Ephesians 3

Order of Service

• Sunday School Lesson
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: Living Stones and the Mystery of the Church

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-9

I. Introduction — The Church as a Community of Living Stones

A. Individual salvation was never meant to stand alone; believers are meant to be joined together like stones in a building B. Review of Ephesians 2: the double alienation of the Gentiles (from God and from Israel) and the double reconciliation through Christ C. Christ's work on the cross destroyed the wall of hostility, creating a new multicultural human society — a kingdom without borders, a family of saints, and a temple of living stones

II. Paul as a Prisoner on Behalf of the Gentiles (Ephesians 3:1)

A. Though a prisoner of Rome under Nero, Paul viewed himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus — God is sovereign over all circumstances B. Background from Acts 21–22: the events leading to Paul's arrest

1. Agabus the prophet bound Paul's belt and foretold his imprisonment by the Jews and delivery to the Gentiles (Acts 21:10-11)
2. Paul's response: "I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus"
3. Asian Jews stirred up the crowd at the temple, falsely accusing Paul of bringing Greeks inside (Acts 21:28)
4. Paul addressed the crowd in Aramaic; the Jews erupted when he quoted God's command to go to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21)
5. Paul appealed to Caesar, was transferred to Rome, and wrote this letter from there

III. Two Privileges Given to Paul by God's Grace (Ephesians 3:2-8)

A. First privilege: a Revelation of the mystery (Ephesians 3:2-3)

1. The Greek mysterion differs from the English "mystery" — it is not something unknowable, but a truth previously hidden that is now made known
2. Paul uses mystery four times in this chapter: verses 3, 4, 6, and 9; 19 times total in his letters
3. The mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:4): Christ is both the substance and source of this mystery
4. This mystery was not made known in other generations but has now been revealed to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:5)

B. The content of the mystery (Ephesians 3:6): Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel

1. Fellow heirs — the whole of God's blessing is jointly possessed by both Gentile and Jewish believers; no inner or outer circle
2. Members of the same body — echoing Ephesians 1:22-23 and developed further in Ephesians 4:4 and Ephesians 4:11-16; each part working together builds the body up in love
3. Partakers of the promise — the singular promise most likely refers to redemption in Christ, the greatest of all blessings
4. What was truly hidden was not merely that Gentiles would be blessed (cf. Genesis 12:3; Psalm 2:8; Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 2:2-4), but that God was ending the theocracy of Israel and replacing it with this new international humanity — the church

C. Second privilege: a Commission to proclaim the mystery (Ephesians 3:7-8)

1. Paul was made a minister — not self-appointed, but appointed by God's grace and empowered by God's power
2. Matthew Henry: "What God calls men to, he fits them for — with almighty power"
3. Paul's humility: "the very least of all the saints" (Ephesians 3:8) — reflecting on his past as a blasphemer and persecutor (1 Timothy 1:13); possibly also a play on his Roman surname Paulus meaning "little"
4. His task: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ — a Greek word meaning "not to be tracked out, untraceable"; used also in Job 5:9; Job 9:10; Romans 11:33
5. These riches include: resurrection from sin, enthronement with Christ, reconciliation with God, end of hostility, peace, access to the Father, membership in his kingdom and household, and dwelling in his temple — all a foretaste of the riches of the new creation

IV. Two Incentives for Evangelism

A. Truth revealed demands truth proclaimed — we are stewards of the gospel B. The surpassing value of what Christ offers — those who trust in him will not go unenriched; knowing what we have in Christ compels us to share it