The Mystery of the Church

Ephesians 3:2-13

Introduction:

We often hear teachings regarding the New Testament Church, and we may wonder what was so special about it…and, in what way is it specific to the New Testament, as opposed to the Old Testament. The term “New Testament Church” usually specifies the church “as it existed during the first century.” When Jesus spoke of the Church (only twice) He seemed to refer to a future existence. He said, “Upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” So, at least that aspect of the Church had to be future tense.

What Does “Church” mean?

The word “church” only means “assembly”…a gathering. In fact, the Greek word, “ecclesia” specifically means “the called-out ones”. And James speaks of the Church in that way, in Acts 15, when he says that “God, at the first, did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.” With the Jewish “called-out ones,” they were the beginning of the Church in the New Testament.

But what about the Old Testament? Since the word “church” just means an assembly, there are two places where God refers to the “assembly in the wilderness”, and the translators translated it “church”. There is nothing wrong with that, as that is what “church” means, but it has caused a little confusion now and then.

The simple fact is, the Old Testament prophets knew nothing about the Church to which Jesus was referring. Not one of them knew that God was going to call out a people for his name that would be drawn from every nation, every people, every tribe, and every language. They knew He had a covenant relationship with Israel—He still does. They knew He would someday bless all nations through Israel…He already has, but the best is yet to come! But they knew nothing about the “New Man” we read about in Ephesians 2. How do I know? Paul says so:

Ephesians 3:2-13 (read it )

“The Dispensation of the Grace of God which is given me to You-ward.” What a mouthful! Paul is introducing the nature of his own ministry. He is talking to a “largely Gentile” church, at Ephesus, but as it grew and spread, the church was increasingly Gentile. Paul identified himself elsewhere (Romans 11:13) as the “apostle to the Gentiles”. So he is about to explain to a bunch of Gentile believers just what is so special about his peculiar ministry.

A Mystery to be Revealed

First, notice that the mystery he is about to reveal was made known to him by revelation (v.3, 4) …not because he was a close friend to Jesus for 3 ½ years, and just happened to pick up on it in a conversation, or heard it in a sermon. Every bit of his relationship with Jesus was after the Cross. It began on the road to Damascus, where Jesus not only revealed Himself, but hand-picked Saul of Tarsus for His service and temporarily blinded him by the brightness of his glory.

There was a period of time, after that, where Paul (that’s his new name, meaning small, or insignificant) was being re-educated by Christ, in person. This revelation may have come during that time…we don’t know for sure. What we do know is that in verse 5, he clearly states that this information was not previously made known to the human race…but that now it is made known through his holy prophets and apostles, by the Holy Spirit.

Then he makes it very specific: “The fact that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body and partakers of his Promise in Christ by the Gospel.” That is what they did not know. And, that is the mystery of the Church. And one important detail that goes along with that mystery is the fact that every believer in this age is to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit…no exceptions.

Prior to the Cross

Before Calvary—but anytime after the promise to Abraham—there were two groups of people on Earth: Jews and Gentiles. Jews and Non-Jews. People with whom God had established a formal, covenant relationship and everyone outside that covenant. People to whom He had made specific Promises, and those to whom He had not. Most of us fit into that other group… those to whom He had not made promises. So what changed?

At the Cross

Flip one page back to your left, and see what Jesus did at the Cross: Ephesians 2:14-16 “He is our peace, who has made both (that’s Jews and Gentiles) one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us…he has abolished in his flesh the enmity…the law of commandments… and has made, of the two, one new man, so making peace. And he has reconciled both to God in one body, by the Cross….” That’s what changed.

The Old Testament prophets knew all about the sin of Israel, and the lostness of the whole world. They knew all about the Crucifixion, and they described it in detail in Psalm 22. And, they knew that His blood would heal Israel, according to Isaiah 53. They should have known about the resurrection, from the Psalms, as well as Isaiah. They knew that the Messiah would come. Finally, they knew he would be killed, and shamed before the Gentiles.

How Did They Miss It?

But they mostly ignored that part, because they also knew he would rescue Israel, and set up His eternal kingdom there, and smash the enemies of Israel forever. They liked that part of the story, so they only looked forward to that part of the fulfillment. They even knew about the tribulation period that was to come after the crucifixion, but didn’t understand much of it…we hardly do ourselves, and we have had a greater revelation.

The point is, they knew all these things and still knew nothing of the Church age. They didn’t know it was going to happen at all. Turn to Daniel 9:24-27 (read it) Daniel saw the intervening years, and the execution of the Messiah, and immediately afterward foresaw a seven-year period of tribulation…and a covenant with the Jews that would be broken after 3 ½ years. He saw nothing between those two events—the crucifixion and the tribulation. With the benefit of hindsight, and history, what do we know happened in between? The whole Church Age…and we are in it! We don’t know when it will end, but we know what happens immediately afterward.

Why Did Daniel Miss It?

