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Introduction
Throughout the letter we’ve been seeing the incredible power and generosity of God. He has this big plan to unite all things in Christ. And he’s done so by doing things like redeeming us from the power of sin, giving us the same power that was at work in the resurrection of Jesus. And we’re seeing the the effects of God’s plan to unite all things in him as he reconciles Jew and Gentile together as a single people of God.
As Paul says in Ephesians 1:11, God is
Ephesians 1:11 (ESV)
11 … work[ing] all things according to the counsel of his will,
But as all things are being worked towards God’s master plan, the great creator of heaven and earth, Paul says something that makes him stop for a moment
Ephesians 3:1 ESV
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
If we’re seated with Christ in heaven – why is Paul in prison?
And he’s in prison because the Jews thought he had brought a Gentile into the temple and were nearly about to kill him, and have been trying to kill him for a while now.
If Jesus has killed the hostility between Jew and Gentile – then why is he in prison on behalf of the Gentiles?
Kind of deflates the message a bit, doesn’t it?
Paul realizes this as soon as he mentions his prison sentence. So in Ephesians 3:2-13, he goes off on a tangent to explain that our present reality of weakness and suffering doesn’t change anything about the promises we’ve been given. In fact, it makes it much more awesome.
Paul’s Ministry
Ephesians 3:1–4 ESV
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
Ephesians 3:5–6 ESV
5 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. 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.
There are two things Paul wants us to remember:
- His own conversion and ministry
- This mystery
The Mystery Revealed
Everybody loves a good mystery, and the bible has had one running since Genesis 3. God had made this good creation. Everything was just as it should have been. Everything was doing exactly what God intended it to do. One could look at the creation as a whole and understand that only a wise builder could have put this project together.
But things go off the rails pretty quick.
- The first two humans rebel against God
- Their kids start killing each other
- The violence gets so bad that God has to wipe the system with a flood and start over
- And all that leads to is a humanity gathered together against God in the Tower of Babel, which God has to break up
Everything was good, and then everything broke.
The mystery is the answer to this problem: how will God fix this broken world, full of broken people, all divided and against each other?
Imagine you have one of the famous Betty Bowls. You bring it too a potluck, stumble over the threshold, dropping it and shattering it into a million pieces. Something so precious, now broken. How are you gonna fix that? Chances are we’ll throw it in the trash and beg Betty for another bowl.
Imagine God looking down on a broken and shattered world and picking up the smallest most insignificant piece and saying “I’m going to put it all back together.”
That is, after all, what God did with Abraham.
Genesis 12:3 ESV
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
And just as we’d find it impossible to glue all the pieces of our broken Betty Bowl together, we wonder how God can fix the world. How can God join together:
- Jew and Gentile?
- Republican and Democrat?
- Russians and Ukrainians?
- People of all nations
- People of all colors
- People of all values
Well, just like any good mystery, God has been leaving a trail of breadcrumbs and dropping hints. He reminds us throughout the biblical story that he’s working on his plan of fixing everything – we just don’t know how – except that Israel is going to be involved.
Well, some within Israel began coming up with their own solutions and trying to figure out the mystery. God is going to use us to destroy everybody while we reign eternal! The mystery is that God isn’t really going to fix all the broken pieces after all. He’s going to what you and I do with broken dishes – throw them away!
But God’s answer is far less violent and far more shocking. It’s a bigger twist than M. Night Shymalan could ever dream up.
For example, in Isaiah 52 God prepares his people to see something amazing:
- Keep an eye out
- Don’t be worried
- You’re about to see the strength of God do something marvelous
- You’re about to meet his servant
Isaiah 52:13 ESV
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
Oh boy, this servant of God is going to be incredible, but
Isaiah 52:14–15 ESV
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Isaiah 53:1 (ESV)
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
Who could believe that the servant of God, the instrument of his salvation – would look so tortured and brutalized? So miserable that, in Isaiah 53, most everyone assumes he’s cursed by God – not serving him.
Who could believe that…
Ephesians 3:6 ESV
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.
The mystery isn’t just that Gentiles were members of the same body, but how they were included – through Christ Jesus.
The mystery is that God fixes a broken world by breaking his son on the cross. And then he invites broken people to join in the grand project.
Paul’s Conversion
The apparent weakness of Jesus turning out to be strength all along is evidenced by Paul’s own conversion.
Ephesians 3:2–3 ESV
2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
Paul assumes that that the church has heard of how God commissioned him to be a servant for the sake of the Gentiles. We can hear about it three different times when reading through the book of Acts. It’s when we read about how Paul’s stewardship was given to him that we can understand why being in prison is no sign of defeat.
Life as a Pharisee
Acts 26:4–5 ESV
4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee.
We should remember that Paul was a Pharisee – the strictest party within Judaism. Which meant that he was determined to keep Jews Jewish. No Gentiles are allowed within their religious boundaries – no Jews allowed out. The world is broken into two classes and Paul is going to keep it that way!
Even if that meant using the sword.
Acts 26:9–10 ESV
9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.
So sure enough, when this guy named Jesus starts going around, teaching that the Pharisees have built their walls too high, and that sinners, tax-collectors, and prostitutes are closer to the kingdom of God than the Pharisees – Paul is pretty happy to hear he’s been crucified.
