Tana City Church Preaching
Andrew Midgley | The mystery revealed - Ephesians 3v1-12
I'm going to read Ephesians chapter 3, verse 1 to 13. Speaking of chapter 3, verse 1 to 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 receive 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. This mystery is that the Gentiles of fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise 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. 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. So if you've read Ephesians, and I would want to urge everyone this morning to take the time to read Ephesians from start to end in one sitting at my time like a big task that's only six chapters. So I couldn't take you more than six hours, 60 minutes, you know, it just shouldn't take you long. But it's awesome to read a letter that Paul wrote from start to finish in one go. And if you've read Ephesians, you might have realized that last year when I was visiting I preached on the section that comes right after this, but I haven't spent the whole year on this one chapter, I just happened to land it back here again, right at the time I was coming back for a visit. So here we are, Ephesians is very called six short chapters with the first three setting up this grand revealing of God's plan. And then the second three are laying out practical applications of the plan all as a very structured mind. It's actually quite easy to follow the way he thinks in Ephesians, he gives us a lot of theology of like understanding what God's doing and what God's plan is in the first three chapters and then he gives us three chapters of what does that mean, how should we live on the basis of that. In the first three chapters, Paul sweeps through God's glorious plan from before the foundation of the world, that's chapter one was for, to the fullness of time, which is when God had planned for all things to come together, his plan to be seen, and his plan all along was to unite all things in Jesus, things in heaven and things on earth. And Paul tells us that we were changed from being children of wrath, enemies of God, but now we've been raised up in Christ by his mercy. We are his workmanship, says Paul, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand. That's the summary of Ephesians really is, we will be raised up as God's plan to give us his mercy, to give us his grace, and now we are a new creation, his workmanship to do good works. And even we, and I mean we, who are in this room, because hands up if you are Jewish, not me, and we in this room, we were far off, we were not part of God's chosen nation, we were not part of Israel, we weren't the ironies, you know, it's my passport, it's not for me, it's at South African passport, we're not part of Israel, but we've been brought near, the Gentiles are welcome to come near. This is in chapter 2, verse 19, so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, praise God, that's good news. So that's why quick run through of chapter 1 and 2 just to give us up to speed with where we are in chapter 3. And here in chapter 3, Paul frames the gospel story in language of mystery, mystery. There is a mystery made known, Paul says, by Revelation Paul has had this mystery revealed to him, the Lord has showed Paul what he's doing. And the mystery of Christ, as Paul calls it, was not made known to the sons of men and other generations, the actually the Jewish people living before Jesus came didn't understand the mystery, they didn't see the whole plan. And the people who are living in various parts of the world today who haven't heard the gospel don't understand the mystery, there's so many cultures in the world that believe in God or God's or some sort of spiritual dimension to life, but they don't understand the mystery that God has revealed. It's not made known, now I want you to pause here over this concept of mystery and ponder it with me, there's a plan, there's a plan that God has had his plan predestined from before the ages, before he made anything God had this plan, he established it, he's been preparing everything, he's been building everything towards this mysterious plan. And it's a secret plan and we didn't understand that mankind didn't know God's plan, but it's the plan, this blows my mind, this plan, this plan, the secret plan was the blueprint guiding history. Everything that God has done, I think of historical events, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, this plan, the flood, no less flood, no less plan, even some random village dude in some ancient Syrian village who discovered beans for the first time, this plan, everything that God has been orchestrating throughout history is according to a plan and that plan, the crazy thing about it is, no one knew the plan except God, we've all been living lives guided by God's plan without knowing the plan. And now says Paul, now he says the plan is revealed, and here it is chapter 3 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, and if I first up, that should blow your mind. This is the plan that's been guiding all of history and nobody here, it now Paul says that one verse, he's like here it is, here's the plan, this mystery, it's like the Gentiles are fillers, really, really cool, that's it, no, this should blow our minds, we slip right past these verses friends, we slip right past them, we rush through our Bible reading, we skim over the truth of the ageless mysteries of God, they're there, they're written down for us, this is the mystery, this is the plan, we can't miss it, we can't slide past this revelation, the mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, our takers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, and I need you to let this mystery blow your mind this morning, there is a mystery revealed, the reason my God has been doing, everything he's been doing is so that you and I could enter his covenant promises, in Jesus, the reason for world history is so that you and I could be united to