You are a Steward of the Gospel

Good morning and I pray that we all were blessed this week. I hope you had a moment to get out and enjoy the eclipse.

Since we counsel on Mondays, I was here at the Northend and my afternoon session finished up just in time to walk out on the roof with the hockey deck and could just bask in the glory of how God placed the heavenly bodies perfectly so that they would line up just in that way for us to be able to observe this incredible phenomenon.

One thing I am thankful for about these types of events is their predictability. In 2044, there will be another total eclipse visible in North Dakota and Montana then followed again in 2045 with a path that will cross the southern US. No mystery there. We would certainly talk about the eclipse differently if it just mysteriously happened.

Mysteries tend to grab our attention and some mysteries can bring people to a level of obsession. For example

• Did John Wilkes Booth act alone to kill Lincoln…or was he apart of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a society of wealthy aristocrats who have hidden their wealth around the nation and disappeared into the shadows after the Civil War

• What about Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of JFK? Did he act alone? Was there another shooter on the grassy knoll? Maybe more of a conspiracy than a mystery…

• But what about the disappearances of Jimmy Hoffa? Or Amelia Earheart

With events like these, the mystery simply remains a mystery until some verifiable, reliable information is found and revealed in order to shed a new light on the issue.

As we dig back into the next passage in Ephesians today, we are going to take a look into what Paul describes as the mystery of the gospel.

Thankfully, what we will find is a mystery that has been revealed and the truth has been told, a truth that is a core to the foundation on which our church stands and a truth that brings hope as we continue the ministry of the church here in Lafayette.

This is a part of why we are focusing on the theme of

Building on Our Heritage

As we are celebrating our 60^th anniversary this year. When we look back at the truths that our brothers and sisters in Christ affirmed in the Scriptures, we can see that they were building a foundation much like the foundation Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 3

1 Cor 3:10-11 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man 1can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The foundation upon which Faith Church was built is just that, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not a foundation built upon mysteries and conspiracy theories, but upon truths that were once mysteries that have now been revealed

Today as we unpack the Word of God together, we will be able to look clearly now at what was once a mystery that we might share in celebration by Building on Our heritage.

Open now with me to Ephesians Chapter 3. You will find that on page 1070 in the Bibles in your chairs, or if you are searching on your phones, you can find what you look for between Galatians and Philippians.

Some quick review to help us remember even where we have been this year so far.

• We begin Ephesians 1 to remember our Identity in Christ

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• To see that In Christ, we are Saints, Blessed, Adopted, Chosen, Forgiven and Redeemed

• All because of the gospel

For this reason, Paul will pray and give thanks, but like happens to me so many times, a thought pops into his head and he pauses briefly you explain something, to explain a mystery that had now been revealed so that as we read together, I want us to be thinking about how

You are a Steward of the Gospel Mystery

READ Eph 3:1-13

Having come from the passages of chapters 1 and 2 that are without mystery, we have a passage today that is every bit as beautiful, but I recognize it will also take some time to walkthrough that we might find

3 Truths that enable us to Steward the gospel

Every body loves that guy that shows up to the party and just wants to tell everyone all that they know about some mystery or conspiracy…

Maybe that want to tell you exactly how the government faked the moon landing and that it all just really was filmed in Idaho

Or maybe they have the secret to investing in crypto currency in a way that no one could understand.

But when the party is over, we might talk about what they said, but do we really believe them?

If I am going to share the mystery that they have revealed to me, how do I know that I can trust what they have said?

I hope at this celebration today, we will all walk away knowing we are not just talking about some crazy uncle, but about the God-breathed scriptures written by Paul…and I know that we can be stewards of what we have heard, because

I. You can trust Paul’s teaching (v. 1-4)

If we are going to trust a message, if we are going to trust the messenger, we should take a look at both the message and the messenger…

So we begin by considering what Paul referring back to as well as what he was pointing forward to…and we can trust Paul’s teaching

Because of Paul’s focus on Christ alone (v1)

Eph 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus

By starting with “For this reason,” we are made to think of the truths that Paul has just finished laying out about our identity in Christ and that the work of salvation comes through Christ alone – “For by Grace you have been saved through faith…”

Thus Paul is not really asking us to trust in him, but to point us tyo the One in who he placed his trust.

In opening the letter, Paul had spoken of his credentials as the apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, then here in chapter 3, he reinforces his foundation in Christ Jesus, now as the prisoner of Christ Jesus.

Consider the importance of Paul’s circumstance to that statement.

• Paul had been arrested on Jewish charges. Paul did not call himself a prisoner of the Jews.

• Paul was imprisoned by Roman authorities. Paul did not call himself a prisoner of the Romans.

• Even though Paul appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome when there were no legitimate charges against him, he did not call himself a prisoner of Caesar.

