.” But when I am gone and your new minister arrives, nothing will have changed. Your new minister may be better at some things than I and worse at others, but that’s not the point. The mystery that has been revealed is that the Gospel – Salvation in Jesus Christ Alone – is for every type of person in the world, and it’s all about Him – not me, not you.

So, what shall we do? How do we go forward in the hope and promise that this is all for Him?

Paul wrote, that this mystery has been revealed to us, “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

God from before the foundation of the world chose to have the mystery of salvation delivered through the Church. What is the Church? The Church is everyone throughout time and space who believes in Jesus Alone – God’s Savior Alone – for salvation. Think about that – God chose to use those who believe in Him and His Savior to deliver the message of Salvation to the world.

And someone may be thinking, “Well, then, God is pretty dumb. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for God to broadcast the news of His Salvation to everyone at once? If God is really all-powerful, He could have done that. Just look at Christians: we remain sinners in this life. We have thousands of denominations – many divided over petty issues. How can the world see unity in us – in our message?”

Here’s the answer that Paul gives us, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (II Corinthians 4:7, ESV). Listen again: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

If you drop a diamond in a diamond encrusted jar, it’s not going to stand out, but if you drop a diamond in a litter box, it will stand out, right? God chose to deliver the Gospel through Christians because it would be more obvious – it would show up better – it would make it clear that all glory and all power is God’s, not ours.

He must increase; I must decrease. Don’t be discouraged if I say you are a litter box. The Bible uses words that are even more gross than that. Be encouraged that God chose to save me – God chose to save you who believe – not because of who you are or what you could do – but because it pleased God to save you. Before the foundation of the world, God chose me to be a pastor for Him. My health is not good. I struggle with sin and I will until Jesus returns. I am not the most intelligent person or the best speaker in the world. Compared to who I am, I don’t have the ability to properly convey to you how glorious, how wonderful, how unsearchable the riches of Jesus Christ are.

And isn’t that the point, beloved? The better we know ourselves, the better we know Jesus – that He is Holy, Beautiful, Awesome – He is everything and more than anyone could ever desire or enjoy. We do well to rightly examine ourselves, as I said this morning, but let’s not get fixated on the litter box – let’s turn our eyes to the diamond that God has given us. Let us rejoice in knowing that God is making us like that diamond – like His Son, so on that final day we will be like Him, fully righteous, holy, perfect – that we might perfectly worship and glorify Him forever.

But what about today. And tomorrow. What are we to do with this mystery that has been revealed to us – that Jesus Alone is Salvation for anyone and everyone who will believe?

“In [Jesus Christ] we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”

The author of Hebrews tells us that since Jesus is our Savior, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV), and, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:19-25, ESV).

Since Christ saved us by Himself, we can come boldly before Him and ask Him to forgive us and make us willing and able to make known the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples. And since He has promised to give us His Grace – to strengthen us for this work – we can confidently let others know that He is the Truth, the Only Salvation, our Only Hope – not because we figured it out – not because we’re so wonderful – but because God chose to reveal the mystery to us – the Church – and now sends us forth in His Power.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for revealing the mystery of Jesus Christ and His Salvation to us and for all peoples. We thank You that Your Salvation is not made or broken by who were are or what we are able to do. We ask now, as we receive the bread and the cup in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, that You would give us more of Your Grace – that You would meet with us here in the elements – and that You would strengthen us, making us bold and confident in You – that others would look at us and hear us and know that You are the Great God and Only Savior. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.