So today's passage is from Ephesians chapter three verses one through 13. You can now use your Bibles if you want, that you have them there available, or you can continue to use the bulletin. At the end, both are the word of God. Ephesians chapter three verses one through 13. 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. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ. which was known to the sons of men in other generations, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Jesus Christ, in Christ Jesus, through the gospel. 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. And so that through the church, the meaningful wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in 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. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity that we have to read this word. and not to be a mystery for us, but to be revealed to us in our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. We thank you, Lord, that you have given us the Holy Spirit, that you give us understanding of your word, and that you have revealed yourself in the gospel to us, and therefore today we are called your people, your children. We thank you that today, this very day, we have this opportunity to read this passage, and I pray, Lord, that as we meditate and consider what you have revealed here in your word, that this will greatly encourage our hearts and grow our faith and our understanding of your majestic plan for your creation, the redemption of your people. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So this passage that we're looking at today has an important topic which is related to the revelation of God, the way God revealed himself to us. And when we think about revelation or the way God revealed himself to us or to creation, We tend to look at two aspects of God's revelation. We say God revealed himself in a general way, which is the general revelation to everything that was created. And some people like to call this the book of creation, in which God revealed his divine power, who he is, that he is God. And the other aspect of God's revelation is the special revelation of God, which is his word. and our Lord Jesus Christ. And when we look at God's revelation in his word, we see that God revealed himself in a progressive way. He starts with this wonderful promise that we find in Genesis 3, 15, 16, and then throughout the scriptures, throughout the whole Bible, he reveals himself, he make more and more clear this plan of redemption for his people. Some theologians like to compare this like a flower that starts to open until you can see his maximum beauty. And the beauty is seen in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ that fulfills all the promises of the Old Testament. Now Paul here is talking about a mystery. a mystery that is in connection with God's revelation. Now, the word mystery, or the way Paul used that word, mysterium, mystery, is not the same way we use the word mystery in our time. For us, something that is a mystery is something that is unknown, something that is not known to us. When we say, we use the expression, that's not a mystery, of course it's something that we know. But when Paul used the word mysterium, the word mystery, it refers to something that was revealed to, he will say, or they will say the initiated, those people who will receive the revelation of the mystery. So for example, my hope is that this message will be a mystery for you in the Greek sense and no in the English sense. That by the end of this message, you will say I understood or something was revealed to me or confirmed from what we see in God's word. Now Paul starts with this connecting sentence that he has been using throughout all these chapters as he moved from one chapter to another or one section to another for this reason, which is pointing us back to what he has said before. And basically it's because all what he has been saying in all these first chapters, one, two, and three, are connected with one message. And for this reason, if you will go back to what we look at last week, will be that Christ broke down the wall of hostility between men and God and between Jews and Gentiles. that through the word of Christ on the cross that wall of hostility that divided men and God was broken down and that wall of hostility that divided Jews and Gentiles was also broken down. And for that reason then Paul goes to introduce two aspects of his ministry or his life. One is that he was given a ministry and then the second one is that he was given a mystery. He was given a ministry and he was given, or he was revealed to him, a mystery. The ministry, and I hope that I don't confuse myself with these two words, mystery and mystery. Mystery and ministry, I just did it. So the ministry that was given to Paul was that he was called to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. He says, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ, on behalf of you, Gentiles. Paul was literally in prison at Rome because he was preaching the gospel to Gentiles and Jewish in Jerusalem didn't like what he was preaching. Then Paul is in Rome as a prisoner because he was called to preach the gospel to Gentiles. He says also In verse two, assuming that you have heard of this stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you. He confirms that more when you go back, you go down to verse seven when he says, of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me by the working of his powers. And if you see verse eight also he refers that he didn't consider himself as one of the highlights of those ministers of the gospel but he saw himself as the least of all the same. Paul knew that he was called to be a minister not because there was something special in him but it was because of God's grace and God's mercy in his life. In fact he was a persecutor of the church. and who would have called a persecutor of the church to be the most, we'll say, successful evangelist in the early church, spreading the gospel through all these nations. So Paul was giving a specific ministry which was to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. But also he was giving the knowledge of a mystery. In verse three he says, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation. Also you will see that that mystery was revealed also by the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. The mystery was made known to him by revelation. Now the question that I think that we all should have at this point is, what is that mystery? It's the mystery of Christ. What is that