Ephesians 3 (Part 1)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on

the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, ìBut we did not yield in subjection to them for

even an hour ,î so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isnít for

you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial.

Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as weíre called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and

glory of her King.

Hereís our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Have you ever been on a rabbit trail?

Iím certain youíve never heard a pastor go on a rabbit trail.

Some people think that the Apostle Paul in todayís passage went on a rabbit trail, but I thought, you know what,

I want to look up what is a rabbit trail, and a dictionary defines it this way, ìveering off

subject or the point of the conversation, a story or explanation

leading nowhere, making statements with no real purpose just

for the sake of stating it .î Another writer said, ìA rabbit trail is a confusing

maze of pointless leads.

In short, a rabbit trail leads us nowhere.

It serves only to confuse the prey or the reader .î And so today, if youíll take your Bible

and turn to not a rabbit trail at all, but a wonderful divinely inspired diversion,

Ephesians chapter 3.

Paulís not on a rabbit trail.

He knows right where heís taking us.

Heís making statements with real purpose, not just for the purpose of stating it.

Heís not veering off subject for no reason, heís doing it for a very important purpose.

And so today, Ephesians chapter 3.

This is one of those passages that I think is underappreciated.

We love Ephesians 1 and 2, weíll review those in a moment.

But Ephesians 3, I mean, how many verses have you underlined actually in Ephesians 3?

Maybe toward the end you might have underlined some verses, but early on, verses 1 -13,

this underappreciated passage probably needs to be underlined more.

In our series, weíre going two sermons per chapter, so two so far in chapter 1, then chapter

2, and now today is the first sermon in chapter 3, twelve sermons, six

chapters.

Paul is writing to this church, and itís a letter that gets circulated because he wants other people to know about it.

And itís all about the Lord Jesus and the church.

Itís all about trying to have you encouraged.

He says in chapter 6, ìI want you to be encouraged .î How do you encourage people?

Well, the focus doesnít come on the person or other people, the focus is an upward

focus.

And he does that in chapter 1, remember, he just, itís like he blurts out, he cannot contain himself.

In verse 3 of chapter 1, ìBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in

Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the

foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ,

according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has blessed us in the Beloved

.î And Paul just canít contain himself, he just bursts out into praise.

And remember, this is the God that chooses, but unlike us, He doesnít choose based on,

this God doesnít choose based on our quality, our attributes, I mean, if youíre married,

you probably say, there are certain things that you chose, that you looked for in your wife, I think to

myself, I chose Kim for lots of reasons, and I say just, in summary, she was beautiful on the inside and on

the out, I hope she picked me for some reason, she liked me, it wasnít just simply mercy or pity,

thatís how we pick, and thatís fine to pick that way, but here, we werenít holy, we werenít

blameless, but He was going to make us that way, so He picks us, and He does something marvelous, and

Paul realizes, can you imagine, Paul, this apostle, this Pharisee, who knows nothing of grace,

he is as legalistic and self -righteous and prideful as you can be, and now all of a sudden, the God of all

grace changes him, and he just has to praise who God is.

He also prays, in chapter 1, verse 15, does he not?

He said, Iíve heard of your faith, in verse 15, and I give thanks for you, I remember you in my

prayers, and I want you to understand, verse 19, what is the immeasurable greatness of His

power toward us who believe.

You might think of power because of Diana, and that great temple there at Ephesus, and everybody

trying to give their adoration to Diana, great as Diana of Ephesus, but no, thereís a

greater power.

Oh, Diana has this supernatural power, sheís got demonic power, sheís got her demonic

minions, demonic minions, but thereís a greater power than Diana, thereís a greater power than

Satan.

Chapter 2, instead of saying, this is how wonderful we were, he compares

us to the greatness of God so that we see Godís mercy.

We were dead in trespasses, chapter 2, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love,

verse 4, with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive

together in Christ.

Paul says it doesnít matter if itís sin, it doesnít matter if itís Satan, it doesnít matter if itís the world system, thereís a greater God,

the triune God, one God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and He rescues individuals.

