The Mystery of the Church

Amen. Welcome to Gospel City Church. Anyone fired up to be in the house of the Lord today? Oh yeah, let’s go 11:00 service. I love it. That’s awesome. That’s exciting. Grab your Bibles and open to Ephesians chapter 3 today, Ephesians chapter 3. So we’re venturing into the third chapter. I told you when we started our study of Ephesians that the first three chapters deal with our wealth in Christ. That’s why we’ve been in this series called “Riches in Christ.” And it’s just declaring this rich position that we have been put in in Christ Jesus.

So it’s full of the doctrine of our salvation. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit working on the sinner’s behalf to bring him from dead in their trespasses and sins and make them alive in Christ. And so it’s just so rich. And as we finish chapter 3 today…we’re going to finish chapter 3 over the next two weeks and then we’ll take a break from the book of Ephesians for the Advent season. And then we’ll come back to Ephesians chapter 4 in January.

And when we get to chapter 4 we’ll start looking at our work for Christ. So it gets really practical. How does this believer who’s been changed operate on the earth among one another in the church? But we’re going to talk about parenting and marriage and husbands and wives. So it gets really practical. And then we’ll eventually move to our warfare for Christ in Ephesians chapter 6.

But as we look at Ephesians chapter 3 today, you’re going to recognize that there’s sort of some recurring themes taking place. Paul is getting a little repetitive as he writes. The first thing you’ll probably notice is the recurring explanation of the Gentiles being fellow heirs with the Jews in Christ Jesus. And you might be like, “Oh, I’m over that conversation.”

It’s no coincidence that I’m the third pastor in three weeks talking about it. And yet try to understand the magnitude of the Gentile world being joined with the Jewish world. They had no concept for this. They hated each other. And so it’s not a coincidence that Paul is continuing to explain this. And any time the Bible gets repetitive it’s an opportunity for us the reader to lean in and try to seek understanding for what is trying to be communicated.

But the second thing you’ll notice as we read, Paul seems to start on this path of thought and then he kind of has a squirrel moment. If you look in verse 1 of chapter 3 he says, “For this reason,” and it’s as if he’s going into the prayer that he starts in verse 14. And so he picks up his train of thought in verse 14 and he goes into his prayer. For this reason I, Paul, bow my knees before God.

So everything we’re looking at today is kind of like a parenthesis between Paul’s train of thought in verse 1 and him picking it back up in verse 14. But understand this. Everything that we’re looking at today is a Holy Spirit impressed burden on the apostle Paul to be sure that he explained what he needed to explain to these believers in Ephesus, namely that the dividing wall of hostility had been torn down and that believers stand shoulder to shoulder in the kingdom of God and are being built into His holy temple.

So the big idea that I’ll give to you as we begin is this. The gospel reveals the mystery that God’s glory is displayed through the church Christ is building. The gospel reveals the mystery that God’s glory is displayed through the church Christ is building. Go ahead and get your eyes on a copy of Ephesians chapter 3. And we’re going to be in verses 1-13 today. Let’s read together.
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have 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, as I have written briefly.
Verse 4. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 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.
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.
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. 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, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:1-13)
So this is God’s Word for us today. And let me just start this way. Is anyone here a big fan of movies or shows that have some sort of element of mystery to them? Anybody into that kind of thing? Like maybe you like murder mystery shows or there are those shows that kind of are like detective shows where something goes wrong and the whole episode they’re trying to solve the case. And some of you get really into that kind of thing.
As I’ve thought about these forms of entertainment this week, I think what keeps us coming back to them is not the unsolved mystery in itself. Right? But it’s the process and the relief that is felt when the mystery eventually gets revealed. It brings some kind of resolve to your wondering. It brings confirmation to all the ideas that you threw out as you were watching the show. It brings peace to your angst. But if every mystery movie or show never got around to solving the mystery, I don’t think they would be as popular of a form of entertainment as they are, right?
Like some of you maybe like the cliffhanger thing. But eventually it just is sick. You’ve got to get let in on what the mystery is. I use that example this morning because as we read in chapter 3 you probably notice that Paul continues to use the word “mystery”. Only the Greek word that Paul is using for “mystery” is the word mysterion. And it’s not speaking of something that is yet to be revealed. Rather the mystery has been solved. Paul’s use of the word mystery is a proclamation of what has been revealed in the person and the work of Jesus Christ.
