Introduction
When I was a teenager, our youth ministry had an annual event that we always looked forward to; it was called Mystery Night. Every October, we would travel to a camp for one night, break into teams, and try to solve some sort of murder mystery. Each team would switch on their flashlights and scatter around the camp to find various characters, who would then read their parts. After interviewing each character, our team of youth sleuths would put our heads together and discuss what clues we had just gleaned in order to figure out whodunit. I remember the sense of anticipation we all had at the end of the night, when we would gather in a creaky, old barn for the unveiling of the mystery. Sometimes our team guessed right, while at other times we were way off. Almost always there were several details explained that we had not considered.
The reason for these holes in our theories stemmed from our inability to process all of our clues and fit them properly in the story. We may have solved the main mystery, but we left several related details lying around like the extra parts you have after installing your kid’s new play set. So the mystery was exciting, but so was coming to an understanding of how all the details fit together.
In Ephesians 3, Paul describes the new standing that we have in Christ as a mystery that God has revealed, concerning his plans for humanity. I don’t think we quite appreciate how monumental this revelation was for them. All of humanity had been waiting eons for the big reveal: how God would redeem the world to himself. That big reveal came to them in the form of Jesus, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.
Just like my youthful cohorts and I waited to see how all the details of the mystery fit together, Paul knew that his readers needed to know the full range of implications that came from this revelation of God’s mystery. We are much like they were. We understand the salvation that comes from trusting in Christ. We know that it is a game-changer for our faith, but we are seldom aware of the full benefits that come from this mystery. Even if we do know about them, we at least need a reminder from time to time to know that our standing in Christ comes with a host of benefits.
These are the benefits that Paul wrote of in Ephesians 3:1-13. While you navigate there in your copy of God’s Word, I’ll remind you that for the past several weeks our pastor, Mark Adams, has been preaching through the book of Ephesians. This circular letter went to various churches – not just to the church at Ephesus – and in the first three chapters Paul covers a lot of doctrine, deepening our understanding of our faith. Two weeks ago we finished chapter two, which underscored the unity of the church – both Jew and Gentile – destroying the dividing line between them, and by extension between all believers. Salvation was not just for the Jews. It is for all people, and it is the reason why Paul was sent to preach Christ to the Gentiles. Let’s begin reading Ephesians 3:1-13:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles–if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
And this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Body
One great benefit to our passage today is that we get to learn about the Apostle Paul and his ministry. He wrote this letter from prison, most likely in Rome, but notice how he identifies himself in verse 1. He says he is a prisoner but makes no mention of Caesar or soldiers. Instead he calls himself a prisoner of Christ, or for the cause of Christ. His physical chains are not the issue, because the real war is a spiritual battle. That’s why he writes later that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). His physical prison is merely a result of his spiritual allegiance to Jesus, who is described in 1:21 as being “far above all principality and power and might and dominion.” You can almost sense a touch of pride when he mentions that he is a prisoner “on behalf of you Gentiles” (v. 1). Paul then launches into an explanation of the mystery God has revealed to him.
You might imagine the believers in these churches gathering on a Sunday to hear a letter from Paul read to them. Some of these churches had not been visited by Paul. Others had grown in number since Paul was last there, and there would be some present who had only heard second hand about Paul’s ministry. He explains to them that God had chosen to give him the message of the gospel to share with unbelievers. Three times in our passage he refers to this gospel message as “grace of God,” given to him. Even though when Paul received this grace it radically altered his life, he considers it to be no burden to him. Consider his words in 2 Corinthians 11:
From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness–besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.
Paul endured a huge amount of persecution for this message of the gospel, but he did it willingly. In our text we see no hint of complaint or regret from Paul, but why does he share all of this? Verse 13 makes it clear: “Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.” Paul wanted to comfort the believers with this message. Although he was only a man, people placed Paul on a pretty high pedestal. Since he was in prison, they could easily have become discouraged by his predicament. Paul wanted them to know that his sufferings should not be a source of discouragement but rather glory. Glory literally means “what evokes good opinion.”
So how could Paul in chains write such a thing to these needy Christians and expect them to be able to do it? The answer lies in making Paul’s focus our own. We have learned about the messenger, but let’s look at his message, the mystery that God revealed to him on our behalf. This mystery comes with benefits! For Christians, our standing in Christ has brought us eternal life, but it brings much more as well.