But He also takes care of corporate issues, because remember the hatred that was going on between Jew and Gentile,

and the rub between the two, the Jews hated the Gentiles, Gentiles hated the Jews, Gentiles hated other Gentiles,

and thereís this corporate, thereís this body life that comes

together in chapter 2, verses 11 -22, what was separated because of Jesus

bringing peace, we are now together, do you see it in verse 14 of chapter 2, ìFor He Himself,

Jesus, is our peace, who made us both one, thatís Jew and Gentile, has

broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of

commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two,

so making peace, and might reconcile us, both the God and one body, through the cross,

thereby killing the hostility .î Remember what Paul was saying, Paul was saying thereís this

individual enmity that we have against God, but thatís been cleared out,

chapter 2, verses 1 -10, but also the anger and the hostility between Jews and Gentiles,

thatís been solved as well, as God has one people, thereís a corporate aspect to the death of Christ,

Jesus of course, when He died on the cross, the veil was torn from top to bottom, and it was a great

symbol of the ceremonial law, all the law that pointed to Jesus with

feasts and festivals and types and shadows, and everything that the Jewish people had to do with

ceremonies, with worship, it was all done, it was gone, those things that the Jews

did in particular when they worshipped, they were over, because they were fulfilled by Jesus, and when they were

over, now the Gentiles can easily come in, for instance, circumcision, how do you

become a Jew if youíre a Gentile, the first thing you had to do if you were a male is to be circumcised, thatís all been

fulfilled now in Christ Jesus, and we have hope, so now we come to verse

1 of chapter 3, this is very, very fascinating because we have a

diversion, not a rabbit trail, but a diversion, I donít know if you know much about grammar, but weíre going to

see this dash at the end of verse 1 in your Bible, if you have an ESV probably you see the

longer dash, what kind of dash is that by the way?

A what?

An M dash, only a bow -tied man would understand that,

Paul in chapter 1 praises God, and then he prays, heís praising God in

chapter 2, and now in chapter 3 he prays, we just have chapter, you know it just seems like our

chapters are messed up, those are not inspired, but Paulís idea is, Iím praising God, and then I pray, by the way,

if you ever have a hard time praying, thatís the best thing to do, is begin praising God for who He is, and what Heís done,

and then you begin your prayer life for others, for people, for yourself, etc., so Paul has

this rhythm, and Paulís rhythm is, praise, prayer, chapter 1 he praises, then he

prays, chapter 2, heís praising God for who the son is, and heís made peace, heís brought these two

together in one body, one temple, one organism, Jew and Gentile, and now he prays, so chapter 3

is that prayer, fueling this prayer is Paulís

praises, and he says in verse 1, for this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on

behalf of you Gentiles, thereís the dash, thereís the M dash, and the rest

of this section, till we get to verse 14, is the diversion,

do you see in verse 14, he picks up the same language as he does, as he has stated in verse 1,

for this reason, verse 1, for this reason, verse 14, I bow my knees

before the Father, thereís the prayer, so Paul praises, then prays, he praises, now

heís going to pray, but he goes on this diversion, and so today weíre going to look at that diversion, verses 1 through

13, I might not make it all through 13, but we shall see,

sometimes when Iím on the radio, I want to talk really fast, so people canít listen at 1 .5 speed, but Iím trying

to do everything I can to just slow down, because I want you to get this, Paul is writing this letter to the

Ephesians, heís a pastor, and he wants them to do well, and so he knows itís going to have to

be a look up to who God is, and when he looks up to see who

God is, heís going to pray, then he has to pray, you just see God in all his glory, and you think, there has to be some

response, Iím praising him, and now I pray, he did the same thing in chapter 1, chapter 2, and

heís getting ready now to pray, but he goes on this diversion, before he begins to say things in prayer

in verse 20, now to him whoís able to do more abundantly than all we can ask or think, he goes on this

diversion, letís go on this diversion with him, if you

understand comparison, youíll get this section, if you understand analogues,

youíll get this comparison, if you understand analogies, youíll get this comparison, by the way, if you ever think, okay,

whatís the word analogy, weíve got the word Logos in there, word, and Anna is in front of it,

Anna Logos, whatís Anna, not A -N -N -A, but A -N -A, like Anna

Baptist, somebody who was baptized once and got baptized again, and so analogues means

the word again, youíre trying to make an analogy, hereís the word and it comes up again, I donít know if

that gives you theological goose bumps or not, but I just somehow like to know whatís,

what Paulís doing, in Hamilton said, Paulís care and concern for Christís church was creaturely

analogues of the Saviorís care and concern for His church, what do I mean by

that?

If you read this chapter and you go, Paul loved the Gentiles, okay, great, way to go Paul, but if

you read it this way, itís unlocked, hereís the key to unlock it, not that I have Gnostic knowledge, but itís just right

there for you to see, Paul loved the Gentiles, who gave him that love,

who gave Paul that love of Gentiles?