I think a lot of times as believers we come to the Bible sort of ignorant and we don’t put in the work and the study to understand what has been revealed to us. And so we say things like, “It’s a mystery. I follow God but it’s all a mystery we can’t figure out. And the reality is so much of the mystery has already been revealed in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. When Paul speaks of the mystery in the New Testament, he’s saying the mystery of the Old Testament has been solved by the new. Therefore the whole account of Scripture is so important to us as believers.
We’ve seen Paul proclaiming the mystery of God’s will to redeem sinners through the cross and give them a heavenly inheritance in chapter 1 of Ephesians. We’ve seen Paul proclaim the mystery of God’s grace and the recreation of dead sinners into His workmanship in chapter 2. We’ve seen the unfathomable mystery of the historical dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles being torn down by Jesus Christ in chapter 2. And today Paul further drives home the mystery of the church on the earth and in the heavenly places.
So last week Pastor Brent gave us a blueprint for the church. Today I want to give you the mystery of the church as we see it in Ephesians chapter 3. So point number one this morning is this. The gospel needs mystery messengers. The gospel needs mystery messengers. I’m going to jump around a little bit in the text today. I typically like to take it kind of in the form that it’s been given, verse by verse in the order, because I believe that’s just as inspired as the words on the page. But I think there’s several themes kind of running their way through our text today that will help us as a disciple.
And so first let’s just put the emphasis on the apostle Paul, because he seems to be sharing his heart an awful lot as he continues to write in chapter 3. So four attitudes worth imitating is where I want you to focus your attention. Paul was only imitating Christ and therefore we are called to imitate Paul as he imitated Christ. So there are four attitudes that I see in the text that are worth imitating.
The first is Paul had circumstantial perseverance, circumstantial perseverance. If you look in verse 1 of chapter 3 it says, “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles.”
Now Paul was indeed a prisoner at this moment in his life. He was a prisoner of Rome for about five to six years, and during that time he would’ve penned this letter to the Ephesian church. But notice that Pual gives zero acknowledgement to the fact that he is a prisoner of Rome. In fact he spins his imprisonment into a title of circumstantial perseverance and exaltation to the God of glory. He declares that he is a prisoner, but not of Rome. He is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
And I just want you to think about a prisoner for a moment. A prisoner doesn’t have a lot of options concerning what they do or what they don’t do. A prisoner can’t come and go as they please. And Paul at this moment in his life, he was on house arrest by the grace of God. But that meant he was chained to a guard at all hours of the day and the night. And every six hours a guard would make a shift. And he was chained by his ankles and his hands probably to this guard.
And by the grace of God he was allowed to write letters. He was allowed to receive visitors. And he would preach the gospel to them. He was allowed to pray because we see in his writings that he was often praying. But Paul couldn’t do everything that he’d probably wanted to do. But Paul didn’t let his circumstance define his identity.
Paul knew that he was a chosen adopted child of God. Paul knew that he had been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Paul knew that he had obtained an inheritance in Christ and had every spiritual blessing that heaven had to offer at his disposal. So rather than letting his imprisonment become his identity, he depicts the glorious identity of one who is under the captivity of Jesus Christ. I mean this is a believer who has had the eyes of his heart enlightened to the power of God that is toward him in Christ Jesus.
How often do we allow our earthly circumstances to become our identity in the world? Isn’t it so true that we face things that are inconvenient and we go through circumstances and through painful situations that we didn’t see coming? And if we’re not careful, those things can define our identity when our identity is rooted in the persona and work of Jesus Christ.
Many will never be used to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ because we’re too easily swayed from our identity in Christ when life gets hard. Paul is an example that regardless of what you go through- he probably didn’t want to be in prison for sure. And yet he used that to depict a relationship with God that showed he was bound to Christ and therefore he could still advance the gospel in the world.
I want you to look at a verse, James 1:2-4. It says, Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and compete, lacking in nothing.
Paul was able to have joy through his circumstances because he always spun his circumstances to exalt Jesus Christ. He wasn’t a prisoner of Rome. He was a prisoner of Christ, and therefore he would spread the good news even if it cost him his life. Look at verse 13 of chapter 3. He writes to those in Ephesus, “So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.”
Paul is like, I would become a prisoner time and time again if it meant you hearing the glorious good news of the gospel. And so regardless of his circumstance, he continued to persevere with the message of Jesus Christ.
