19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22 –NIV)
All are included in the church—all those who accept Christ. Paul compared the church to a building—a temple—a holy temple. Jesus is the cornerstone. The building is a holy temple because God dwells in it. He dwells in it through his Holy Spirit. And we—all of us together, not individually—are the temple. God dwells in us all together as the church!
Also, in verse 1 Paul says that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles. This is not figurative language. Paul was in prison and he was in prison because Jesus had given him the life-long task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
Now let’s look at verses 2 and 3. Verses 2 and three say, “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. The administration of God’s grace that was given to Paul was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. The word administration means stewardship. What happened was simply that Jesus gave Paul the responsibility of taking the gospel to the Gentiles. That’s quite a responsibility! Do you think God gives each of us certain responsibilities? He says so. He says (speaking through Paul in Ephesians 2:10) that we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do the good works that he prepared in advance for us to do!
Paul said, “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me...” Have you heard about it? Do you remember how the administration of God grace was given to Paul? He was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians there when he and all those with him were knocked to the ground and Paul, himself, was made blind. A voice said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” When Paul asked, “Who are you Lord?” the voice said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Jesus had chosen Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles so that he could open their eyes and turn them from the power of Satan to God so that they might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who were sanctified by faith in Jesus. (Acts 26:15-18)
Paul is spending quite a bit of ink in today’s passage making sure that the people he is writing to, the Gentiles, know that they are included as God’s people. Do you think the Gentiles felt bad before they were believers? Do you think they felt left out or lost? How would you have felt if you were told that you could not be included among God’s people? I’ll tell how I would have felt. I would have felt that “God’s people” were a bunch of self-righteous arrogant snobs and despised them and would have wanted nothing to do with them or their exclusive religion. I would have stayed with my Pagan gods. But it’s not our wisdom that saves us, but God’s power and grace and mercy. Some of the Gentiles had faith in God all through God’s history, in both the Old and New Testaments.
One example in the New Testament, is the Syrophoenician Woman, a Gentile, who came and fell at Jesus’s feet. She begged Jesus to cast out an evil spirit from her daughter. Jesus told her, “First let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Toss it to their dogs”? Many of us might have been insulted and stomped off with only bad feelings about Jesus. But this woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” Jesus told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. (Mark 7:24-29)
Now let’s look a verses 4 through 6. I’ll read them:
4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:4-6 –NIV)
A mystery (Paul’s insight into the mystery of Christ) is, by the way, a secret—something that is not know or understood until it has been revealed. Paul says that the “mystery was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.”
Actually, this mystery—this secret—was alluded to throughout the Old Testament. It was prophesied from the time the Lord told the serpent in the garden that the woman’s offspring would crush his head and from time God told Abraham that he would make him into a great nation and that all nations on earth (not just the Jews) would be blessed through him—to the prophecy in Isaiah 53 about the suffering servant and the prophecies in Zechariah and many other places in the Old Testament about the Christ. But nobody realized what they meant until they were fulfilled. That is what was kept secret by God.
Paul says that the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. What is the promise? It’s the promise of forgiveness of sins and of glory, honor and immortality—eternal life.
6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Romans 2:6-8)
To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, God will give eternal life. What is doing good? I’ll say it very concisely. It’s trusting God—believing what he say is good and right. Evil comes from not trusting God—from trying to do it yourself. People strive for earthly human glory and honor. And we even try to extend our lives by small amounts through exercise, healthful living and medicine. But all these things perish and in the end we lose God’s promise: “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” Seek eternal glory and honor. Seek eternal life. Trust God.
Now let’s go on to verses 7 through 9. I’ll read them:
7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:7-9 –NIV)
We know how Paul became a servant of the gospel by the gift of grace given to him through the working of God’s power. He was knocked to the ground and blinded! But, of course, that was just to get his attention. (I might also ask, “What does it take to get our attention?”) After Jesus got Paul’s attention, he gave him supernatural power through the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel and to make disciples.
Paul says that he is the least of all God’s people. This is Paul who had been able to boast of his perfect pedigree as a Jew, his membership in the strictest sect of the Jewish religion, the Pharisees (a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee), and how far he had advanced at a young age. Then he received God’s grace to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. For Paul, that’s like receiving a gift to preach the gospel to the chipmunks! But Paul was happy to preach the gospel to the Gentile. Jesus had rescued him from God’s wrath and anger and given him eternal life. Now he considers himself the least of all God’s people.