Well, obviously the Lord did, guess what, because the Lord loves Gentiles,

thatís the analogue, Paul loves Gentiles, who gave him that love?

God did, because God loves Gentiles, also weíre going to see in this

section, thereís a mystery, thereís something that God knows, we canít know unless He tells us, Paul

says, I know the mystery and Iím telling you, guess what, God wants you to know the mystery,

this isnít Paul knows the mystery, heís telling the church at Ephesus, thatís it, no, no, thereís an analogue, Paul

realizes God loves Gentiles, thatís a pretty amazing thought, so he tells

the church at Ephesus that, but I want you to see behind the curtain as it were, the analogue is God

loves Gentiles and God wants you, Gentile, to know about this great

mystery, verse 1, letís look at that before we dive into the

analogue, for this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, on behalf of you

Gentiles, where was Paul?

Paul was in jail, he was imprisoned, he was having his apostleship confirmed

by his imprisonment, some might say, see Paul, youíre a loser, youíre in jail, Paul said, no, Iím a

prisoner, what does the text not say?

It doesnít say, Iím a prisoner of Caesar, Iím a prisoner of Nero, Iím a prisoner of Rome, Iím a prisoner of

Christ Jesus, and why?

Because of Gentiles, on behalf of you Gentiles, the reason why Iím in jail is because I love you Gentiles, Iím

preaching to you Gentiles, I minister to you, Paxton said, Paul

was in a Roman prison when he wrote this epistle, but one would never know it, thereís

no smell of prison in Ephesians, as you open the book, it is just like going to some vast

open expanse and breathing the fresh air of heaven,

so true, so victorious, the Roman Empire, Iím not a prisoner of, Caesar, Iím not a prisoner of,

the Jews, Iím not a prisoner of, Iím a prisoner of the Lord Jesus, Paul could say, oh, the victim mentality,

donít you just hate the victim mentality when I see it in myself, or others for Paul, no, this is a badge of

honor, Iím a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ,

listen to this passage, ìWhile thus engaged I was journeying to Damascus ,î Paul said, ìwith authority and

commission of the chief priest, at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun,

shining all around me, and those who were journeying with me, and when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying

to me in the Hebrew dialect, ìSaul, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

It is hard for you to kick against the goads.

Who art thou, Lord ?î And the Lord said, ìI am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but arise, stand on your

feet, for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness, not only to the things

that you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you ,î listen, ìdelivering you from

the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you .î I'm sending you to

the Gentiles, Paul, ìto open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, from dominion of Satan

to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been

sanctified by me .î King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept

declaring both to those of Damascus first and also of Jerusalem, and then throughout the whole region of Judea, and

even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing

deeds appropriate to repentance.

King Agrippa, my name's Paul, let me tell you what happened on the Damascus road, and God has appointed me,

like he's appointed Peter to the Jews, he's appointed me to go to the Gentiles, and God wants Gentiles

to go from darkness to light, to be from the dominion of Satan, to go to God, to have their sins

forgiven, and guess what happens when I preach to Gentiles, you can have all your sins forgiven in Christ

Jesus the risen Messiah.

Acts 26 verse 21, the account ends, Paul said, ìFor this reason, King Agrippa, Jews

seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death .î.

You're going to try to evangelize Gentiles?

You're going to die.

And so when you take a look at this passage, I want you to be reminded, as I've reminded myself this week, this

isn't about, ìOh, Paul loves Gentiles .î That's true, but God loves Gentiles, so He uses

Paul to go preach to Gentiles.

Paul is in jail because he thinks what Jesus did is make Jews and Gentiles both

able to worship God.

You don't have to become a Jew first anymore to become a Gentile.

Ruth, if she wants to worship God back in the Old Testament, become a Jew first.

No longer, because of what Jesus has done, circumcisions fulfilled, Sabbaths are fulfilled,

ceremonies are fulfilled, everything's equal, and Paul says, ìGentiles, you have access to

God ,î and they tried to kill him.

But like his Savior, he laid down his life, not as

a ransom for many, but he laid down his life so that the Son could ransom many.

Paul said, ìI'm afflicted in every way .î.

So I stop here to preach a little bit to you.

Most everybody here is a Gentile.

Maybe some of you are Jewish, I don't know it.

Maybe your background is Jewish, but most people here are Gentiles.

Guess what?

