Reading: Ephesians 2–3
Paul
speaks of the mystery of the Gospel throughout his epistles, but it
is more concentrated in Ephesians than any other place. What is this
mystery? Paul said it had been kept hidden in times past, but is now
revealed (Romans 16:25-26; Colossians 1:26), and it was central to
his preaching and ministry (1 Corinthians 2:1, 7; 4:1). At times,
identifying this mystery can feel a bit like nailing jello to a wall.
However, Ephesians 2–3 probably help us get to a core
understanding of it as much as any text.
In
order to understand what this mystery of the Gospel let's look at
Ephesians 3:4-6:
By
reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery
of the Messiah. 5This
was not made known to people in other generations as it is now
revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6The
Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, and partners of the
promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
(Ephesians 3:4-6
HCSB)
This
is a clear and concise statement of the mystery of the Gospel. Let's
break it down a bit.
Why
is it a mystery?
It
is a mystery because it was not revealed by God's spirit to the
people of God in generations past with the same clarity that it is
now through the apostles and prophets in the New Covenant era. In
other words, while the prophets talked about it, they talked about it
with veiled references.
It is likely that they were veiled in speaking about it because they
themselves didn't not see it clearly (see 1 Peter 1:10-12).
It
isn't a mystery because it is hard to understand now, but it is hard
to understand or clearly see if all we look at is the Old Testament.
We
need the New Testament (the writings of the apostles and prophets) in
order to clearly understand what is being said in the Old Testament.
Last year, we went through Isaiah as a church on Sunday mornings
and because we were able to read it through the lens of the New
Testament, we could see Jesus and the church all over the pages of
Isaiah. (Click
here to listen to those messages.)
What
is being revealed that was a mystery?
The
Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, partners of the
promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Co-heirs
of what? The inheritance of the promise given to Abraham. In other
words, we
[I
am a gentile by birth] are the children of promise, the children of
Abraham, just as much as a Jewish believer in the Messiah is. To put
it in Gospel language, you may recall the account of the woman whose
daughter was tormented by a demon. Jesus said, “I was sent only to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.... It is not right to take
children's bread (Israelites) and cast it to the dogs (Gentiles).”
Well here is the mystery simply put: Gentiles
who believe in Christ are not dogs any longer, but are the children.
So, it is now accurate to say that the lost sheep of the house of
Israel are those children God is gathering from all over the world
(the
distant shores,
or islands,
as Isaiah would have said it). (For
a sermon on the account of Jesus and the woman He called a dog click
here.)
Gentile
believers are members of the same body, not a different body, but the
same body to whom the promises of Abraham were given.
Ephesians 2:11-22 makes this perfectly clear.
11Therefore,
remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called
"uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the
circumcision" … 12remember
that at
that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in
Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without
God in the world. 13But
now
in Christ Jesus you
who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14For
he himself is our peace, who
has made the two groups one
and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by
setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.
His
purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two,
thus making peace... 19Consequently,
you are no
longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's
people
and also members of his household, 20built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone.
The
church is the one body, the one household of God, the one inheritor
of the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12–22.
This mystery is revealed all over the pages of the New Testament.
As you read through the New Testament look for this mystery and it
will begin to pop out at you all over the place. Enjoy your reading.
Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel,
Advance the Gospel,
Jerry