Daniel was one of the most important prophets, simply because he gave us this timeline. The Jews knew how long it would be from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of Messiah. And we know that the Church is not part of the end-times prophecies, by that same message. Why did Daniel exclude the Church from that prophecy? Primarily because God did not allow any Old Testament prophet to see it coming. But secondarily (and possibly more importantly to us), it is because we are not part of that destruction he saw coming. It was directed against Israel, Jerusalem specifically, and the unbelieving Gentile nations. We are not part of that picture at all.

By the Gospel

Going back to Ephesians 3, I think it especially important to see, in verse six, that the Gentiles are to become fellow-heirs, of the same body, and partakers of the promise (singular) in Christ by one means: by the Gospel. They do not become Christians by taking Communion. Nor do they become Christians through Baptism. One cannot become Christians through obedience to the Mosaic Law, or by swearing loyalty to a particular creed, or joining a church or praying a prayer…or any of the other things required by many churches.

By Faith

They become Christians by the Gospel; specifically by believing the Gospel. And the Gospel is simply the Good News of Christ, Crucified for our sins, dead, buried, and risen from the dead for our justification. And He has called us to be One Body in Him.

Paul declared himself to be a “minister” of that Gospel. Do you know what the word “minister” means? It means “servant”. Paul served that Message. He dedicated himself to the preaching of that Word. Do you know anyone else who is called “The Word”? Of course, you do! It is Jesus. Paul could not separate the message from the person because the Person is the message. We are to preach Christ! That is what we are here to do!

The Privilege of the Gospel

Paul was stunned by the enormity of the gift; that he, of all people, should be called to take the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles! He said that he was less than the least of all saints (that’s us, by the way), and was amazed that he should be given the privilege of taking to the Gentiles the “unsearchable riches of Christ!” Do you feel that way about it?

I wish I could say that I am as excited as Paul was, about the privilege of serving in that way. But I am just as sidetracked and unfocused as many of you are. I have my eyes elsewhere, when Jesus says “Lift up your eyes to the fields! They are ripe unto harvest!” I’m still fumbling around with my toys and my dreams, and, too often, I miss the call. Paul didn’t miss it!

The Burden of the Gospel

Paul said that his job was “make all men see the fellowship of the mystery”…the fellowship between man and God, and between regenerated men and women with other such men and women regardless of origin. Has it occurred to you that you will be able to chat with the Philippian believers who suffered for Christ? Even though neither of us knows the other’s language? Those barriers will be gone as well. The barriers that were erected at the Tower of Babel will also be gone.

But the barriers between Jew and Gentile are down already…and, more importantly, the barrier between God and man is finally and completely down. We have access to God through the person of Christ. This was known to God before the Creation of the World. He hid this truth in Christ for thousands of years of history, until the correct time came to reveal it. Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the World.”

And it is fitting that He should be so called, as every single sacrifice of the Old Testament was looking forward to His sacrifice at the Cross. When we take communion, we are looking back to the Cross. When they celebrated Passover, or the Day of Atonement, or any of the other sacrifices, they were looking forward to it. They almost certainly did not see clearly. Nor do we, really. We look through the eyes of Faith just as they did.

The Ultimate Goal

Evidently God had something in mind before He even created the World. He had a point to prove. We are not told when the war in heaven occurred. We are simply told that Lucifer rebelled, and that a third of the angelic host followed him in his treason. He was lost, along with them.

Notice: it says that God wanted to demonstrate His eternal wisdom to which group? Yes, it is the principalities and powers in heavenly places.The Angelic beings who did not rebel with Satan, but who stayed true to God. They are the audience and spectators of His demonstration, as well as sometimes being called to participate.

This is a show for their benefit, not just our own. And it says this was His eternal purpose in Christ. It may seem odd, but for some reason I find it comforting to know that all the things we experience, in learning to trust and obey God, may truly be for a much larger purpose—an object lesson for a much older race…the angels themselves.

What comes afterward?

Now: while you are “chewing over” that little tidbit, think about this: we, who started off an object lesson of God’s Grace, have been eternally attached to Christ in such a way that we will eventually be seated with Him in the Throne, consciously part of His glory. He promised that where He is, there we will also be. In fact, Paul alluded to this, saying that we would eventually judge angels. I have no idea what that is about…but I think we need to realize that our relationship to Jesus is much bigger than we usually think it to be.

Paul said that this is what gave him (and the other believers) boldness and confidence through their faith in Him. He concluded this passage by stating that those believers in Ephesus should not be shaken by the things that were happening to him (imprisonment, beatings, etc.) because it was to their glory that he suffered because of having preached to them.

So, What about Us?

It seems to me that we should be able to gain some sense of gravity from this revelation…to know that the Church, as Jesus designed it, is to be an active, vibrant witness in a dying, antagonistic world, and to thrive in the process. We are not to be a wilting, fainting bunch that trembles at the slightest sound of danger. We know why we are here, and we need to be getting down to business. And, as we read last week, that is what Paul prayed for us.

We were left here to do a job. Let’s be getting after it.

Lord Jesus, we hear Your call! We ask that You invigorate our hearts and minds, so that we step out in obedience to be the witnesses You have called us to be!

The Mystery of the Church Revealed Through Paul