Even though we weren't close to the Commonwealth, even though I, with you, as a Gentile, wasn't an Israelite

and we didn't have the covenant promises and we didn't have the revelation from God and Mount Sinai and all that, God

still loves Gentiles.

God still loves Gentiles.

Ebenezer Erskine said, ìIf the question was asked, ìWhat is God to a guilty sinner

who has violated his law, trampled upon his authority, and lifted up rebellious arms

against his sovereign ?î.

One would think the answer would be, ìGod is a God of fury, God is a God of wrath,

God is a God of vengeance .î.

But to the eternal surprise of men and angels, the very reverse is true.

The answer is, Erskine said rightly, ìGod is love .î God is love.

The display of the love of God as he sends his Son to die, here then is love, not that we love God, but he loved us

and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins, not just Jews but Gentiles.

ÌFor God so loved the Jews only that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believed in him should not perish but

have everlasting life .î.

Is that true?

I hope some of you are giving me the look like, ìUh -uh .î When I was younger,

we would watch the Ten Commandments with the kids.

I remember thinking, ìSome of the Ten Commandments movie, you know, with Moses, you know, Charlton Heston

.î Okay, watch kids and see if you can find any errors in the show.

If you find an error, Iíll give you a dollar for every error that you find because, you know, I thought

sometimes they just make stuff up.

If youíre a young person and you found an error in what I just said, I think your dad should give you a dollar.

ÌFor God so loved the world, humanity .î.

This is broader than just Jewish people.

God loves Jews, obviously, but Gentiles?

I mean, for us to be able to say, like in the book of Revelation, ìTo him that loved us, be glory and praise, salvation

to our God and to the Lamb forever and ever .î.

Paul doesnít have this kind of scolding legal tincture as heís trying to just harangue and blast the Ephesians.

Heís trying to say, ìChurch at Ephesus, mainly Gentile people, I am

sending Paul to make sure you understand how to be rescued from darkness to light, how to have your sins

forgiven .î.

Thatís the attitude of Paul.

Thereís a book entitled, ìWhy Johnny Canít Preach ,î and T. David Gordon wrote this book, and he said, ìThereís a lot of

pastors these days that canít preach .î.

And hereís a test he gives to pastors.

We give Paul the test.

You can give me the test.

Do hearers get the impression that the minister is for them, eager to see them richly blessed

by a gracious God, or against them, eager to put them in their place, scold them,

reprimand them, and punish them?

Is it the pastorís desire to see them reconciled to and blessed by a pardoning God?

Does the sermon press the hearer to consider the hopelessness of his condition apart from Christ, and the

utter competence of Christ to rescue the penitent sinner?

I donít know how I do, but I know how Paul does.

And what Paul does, he doesnít come across as against the Ephesians.

Heís for them.

You have a God who loves you, who loves Gentiles, to the point where God saves Paul and sends him

to tell you the truth.

Well, thereís another analogy here, another correspondence, not just, ìPaul loved Gentiles ,î and the analogy is,

ìGod loves Gentiles, God loves you .î.

But also, ìPaul knew the mystery ,î verses 2 and following.

Paul knew the mystery.

Well, whatís the correspondence?

God wants you to know the mystery.

He wants you to know.

I love chapter 3, because this inspired diversion helps me know the heart of

God that He wants to reveal, not to conceal.

Verse 2 of Ephesians 3, ìAssuming that you have heard of the stewardship of

Godís grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made

known to me by revelation as I have written briefly .î You say, ìWell,

how did Paul think that maybe they didnít know?

Didnít he spend a lot of time there ?î Yes, but did you know all pastors realize that congregants

donít memorize everything the pastor says?

Do you know that as pastors and me, as a lay person and a pastor as well, as a student, one of you, I have to

keep learning and relearning and learning again, I forget things very easily.

He realizes that maybe not every member in the congregation fully understood, and so what does he write?

He said, ìAssuming that youíve heard ,î he was there, they did hear, but maybe they didnít grasp it all, maybe thereís some new converts there that

didnít hear, ìthe stewardship of Godís grace that was given to me for

you .î Thatís the point there, recognizing that the grace of God given to Paul was

for other people, and if I just go, ìOh, yeah, itís for the Gentiles ,î fine, itís a class lecture, but if I say to

myself, ìYeah, Iím a Gentile, God wanted me to know through Paul and others ,î it changes everything.

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, that by the world through Him, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Thatís John 3, 17.

He says in verse 2, that youíve heard this grace, mystery made

known, and Iíve written to you about it briefly.