Now the second attitude that we see in the text is that Paul was his faithful stewardship, his faithful stewardship. Look at verse 2. He says, “Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you.”
I love that Pauls views himself as a steward of God’s grace. This is a vital attitude for anyone that calls himself a disciple of Jesus Christ. It’s a vital attitude of any disciple that is committed to living sent in the world. You are a steward of God’s grace. The word “steward” meant someone responsible for taking care of that which belonged to someone else. Or it was someone responsible for managing someone else’s affairs and distributing them properly.
You know we in our culture we often think of being good stewards or stewardship when it comes to our finances. A God-glorifying way to think about your finances is to remember that you actually own nothing. You came into this world empty-handed and you will leave this world empty-handed. So any wealth that you have accumulated has been given to you by God.
And when you view your finances this way, you can be a faithful steward of God’s money. And some of us have made more money than others through the decisions we’ve made, through maybe the way that God has blessed you in the way that you make decisions and business decisions. But even those gifts are a gift from God. You did not come into this world as a champion who makes money. God has blessed you a certain kind of way. And everything that you have accumulated should be to His glory and His grace and His thanksgiving.
And so you can pray things like, “Lord, show me where to give my money. Lord, show me how to take the firstfruits of all that you have given me and give them back to You, give them back to You though your church. Lord, show me how to save money. Lord, show me where to spend money. Give me wisdom in the way that I spend the money that you have given to me.”
But how much more should we think of God’s grace in this light? I mean Paul certainly did. He had been given grace. Paul had been saved by grace and he was a steward of the grace to the Gentiles and the nations. Look at verses 3-5. “The stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations.”
Paul is reiterating to the church in Ephesus, as unbelievable as it all sounds, you can perceive my insight. The legitimacy of my ministry is something from God, not something that I have contrived. Paul’s ministry and his mission was given to him by God in the general sense that he was a disciple called to live sent in the world. In a specific sense that he was the apostle to build the church and to spread the message of the gospel to the Gentiles.
But the same is true for you and for me if you have been saved in Christ Jesus. You have been given a grace that you do not deserve, a grace that is not your own. And therefore we are to steward it well in the world. You are a disciple meant to live sent in the world.
And many of us would raise our hand and say, “I’m not thankful or happy with my lot in life right now.” You might want a better job. Maybe you want a more meaningful ministry. Maybe you want to work at the church or maybe you want to get the heck out of the church.
But only God appoints and gives His servants position. And any position is a place for you, the disciple, to steward the gift of grace that has saved you and that can save those that are around you. So may we be stewards of this gift of grace that we have been given.
But a third attitude that we see in the text is this. Paul models for us servant leadership. Servant leadership. Look at verses 7 and 8 of the text. Paul writes, “Of this gospel I was made.” So I’ve circled the word “made” all through this text because you just keep seeing Paul giving glory to God saying he didn’t apply for these positions in life. God put him there. God made him a messenger of the gospel. So, “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.”
Verse 8. “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given.”
So Paul was a humble servant leader. And while he had a confident perseverance in the truth, he always had a posture of unworthiness and lowliness in his ministry. This is how mystery messengers of the gospel should look in all the world. We are not the cream of the crop. We are not the end all be all of every situation and every decision that needs to be made. We are lowly slaves. We are willing slaves. We are bondservants to Christ, given a gift we don’t deserve.
So how could we not love the unlovable? How could we not have compassion on the widows and the orphans of the world? How could we not take part in serving Christ’s Body even in the most mundane ways?
And you know, at a church this size, many of you have great ideas for how we could serve the world around us. Often I hear those ideas. People are fired up and they’re like, “Man, we should do this.”
And I’m like, “Yeah, we should.”
“And we should do this. And I want to be a church known for this.”
And I could get excited about every one of the ideas. Sometimes I’m just like scratching my head. Lord, how can we get involved in that? How can we get involved in that? And the truth is the purpose of Gospel City Church in Michiana is that we would open our Bibles and proclaim the mysteries of Christ and the Word of God and that we would exalt Jesus Christ above all things as the gathered Body of believers.
We can’t do everything in the world that comes to your mind. But guess what? You can do those things. The purpose of the church should be firing you up on a regular basis so that you can go and you can be a light in a dark world, so that you can serve the world as a lowly humble servant. You don’t need the church to build a program for you to go and serve the lost that are around you.
