Transcript

During this time together in God’s Word, we’re going to be looking at verses 1-6 of Ephesians 3, which explains the unique revelation that was committed to the Apostle Paul.

R.B. Shiflet writes this, “The third chapter of Ephesians, truly believed, fully accepted, and consistently applied to our Bible study, would cure the church of the majority of its problems.

“Most doctrinal error stems from failing to see the distinctive ministry of Paul as the Apostle to whom and through whom the ascended, glorified Christ made known His plan and purpose concerning our position, our hope, and our calling as members of the Church, which is His Body.”

The revelation of the mystery is absolutely vital to a proper, consistent understanding of God’s Word, and reveals to us what God is doing today.

Paul turns here to remind the Ephesians of his revelation, how Christ has revealed it to Him and how Christ wants us to make it known so that all might see it.

Eph. 3:1 says “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.”

Paul says, “for this cause,” pointing back to what Paul had just previously said about the formation of the Body of Christ, about there being no difference between Jew and Gentile, joined together in one new man, with the Gentiles being made nigh by the blood of Christ and no more strangers and foreigners, but part of the family of God by faith.

It not only points back to the immediate context, but the context of the whole book, as Paul says, for this reason, for the cause of God’s grace being showered on the Gentiles, I Paul am a prisoner on behalf of you Gentiles.

Paul was in a Roman prison as he wrote the Ephesians, but he did not consider himself a prisoner of Rome, but a prisoner of Jesus Christ, a prisoner belonging to Christ, and he became Christ’s at his conversion on the Damascus Road.

And he was a prisoner for “you Gentiles,” or on behalf of you Gentiles. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome was because of his service to Christ as His apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul asks for prayer in 6:19,20, “that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds.” In Col. 4:3, Paul asks for prayer again, “to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.”

What we find is that on account of his message, the mystery, and ministry to the Gentiles as their apostle, he was in prison. His ministry and faithfulness to God’s message for the Gentiles landed him in prison.

Had Paul preached and taught the law and prophecy and Jewish circumcision, he would not have been thrown into prison. But because of his unique message and ministry among the Gentiles, it caused intense persecution by the Jews.

Paul had been falsely accused in Jerusalem of bringing a Gentile into the temple, and he defended himself before a Jewish mob by giving his personal testimony. Paul in that testimony recounted how the Lord told him to “go far hence to the Gentiles.”

Acts 22:22 then states, “And they gave him audience UNTO THIS WORD, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.” “This word,” that infuriated the Jews was the word “Gentiles.”

Paul ended up in prison as a result of this and ultimately ended up in Rome. Paul’s ministry and message to the Gentiles was why he ended up a prisoner.

And this message is what Paul goes on to speak about here, as verses 2-13 form a parenthesis. You see how in verse 14, that Paul picks up again with “for this cause.”

Ephesians 3:2-3 says this, “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words.”

Paul says, “if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward.” Notice that a dispensation, an administration, a stewardship of God’s grace had been given to him directly.

It doesn’t say that it was given to me after it was given to the other apostles. To Paul alone and first was given the dispensation of grace. This means this dispensation and the Church of today, the Body of Christ, could not have begun until Paul.

The term “dispensation” is the Greek word: oikonomia, which means “house law or house management.” It’s been defined this way: “A stage in the progressive revelation of God constituting a distinct stewardship or rule of life.”

God’s principles never change, but at different times and stages in history, His methods of dealing with man have changed, when God DISPENSED to mankind, a different and distinct rule of life.

And to Paul, Christ revealed a dispensation of the grace of God, a dispensation based upon and which functions according to God’s grace, where we are saved by grace, we are blessed by grace, and we live by grace.

This dispensation was dispensed by God, “given” to Paul directly, who in turn dispensed and made it known to the Ephesians, to the Gentiles. Paul was the instrument whom God chose to reveal to and to proclaim this glorious truth, as the apostle of the nations.

Paul says, “by revelation,” by direct, divine revelation, Christ personally made known unto him “the mystery.” Since it was hid in God since the world began, it necessitated a direct revelation to reveal this new truth.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal they were exhausted and so they pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep.

Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend, and said “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”

Dr. Watson replied, “Well I see millions and millions of stars.” “What does that tell you?” Holmes asked. And Dr. Watson pondered for a minute.

“Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and billions of planets. Timewise, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past 3 a.m.

Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and Lord of all and that we are so very small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have, a beautiful day tomorrow. But Holmes, what does it tell you?” Holmes was silent for a minute, then said, “Watson, you idiot, it means that someone has stolen our tent.”

That mystery was pretty easy to solve by Sherlock Holmes. But the mystery Paul speaks of here has a different meaning than our normal understanding of a mystery.

Paul speaks of “the mystery” 3 times here. The word “mystery” is the Greek word, “musterion.” It means “a secret, or to shut the mouth.”

Sounds like a term I need to use with my kids sometimes! The term “mystery” speaks of something God said nothing about, until He revealed it to Paul.

Dr. Leon Tucker explains the meaning of the word “mystery” this way:

“What is the ‘mystery’? It behooves us to be careful here, for it is possible to make ‘the mystery’ a mystery. It is possible to cause to be concealed what God has revealed. Let us remember the ‘mystery’ is a ‘revelation,’ not a riddle.

“It is something made known, not something covered up. It was hid in God but is now manifest. In this ‘mystery’ there is nothing…mystically mysterious…

“It is not referring to things secretly hidden within veils and surrounded with…suspicion. The mystery of Ephesians is revealed plainly and particularly.

“The Greek word (musterion) does not indicate the mysterious…It means something which is not known until shown, rather than something which is unknown.

W. E. Vine states, “In the ordinary sense a mystery implies knowledge withheld; its Scriptural significance is truth revealed.” So the mystery is a body of truth and a dispensation that God said nothing about in time past. But then He made it known.

And to Paul alone was revealed the mystery and the truths of the mystery of grace are found exclusively in Paul’s letters. The instructions for this dispensation of Grace, the rule of life under grace, and what God is doing today are found in Paul’s letters.

The doctrine, position, walk and destiny for the Church of today, the Body of Christ, are found in Paul’s writings alone.

We, of course, find principles, truths, and examples to live by outside of Paul’s letters, but God’s direct commands and marching orders for the Church today and how it is to function and live was revealed directly and exclusively to Paul.

Understanding this eliminates much confusion, because when one tries to apply God’s Word and mistakenly takes promises meant for Israel and truth and teaching about their Tribulation period and Kingdom, error and confusion reigns.

So many blenderize the Word of God. They just throw it all together and mix it all up.

But God wants His plans for Israel and His plans for the Body of Christ kept separate and to be understood literally. They are two different plans for two different groups of God’s people, and they have different promises and hopes.

The mystery is a body of truth and a divine program which reveals Christ’s heavenly ministry today in His exaltation, a program in which He is dealing with man in grace, giving all men an opportunity to be saved by grace thru faith in His finished work.

God has two programs, a program for Israel and a program for the Body of Christ. God’s program for Israel was a program which was revealed by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began as Acts 3:21 says. The program for the Body of Christ was a program which was kept secret since the world began, but is now revealed, as we see here.

In 3:3, Paul says that he wrote afore in few words of this mystery, and this refers I believe to the first part of this letter. The mystery involves Paul being called out and sent out by the will of God as a unique apostle for this dispensation (1:1).

The mystery reveals that the Father and Christ are dealing with this world in grace and peace, not in wrath and judgment (1:2). The mystery teaches that heaven is our hope and we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ in heavenly places (1:3).

In 1:4, the mystery shows us that the Body of Christ and our blessings in Christ were not an afterthought of God, but a forethought.

Before the creation of the world, God chose “us,” He chose that believers in the Body of Christ should stand positionally holy and blameless before Him in love in heavenly places.

In 1:5, the mystery tells us we are adopted and placed as full grown sons, heirs in Christ the moment that we believe, right up front.