Now I want you to also notice that Paul spoke of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles. Paul used superlatives all over the place when talking about God and about Christ. In this case he is saying that the greatness of Christ and the value of knowing him are not only beyond description, but beyond comprehension. It really is hard for us to understand how much greater what God has promised us is than any of the things this world has to offer. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:9)
Now let’s look at verse 10 and 11:
10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10, 11 –NIV)
God is going to display—is displaying—his work—his church—for his glory. The rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms are evidently angels and demons. When the apostle Peter spoke about our salvation, he said, “Even angels long to look into these things. Also, in chapter 6 of Ephesians, Paul refers to the demons that we struggle against as rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. The angels can’t be lost—and the demons who rebelled against God can’t be saved. But they will both see (and are seeing) that we who were once dead in our transgressions and sins are now alive in Christ. We have been given the salvation of our souls.
Now let’s look at verses 12 and 13. I’ll read them:
12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. (Ephesians 3:12, 13 –NIV)
Because of Jesus, we can pray to God. He is our Father and we are his children. He is a perfect Father. In the next part of today’s passage, Paul is going to tell the Ephesians about how he is praying for them. He is also telling them not to worry about his suffering in prison (you remember that he started out the passage by saying that he was a prisoner of Christ Jesus). He is suffering for their sake and is willing to do so.
Now let’s go on to Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians. Listen while I read verses 14 and 19:
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. (Ephesians 3:14, 15 –NIV)
God whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name from God. His family is the church—both Jews and Gentiles. (Some of God’s family is in heaven now and some is on the earth.) In the Bible, a name refers to everything about the person that has that name—his nature and his position—who he is. God’s purpose is for the church to have his nature—for the whole church to have his name.
Paul is praying before God the Father (I kneel before the Father). He said back in verse 12 that, because of Jesus, we can approach God with freedom and confidence. That’s what he’s doing. And he is praying for the Ephesians because Jesus has made him an apostle to the Gentiles.
Now let’s look at Paul’s prayer—verses 16 through 19:
16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge— that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 –NIV)
In verses 16 and 17a Paul says, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Apparently what Paul is asking for is not something that comes automatically with salvation. God wants us to ask for it!
And I think the rest of Paul’s prayer gives the idea of what it means to have Christ dwell in your heart by faith—that we will grasp just how wide and long and high and deep Christ’s love is—and know (I think this means experience) this love that surpasses knowledge. Paul is praying that the Ephesians and everyone else who reads his letter may be filled up with the full nature of God—all the fullness of God.
Paul said (in 1 Cor. 11:1), “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” The example of Christ is that even though he was in very nature God, he made himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant and became obedient to the point of death on the cross. (Philip. 2:5-8) Jesus let them kill him on the cross for our sake. He died for our sin. But he also prayed for each of us before he went to the cross. In John chapter 17 Jesus prayed that all those who would believe in him through the message of his disciples (that’s us) would be one—that they would be brought to complete unity in order to let the world know that God the Father sent Jesus and has loved them—us—just as he loved Jesus. There’s more but I’m not going to repeat it now. Read John 17.
In any case, if we follow Paul’s example as he followed the example of Christ, we will pray for each other just as Jesus prayed for us and just as Paul prayed for the Ephesians. Don’t you want to be filled up with all the fullness of God—to have Christ live in your heart by faith—to know and to experience how great the love of Christ is. We need to pray for each other.
James, the Lord’s brother said that we don’t have because we don’t ask—and even when we ask, we don’t receive because we ask with selfish motive that we may use what we get for our own pleasures. I think James was talking about material things, but the principle applies in other ways also. I talked about seeking human glory and honor a little while ago. We do it even in Christian ministry—bigger churches, bigger ministries, to be famous, etc. (the last one we probably don’t do directly, but the intent may be there). Let’s not do it. Let’s pray for each other that we may know how great the love of Christ is.
Now let’s look at the last two verses, verses 20 and 21. This is Paul’s doxology—his giving glory to God. This is what he says (and this is really part of his prayer):
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20, 21 –NIV)
[Prayer]
Next week, the Lord willing, Tom will start to tell us how we are to live in view of the fact that we are the church, God’s holy people. That’s what the rest of Ephesians is about.