Paul instead looked to Christ Jesus, explaining his ministry that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus, because of the finished work of Christ at the cross.

Paul is focused on Jesus because he knows that his life was bought at a price and so he has given his life not just to serve, but to be the prisoner of Christ.

As such, Paul is not asking us to trust him, but to trust the One under whom Paul has placed himself…

Eph 3:4 By referring to this, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ

As we look to understand the mystery which Paul is explaining to us, we must seek to understand

Because of Christ’s Saving purpose (v 2, 4)

The gospel was not given to Paul for the purpose of only his salvation, but that it would reach others…

Eph 3:2 If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you.

You can trust Paul’s teaching because it is not just a testimony of Christ’s work in Paul for our entertainment. It is not just a story for our encouragement, but rather Paul is desiring that we would hear of the stewardship fo God’s grace in Him in hope that we would receive the same.

Paul’s desire in helping us understand the mystery is for our good, for our greatest good, as he had already stated that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God being rich in mercy made us alive together with Christ…we will unpack that truth in detail in about two weeks while for today, we can trust in Paul’s teaching because the grace which he received was given for us as well as we focus on Christ’s saving purpose…

In addition to Paul’s focus on Christ and his focus on Christ’s saving purpose, we can see here as well that we can trust Paul’s teaching …

Because the gospel was divinely revealed to Paul (v3)

We can know that what we are finding here was not something new that was being added to the gospel for the expediency of growing the church. What we are reading today is not the start of Paul teaching something that would be culturally acceptable because he was in a Greek city under Roman authority filled with Gentiles.

This was truth that had been hidden in plain sight within the scriptures, but even there, this was not a truth that Paul simply figured out…

Remember who Paul was…He described himself in Philippians 3 saying claiming an exalted Jewish heritage…circumcised on the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Bejamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as for the Law, a Pharisee and as for zeal, he was a persecutor of the church.

Paul is not shy to remind us that he was well trained and had great knowledge and even tried to live based on that knowledge…but now he tells us that all of that was worthless. Instead, he points us to what was revealed to him.

Eph 3:3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief

Recall that in Acts 9, we find Paul his way to Damascus with every intent to track down, arrest and haul the Christians in to face the music for what they were doing to destroy the Jewish faith…

But Paul never makes it to Damascus, as the Resurrected Jesus reveals himself to Paul. And through that revelation Paul turns away from everything that he previously believed that he might become a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

And you can trust Paul, because what he is teaching is not from himself.

Gal 1:15-19 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

In other words, Paul is telling us here, that what he is teaching is not of his own understanding, not of his own logic or his own construction. It did not even comes from the other apostles…

The gospel was divinely revealed to Paul.

Let me pause with a quick application to look at how we understand the mystery of the gospel…

Today, when the world looks that the teachings of Christianity, we don’t all like the things that we see, because they do not all read the way that we would have written them if we were the one doing the writing…

Richard Coekin, author of Ephesians for You, describes this saying that there is a view gaining traction in some circles that the Bible offers evolving trajectories which conveniently open the doors to interpret God’s Word as now meaning something more culturally acceptable even though it contradicts what was previously said in the Bible.

For example, what we are describing here could be seen as first, God loved only Israel, but since they rejected Jesus, the Gentiles are added in the NT, but not those who are living unrepentantly in greed or sexual immorality…and since the expansion was on trajectory to add more, now we might conclude that God’s people can now include those who are living in unrepentant since we want to see God opening

In this way of thinking, the parts of the bible that we find difficult to accept can be declared mysteries which we can solve today

The application is to be committed hat when we consider the part of the Bible that the world does not like…that God calls us to a life of holiness, not a life meant to chase our feelings, that we must compare our thinking to the very revealed word of God, just as it was divinely revealed to Paul. In building on our heritage, ours is a commitment to the foundation of the Sufficiency of Scripture.

If you would like some resources to explore this more –

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and link https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/podcast-episodes/

• Consider listening to the Truth in Love Podcast – every episode will help, and latest episode on Confidence in God’s Word speaks to what we are describing.

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• Or if you want a deeper study, I would recommend a book we have in our resource center by Pastor Keevin DeYoung called Taking God at His Word

Now as we seek to steward the gospel, trusting the teaching of Paul, because of his focus on Christ, Christ’s saving purpose and the gospel’s divine revelation

We can know that we can steward the gospel mystery well because it is no longer a mystery…

II. God’s plans have been revealed clearly (v 5-6)

And God is not in the business of sending us out on a scavenger hunt to try and find the pieces of the puzzle in hope that we might piece it together…

Rather God has clearly revealed himself to his people throughout time.

Heb 1:1-2 God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his son, whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world.

And as we saw, it is Christ who has revealed the gospel to Paul…so why then was it a mystery?