What is this mystery?

Heís alluded to it in chapter 2.

Hereís the mystery, not the church, thatís not the mystery, but the mystery is Jew and Gentile, both

worshipping together, without the Gentile first becoming a Jew.

True or false?

There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are

all one in Christ Jesus.

Thatís true.

I like what Ian Hamilton said, ìThe point is not that we stop being Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and

free, black and white, rich and poor, it is that these cultural, social, racial,

sexual divisions no longer demarcate our essential identity.

Our essential identity is Abrahamís seed, heirs according to the promise.

We are all children of the living God .î And he said, I wrote to you briefly.

How did Paul figure this out?

Verse 3, ìBy peyote and a sweat tent .î

You know what the word ventriloquism comes from?

Venter in Latin I think is belly, and so when your stomach would growl, like some of you maybe

have stomachs that are growling now, wanting lunch, other people would come along and go, you know what I think that is?

I think thatís a God thatís talking to you, telling you that you want to marry Cindy instead of

Jane.

Venter, ventriloquist.

Paul, youíre in jail because youíre a kook.

No, verse 3, ìIt was made known to me by revelation .î How do I know Jews and Gentiles together?

Every Jew would say, ìThis is crazy.

This canít be .î Paul, youíre the kind of guy that you brought along a

Gentile up into the temple area and we were going to try to kill you.

Paul said, ìItís by revelation .î I am not paying for some mental

thing in my own mind.

No, no.

This is not new.

This is revealed by God.

Itís a mystery, not mysterious.

Donít think of organ music, spooky.

Think something we donít know, now we know it.

How do we know it? God told us.

William Phelps taught English literature at Yale for 41 years and retired in 1933.

Grading an examination paper before Christmas one year, Professor Phelps came across the note,

ìGod only knows the answer to this question.

Merry Christmas .î Professor Phelps returned the paper with this note,

ìGod gets an A.

You get an F.

Happy New Year .î

Mystery is something thatís true, but we couldnít find out by looking at the

stars and the moon and the sun.

We couldnít find out by looking to other people.

We could only find out by revelation and now God is telling us.

Heís revealing.

Heís uncovering.

Thatís what revelation means, to uncover the mystery that Gentiles would be blessed.

That was true in the Old Testament.

Yes, the light would go to the Gentiles and God saves Gentiles but that they would be both together in the same

local assembly and you donít have to be a Jew first, that was the mystery.

That cost Paul his freedom.

God makes known to us the mystery of his will.

You ought to say to yourself, ìGod, thank you for revealing yourself.

God, thank you for showing me who you are, who the son is.

Thank you for revelation .î Verse 4, ìWhen you read this,

you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ .î Youíll get it.

Youíre going to read this.

Itíll be read in public and youíll see that itís not my own discovery.

Itís revealed by God.

Verse 5, ìWhich was not made known to the sons of men in other generations .î Yes, Godís love for the

Gentiles, thatís true, but not to this extent to make them equal Jews as has now been revealed to his holy

apostles and prophets, not by themselves but by the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit.

ÌIt is true that other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them I must also bring and they shall hear

my voice and they shall be as one fold and have one shepherd .î Thatís true, but what wasnít

revealed in the Old Testament was the equality of Jew and Gentile in a local

body.

It is true, all the families would be blessed in the Israelites, but it wasnít

spelled out like verse 6 spells it out.

Here it is, ìWhatís the mystery ?î You say, ìThe mystery is the church .î Some people say that.

No, no, whatís the mystery?

It says right here, ìThe mystery isÖî Whatís this thing that Paulís

so praising God about?

Why is he on such a long diversion?

I mean, get to the point.

Yeah, Iím a Gentile, God loves Gentiles.

ÌThe mystery is that Gentiles areÖî Wait, second class citizens.

They got to be changed first.

ÌHereís the Holy of Holies, hereís the holy places, hereís the court where the priests are, hereís the other court where the men can go, hereís the

court where the women can go.

Now you stay way far, way back .î Listen to what he does.

Iíll read the NAS because itís got a better flavor to it in terms of, not a better flavor, but itís got the word fellow three

times because thatís exactly what heís doing in the original language.

To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, ESV says that, fellow members,

ESV says members of the same body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus

through the gospel.

Whatís the mystery?

Thereís the mystery.

You can never figure that out in the Old Testament because it wasnít there.

It was in the mind of God, thatís true.

