Introduction
I’m sure you all know what a digression is. Someone digresses whenever they’re talking about one thing, but then they veer off topic and start talking about something else entirely. And they’ll perhaps continue along that digression and forget all about the original topic; or, on the other hand, they might eventually realise what they’re done and get back on track.
We all know what it is; and we’ve all experienced it. Perhaps it was a teacher in school or a lecturer in college. Perhaps it was a preacher or Sunday School teacher. Perhaps it was a member of your family and they were known for veering off topic regularly. Perhaps you do it yourself from time to time. And that’s what Paul is doing in chapter 3 of his letter to the Ephesians. And, if you’re looking at the NIV or ESV versions of the Bible, you can actually see where the digression begins, because our English translators have inserted a dash at the end of verse 1 to indicate that Paul is interrupting himself. He’s about to record his prayer for his readers, but then he interrupts himself and begins to write about something else entirely. And if you’re looking at your Bible, take a look now at verse 14 where Paul gets back on track. So, verse 1 begins, ‘For this reason I….’ And then verse 14 begins, ‘For this reason I….’ So, he veered off track at the end of verse 1, but he got back on track at verse 14 and started again by repeating the same words. And that means that everything from verse 2 to verse 13 is the digression.
Verse 1
But before we take a look at the digression — the bit between verse 1 and verse 14 — let’s think briefly about verse 1, where Paul says: ‘For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of your Gentiles’. So, Paul describes himself as a prisoner and we know from his letters and from the book of Acts that Paul suffered imprisonment several times. And we believe he was in prison whenever he wrote this letter to the Ephesians; and during the same confinement he wrote his letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. This was when he was under house arrest in Rome. So, Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem by his enemies who were hoping that he would be put to death. But during his trial before Festus, he asked for his case to be heard by the Roman Emperor in Rome. And so, he was sent to Rome and was placed under house arrest until the Emperor was ready to hear him. And so, when he wrote this letter to the Ephesians, he was a prisoner in someone’s home, with Roman guards keeping an eye on him and he waiting for the Roman Emperor to try his case and to decide his fate. And so, he was a prisoner of the Emperor.
However, he doesn’t refer to himself in that way. Instead he refers to himself as ‘the prisoner of Christ Jesus’. As far as Paul was concerned, the reason he was in prison, was not because of his enemies who were accusing him, and it was not because of the Emperor. He was in prison because of Christ. Since Christ is our great King, who rules and reigns over all things and all people, then it was Christ his King who had placed Paul in prison. This was Christ’s will for Paul at that time. And Christ the King had put him there in prison for a particular purpose, so that he could preach the gospel in Rome.
In describing himself in this way — as the prisoner of Christ — Paul has given us a way to think about our life and to think about all the ups and downs we encounter. All the ups and downs of life do not happen by chance. They are not random occurrences. They did not happen because of fate. Nor is there some kind of faceless power acting either for us or against us. Our life, our destiny, is all under the power and authority of Christ our King who rules over all. And he’s not a cruel tyrant who hates us and who wants to hurt us, because he’s also our Saviour who loved us and who gave up his life for us and who works all things together for our good.
And so, when you read Paul’s letters, and when he refers to his imprisonment, he always writes about it in a positive way. There was always some benefit to his imprisonment. There was a purpose to it. It gave him some advantage. Being in prison enabled him to serve Christ his King in a new way.
And so, this is how we should view the ups and downs of life. Whatever good you experience has come to you from Christ your King, who rules over all things in heaven and on earth and who has sent this good thing into your life for your good. And whatever adversity you suffer has also come to you from Christ your King who rules over all things in heaven and on earth and who has sent this adversity into your life. And he’s sent it into your life for your good. You may not understand how it is good for you, but since it’s come to you from your Saviour who loves you, then it must be for your good. And so, in the midst of adversity, you should patiently trust Christ your King who has sent this trouble into your life for some good purpose.
Verses 2 to 6
And that’s when Paul veers off topic and begins this digression which runs from verse 2 to verse 13. Instead of going on to record his prayer for them, which he will do in verse 14, he starts writing to them about the administration of God’s grace that was given to him for them. He’s referring here to the job which God has given him to do. He’s referring to his calling or to the commission he received from God to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. And he expands on that in verse 4 where he refers to the mystery which was made known to him by revelation.
I’ve explained before that for us a mystery is something that is hard to understand. It’s difficult to know. But if we think really hard about it, then we’ll work it out. And so, you’re watching a mystery thriller on TV, or you’re reading a mystery novel, and you’re trying to work out from the clues the mystery of ‘who done it’. That’s what we think of when we think of a mystery. Something which is hard to figure out, but which we can figure out if we think hard enough about it. But in the Bible, a mystery is something which we would never have known and could never work out unless God revealed it to us. A mystery is not something that is hard to know, but it’s something that is impossible to know without a revelation from God.