The mystery was previously misunderstood (v5)

This mystery…

Eph 3:5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit

This mystery was not well understood…based on God’s purpose and intent in to whom he chose to reveal the kingdom.

Recall when Jesus spoke of teaching in parables…to his disciples he said, to you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. Echoing how the people of Israel were described when they would chase after other gods, Jesus said that this is why he spoke in parables “because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

Sometimes the mystery is right before us, yet we cannot clearly see

Therefore as we seek to steward the gospel, we also want to know that Paul’s gospel was not a new gospel, but that it was the ancient gospel revealed and clarified., just as he had said in Romans 1

Rom 1:1b-2 the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures

Think about the promises of God to Abraham. Gen 22 speaks of gospel…

Gen 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

Or later in Isaiah

Isa 52:7a, 10b - How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news… That all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.

This is not to make us look smarter and poke fun at ancient Israel – How is ot that they could not see it.

Rather it has always been God’s plan to reveal what his children needed when it was time for them to see and hear.

John MacArthur describes this saying, “Before the church age, no person not even the greatest of God's prophets, had anything but a glimpse of the truth that Paul now discloses. The Old Testament teachings that relate to this mystery can only be understood clearly in light of the New Testament revelation. We know the meaning of many Old Testament passages only because they are explained in the New.” (Eph p. 90)

That means for us to have hope in the gospel and to grow in our understanding of Christ, we too must be willing to look within Scripture in order to understand Scripture and not seek to explain it in our own understanding. The revelation of truth will not come from within ourselves, but the revelation of truth and the gospel can only come from God’s revelation to us.

So for us to see God’s plan revealed clearly to us, we must understand that how God is making a way that…

The gospel is for both Jews and Gentiles (v6a)

Eph 3:6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

Yes, the gospel is for both Jews and Gentiles…

In the early church, there was controversy over who was a Christian and what it meant to be a Christian.

We read about division even in the early church, in Acts 6, the Hellenistic Jews complained against the native Hebrews…In others words among the followers of Jesus, some were born Jewish, the native Hebrews, while others were Gentiles who became Jewish, the Hellenistic Jews, and this division impacted how their widows were being served…divisions between Jew and Gentile. Praise the Lord, the early church handled that well in calling me to serve the church in Jerusalem.

But what about when the gospel spread to places where the Gentiles had not come through the Jewish Faith…still more division. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul tells us of the need to confront Peter because Peter changed how he was acting, first living like the Gentiles, but then when men from the church in Jerusalem arrived, Peter changed his behavior to not offend the Jewish believers, acting as though there was a difference…

But the gospel is for both Jews and Gentile alike.

And this is possible because the gospel truth that salvation comes by grace through Faith alone and not by works of our own.

Jewish Christians sometimes held onto the Law in away that they also sought to bring others under the law for salvation, but the mystery of the gospel of faith reveals the gospel’s availability to all

Speaking to the Galatians, Paul rebukes them asking

Gal 3:2-5 the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? So then does he who provides you with the spirit and works miracles among you do it by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Again this gospel is nothing new…

Gal3:8 The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you”

And in clearly revealing God’s plan, he also clearly reveals the blessings in which we can all share…

God’s blessings of Inheritance, Unity and Fellowship (v6b)

Eph 3:6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

When I look at our church, and I understand that I am a Gentile, this all seems natural to me that this is all true. At the same time, it is difficult for me to see how incredibly radical these statements would have been to the Jews of Paul’s day.

Despite the truth that the inclusion of the Gentiles was hidden in the plain sight of the Jews in Genesis as well as in the writings of the prophets Isaiah, Hosea and Amos, MacArthur describes that the idea of including gentiles in the body would be the equivalent of saying lepers no longer needed to isolate and that they could freely move about as normal members of society.

Yet here Paul declares that they are fellow heirs. Recall from last week’s passage

Eph 2:12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

And now they have the same legal status before God, they too are chosen and adopted intyo His family and they will have the same marvelous and rich inheritance that Paul had mentioned back in Ephesians 1.

Gal 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

And not just fellow heirs, but fellow members of the body. This reiterates the God-pleasing choices the church made in Acts 6 because as fellow members of the body, there are no second-class citizens, in-laws or crazy uncles that we only begrudgingly invite over when we have to…

As fellow members of the body, Paul is emphasizing both the unity that we are all connected together in Christ while also illustrating the diversity as we see this description many times to show that the body cannot be made up of all the same. What good is the body, if it is only made up of left feet? How will the body smell the roses if it is only made up of ears.

The truth that the gospel is available to both Jew and Gentile alike is another proof of God’s beauty in creation while also demonstrating God’s value He places on every image bearer. Every child of God is only God's child. “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:12-13)

Thus knowing that God’s plan has been clearly revealed – How can that help us to steward the gospel mystery?