Christ through the gospel, is that blowing your mind, we look at the world of news, you read the news, what's going on, why is there war in this place or earthquake in this place or famine in this place or flood in this place, there's a plan, and the plan is that we could be united to Jesus, it's incredible, and if you've never seen this before, I need you to see today that God has ordained every step of your life, every moment of your life, God has ordained your life, my life, every life, so we would walk towards the plan he has for us, which is to be brought into his family, to be made one with Jesus to the praise of his glory, Hallelujah, that's the plan, and this was a mystery before, Israel didn't get it, they didn't, they hadn't, they had no idea that God wanted to invite the Gentiles in, right, when Paul started preaching about it, they persecuted him, they started killing off the Christians and trying to shut down the church because of this plan, the revelation that God wanted everybody in, it was a mystery and today we take it for granted, saints in the early church died for it, we take it for granted, but how is it that we sit here, we ask in this room, look around, from different nations, different cultures, I'm South African, not everyone here is South African, none of us are Jewish, but we sit here together and we call ourselves the family, we call ourselves the church, this plan, the mystery revealed the Gentiles of fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, so we press on to our passage, verse 79, Paul says, 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 delight for everyone, what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, so Paul turns to himself for a minute, and we are familiar with Paul the Apostle I think, because he made sure to remind us again and again, he always let his and all his writings, he reminds us who he was, and here he is right, Paul was not always an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, he started out as a radical persecutor of the church, and even after Jesus intervened in Paul's life, even after the Damascus road, Paul never lost sight of what Jesus had saved him from, he never got to the point where he was like, oh, Paul a pretty good dude, no one that Jesus picked me, he never lost sight of who he was before Jesus, and he made sure to keep his eyes on what Jesus had called him too, and this is very important because these realities frame, the sentences to God here, they frame the practicalities of living as cold ones, these realities, the reality of who we were before Jesus, and what Jesus has called us to sets the frame, the structure to what it means, living out the call that Jesus has for us, knowing who we were before Jesus, knowing what we were called to is crucial for how we approach obedience, and this is the purpose of Paul's better to be Ephesians, chapters one to three, he sets out, he reminds them who they were, enemies of God, what they have been called to union with Christ, that's chapter one to three, according to God's mysterious plan, how Paul frames it, and he goes over it again and again in chapters one to three, when you read Ephesians you'll see that, and it's important because if we don't get that right, the first three chapters, we can't get the second three chapters right, sometimes we jump straight to the practicals, love one another, walk in faith, walk in truth, be kind, we skip chapter one to three, then we think we've got to do it, we've got to make it happen, I just can't figure out how to love that person, go back to chapter one to three, get your mind right, get your heart right, then you can get your actions right. So the framing is very important to Paul, because there are millions of people out there today, literally it's Sunday, there are millions of people out there going to church today to have fundamentally failed to grasp one of these two things, and as a result their walk with Jesus is deficient. So the first group, there's two groups right there, even lacking an understanding of who they were before Jesus or what they've been called to, the first group, lack an understanding of who they were before Jesus, might be some of us, this group knows that they were basically good people before Jesus, they're pretty sure, right, at worst they were a little bit confused, luckily, luckily they found Jesus and they've noted that they found Jesus, not the order they found Jesus, so now they can live their happy lives, secure in the knowledge that they won't go to hell when they die, is that the gospel? It's insufficient grasp, first of all, of depravity, it's insufficient understanding, it doesn't reckon with the Bible's teaching, the Bible persistently teaches that we were not happy little people before Jesus, we were not pretty cool people who needed a leg up, we were dead, we were enemies, we were not burning deceived, we were deceivos, we weren't passively there out of Jesus because someone led us astray, we were deceivos, deceiving ourselves, deceiving others, that's before Jesus, it's not a cool happy enemy, we were rebels, following a rebel king, the devil, the wicked accuser, he accuses the same state, that is what the devil teaches, we have to face up to this fact, at the start we have to, because if we don't ask who we were before Jesus, we won't get what he saved us from, we won't understand it, if you don't understand in one big trouble you are in, you don't understand what a big salvation you see, and there's a night and day difference between the unsaved and the born again, and we need to understand that, because some of us we hang out with our Christian friends on Sunday, now unsaved friends on Monday and we think they're all pretty much the same, they're all pretty good, they're all those people, they just find their own way in life, I'm not saying unsaved friends aren't much to hang out with, but I'm saying there's a big difference between someone who God has caused to be born