And God has revealed this particular mystery to Paul. As he goes on to say in verse 4, he has been given an insight into this particular mystery. And here he describes it as the ‘mystery of Christ’. He means the mystery which is about Christ or the mystery which involves Christ. And he goes on to say in verse 5 that this mystery about Christ was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. When he refers to men in other generations, he’s referring to the people who lived in Old Testament times. So, before Christ came into the world, God’s people did not know this mystery. They didn’t have insight into it. And the only reason we know the mystery now is because God revealed it to his apostles and New Testament prophets by his Spirit. So, he made it known to them so that they could make it known to us.
And what is the mystery? Well, he’s already told us what it is in chapter 1. It is God’s plan, which he purposed in Christ, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. As I’ve said before, sin turns differences into divisions and wherever we look in the world, we see divisions and opposition and conflict. You see it in families and in communities and in nations and between the nations. It’s everywhere. And so, if we just looked at the world the way it is now, and the way it has always been, we would never have thought it was possible or even likely that one day everything will be united and everything will fit together perfectly. It seems impossible to us, because everywhere we look, there’s sin and therefore there’s division and opposition and misery.
But God has revealed to his apostles and New Testament prophets that his plan for his creation is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under Christ. It will all fit together perfectly under him. Or, as Paul says in Philippians, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord. Those who never believed in him in this life will be made to bow before him. They will be made to submit to him. But those who believed in him in this life will bow before him willingly and gladly and they’ll confess with joy that he is Lord. And so, everyone will bow before him and they’ll be under him.
That’s God’s plan for the heavens and the earth. That’s the cosmic mystery which God revealed to Paul and the other apostles and to the New Testament prophets. And as we saw last week, it has begun to happen in the church, because in the church, Christ has brought together believing Jews and believing Gentiles. Formerly, the Jews and Gentiles were divided from one another, because the Jews had the law and the law became a source of hostility between them. But now, Christ has brought them together in the church. He has made the two one. He has joined them together as one church under him.
And Paul refers to this once again in verse 6, where he says that the mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. So, God’s cosmic mystery is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under Christ. That’s his great plan for the whole of creation. And a kind of subset of that mystery, or an element of it, a first step along the way, is to bring together Jews and Gentiles in the church.
Now, if you’re familiar with the Old Testament, you’ll know that throughout the Old Testament there are signs that it was always God’s will to bring salvation to the Gentiles. For instance, we read in the prophets of a future time when the nations will come to Jerusalem to worship there. And that’s the Old Testament way of saying that Gentiles from around the world will turn from their idols and they will worship the true God. They will come together with the Israelites to worship him. It’s a sign that it was always God’s will to bring salvation to the Gentiles and to include them as his people.
But what God did not make known in Old Testament times, what he did not reveal until he revealed it to his apostles and prophets, was how they would be brought together. Up until God revealed it to the apostles and prophets, the early believers assumed that believing Gentiles would have to become Jews in order to be saved. For instance, believing Gentiles would have to be circumcised like the Jews; and they would have to abide by all the Old Testament food laws like the Jews. In other words, if they wanted to be saved, the Gentiles would have to become like the Jews. That’s what the early believers assumed. But then God revealed that this was not the case and that being circumcised and keeping the food laws and so on was not necessary, because the only thing that counts is faith in Christ. The way to be saved is not by becoming a Jew. They way to be saved is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Paul makes clear that believing Gentiles have the same status as believing Jews by repeating the word ‘together’ three times in verse 6. So, they are heirs together with Israel. And they are members together of one body. And they are sharers together in the promise. Heirs together. Members together. Sharers together. Believing Jews inherit eternal life because of Christ. And so do believing Gentiles. Believing Jews are members of the church because of Christ. And so, are believing Gentiles. Believing Jews receive the promised Holy Spirit because of Christ. And so do believing Gentiles. And so, believing Jews and believing Gentiles have been brought together under Christ and they are no longer separated by the law.
And Paul says it has happened ‘through the gospel’. And when he refers to the gospel, he’s referring to the good news that sinners are justified — pardoned and accepted by God — through faith in Christ, who lived for us and who died for us and who was raised for us. Through faith in him — and not because of anything we have done in the past or will ever do in the future — we are pardoned and accepted by God and brought together as members of Christ’s church.
And since this is true, since the only thing that counts is faith in Christ, then the church today is a diverse place, made up of all kinds of believers from different nations and different cultures and different skin colour and different backgrounds, men and women, young and old, married and single, rich and poor and so on. Through faith in Christ, all these different people are brought together as members of Christ’s church. And Christ our King commands us to love one another.
And so, in the midst of a divided world, where sin has turned differences into division and diversity into opposition, the church is the place where people are reunited. Despite our natural differences — and we are all different from one another — we are united together as one under Christ. And no-one should be excluded or sent away because of their nationality or culture or background or skin colour or whatever else divides people in this world. When it comes to our salvation and being a member of the church, none of those natural differences counts for anything and the only thing that counts is faith in Christ the Saviour who loved us and gave up his life for us to bring us to God and to bring us together as one.
Verses 7 to 13
In the next part of today’s passage, Paul tells us that he became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace. By referring to God’s grace, he means that he did not deserve to receive this calling to make known the good news of salvation. And he did not deserve it, because, as he goes on to say in verse 8, he was less than the least of all God’s people. He regards himself as less than the least because of the way he formerly persecuted the church of Christ. Before Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul hated the gospel and he went from place to place to arrest as many Christians as he could. But then Christ revealed himself to Paul and enabled him to believe. And, by his great power, God changed Paul from being an unbeliever and persecutor to being a believer and a preacher.