The benefit of unity – we are one in Christ
One of the first benefits that we find is the benefit of unity – we are one in Christ. Verse six says, “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.” This unity is expressed in two-fold fashion. We are fellow heirs and fellow partakers of the same promise. As heirs, we have the same access to the spiritual riches promised by God. On this earth-shattering subject, Warren Wiersbe writes, “In Christ, being a Jew or Gentile is neither an asset nor a liability, for together we share the riches of Christ.”[1] As partakers in God’s promise, we know that we have a sure hope in him. Peter calls this promise “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet 1:4).
A businessman was troubled about an upcoming important deal for his company and so he went to church to pray for God to help him. By chance, he knelt down next to a man who was praying for $100 to pay an urgent debt. When he overheard the poor man’s prayer, the businessman took out his wallet and pressed $100 into the other man’s hand. Overjoyed, the man got up and left the church. Then the businessman then closed his eyes and began to pray, “And now, Lord, that I have your undivided attention….”
We – all believers – do have God’s undivided attention and unending promises. There is plenty to go around, and we can rejoice that believers are united together, sharing the same promises as fellow heirs in the body of Christ!
The benefit of proclamation
In our unity as believers, we have another benefit: Proclaiming God’s plan. The change he has wrought in us is one that should be shared. I have to admit that while studying this passage early on I got really excited about this point. This year, as Pastor Mark shared in his Vision Sunday sermon, is a year where we focus on telling – proclaiming the gospel to others. When I saw this point, I thought, “What a great tie-in to our theme this year!” This comes from verse 10, where the wisdom of God’s plan is said to be revealed by his church – that’s us. My mistake was one that we often make when we fail to read God’s word carefully. You see, verse 10 does not say that the church would reveal God’s wisdom to other people; instead, the church is making God’s plan known to “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,” or your translation might use “principalities and powers.” These are angelic beings, both good and evil. So this passage, I learned, is not about evangelizing our neighbors. That is still a command in Scripture, and one we need to carry out diligently; it just isn’t here in this specific verse.
But if I have trouble talking to my neighbor about Christ, how much more difficult is this unreached angelic demographic? Has the evangelism committee been lax in their duties by not emphasizing evangelism to spirits? Are we going to need to reallocate our budget to meet this need? The answer is no, because we are already a testament to them of God’s revealed wisdom. Peter O’Brien writes, “Through the church signifies that the very existence of this new multiracial community in which Jews and Gentiles have been brought together in unity in the one body is the manifestation of God’s richly diverse wisdom. Its presence is the means by which God himself discloses to the powers his own richly diverse wisdom.”[2] By our existence we proclaim God’s wisdom.
This is like Psalm 19:1-4 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” More to the point, God uses Job’s example of righteousness to show Satan there are those who are fully committed to the Lord. In the same way, as we live in unity and fellowship, reading our Bibles, serving each other, and yes, sharing our faith, we do proclaim to the spiritual realms the wisdom and plan of God. That is a benefit! Sometimes I get discouraged when I feel ineffective or shut down when I share my faith. When issues arise that don’t go very well, it can be a real downer for me. Isn’t it an encouragement to know that even when our efforts on this earth go unnoticed, we can rest assured that there is an unseen world that does notice these things?
How about you? Are angels and demons seeing the wisdom of God’s plan through you? When was the last time that you gave up something you wanted to do in order to help someone else? Your sacrifice can be noticed. Have you reconciled with the person who really rubbed you the wrong way a few months ago? Wouldn’t it be great for God to get the glory through you, both in this world and in the unseen realm?