The challenge we can take from this part of our passage is

• There is no one who God will bring into your life, who would not be included in the gospel promises.

• Who do you know that might push back saying, but “I am not like all of you Christians, that could never be for me…”

• How will you respond?

• How can you share with them that in God’s eyes, we are all offered the same status, the same place in the kingdom and as such we can all be fellow partakers of the promises of Christ.

Then from there, we can see in the Word today that God is calling us to do something with the mystery that has been revealed…

And these truths can encourage us that

II. You can share the truth of the mystery (v 7-13)

Paul was sharing that he was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace…

Paul did not receive a special kind of grace different from God, but rather Paul describes that God desires to show the surpassing riches of His grace towards us, and in doing so, He makes it possible for us to share in the truth of the mystery.

I know that sometimes our hearts can begin to think, but I am not made to preach the gospel, that is for pastors to do, or I am not made to go out and evangelize, that is for people called into missions.

Eph 3:7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

But where it says here “I was made a minister.” We should not equate minister to pastor, because the Greek word Paul used reveals something different. Minister, or in the Greek diakonos, is to say that Paul is a servant to the gospel.

But even here, we can see that Paul’s ability to share the gospel did not come from himself, but rather it came from the working of His power. Praise the Lord, that it does not depend upon me as that frees my heart to be ready to share the gospel mystery …

By proclaiming the treasures made available (v 7-9)

Paul did not see himself worthy of sharing the gospel either…

Eph 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

But wasn’t about Paul…sharing the gospel mystery is about sharing the unfathomable riches of Christ.

• It is about His kindness, and forbearance and patience

• It is only through His forbearance that God has withheld the wrath that we deserve…

• It is through his patience that He waits that none of His children would perish

• For God so loved the World that he gave His only son….

• And being rich in mercy – he saved us while we were yet sinners

• And it is about His assurance – that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, they will be saved

One of the blessings proclaiming the treasures available, the unfathomable riches of Christ, is that it helps keep our heart fixed on the beauty of what God is doing.

Simply knowing about the riches of Christ is not enough. When we stop with the knowledge and missed the opportunities to proclaim these treasures, we fall into the pit and begin relying on the things of this world. Then instead of treasuring what God is doing, we become lukewarm and dispassionate This is how Christ himself described the church allowed Asia that they were really wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

To share in the riches move grace we must be willing to proclaim them.

We also sharing the truth of the mystery…

By participating in God’s eternal purpose through the church (v 10-11)

The church does not exist solely for the saving of souls, though that is clearly at the center of God’s purpose

The purpose of God’s church as described here is to glorify God by manifesting His wisdom

Eph 3:10-11 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

The manifold wisdom of God is the complex and brilliant plan of salvation for Jews and gentiles alike. The beautiful wisdom of God is displayed for all of the powers of the heavenly realms to see in the rich diversity of the local church.

Here the term rulers and authorities points to both God’s Holy Angels, who rejoice in God’s glory through His manifold Wisdom and it also points to Satan’s forces who are forced to recognize the power and victory in God’s eternal plan

We share the truth of the gospel mystery by proclaiming, by participating and …

By living Boldly for Christ

Eph 3:12-13 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

As we step out from this place, I ask you,

• does your neighbor see that you are living as a prisoner of Jesus Christ?

• Would your co-worker look to you if they had questions about the promises of Christ?

• Would your children describe you as participating in the eternal purpose of the church?

I want you to know that none of these statements would come from within yourself, but rather we are enabled to steward the gospel mystery because of our access through faith in Him

• In Him we have boldness and confidence

• In Him our lives are transformed

• In Him we can look upon tribulations, Paul’s or our own and know that they are our glory when we walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, trusting in the mystery revealed that makes our Identity in Christ assured.

But before I move on – I have to ask…Do you have boldness and confidence in the gospel? Do you know that you are a part of god’s eternal purposes to bring Himself glory

Because God’s greatest glory came when Christ Jesus our Savior entered into Jerusalem, hailed as a King yet days later, He would be rejected, falsely accused, run through a kangaroo court to be mocked, beaten, scourged and finally hung on a criminals cross where God’s Wrath would be poured out on Him.

But do we realize that the path he willing walked, is the path that you and I deserve. He is sinless, but we are guilty. But we would be unable to pay our debt…so there was only one way.

Jesus said – My life for Yours. He gave His life and died that you might live.

Will you choose to give your life to Him? He asks nothing more of you.

If you cannot say that you have given your life to Christ? What mystery are you waiting to have finally revealed? Please come see me, or any of our pastors and we will help you see God’s plan clearly revealed for His glory and yours.

For the rest of us, I want you to consider today…How will you boldly and confident live out the gospel mystery? Who will you choose to share the mystery revealed with this week?