again, and someone who is still in their sin, and if we don't get that, we won't understand what Jesus did for us, and we won't understand what Jesus wants to do for them, Jesus did not come to improve nice and happy people, He came to make dead people live, now the second group of people has an insufficient grasp of what Jesus has called us to, they've added Jesus to their lives, they can acknowledge that they need the truth, now they've got Jesus, and now they can live basically like everyone else, except they go to church on Sundays, try not to lie so much, try not to steal, they feel really good about themselves when they give something to the poor or whatever, they've added Jesus, but Jesus didn't come to make humanity plus, humanity pro max, I'm glad I got a lot of faith, that's not what Jesus called us to, it's not like take your life and then add a bit of Jesus, and then you can clean up your act and improve a bit on the human condition, that's not it, that's not what he's called us to, he's called us to sow much more, new humanity is different because it exists for a fundamentally different purpose, Paul said he was made a minister, this is verse eight and nine, made a minister 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, Paul he never lost sight of these framing truths, Paul understood that he was an enemy of God, he was persecuting the church, he was dead in his sin, but new Paul is a minister of grace, by God's grace, he exists to make known the mystery of God, he's a fundamental shift from who he was, now that he's been called into Jesus, and again it shouldn't load our minds, he exists to make known the mystery of God, and so do we, because verse ten says, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, through this church, not only us but also us, through this church the manifold wisdom of God would be shown not just to the people of our mystery, to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, the angels look in day like TCC, wow, God your wisdom is unsearchable, this includes you and me friends, it's, we have a church, we have a tool God has chosen to reveal its manifold wisdom, that's why you've got to be part of a local church by the way, we have a lot of people here come and go from many places, and when you leave here and you move somewhere else far away like Cape Town I know a good church, if Pullman, common ground is cool, the call to follow Christ is a very high calling, not humanity pro-max, clean up your act, here you go, have a, you know, have a new, I'll help you keep patience in the traffic and that's about it, your life is now about something different, before your life was about you, it was about what you could get out of this world, it was about how you could make yourself comfortable and profit and win over other people your life was about, whatever you thought it wanted to be about, I don't know, now your life is not about that, your life is about the mystery of the gospel and learning to love that mystery and make it known, that's the call to Jesus, it's a call to live, to live, as a messenger of God's mystery, the carrier of God's grace and how do we do that? It's by understanding who we were before Jesus, we have to face it and understand it so that we can understand how big a difference, who we have become as reborn saints, united to Jesus, here's the final, we are the branches, we belong to Jesus, we must learn to love this truth, verses 8 to 10, to me though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsurgable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages and 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, to fall in love with the mystery of God's grace means to fall in love with the church, and I want you to fall in love this morning with a vision of God's glorious church. The church is a new thing by the way, we think it's been around forever, we mustn't lose sight of this, we such short-term creatures, our lives are short, but the church is a new thing, it's not always been around, for most of human history, at least 8,000 years, may be much longer depending on which category you subscribe to, there was no church, the church didn't exist, Jesus hadn't created it yet, there was no church, the church has not always been around, the church is also a revolutionary thing, when the plan of the church was revealed, people started killing Christians left and right to stop the church, it upsets the norms and the habits of our culture, the church rewrites our definitions of our God-focused life, the church is a powerful officer, churches have been reshaping lives, families, neighborhood cities, nations for 2,000 years and it's all a new thing, God said, "Behold I'm doing a new thing, that's in Isaiah, the mystery of God's plan is revealed in the church through the church, by the church and through the church the manifold wisdom of God is made known, so how does the church reveal God's manifold wisdom have three ways, first to me the unity of the church, all emphasizes and infeasions the new found unity that we have in the church, see today culture, especially western culture, where I am in Cape Town, we assume we take it for granted that all people are equal, it's like that's just obvious isn't it, all people are equal, they assume we shouldn't be racist and we shouldn't discriminate against the album of the whole, it's male or female, it's an assumption, like that's obvious right, that's just how it is, but that's not always being obvious, the world outside of Christianity and before Christianity was a profoundly divided and unequal place, men ruled over women and children's slavery was common, one child hated another child for being a different child even though they all lived on the same letter, doesn't make sense to us when we don't reckon with the brokenness of the world outside of Christianity, but when we also lose sight of the fact that Jesus has made a new thing, then we start to assume everyone should just get it, we're