Every tribe, tongue, people, nation now knows Godís eternal hidden

plan that only He, the Son and the Spirit knew, now is revealed.

Itís to be published.

Equal footing.

Look what he says, fellow heirs.

Do you know Gentile?

Dear Gentile, Iím a Gentile, youíre most likely a Gentile.

Itís not that the Jews are the inheritors, we are co -inheritors.

If youíre saved, if youíre a Christian, you believe, you belong to Christ, you are Abrahamís offspring, heirs

according to the promise, thatís Galatians 3 .29.

Youíre not only that, youíre a fellow member of the body.

Some sit up close because theyíre Jews, the Gentiles have to be in the back, no, fellow members,

same Savior, same Holy Spirit, same revelation, and fellow, what does the text say, partakers,

we share with.

Our fellowship, 1 John 1, is with the Son, Jesus Christ.

And look at the extent that God wants you to know, verse 7.

God wants you to know this to the extent, what did He do with Paul, this Christian killer?

Of this gospel, the good news, Paul said, I was made a minister.

This is the last thing I wanted to do, but I was made a minister, according to the gift of Godís

grace, which was given me by the working of His power.

People need grace, as they hear me preach, Paul said, and Iím the one who had received that grace.

God is sovereign over who He chooses, even for pastoral ministry and for here, apostleship, God chooses Paul,

and he says, Iím a minister.

What else does he say?

Youíll find this interesting.

Itís actually kind of funny, in a way.

Iíll read verse 8.

To me, to me, Paul, the Pharisee, though I

am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the

unsearchable riches of Christ.

The very least of all the saints.

Paulís kind of making up a word.

And hereís the

word.

Iím the better and baddest, and thereís

little, less, and least, and then thereís little, less, and least, and leaster.

Iím the leaster.

How would you like to have that for a ministry?

The leaster ministry.

The more least.

Are you more least?

No, Iím more least than you.

You think youíre least?

Almost kind of maybe a play on Paulís name.

Paul means little.

Paul said, you want to know how little I am, and how everything that happens through me has to be the grace of God, as Iím simply a

minister and a steward, because Iím the least.

I know my background.

I know how bad I am.

He said in 1 Corinthians 15, for Iím the least of apostles whoís not fit to be called an apostle because I

persecuted the church of God.

He said in 1 Timothy 1, itís a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

among whom I am foremost.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12, Iím a nobody.

And what does this nobody do?

Verse 8, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.

I get to tell them about chapter 1.

Iím telling you about chapter 1.

What do I do when I show up?

I begin to tell you about who Jesus is and his riches.

The word riches is, in the Greek, is plutos, right?

Plutomania is somebody that imagines that they have all kinds of

wealth.

Theyíre crazy and they think they have wealth.

Plutocracy, where you think, you know, the wealthy rule.

Pluto, the great God of wealth.

Hereís the plutos, the Pluto of the riches of Christ.

And what kind of riches are they?

Oh, let me count the ways.

Sorry, I canít.

Theyíre unfathomable.

I think only glory will show how unfathomable they really are.

Paul has said in chapter 1, the riches of the glory of his inheritance.

He said in chapter 2, the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness.

And now he says, the riches that are unfathomable in Christ Jesus.

Unfathomable means you canít trace it.

Remember back in the day where you would trace something?

This is impossible to be traced.

It canít be tracked.

This is a word used in Romans 11.

Oh, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways.

Okay, so letís just try to figure out how do we do this.

Paulís preaching this kind of riches to Christ.

Let me just give you a quote to make me, it just makes me kind of like go discombobulated because I canít

figure it out.

ÌThe best proof that God will never cease to love us lies in the fact that

he never began .î I kind of go,

unsearchable, unfathomable.

Paul says, this is inexhaustible.

He just, itís almost like heís not making up a word here, but itís inscrutable, itís incalculable.

I used to have some one of these, I think the old calculator I used to

have in college, I want to say, somebody can correct me, I think it was a Texas Instrument 30, TI -30.

Does anybody know those?

TI -30?

I think you can get them for 50 cents now on Amazon.

Probably a collectorís item.

And sometimes youíd calculate something and it would just like, it would all go to eights.

Okay, how can I understand, okay, God really loves me.

How can I really trace that out?

How can I figure that out?

And hereís what Paul says, ìI am the leaster and I get to preach the great one.

I get to preach the awesome Christ.

The leastest gets to preach the greatest .î How can we trace it out?

How can you trace it out that God would choose the Jewish nation?