And man, we can serve one another in the Body of Christ. Let us do good to the household of faith first. Even in the most mundane ways of serving you are glorifying God. And so you may not feel like you’re doing a whole lot if you’re holding a door on Sunday morning. But I’d rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
You might not feel like you’re doing a whole lot if you’re in the nursery week after week. And you’re like, “Man, this is not my gift. Surely I could do more for the Lord.”
And Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me.” I mean these small ways of serving one another is modeling Jesus Christ in our church and it’s modeling Jesus Christ in the world. Jesus came to serve and not be served. Paul’s modeling Jesus. “I’m the least of all the saints. Who am I to do this? If you looked at what I bring to the table you would see that I fall so short.”
It makes me think of a couple of leadership situations in the Bible. Pontius Pilate, great leader. Was he going to deal justly with Jesus in the situation? Was he going to lean into the Jews or Jesus, who Jesus really was, what Jesus brought to the table? So Pontius Pilate used his leadership position. He called for a basin of water rather than dealing with the situation as a servant leader. Rather than leaning into it, he washed his hands of the situation and used his position in life to back out and hand Jesus over to the Jews.
What did Jesus do? Jesus at one point he called for a basin of water, water that He created. And He knelt down in the dirt that He created as a leader of the world who came to serve and not be served. And He dipped His hands in that water and He washed His disciple’s feet, the feet that He created, that He breathed into existence. He knelt down and He served the ones that He came to save. That is leadership worth imitating. That is what Jesus did for you and for me. That is what Paul is modeling. And how could we not model the same thing in a world that needs to see the love and servant leadership of Christ?
The fourth attitude worth imitating that we see in Ephsians chapter 3 is bold proclamation, bold proclamation. Verse 8. “Though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Look back up at verse 7 for a moment. “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace.”
Paul was given a specific ministry. He was a unique apostle. Not everyone in this room will be given the ministry of an elder. Not everyone in this room will be given to the pastorate. Not everyone in this room will be chosen to be a small group leader or a small groups pastor. Not everyone will be an entrepreneur or a business owner. But every disciple in this room has been given grace. And it was the grace of God that enabled Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
And it is the grace of God that will enable you to share the gospel in your spheres of influence wherever He has placed you. Paul was faithful to preach to the Gentiles the mystery of Christ. Whether he was on a mountain in Greece or in a prison in Philippi or in a riot in Ephesus or in a house on house arrest in Rome, Paul was always opening his mouth to advance the gospel of Christ. Because this is how people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. This is how the mysteries of Christ are revealed through God’s grace. This is how the nations will come and glorify God.
You might leave and try to live a good and godly life, a holy life. But if you don’t open your mouth, the people down the street who are trying to be good people may never see a difference in you and them. They need to hear that they are sinners that desperately need the grace of God.
Paul wrote in Romans 10:14, listen to what he writes. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him in whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Disciples of Jesus Christ, God gives us the grace so that we can open our mouths and proclaim His truth. You might not be a preacher. You might not be as eloquent as the next person. But God gives the grace in the moments when we ask His Spirit to lead us to the lost so that we can open our mouths and proclaim the gospel. So live sent in the world. The gospel needs mystery messengers.

SPLIT HERE

There’s so much more to unpack in Ephesians chapter 3. Point number two this morning is this: the gospel reveals the mystery of the church. The gospel reveals the mysteries of the church. Undoubtedly it needs messengers. But I want you to see all that Paul is proclaiming of the mystery of the church.
The first aspect of the mystery is repetition of what we’ve already seen. Go ahead and look at verse 6. Verse 6 of Ephesians 3 says, “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.”
So first, Gentiles are fellow heirs. That’s Ephesians 2:6-7 being repeated that Christ saves the dead in their sins, puts them in Christ. And then He raises us up with Him and seats us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Hey Jews, that glorious truth that you will be not only made alive but raised up and seated with Christ on high, that truth, that news, is not just for you but it’s also for the Gentiles for all of the nations who will call upon the name of the Lord. This was like mind-blowing to the Jews. It’s why Paul continues to try to explain to them what’s going on. Because in their minds they were the cream of the crop. In the Jews’ minds there was separation.
