Ephesians 3:1-3 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly.”
Pastor Herk gave us three important principles. (1) God reveals so that we can respond; the mystery made known to us by revelation. The word “mystery” in this passage is the Greek word “mystḗrion”, meaning a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding: confided only to the initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. The way that the Apostle Paul uses “mystery” here refers to something that God has revealed in the past in part, but which now has been more fully revealed by revelation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One being about the body of Christ’s church, as Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28 “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Psalm 77:14-15 “You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. By Your power You have redeemed Your people.”
When Christ supernaturally appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, He made it clear that through Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles have access to God and it didn’t require the Gentiles to become a Jew; the sameness was in Christ. Along with that revelation came the responsibility for Paul to pass that revelation on to others, in effect “paying it forward”. Everyone receives a revelation from God that motivates them to thought and action. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “He [God] has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.”
Today, God primarily reveals Himself through His Bible, the holy Word of God and through His Creation. But, also through people, prayer and worship. And because God has revealed Himself to you, you also have a responsibility to respond and make Him known to others. God doesn’t reveal Himself, His purposes and truth, just for our knowledge, faith and inner fruit of the Spirit – well-being. The Lord Jesus said in John 15:15-16“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.” But, if you have never accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior and Lord, then you need to respond to God’s revelation unto eternal salvation today. Once saved, we have a further responsibility to share the Gospel and what God has done in our lives to others – pay it forward.
The Second principle is that God graces us so that we can give - God’s grace which was given to me for you. We need to have good stewardship of the grace and provision which God provides us for “kingdom economy”, including our giving back to God a portion for the ministry. Ultimately, everything belongs to God and we are merely given the responsibility to be good and faithful stewards, managers or administrators of what God gives us, but it’s not just for us personally. We are blessed to be a blessing to others. If God’s grace was only for our personal benefit, then there would be no reason for God to leave us here on earth. This same Paul said in Philippians 1:23-25 “I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.” All Christians have Gospel seeding, watering and harvest work here in helping people find Christ as Savior and Lord.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on the next post. In Christ, Brian
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