mystery? You see that in verse five, that this mystery was not made known to many generations or generations before Paul. And there is where I was talking about this progressive revelation. God give what we call the Proto-Evangelium, the first presentation of the gospel to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, 15 and 16. And throughout the Old Testament, you see how he start to develop or to open up the eyes of those who were recipients of the message. You see that Later on you see that Abraham received also that promise that in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. And you could say probably that, well, it was clear there that the Gentiles were included there, but knowing the way it is understood, it is revealed in the New Testament with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and with the message that was expanded through the preaching of the gospel by the apostles. So this is why he said this ministry was not made known to the son of man in other generations, and now it has been revealed to the apostles and prophets, including himself there. Now, what is that mystery? What is that mystery? Well, Paul is very clear, I think in verse six he says, this mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise of Christ through the gospel. That summarizes the mystery. John Stott will put it this way. The mystery of Christ is the complete union of Jews and Gentiles with each other through the union of both with Christ. There is one key word here that is not as clear for us in English as it is in Greek. That word, or that prefix, is the prefix syn, S-Y-N. That prefix is connected with each one of these words that Paul translates here as earth, body, and partakers. Earth, body and partakers. So Paul would say sin, clarity no mind, heirs, sin, soma, body, and sin, metoka, partakers. And why is that word important? It's because that word means together with, together with. And what Paul is saying is that you Gentiles are heirs together with the Jews, and you are members of the same body together with the Jews, and you are partakers of the promise together with the Jews. Basically what Paul was saying, our union with Christ being union with the other members of the body. And Paul was teaching this is a mystery because the Jews were not expecting that they will be members of the same body. that they will share their inheritance with the Gentiles, and they will also be sharing the promise that was given to them. We have been looking at the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ in the previous chapters, and here Paul is reminding us again of those spiritual blessings. The spiritual blessings that we are heirs of the promises or heirs of the blessings that God has stored for us. And we are heirs, most of us, who are Gentiles who became Christians together with those Jews who were Christians as well. That we are together with the members of the body, members of the body of Christ. And that we are partakers also of the promise. You see that that word promise is not in plural meaning many promises. Yes, the Bible is full of different promises for those who are his people. But the promise here is that they will be saved. That they will be saved. It's the promise of redemption that was given to them. So again, if you look at what Stop says, the mystery of Christ is the complete union of Jews and Gentiles with each other through the union of both with Christ. And this continues to be a mystery. for the world that see us together, coming together into this building to call each other brothers and sisters to be able to share the inheritance and not be fighting to see who is gonna get more of that inheritance. And to call each other members of the same body who suffer the pain and the joy of our brothers and sisters. All this is a mystery for the world. We are representing to the world the beautiful thing that God is doing among us. Now, what is the key that unlock the mystery? What is the key that unlock the mystery or the message that unlock the mystery? Well, basically the key is the gospel. Paul says, again, if you reverse it, the mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Through the gospel. The good news was what unlocked the ministry. Jesus Christ came, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel. And that same message was the message that was sent to the apostles to be proclaimed. But now Paul, through these verses, show us some of the characteristics of this gospel, this good news. For example, he says, in verse eight, that these are the unsearchable riches of Christ. He says, to me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace has been given, or was given, to preach to the Gentile the unsearchable riches of Christ. The unsearchable riches of Christ is that we have received and we have in Christ more than we could ever desire or imagine. Many of us are many times discontent about our current situation, our current life, and the things that we don't have. But in Christ, we have everything. If you have Christ, you have everything. And this is why Paul described these riches that are yours in Christ unsearchable. You cannot even be able to count how much you have received in Christ. And that's part of the message of the gospel. Also, verse nine talks about bringing to light what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages. Verse nine says, and to bring to light to everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. The gospel, the good news, again, proclaimed to the world, when you bring the gospel out to those who are outside, you are bringing to those who are outside the revelation of that mystery that was hidden for ages. Think about this for a moment. It has been revealed to you, something that was hidden for ages, and you have the power to communicate that to those who are in the world who still don't know Jesus and who still are not part of this body. Also part of this message of the gospel is what we find in verse 10, is making known the manifold wisdom of God. Paul says here in verse 10, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known. John Stott also has a very interesting and deep understanding of that word manifold wisdom. I want to share it with you. The word manifold means many color, and it was used to describe flowers, crowns, embroidered clothes, and wooden carpets. The simpler word poikilos was used in the Setuahim of the coat of many colors, or rich ornaments robe which Jacob gave to his youngest son, Joseph, Genesis 37. The church is a multiracial, multicultural community. It's like a beautiful