The benefit of access to God’s throne
We also have another benefit, one that perhaps we take too lightly. In Christ, we have the benefit of access to God’s throne. Verse 12 states that in Jesus “we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him.” Look at the words Paul uses: Boldness, access, confidence. Your translation may use other words, like approach and freedom. The whole idea is that we can have the “boldness to enter confidently.”[3] The focus, though, is on Jesus and what he did for us. Without him, there is no access and therefore no confidence, which is easy to recognize, since this confident access is sandwiched between the phrases “in him,” and “through faith in him.” 1 Timothy 2:5 says that “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
In his book, Living Abundantly, Brian Harbour relates the following story:
Several years ago in Pensacola we were making plans for our annual Challenger Award Banquet which recognized the high-school football teams in our area. Each year, we invited college football players who were also Christians to come share their testimony at the banquet. We wanted several of the University of Alabama players to come. For them to come, we had to obtain Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s permission. I tried every way I knew to contact him by phone but was never able to make connection. One day, Jet Rogers came by my office. Jet was a local coach who had formerly coached with “Bear” Bryant. I told him what I wanted. He picked up the phone and dialed a number. In a few seconds, I was talking on the phone with the legendary coach. What Jet did for me is an illustration of what Christ does for us in our relationship with God.[4]
Have you been making use of your access to the throne? 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all of our cares on God, because he cares for us. If you are like me, then you have a lot of cares, a lot of concerns. Are you trying to handle them on your own strength? We would do well to heed the words of John Bunyan: “You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”[5] Let’s not treat this benefit lightly, but let’s wear out our knees by approaching the throne often.
The benefit of suffering for the cause of Christ
So far we have seen tremendous benefits that come from the revelation of this mystery that leaves us standing in forgiveness through Christ. We have the benefit of unity – we are one in Christ; we have the benefit of proclamation to the heavenly realms as we follow Jesus; we have the benefit of access to God’s throne through faith in Christ; and we have the benefit of suffering for the cause of Christ. That might not sound like much of a selling point, but then again, our faith isn’t some product off the shelf or a service we can purchase. It is a lifestyle that we live. When this mystery begins to take shape in our hearts, we begin to see the world differently.
You might be familiar with the three dimensional chalk drawings that artists often do in streets or on sidewalks. I came across one that is reminiscent of the famous Beatles album where the band is walking across Abbey Road. This chalk drawing, however, is of the Peanuts cartoon characters. The amazing thing about chalk drawings like this is that they look incredibly realistic from one angle. If you look at them from the wrong angle, however, the proportions are entirely wrong. In a sense, we tend to look at suffering from the wrong angle, and it isn’t very appealing at all. But consider these verses:
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
- Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
- 1 Peter 2:20-21 “But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
Do you begin to get a sense why Paul called his suffering their glory? It is a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ.
Conclusion
At the age of 18, William Ekvall Simpson became a missionary to the people of Tibet. The year was 1919. It would be four years before his mission board would actually approve him, but that didn’t stop William. Neither would the dangerousness of the area discourage him from his work. On horseback, he logged roughly 4,000 miles a year going from village to village sharing the gospel. Muslim fanatics were a very real threat, being vehemently opposed to the gospel; in one city alone, they massacred fifty thousand people. This did not deter William, because his focus was on the mystery, the same unfolding plan of God’s excellent will that we have been discussing. He trained Chinese evangelists in the area and even formed a Christian school. It was at that school where he was killed on June 20, 1932. Army deserters came through, destroyed the school, and slaughtered William. His own father received the news and retrieved his son’s body. Moved by his son’s example, he wrote of William, “All the trials, the loneliness, the heartache, the pain, the cold and fatigue of the long road, the discouragement and all the bereavements, temptations, and testing seemed not worthy to be compared with the glory and joy of witnessing these ‘glad tidings of great joy.'”[6]
Have the benefits of this mystery impacted you? Does a fuller understanding help you appreciate the position of men like William Simpson and the Apostle Paul? Which benefit can you focus on throughout the week? Unity? Proclamation? Access? Suffering? Let God slowly work in your heart to make the freedom in Christ the most important part of your life, indeed to the point where it is no longer just “a part” but rather indistinguishable from your life.
Bibliography
Harbour, Brian L. Living Abundantly. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992.
Manser, Martin H., ed. The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Willliam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999.
Ortberg, John. The Me I Want to Be. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
The Voice of the Martyrs. Extreme Devotion. Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2001.
Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Rich. Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1979.
[1] (Wiersbe 1979, 71)
[2] (O’Brien 1999, 246)
[3] (O’Brien 1999, 250)
[4] (Harbour 1992, 50-51)
[5] (Manser 2001, 294)
[6] (The Voice of the Martyrs 2001, 132). Information also gathered from http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/sc114.htm on March 15, 2012.