But in Jesus’ story, in the gospel, there are no second-class citizens. We are all fellow heirs to the God of glory. But even further than an heir, you are members of the same Body. That’s Ephesians 2:8-9. You’re no longer strangers. Or sorry. 2:19. You’re no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
You know that statement, “Blood is thicker than water”? You maybe have said it when you’re talking about your family versus your friends. But it’s as if Paul is proclaiming here, “Hey, those who are in Christ, you are family and you have been bought by the blood of the lamb of God joined together by His precious and perfect blood. You are now family in an even greater way than your physical family on the earth.
But even further, you are partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. It’s all of the truth of Ephesians chapter 1. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is all of those heirs who have called upon the name of the Lord. And all of it comes through the glorious gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. So that’s part of the mystery of the gospel revealed on the earth, but it goes so much further.
I want you to look in verses 8-10. Look at the second half of 8. “So grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 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.” Now listen to this. “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
So what does that mean? And I’m telling you, I’ve been excited about it for the last four days and just pumped to share it with you. But just as the Jews and the Gentiles’ minds were being blown through the unity that was coming through the gospel, even more true and even more perfectly true the angels and the heavenly authorities and even the demons are marveling (in the demons’ case they’re trembling) ast the wisdom of God as Christ builds His church. God is manifesting His great wisdom before the angels and the demons through the church, and all of it is shouting the glory of God.
What is the mystery of the church? The praise of His glorious grace. And as God displays His wisdom in saving and uniting sinners of all nations, the angels sit back and they watch in wonder. Because the angels have not been let in on all of God’s plan as the church unfolds throughout the ages. The angels don’t know. And so they sit back and they’re watching on and their minds are being blown as the wisdom of God is seen in the world as He builds His church that the gates of hell will not prevail against.
I mean angels are impressive beings, aren’t they? I was thinking about all the places in Scripture that you see angels. Isaiah chapter 6 describes the angels as these beings with six wings flying around the throneroom of God, the throne of God. Matthew chapter 1 and 2, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream, tells him that Jesus was coming through his betrothed wife Mary.
In Matthew chapter 2 the angel appears in another dream to Joseph and tells him to get to Egypt. He protects him from King Herod. In Acts chapter 5 an angel breaks into the prison and breaks the apostles out of their imprisonment. In Revelation chapter 4 and 5 the angels are described as beings of fire with multiple faces, with eyes in the front and behind. So impressive that John falls to his knees to worship the angels only to be reprimanded and said, “Hey! Look at him! I mean you think I’m impressive. Look at the Lamb of God upon His throne!”
Angels are powerful beings. Angels are heavenly beings. But even the angels are finding out the mysteries of God as the gospel goes forth on the earth. Every move that God makes is as thrilling to the angels as the last. Isn’t that incredible? And it’s why the angels gathered around the throne continually sing from eternity past to eternity future, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was and who is and who is to come.”
It’s not because that’s the only song that they know. It’s not because that’s what they’ve been created to say. It’s because as they sit back their mind is being blown as God works out His purposes in the world and it moves them to continually worship and to proclaim God’s otherness and His glory in all the world.
It’s why in Luke chapter 15 verse 10 it declares there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. God’s perfect wisdom is seen in every sinner that He redeems. God’s grace is displayed in every child that He adopts as His own. And God’s perfect wisdom is even displayed through the trials and the hardships that His Body walks through. And all of it is proclaiming there is glory in the church. There’s glory in the church. There’s glory in the church.
It made me think about the Notre Dame/Clemson game a couple of weekends ago. I don’t care if you’re like a huge Notre Dame fan or a skeptical Notre Dame fan or not a fan at all. As Notre Dame was walking into that game, you were like, “There’s no way we’re going to pull this off. I mean Clemson’s like bigger; they’re stronger. They’re faster. They’re ranked number four. I hope we can do something good in this game. It’s not looking good. I hope coach Freeman has got like some wisdom and he’s going to use the right play calls.”
And as the game went on, right, like touchdown after touchdown, you’re just kind of sitting back like, “Whoa. It’s working. What a great call. I can’t believe they’re scoring!” And by the end of the game ND blows out Clemson and the place erupts in joyous elation and celebration. And everyone rushes the field and down onto the field they go celebrating the victory of the Irish over ranked number four Clemson.