all the same, we're all equal, we're all brothers and sisters, we're not, without Jesus we're not, mankind has been divided by a thousand divisions, thousands of years, and just a side note to say this is not to say the church has always gotten this right, it's not like the church is perfect since now we never have discrimination in the church, we never have division in the church, we never fight, we never, the church is not perfect, but it is fundamentally different because God has done a new thing to create unity in the church and in the church God said there's no division, there's no division, men and women, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, they're all brothers and sisters in Jesus, slaves and free, we're all slaves to Jesus now, in Jesus he's broken down, not just the dividing wall of austerity between us and God, but the dividing wall of austerity between us and us and this is the manifold wisdom of God, manifold means many multifaceted wisdom from so many different angles, whichever way you look at it, it's wisdom and the wisdom is displaying that we learn to identify ourselves no longer by our human identifiers but by being those who identify with Christ is our new identity, if you have put on Christ there's no difference between us because I'm in Christ, you're in Christ, we are one. So there's no place in the church for discrimination or divisions, there's no place, so as a place, if you walk into a church where you find people divided and fighting, you know, the worship team is fighting with the media team, fighting with the kitchen industry team because they all want their share of the announcements, I don't know what they're fighting about, there's no place for it, it's so out of place, you can feel it, one, it's just not the way the church should be, one team is doing the tea and coffee lights to pack the cups right way up and the other pack them the other way around them, then they get in the fight that's so out of place, that's what what Jesus died for, Jesus died for in the night of the church, the manifold wisdom of God is revealed in a new unity in the church, secondly be unstoppable in church, Paul closes out these three important pieces, I ask you not to lose heart over what I'm suffering for you, which is your glory, says don't lose heart, don't fear for me, don't fear for you because what's happening to me might happen to you but don't lose heart, the manifold wisdom of God is revealed in the unstoppable church, I recall Jesus' words to Peter, what did he say, on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, there's nothing that can stand in the way of God's plan and the church is God's plan, so what can stand in the way of the church, nothing, they will try, you can be sure of that, persecutions will come, temptations will come, distractions, there's leaders who fail, there's people who fall away, where's sons are, I haven't seen them at church for weeks, who give them a call, they're like, it just wasn't for me, people will fall away, the road is not easy but the gates of hell will not prevail, here in Madagascar the church has a rich history of martyrdom, I was with a team who came from Cape Town with me, who were at the river yesterday, looking at some of their history, you know, and up there on that hill they used to go and throw the Christians off, today we take our freedom for granted, we think it's persecution and we have to disappoint our extended family by not attending an idolatrous religious ceremony, half the persecution is so bad, our mum will be able to talk to me, you're not saying it's not hard, but we need to recapture what Jesus has called us to as the unstoppable church, a church that can stand in the face of real persecution, we're grown too comfortable, he has an interesting thing about the church, if you study the church throughout history, she thrives under persecution, you bring our hostile government over the church, suddenly that church is growing, doesn't make sense, we think if we make the chairs nicer, put better Christians on the chairs, get better coffee, you know, tower floors, get welcome as up the door, signs every way, like just make it easier and easier for people, that'll make the church grow, that's what people need, it's like following Jesus's heart, let's pay for the road for him and then they'll follow, weirdly, it's almost the opposite, it's more comfortable, you make the church, the more nice comfortable bums on seats you have for people watching other people do you church, watching other people follow Jesus, so great, our pastor's so great, he's really got a real relationship with God, I'm so inspiring to you, my relationship with God, that can't help you, anyone, when the persecution comes on you, my faith isn't going to help you stand, when the temptation comes, my trust in Jesus won't help you escape, we can't be comfortable, we need to be like those who, like in the underground church in China, if you're going together and worship Jesus at the threat of arrest or death or whatever, you do know you're serious about Jesus, you know you're not going to go to that church, you're not going to come visit on Sunday unless Jesus is calling you and if he's calling you then any price is not too high a price to pay, because think of what he's done, think of what he saved you from, think of what he's calling you to, so the manifold wisdom of God is revealed in the unstoppable church, the mission of Jesus cannot be stopped, it cannot be delayed, and it will prevail against all opposites, so take heart, take heart, Christian, do not lose heart over what all suffer, over what we suffer, over any child or struggle that comes in your life, take heart, Jesus' mission is unstoppable, that's the wisdom of God, 30 the unlikely church, the wisdom of God is revealed in the unlikely church, because who is the church made of, those outside the church often assume that's like the good ones, those are the ones who they're really trying, or