How can you trace it out and figure out that God would allow Satan to fall?

How can you trace it out where you think, okay, the covenant of redemption in eternity past, where theyíre going to, the Fatherís son

with the spirit as a witness is going to go rescue the elect.

What about the Noahic covenant?

What about the Davidic covenant?

What about the new covenant?

How can God through the seed of David have the Messiah come?

What about these apostles?

What about the martyrís blood as the churchís seed?

How can I figure all these out?

And even how do you get saved?

It reminds me of Spurgeon walking into the church building and he wanted to just check the sound system.

And he said something like, ìBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and youíll be saved .î And the story goes, the person that was there

working hears this message and gets saved.

How does that work?

Itís unfathomable.

Itís unreachable.

You canít figure it out.

This is like the Lord answering Job out of the whirlwind.

ÌGird up your loins like a man.

Iíll ask you.

You instruct me.

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth ?î Unsearchable.

ÌTell me if you have understanding.

Who set its measurements ?î Inscrutable.

ÌSince you know, who stretched the line on it ?î I canít know.

He says in verse 9, ìNot just to preach the riches of Christ, but to bring to lightÖî

See, thatís that language.

Mystery, unveiling, darkness, now light.

Photos, light, to make it bright so everyone can see, to bring light for everyone.

What is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things?

You say, ìWell, to me, itís not that big a deal where Jews and Gentiles can worship together .î But it should be.

Thatís what Paul is trying to say, to shed light, to expose.

God brings light, spotlight, halogen light on this.

2 Corinthians 4, ìIn whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they may not see the

light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God

?î Sometimes if you get a microscope and youíre looking at something, we get a flower or we get a

grasshopper leg or something like that when we were kids, and we would look, and youíre like, ìI see nothing.

I canít see anything in this microscope, and it says like 100x on it.

Why canít I see anything ?î Well, probably, oh, somebody just put this here up on my

thing.

I didnít notice that.

Thanks for giving me a little present here, a little finger puzzle.

Thatís from the sermon two weeks ago, I guess.

Iím trying to see whatís in the magnifier, and you go, ìOh .î

First plug it in, ìBut turn the light on.

Oh, itís so bright.

I get to see everything.

So much detail .î I played basketball in junior high one year, and

it was such a bad snowstorm in Omaha that the lights went out, and we had to cancel practice, and the coach said, ìNo, no, no.

Weíre not canceling practice.

Youíre going to shoot free throws in the dark.

See, if you can make them in the dark, you can make them in the light .î What does that have to do with anything?

It has to do with light.

Thatís what it has to do with.

Iím trying to keep your attention.

Itís hidden, now thereís light.

Hidden in God, now we understand.

Itís published.

And who publishes it?

The text is very clear.

The Creator, the mystery of the ages, in verse 9, of a God who created all

things.

No one could know in the mind of the Creator, not even Delilah could find out the secret,

but He reveals it.

Why does He reveal it?

And we need to close here.

Verse 10, whatís Godís purpose in all this?

Obviously to save sinners, and weíre glad for that, but so that through the church,

through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known

to rulers and authorities in heavenly places.

You want to know the theater of Godís wisdom?

Iím looking at it.

Thatís odd, especially since weíre odd, and if Paulís the least, what about us?

How can God show His wisdom in the church, the proof of Godís wisdom in the church?

The spectators watching, the principalities, the powers, maybe itís holy angels, maybe itís demonic

angels.

Theyíre wondering what is going on.

Wisdom shown.

The manifold wisdom of God shown.

As one man said, the world is the stage, the church of the actors, the applause is for Christ.

And all of a sudden, youíre like youíre watching an opera.

And Iíve been to quite a few operas in my life, and I didnít really understand anything that they said except when they said, ìSee,

I got that .î I needed to have like a little prompter underneath, and sometimes

when Kim was gracious, we would go to one that had like subtitled, right?

You ever watch a movie online, and you have subtitles, and youíre like, ìWell, now I can figure it out.

Oh, thatís exactly whatís happening here.

I canít figure this out.

Godís revelation is subtitled ,î and I go, ìOh, now I understand whatís happening .î

And so do the rulers and authorities.

No wonder Psalm 148, ìPraise Him, all ye angels.

Praise Him, all ye hosts .î What are they praising God for?

For who He is and the wisdom He shows in the church?

Yes.

Angels are watching.