The mystery teaches that we who have trusted Christ as Savior are accepted in Him, redeemed, forgiven, and have a heavenly inheritance (1:5-7,11).

The mystery reveals we are sealed and indwelt by the Spirit, who guarantees our future resurrection and the redemption of our body at the Rapture (1:13,14).

The mystery teaches us that Christ’s inheritance is us His saints, that His most precious and prized possession is us the Church, that in Christ we are dearer to the heart of God than all the splendors of creation, than anything (1:18).

It tells us that we have the resurrection life and power of Christ within (1:19).

It reveals Christ in all His glory and exaltation, far above all, with all things under His feet and is the Head of the Church, the Body of Christ, who fills all in all, He fills all the Body in all ways; He gives us everything we need in every way (1:20-23).

The mystery tells us that we are exalted in Christ and given a position in the heavenlies in Him (2:6). The mystery reveals how we become members of the Body of Christ, the true Church today, and it is by grace through faith alone, not of works (2:8,9).

It tells us Gentiles that we are saved apart from the commonwealth of Israel and the covenants of promise, but are made nigh to God by the precious blood of Christ (2:13).

The mystery tells us that the Law, the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile has been removed by the Cross, that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the enmity is removed, we lose our identity in Christ, and we are one in Him.

And being saved we are now members of God’s new creation, the new man, the Church, the Body of Christ (2:14-16). The mystery instructs us we have free access to God the Father, we are citizens of heaven, and part of the family of God (2:18,19).

And the mystery tells us that, as members of the Body, we are citizens of heaven, part of the family of God, we are a holy temple of God and a habitation of the Spirit (2:21,22).

That’s just what Paul wrote afore in few words in this book! There’s more to the mystery revealed in the rest of His letters too! But understanding the mystery is the key to understanding the Bible.

Ephesians 3:4 says, “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).”

Paul says in v. 4, that when we read this letter we gain an understanding of his “knowledge” or insight into the mystery of Christ.

Paul calls it “the mystery of Christ,” as it is the mystery, God’s Church truth today belonging to Christ. At its center, the focal point of this mystery message is Christ.

He is the Church’s foundation, the Church’s life, the Church’s hope, the Church’s power.

The Church is a living organism, and we are joined to our living, risen, exalted Head. And as it’s been said, “The Church is totally dependent upon Him for its beginning, continuance, and future” (Campbell).

And Christ’s sacrifice, His shed blood, His Cross is at the center of this revelation of the mystery, and extols and explains its glorious accomplishments.

A.W. Tozer said this, “There is today an evangelical rationalism which says that the truth is in the Word and if you want to know truth, go learn the Word. If you get the Word, you have the truth.

“That is the evangelical rationalism that we have in fundamentalist circles: ‘If you learn the text you’ve got the truth.’

“This evangelical rationalist wears our uniform…and says what the Pharisees said: ‘Truth is truth and if you believe the truth you’ve got it.’

“They see only, ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord.’

“They have the text and the code and the creed, and to them that is the truth. So they pass it on to others. The result is we are dying spiritually. To know the Truth, we must ‘know’ the Son.”

The wonderful thing about having an understanding of the mystery is that it helps us to know the Son, and to know Him better, and to grow deeper in Him.

We are transformed by grace as we grow in Christ, and we grow deeper in Him as we understand what He is doing today under the dispensation of grace in His heavenly ministry.

We should strive to know everything there is to know about our Savior, including His earthly ministry. But we must remember that when we are in the Gospels, that His earthly ministry was carried out according to His earthly plans and program for the nation Israel, in making her a blessing and a light to the world.

But God’s plan changed. He temporarily set Israel aside in unbelief. Today we are under grace. This was first revealed to the Apostle Paul.

And to know Christ according to what He is doing right now in the dispensation of grace, we need to know the mystery, and the revelation Christ gave to Paul found in his epistles.

As we do so, we grow in knowing our Savior according to His heavenly ministry and we learn of His will and the heavenly plans and hope He has for us the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:5-6 says, “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

“That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.”