at least they're really a feel pretty holy, they act pretty holy, that actually makes up the church, those people who get things right, you and I, we know better, and we're inside, we can see, it's not the holy ones that make up the church, our holiness is not from within us, the church isn't unlikely, but true are we, we are sinners, liars, thieves, adulterers, maybe, I don't know who you were before Jesus, that was before Jesus, with the redeemed, and Jesus said it didn't come for the righteous, he came for sinners, he came for you and me, why is it, you know, we stand in church and it's almost a badge of honor to say I'm a sinner, the sin is no badge at all, it's the redemption that's the badge that he is, I'm not a sinner anymore, that's no longer my identity, I was, now in Jesus I'm a saint, I'm a saint, it's totally make mistakes, but my identity's in Jesus, the church is an unlikely bunch, because every person out there who thinks there's no mercy for them, there's no place for them at the table, that's, those are the ones Jesus was calling, every person out there thinks they're too weird, they're too broken, they've done too much wrong, they're too deep with bad stuff, whatever, Jesus wouldn't want me, yes he does, and when they come in and they're redeemed, and they're born again, they're part of the family, we united to those people who we were before, a church is an unlikely bunch, because there's no standard, there's no qualification, there's no one checking the certificates at the door, anyone can come in, and in his manifold wisdom God brings us all in, from different families, different educations, different cultures, different mistakes, different traumas, different lifestyles, different dreams and goals, the church is as unlikely a group as you'll ever find, you know like the superhero movie where they bring all these random people, it's like how could we make a team out of this asset, God's brought in more people than could imagine, how can we possibly make a team out of this, because we united to Christ, we're unstoppable on this mission, doesn't matter who we were, it matters who we are, I'm almost finished, I've got three quick points from chapters four, five, and six, how should we respond to these truths? First thing, chapter four, verse 15 to 16, "Rather, speak from the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body join and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, it makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love, we should live in the unity that Jesus has bought for us, we should understand that we are one body equipped with many parts who all have a part to play, to play your part, who's got a calling this morning to serve as a helper and kid's ministry, serve with joy, who is gifted with gifts of worship or gifts of encouragement or gifts of service and every kind of gifts, we don't compare, we don't fight, we don't say, "I would serve, but it's so boring, serving the kid's ministry, I wish I could preach," has God called you to serve, serve for your places you, in the unity that we are one team, we are one body and as we all function together, the mission goes forward, it's beautiful, we walk in love, Ephesians 5 verse 2, walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, walk in love, love seeks the best for others, love puts others first, love believes the best about others, we need that, you hear something like someone in the church, it's your first reaction I knew it's here, it's no ways when I go talk to that person and hear the truth from them, love guards others and they're not around, there's no place in the church for gossip, there's no place for slander, there's no place for spreading stories about people, someone says, "Did you hear what Reese did?" you say, "I don't care, keep quiet, is that your story to tell?" That's some freshness support here in the front row, but that's love, I have a friend right now in his church, people have been speaking about him and he called me this week in his heart broke, because they're telling stories about him, I don't know who started him, I don't know why and I don't know what the point is, all I know is that is not the unity, the love, the purpose that Jesus died for, that is a distraction, that is the enemy trying to come and bring the vision, that you should be no division, your brothers and sisters' names should be safe in your mouth in the church. Finally famous, famously, Fusion 6 verse 13, therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm, all ends Ephesians with his famous acid in the armor of God, but you can't skip to the armor of God, but work your way there, chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Now, standing in the mystery, loving the gospel, united as a church, we put on the armor, now we're ready to fight the good fight, now we're ready to go to war, no one goes to war alone, you go shoulder to shoulder with your fellow soldiers, so let us step up to the calling that God has for us, as good soldiers we're ready to fight for the love of the mystery of the God, and this fight for Jesus' great name to be made known everywhere, let us fight for the metaphorical beauties of the church, God's plan from before the ages, God's plan, forever, let's pray. Father, we thank you for your work and thank you that you have revealed your mystery in your work, and I ask for each one of us that you'll give us fresh eyes to see, to look and behold the wonders of what you're doing, your plan is perfect, your ways are good, your purposes are, they'll be established, nothing can shape your plan, and Lord, we thank you that we are invited in, if you've welcomed us, sinners become saints, become children of the living God, Lord, I pray for us as brothers and sisters that we will be united in the love of our great King Jesus, and that as we live out that love, you'll be glorified by everything that we're saying to Jesus man. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]