And God graciously and freely called Paul to preach to the Gentiles and to tell them about the unsearchable riches of Christ. Isn’t that a wonderful expression? The unsearchable riches of Christ. The children used to have big boxes filled with lego and if you ever emptied the box out on the floor, the contents would just cover the carpet so that you could barely see it. The whole of the floor was filled with lego and there was no way to count the bricks, because there were so many of them. And you were wasting your time if you were looking for one particular shape, because there were far too many to search through. And Christ’s perfections and his gifts are impossible to number. They cannot be fathomed. Or perhaps you like to listen to music and you have a favourite singer or band. And, if like me, your favourite singer has been making music for 50 years, there are lots of songs to listen to. But even though they were lots of songs, and different recordings of the same song, you still get to the end of their playlist and you’ve heard them all. But there’s no end to Christ’s perfections or his gifts. They go on and on and on, because they are unsearchable.
And God called Paul to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery. That is to say, he was to make known to everyone God’s plan for heaven and earth. And he was to make it known to everyone, because God’s intent, or God’s purpose, was to make known through the church the manifold wisdom of God — or the many-sided wisdom of God — to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
Do you know what he’s saying here? He’s saying what I said to the children that the world is like a stage in a theatre and the members of the church are the actors. But to change the image, think of the church on earth as a show-house. Someone is buying a house in a new development. Because it’s a new development, most of the houses haven’t been built. But the buyers want to know what their house will look like when it’s finished. And so, to give them an idea of what their house will be like, the builders have a show-house. Here’s one house which is finished and decorated and furnished to give you an idea of what the other houses will be like when they’re finished.
And the church is like a show-house, because it’s here in the church that we can see what the end result will be; and what all of creation will be like when God’s plan for creation is complete and all things in heaven and on earth will be united under Christ. Here in the church on earth, we can get a glimpse of what it will be like, because here in the church on earth, we have believing Jews and believing Gentiles who have been brought together; and we have all kinds of other people who have been brought together. Despite their many differences, they’re not divided any more, because they’re united under Christ their King and Head.
But who is this show-house for? Paul tells us. It’s for the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. He’s referring here to the spiritual world, to the invisible world around us, which we cannot see, because it’s invisible, but which we know exists, because God has told us about it in his word. And God has told us in his word that this invisible world, this heavenly realm, contains both angels and demons: God’s angelic servants who do his will, and those evil spirits who side with the devil against God and against his people.
If you’re familiar with the book of Job, you’ll have a sense of what Paul is referring to here, because the book of Job begins by telling us how satan, or the devil, roamed around the world, going to and fro, watching the people and seeing the things they did. And having roamed around the world, satan then appeared before the Lord in heaven. And the Lord asked him if satan had noticed Job, who was a blameless and upright man and a man who feared God and who shunned evil. And, of course, satan had seen Job.
That’s how the book of Job begins and it reveals to us something about our life here on earth which we would not have realised without the book of Job, which is that there is this unseen world all around us; and the spirits who belong to this unseen world are watching us.
And Paul refers to this unseen world in Ephesians 3 where he says that God’s purpose is for his manifold wisdom or his many-sided wisdom to be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. God wants all his angels and all of the devil’s evil spirits to see this wonderful thing which he is doing for creation and which can currently be seen in this show-house, the church of Jesus Christ on earth. God wants these spirits to be amazed at his own wisdom and how he has worked out a way to reunite a divided world and to bring all kinds of diverse people together under Christ. God wants to amaze them.
And so, there’s the devil, who in the beginning divided Adam and Eve against the Lord, when he tempted them to disobey the Lord in the Garden of Eden. And once sin came into the world, it produced all kinds of division in the world. And so, it seemed as if the devil had ruined God’s good world for ever. But God had a plan to put right what satan had done and to reunite all things in heaven and earth once again. And his work to reunite all things begins here in his church.
And Paul adds in verse 12 that in Christ and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the beginning, they fled from God’s presence to hide from him. But now that God has united us to Christ and to one another through faith in Christ, we can all come before God with freedom and confidence, because not only are we united with Christ and with one another, but our relationship to God has been restored and we’ve been reunited with him.
Conclusion
Do you see how important it is for believers to love one another? Do you see how important it is for us to bear patiently with one another? Do you see how important it is for us to rejoice in our differences instead of letting our differences become divisions? It’s important, of course, for the peace and well-being of the church. And it’s important for our witness, because who wants to be part of an organisation where the members are always fighting with one another and criticising one another? But it’s more important than that. The reason it’s important is because we are God’s show-house and we want the unseen world around us to see through us the wisdom of God. And when we love one another, when we’re kind to one another, when we pray for one another, when we support one another, despite our differences, we’re glorifying God our Father who has brought us together under Christ. As another preacher has said, when we love one another, the angels are cheering and the demons are weeping. And so, this is God’s will for us: that we love one another, because by loving one another we’re bringing glory and honour and praise to his name.
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