That times infinity is how God’s wisdom through the church makes the angels react time after time after time. Every time God moves, it’s a rush on the field victory celebration. Can you believe that God saved that guy? I mean, I thought they were for sure like going the wrong direction, and yet God turned their life around. Glory to God.
Or the angels are like, “Can you believe that God in His wisdom got the glory of the gospel to that tribe that had never heard the name of Jesus before and He saved the entire tribe?” Celebration. Even, “Can you believe? Are you sure God? Like I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to take your body through that trial. Do you really want them walking through that hardship? Do you really want them walking through that pain?”
And yet when you walk out on the other side in victory because Jesus Christ is Lord of all and He has changed your life and saved you for a purpose and a reason, the angels stand back and they give glory to God because only God could give us what we would never ask for so that He could move us into the likeness of Christ and change us from one degree of glory to the next.
And listen. If the truth be told, if the angels marvel at God’s wisdom through the church, how could we not love the church? How could we not need the local gathered Body of believers on the earth? How could we not trust that God’s wisdom is on display in the gathered Body of the saints?
Scripture says that if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask for it. Because God doesn’t lack wisdom. One of the biggest prayer requests that I hear often is that we could have wisdom. And yet many people in this life are trying to stiff arm the church. And the manifold wisdom of God is on display through the church. How do we expect to have the blessings of heaven? How do we expect to have a relationship with Jesus and not His Bride?
I mean think about it. You’re not going to be a very good friend to me if you have a problem with my wife. If you have a problem with my bride, it’s not going to go great for us. Like we’re probably not going to hang out a whole lot. And yet that’s the way that we want to approach the church often. I want Jesus but I don’t need that institution, that thing called the church.
And just hear me today. I understand that the church is absolutely imperfect. There are no perfect churches. Gospel City is not a perfect church. If you have found a perfect church you should not go there because you will mess it up real quick. And I just understand that like some of you have experienced church hurt in your past. Some of you may have been burned by the church. I think reality would say that you’ve been burned by sinful men and women who have claimed to follow Christ and yet maybe they’ve acted otherwise. Or perhaps you were immature in your past and in your faith and the counsel that you were being given or the way that the church was trying to disciple you just didn’t match up that time. And God used that moment and is using that moment to mature you and deepen you in the faith.
The church has gotten it wrong. I understand that there’s problems with the church in America for sure. But there are far too many people who claim to be Christians and are trying to live for God without the church. And I just want to challenge you if you truly believe God is wise and all-powerful then understand that even through your imperfect experiences with the church, God is working out His divine wisdom.
And so even your hardships will end in victory if you are in Christ. And your victory will ultimately come through the church. And so I can’t encourage you enough. Don’t give up on this thing, as imperfect as it is. Sinners, broken, bringing all their problems, being joined together, it’s the beautiful brokenness of this that makes Christ’s glory shine all the more in the world.
The angel’s minds are blown by the church. And the demons tremble at the church that they cannot prevail against. And so we the church are being built on a firm foundation into the holy dwelling place of God. We need each other. Something that we say on a regular basis before we come out on this stage is, “Never just another Sunday.” We tell our volunteers that all the time. I want to say it to you. It’s never just another Sunday.
What that does not mean is, “Hey, we’ve got to pump ourselves up and get out and give the best show possible. We’ve got to get out there and create the best experience possible. No. It’s never just another Sunday because the manifold wisdom of God is on display when we gather together.
And think about it all around the world. As the world gathers on the first day of the week to exalt Jesus Christ and to pay careful attention to what He has said in His Word. His wisdom is on display. His wisdom is on display in the fact that you are going through a hard week and God placed you right beside someone in the same row who had a great week and you’re both proclaiming the excellencies of God’s name. And God uses that moment to build each other up in the faith. We need each other, and the angels are watching on in awe.
So it’s never just another Sunday. Don’t come here casually. Don’t wake up and say, “Oh man it snowed. Let’s skip church and hit the sled riding hills before anyone else gets there. Oh, it’s a nice day. Let’s go to the beach.”
“Dad, are we going to church tomorrow?”
“Oh, we’ll see how we feel in the morning.”
No. every week is an opportunity to be in the place where God’s wisdom is on display. So don’t miss it. It’s never just another Sunday.
Point number three, the gospel solved the mystery of every nation glorifying God. The gospel solved the mystery of every nation glorifying God. Verse 4 and 5. “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 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.”