Paul says in v. 5 that the mystery was not made known in other ages unto the sons of men. God’s truth that He revealed to Paul is nowhere to be found in the Old Testament, it is not seen in the four Gospels, it was not given to the Twelve.

Paul states in Galatians 2 that the Twelve “added nothing” to him, but contrariwise he added something to them, that gospel he preached among the Gentiles, the truth that Christ revealed directly to Him. He was shown things the 12 never knew.

This revelation was a real revelation! It was a mystery, but no longer, as Paul says, “it is now revealed.”

“A mystery-lover took his place in the theater for opening night, but his seat is way back in the theater, far from the stage.

“The man called an usher over and whispered, ‘I just love a good mystery, and I have been anxiously anticipating the opening of this play. However, in order to carefully follow the clues and fully enjoy the play, I have to watch a mystery close up.

“‘Look how far away I am! If you can get me a better seat, I’ll give you a handsome tip.’’ The usher nodded and said he would be back shortly.

“Looking forward to a large tip, the usher spoke with his co-workers in the box office, hoping to find some closer tickets. With just three minutes left until curtain, he found an unused ticket at the Will Call window and snatched it up.

“Returning to the man in the back of the theater, he whispered, ‘Follow me.’ The usher led the man down to the second row, and proudly pointed out the empty seat right in the middle.

“‘Thanks so much,’’ said the theatergoer, ‘This seat is perfect.’ And he then put a quarter in the usher’s hand.

“The usher looks down at the quarter, leaned over and whispered, ‘The butler did it in the parlor with the candlestick.’’’ The mystery is revealed!

As the revelation of the mystery has now been “made known” and “revealed” so it should be made known and revealed to all men.

It is a message of Christ and His grace in providing salvation for all men and an offering of reconciliation to God for any man thru His sacrifice on their behalf. For that reason alone, it should be made known worldwide.

Paul says this message has been now revealed to God’s “holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” in their foundational ministry before the completion of the Word.

Ephesians 2:20 speaks of how the Church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.”

Apostles and prophets had a foundational ministry to the Body of Christ and for this dispensation of grace.

Without God’s Word being completed at that time these gifts and gifted men were necessary for the early church for the Holy Spirit to supernaturally reveal and declare God’s will and new message of the revelation of the Mystery to the Body of Christ.

These holy apostles and prophets are apostles and prophets of grace, who preached Christ according to His heavenly ministry and laid the foundation of Christ according to the mystery. They were Paul’s fellow-laborers, such as Silas, Timothy, etc.

Paul said in I Thessalonians 2:6: “Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.” These are identified in I Thessalonians 1:1 as Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

These were foundational gifts for the church. Once that foundation was laid and the Scripture was completed these gifts fulfilled their purpose and ceased (not then).

Paul in v. 6, tells us again that the mystery unfolds to us that the truth of the Body of Christ and that God is taking believing Gentiles and believing Jews and forming a Church, the Body of Christ.

No longer does the Gentile need to come through the Jew to be saved, God is not working through one nation, Israel, to reach all the other nations today, but offers salvation to all people individually simply by grace through faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

In this Body, Jew and Gentile share jointly in the blessings of God’s grace, Gentiles are “fellow heirs,” or joint-heirs, “and of the same Body,” or of the joint-body, and are “partakers,” or joint-partakers of His promise in Christ “by the gospel.”

Notice, it doesn’t say, “by the covenants of promise.” This is mystery truth that Jew and Gentile are one in Christ, and joint-heirs, of a joint-body, being joint-partakers of His promise of eternal life, by the gospel of the grace of God (II Tim. 1:1).

This dispensation of grace and the revelation of the mystery were never predicted, never prophesied, never seen by the prophets in the Old Testament.

The salvation of Gentiles was no mystery. That was clearly spoken of and prophesied in the Old Testament. But their salvation was always through Israel’s rise.

The salvation of Gentiles through Israel’s fall, and in spite of Israel, apart from Israel, by grace through faith alone becoming joint heirs and equal members of a Church called the Body of Christ, was absolutely and totally unheard of and unknown, until Paul.