tapestry. Its members come from a wide range of colorful backgrounds. No other human community resembles it. Its diversity and harmony are unique. It is God's new society. It is the many-color fellowship of the church. It's a reflection of the many-color wisdom of God. When we look at what we have right now here among us, and not just among us, but among, around the world, how God has brought the nations together, it's a revelation of the manifold wisdom of God. that has been made known, not just to us, but as we will see later in the following point, to the rulers and authority in the heavenly places. And also the gospel refers to the eternal purpose of God realized in Christ, verse 11. It says, this was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you remember in previous chapters, Paul talks about how we were predestined in Christ before the foundation of the world. That is the eternal purpose that when God choose us, he choose us already in union with Christ and his work on the cross. That is the message or the key that unlock the mystery, the mystery that was hidden for ages. Now, to whom, and through whom, and how is this mystery revealed? To whom, and through whom, and how is this mystery revealed? Well, first of all, it was revealed to his holy apostles. We see that in verse five, by the spirit. It says, which was made known to the sons of men in other generations as he has been revealed to his holy apostles by the spirit. And among them, Paul was included. Verse three says like this, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation as I have written Briefly. So the mystery was revealed initially to whom? To the apostles. And we see an example of that how, for example, Peter is given this vision of that blanket of animals that he, that God told him kill and eat. And all this to point him to Cornelius where he will understand that Gentiles were also part of God's plan. That is summarized later in Acts 16, when you see the Jerusalem Council, where they get an understanding that Gentiles were included in the kingdom of God without requiring circumcision. So it was revealed to the apostles by the Spirit by revelation. But also, it was revealed to Gentiles and to everyone. You see that in verse A. It says, to me, though, and this is Paul, said, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to Gentiles. Through the apostles to the Gentiles. But it's not just to the Gentiles of Paul's time, but it's to everyone as well. He says, verse nine, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery here in four ages in God who call all things. So it is revealed to the apostles, to the gentiles, and to everyone, but also it is revealed through the church. It is revealed through the church, not just to the world, but as Paul says, to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. And if you remember previous references when Paul talks about the heavenly places, he talks about the spiritual world. He refers the angels, but he refers also to the demons and authorities of this world. So, angels in heaven, And even demons are wondering and marvel about what God is doing through the church. How he has brought the church together from two races that basically hated each other. So that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God may be known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. Now, what does the knowledge of this ministry did for Gentiles and Jews in post times and does for us as believers? And I think that when we think about a sermon or when we think about a message, we are always looking at what is the application for us. I think that Paul applies the test to us in the last two verses of this section. He says, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. The fact that we were made heirs, members of the body, and partakers of the promise is what give us the boldness and the access to be in communion with God. And we see that daily in our lives as we pray. We have the boldness and access to approach the throne of God because of what Christ has done for us, because we have been declared as just by the blood of Jesus. And sometimes we take for granted that wonderful blessing that you, as a believer, individually are able and allowed to approach the throne of grace through your prayers. And as we come together as a church, we are also called to come with boldness because we have access with confidence because of the work that Jesus did on the cross. Because Christ broke down the wall of hostility that stood before us and God. But also we have here in verse 13 that Paul is asking them, he says, so I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. When he says I'm suffering for you, he's pointing back to what he says in verse one. He says, Paul, I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus on your behalf. He is reminding the Ephesians that the fact that he is in prison is a demonstration that God is using his ministry to bring the gospel to the Gentiles as well. I think that that's a good reminder for all of us that all things work together for our good, that God is in control, and Paul understood that him being in prison and suffering was for the sake of the gospel. This should be also an encouragement for us as believers to know that if we are in Christ, Despite the sufferings that we might face on this world, we know that he is working all things together for good. So brothers and sisters, Christ has broken down the wall of hostility that is stood between us and God and between men and men. And he has made us one man, we are one body. We're one church, and when we call each other brothers and sisters in Christ, we don't do that just because this is the way we Christians call each other, but because we are really the household of God. And Christ did that for us. This is why, again, that you can approach the throne of God with boldness, because you have access in Him, in Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you call us to be your people, and as Paul recognized, we recognize as well that we were not worthy, that we were dead in our sins and trespasses, that we were following the prince of the air, that we were not following you, but it was with your love that you brought us back to you. And we thank you that you have given us a beautiful family that shows the manifold wisdom of God, the universal church from all the nations. You have brought us together to be your people and to call each other brothers and sisters. Help us, Lord, to understand what a blessing we have in you. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.