The Mystery of the Gospel: The Church

Ephesians 3:1-21 - “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This 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. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul just graciously walked us through the truth that we who are Christians are unified in Christ regardless of our background, gender, race, ethnicity, economic status, or nationality. In Ephesians 3 he builds on what he wrote in Ephesians 2:11-22. This unity is made possible to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, faithfully keeping His commands in love. The mystery of the Gospel is that Gentiles would now be co-heirs, alongside Jews, with Christ by God’s grace. The person and work of Jesus Christ tears down barriers that divided God’s chosen people of the Old Covenant, Israel, with His chosen people of the New Covenant, which is the Church.

An important verse is verse 10, which tells us that the salvation and preservation of the Church, both of which are works of God alone, testify to the unfathomable wisdom and love of God. The testimony is evident to those of us within the Church and those in heavenly places, or angelic beings. God’s glory is on full display, both to the seen and unseen realm, through His Church. That is why the Church is so important. The Church exists to glorify God. If a local church is failing to glorify God, that is a serious problem. If we are divided over doctrine, arguing over means of worship, or focusing too much on fitting in with the culture, we have a problem. We must recognize God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We must recognize that the Bible is God’s holy and inspired word to us, which is to be the sole authority over our lives. We must not compromise on doctrine for what feels good or sounds culturally appealing. We must stand firm in the truths of grace, which made possible salvation for both the Jew and the Gentile. God called us into His family because of His grace, and we must glorify Him in that grace as He works through us by the power of His Spirit living in us.

The only way we can properly glorify God is through the power of His Spirit living in us. Just as we play no role in initiating our own justification, we also do not initiate our regeneration nor our sanctification. Only God can create within us a new heart that desires to do His will, which only He can do through us. We are the branches that apart from the vine can do no good works. We get in trouble as people when we “follow our own hearts” and that is not what Paul is suggesting when he says to rely on our inner being. It is him telling us to rely on the grace of God, which lives in the heart of a believer by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only by God’s grace can we begin to fathom the depths of God’s love. Christian, lean into the grace of God today. Stop relying on your own efforts to lead a God-honoring life. Surrender to Him and watch Him begin to work through you. Paul’s prayer in verses 14-21 is spot on, and it is my prayer for you this week.

One final thought on the topic of unity. Are there people in your life who are different than you? Maybe they are of a different race or ethnicity. Maybe they dress, look, or act differently than you’re accustomed to. Maybe they are of a different political persuasion. That one is perhaps the biggest one today. We often base our opinion of others, even other professing Christians, on which political party they vote for. Stop! Stop letting things of this world tear us apart when Christ died so that we may be unified as the Church. Prioritize the things of heaven and lead with grace and love, always.