In the same way, Jesus said, ìI tell you, thereís joy in the presence of the angels of God over when one

sinner repents .î Jesus said in Matthew 18, ìSee that you do not

despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that there are angels in heaven continually.

Behold, My face of My Father who is in heaven .î.

And they might know a lot, but they didnít know the plan of salvation.

They didnít know that it included Jews and Gentiles together.

They didnít realize that God had a secret, and He hadnít even told the angels yet.

They didnít know, ìOh, this is whatís going to happen.

This is how Heís going to be victorious through the church

.î I mean, itís one thing to say, ìYou know what?

The Messiah is born in a stable.

Heís raised by a carpenter.

Heís under law and a sin -bearer .î.

And then itís another thing to say, ìAnd what we didnít know in the Old Testament, because we knew a lot of those things about a sin

-bearing Messiah in the Old Testament, but Jew and Gentile that hated one another are in one body

.î I mean, I look at creation and I say power.

I see Sodom and Gomorrah and I think holiness.

You look to the cross and you think, ìOh, God loves people .î.

And then you look at the church and you go, ìWisdom ?î Yes.

To show off His wisdom for His glory.

Thatís a challenge.

I get so tired when people say the church isnít relevant anymore.

Just, ìYou know what?

We donít need to meet anymore.

We donít need to do that .î.

Itís so inconvenient, and thereís so many concerns of health and so many of this, that and the other.

Friends, Iíll steal this from someone.

The church is important, and this part of this Iíll steal.

ÌThe angels watching the church to see the wisdom of God.

One man said, ìThe angels in heaven are wearing little church pins .î

Itís not true, but you get the point.

Boys, now you and I are the players in this drama.

Satan is attacking and the angels are straining forward to look on.

They see the manifold wisdom of God in you as you go through your part and speak your lines.

We win victory.

Even if Paul has to suffer, and he does, but itís all part of Godís plan.

Verse 11, ìThis 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 .î

Hereís why Paul wrote that there.

Paul, you mean to tell me that wisdom is shown to the angels about the church, and I so

often fail in the life of the church and fail with my brothers and sisters?

I need help.

If Godís having everybody watch the church and Iím part of the church, I need help.

Well, if you need help, go straight to God with confidence and say, ìI need help.

You have access.

You can go to Him .î And by the way, even suffering doesnít stop this because Paul said in verse 13,

ìSo I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory

.î.

Okay, I step back and say, how do I summarize this?

Paulís writing in chapters 1 and 2, and he says, ìIím just praising God for who He is ,î and he starts to pray.

ÌIím just praising God in chapter 2 for what Heís done ,î he starts to pray.

And he starts to pray, but he canít get over the fact that God loves Gentiles.

He canít get over the fact that he understands the wisdom of God now that was in eternity past locked forever in

Godís mind until He said, ìIíll tell you what this truth is .î So you say, ìWell, you have to give me something to do today,

some response.

I need something to respond with, not just look at this passage .î

God loves you, Gentile.

Christian Gentile, you have every access that the Jews do to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even though Jesus was Jewish, you have access.

And number two, you should be praising God for Him letting you know, because He took that halogen light one

day and just said, ìHere you now understand .î How does God make Christians?

How does God make the world?

Youíre a Christian.

He just causes you to be born again, and you think, ìGod actually loves me.

I think He should be against me, but Heís for me.

He loves me.

He doesnít hate me.

Heís not my enemy.

Heís my father .î And God goes to the extremes of taking Paul and making him

Saul and making him grovel on the ground so he has one job to do that will cost Paul his life,

telling the Gentiles of this truth and telling the Gentiles that theyíre equal citizens now with the

Jews in the church.

The church wins.

Jesus said to Peter, ìUpon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not

overpower it .î Romans 16, ìThe God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The God of our Lord Jesus, the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you .î.

Bow with me please.

Father, we thank you for this section.

Iím encouraged to know that you have an eternal purpose and that you made it known to us

through Paul.

Iím thankful to know that you love us.

How would we know?

Our conscience condemns us.

We know the law and yet we have the law keeper, the Lord Jesus who loves us and gave his life

for us.

I pray for our church that you would help us to more display the wisdom of God, the manifold wisdom of God

to the angels.

Whether those angels are demons or those angels are good angels, that they would know how wonderful your

wisdom is through the church.

In Jesusí name, Amen.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West

Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of

Godís Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us.

Our service times are Sunday morning at 10 .15 and in the evening at 6.

Weíre right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by

phone at 508 -835 -3400.