So much of what the prophets of old had said in the Old Testament left a big question mark for the Jews. certainly the Gentiles weren’t thinking a whole lot about it. But the Old Testament dropped all sorts of hints along the way. But as Paul writes to the Ephesians, it’s no longer a mystery. It’s a mysterion. It has come to pass, and the mystery has been solved. And now Scriptures like Psalm 67 have meaning. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth.
In Psalm 96. Declare his glory among the nations and his marvelous works among all the peoples.
Hearing Psalms like this before Christ could have left you scratching your head. But because of Christ and because Jesus came and He died on a cross in our place, every tribe and tongue and nation will know that He is God and will glorify His name.
I want you to look at verses 11 and 12. This is where we’ll wrap up this morning. Paul writes, “This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”
So the unsearchable riches that Paul is proclaiming to the Gentiles and the manifold wisdom of God on display through the church, all of it is according to God’s eternal purpose. He’s not thinking of your best life now. But He has gone ahead of you to prepare a place for you, a place of perfection. And if He has saved you, you’re being built and growing into that place where God will dwell for eternity.
God’s eternal purpose was fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And now forevermore God’s glory will be on display in all the world, the glory that should incinerate us in an instant, the glory that is ever burning and only reveals our deservedness to be sent to hell in an instant because of the gospel. We’ve been let into the mystery of His glory through the church.
And get this. We don’t have to tiptoe in. You don’t have to tiptoe into the glory of God. We can run with boldness and with confidence and full on access to the glory of God forevermore. This confidence, this access, it doesn’t mean that we come flippantly or without reverence or fear. We go boldly and openly knowing that whatever we bring to the feet of our God we will never be met with rejection because of Jesus Christ.
There are some here today who are fearful to come to God because you view God as an angry father. Perhaps an angry father being held back by his son Jesus. That’s not God. God is a loving God who loves you unconditionally. He’s a God whose arms are wide open so that as you bring your sinfulness to Him, as you bring what you’ve done in your past to Him, you will be met not with rejection but with open arms because of Jesus Christ the Lamb who came to serve you when you were lost.
You know, in the Old Testament it was the high priest one time of year on the day of atonement who had access to the presence of God or the glory of God. And he would go into the Holy of Holies carefully on behalf of the people to speak to God for the people. And it’s been said that they would tie a rope around his ankles so that as he carefully went into the Holy of Holies, if he died they could drag him out. Because anyone else other than the high priest going into the Holy of Holies it was instant death; you were struck dead.
But because of the cross and because Jesus Christ is our high priest, Matthew 27:51 declares that the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. God did that. The gospel solved the mystery of sinful mankind approaching the glory of almighty God. And for the rest of the ages mankind no longer has to come bearing all of their sins. But we come by the blood of the Lamb to the praise of His glorious grace.
Ephesians 1:7: In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
The glory of the gospel is that the glory of God will be displayed through the church for the rest of eternity. It’s no longer a mystery. And every tribe, tongue and nation is being built up and will join together in the song that never ends as the angels sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was and who is and who is to come.”
I want to invite you to stand to your feet this morning. God’s Word is so faithful. The more we look at it, the more we meditate on it, the more there is for us to take and to apply to our lives. I pray this morning that you’d be challenged to imitate Paul through his circumstances, through his stewardship of grace, through his servant leadership, through the proclamation of the gospel.
But also understand that God’s wisdom is on display through you. So continue to prioritize this gathering and seek the Lord in desperation together. The mystery has been solved. You have been let into the mystery of old so that you could give praise and glory to God forever. Let’s pray together.
Father, we come. We just acknowledge our need for you. But Lord, we come proclaiming the glory of the gospel today. We thank you that there no longer has to be a question mark in our mind of what You will do in the world or how You will join people together in the world or how You will come and redeem the world. We thank You that through the gospel, we thank You that through the death and sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ we can be made new, we can be made alive and we can be brought close to the God of glory.
Thank you that we have access into the Holy of Holies. Thank you that we can come bringing anything knowing that in Your glory and in Your grace You will not only give us unconditional love but You will transform us by the renewing of our minds. God, would You continue to unite us together even here at Gospel City Church? You’re doing it all around the world. Thank You for the opportunity to be a part of it today. Your wisdom is on display. Would You in your grace by the power of Your Spirit pour out more and more grace upon grace among us as we fix our eyes on Jesus? In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.