- Anyone hung on a cross in considered cursed by God
- This self-proclaimed Messiah couldn’t save himself
- That means the Pharisees won and Jesus lost
Now it’s just a matter of clearing out all of his followers who haven’t figured that out yet.
Confronted by the Risen Lord
So what changed Paul’s mind? How does the Christians’ boogeyman suddenly turn into the Lord’s apostle?
Because that dead Messiah started talking to him.
Acts 26:13–15 CSB
13 King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.
- The one he thought cursed by God has been vindicated by him
- The ones he’s been trying to kill are actually the ones among God’s people
So as Paul is sitting in prison, with all of his enemies calling him a loser, and even some of his friends wondering the same things, Paul remembers that they said the same things about Jesus. He had said the same things!
But three days after it looked like Jesus had lost, God vindicated him – proved him to be the winner – by raising him from the dead and seating him at the right hand of his throne. And Paul understands that his own life is following that same pattern. Just as the world is shocked at the marred appearance of Jesus – God’s servant, Paul now understands that that will be true of Christ’s followers.
And he brings this all up so that we won’t be shocked when we hear that Paul is in prison and suffering. He brings it up so that we won’t be shocked by the weakness we feel and the hostility we face.
God is still working powerfully in his people to unite all things in heaven and on earth to himself. It’s all part of the same mystery. God is fixing a broken world with broken people.
- Broken on the cross
- Broken by sin
- Broken down by a hostile world
That’s the twist God has building towards this whole time. God isn’t going to throw all the pieces in the trash, but bind them back together into something even more beautiful.
You’re Included in That
And Paul wants us all to understand that we’re a part of this ministry just as much as he was.
Ephesians 3:7–9 ESV
7 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. 8 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, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
Ephesians 3:10–12 ESV
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
Verse 10 is our purpose. Through the church, through us, God will make his manifold-many-sided-multifaceted wisdom. God, the creator of heavens and earth, the mover of history, the one who sets up and throws down kings, armies, and nations – this God points to you when he wants to brag about his wisdom.
Some years ago, a woman was visiting New York and had just finished eating at one of the renown pizza places New York is known for. As she walked down the street she noticed a homeless man rummaging through the trash and thought to herself “I have this food with me. Why should he have to dig through the trash?” So she offers it to the man, apologizing that it was already cold and half-eaten.
Well it turns out that this homeless man was actually movie star Richard Gere, filming a movie in which he plays a homeless man. Richard Gere is worth approximately $120 million.
The idea of serving God, to us, can seem like giving leftover pizza to a multi-millionaire movie star. What could we possibly offer that they don’t already have or couldn’t get for themselves? What service can I offer God that he couldn’t top with a wave of his hand?
Well, look at how all of this work was done with Paul
- This stewardship was given to me
- The mystery was made known
- I was made a minister
- It was given to me by his power
- So that God’s wisdom may be made known
These are all passive verbs. Paul isn’t doing anything in these verses! It’s all God’s doing!
- He is a servant of God
- He is a tool of God
- He is an instrument of God
All by God’s grace, all by God’s power.
- Paul is nothing more than a steward of God’s grace
Ephesians 3:2 ESV
2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
- Given this job by grace
Ephesians 3:7 ESV
7 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.
- And the job itself is a manifestation of grace
Ephesians 3:8 ESV
8 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,
That is how you and I can become a part of God’s grand plan to unite all things in heaven and on earth into Christ. By letting God do the work through us as a means of grace.
Showing the Wisdom of God
Paradoxically it is by being less that God can do more and show more of his wisdom.
There is an old Japanese art-style called kintsugi. If a dish or teapot should break, rather than repairing it in a way as to disguise it’s damage, it’s repaired in a way to highlight how broken it is – often with gold. The artist can take something as useless as a broken dinner plate and use it as an expression of his craftsmanship and artistry.
That’s how God is able to use us as a demonstration of his wisdom.
The proof of God’s wisdom is not how rich or successful or powerful we are – it’s in the unity of believers joined in Jesus Christ. Broken and fractured people who have been joined together into something beautiful by God. That’s the revealed mystery of God’s wisdom. The wisdom of God is made known in how he can conquer not just the nations of men, but the hearts of men and without the sword. He’s so wise and so powerful that he can win by losing on purpose.
He shows his power by taking someone as gentle as Jesus, as powerless as Paul, as unassuming as us – and through us makes people of all kinds fellow heirs, members of the same body, all partakers of the promises of God. God uses broken people to repair a fractured humanity into something beautiful.
Ephesians 3:13 ESV
13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
The cool thing about kintsugi, is that the more broken a piece is, the more beautiful it ends up being after being mended.
The same is true for us. We look at ourselves like a shattered dinner plate, useless and ready for the trash. But the more broken we are, the more Christ shines through the cracks when we’re put back together. The more beautiful we become than if we had never been broken in the first place.
Christ’s suffering, Paul’s suffering, our suffering – it all let’s the wisdom of God shine that much more as we become living testimonies of God’s wisdom. Only he could be so wise and so loving to put us back together in such a beautiful way.