Ephesians 3
Introduction
v13 would not be preached with the [so-called] ‘wealth, health and prosperity’ gospel
Paul is in prison, unable to preach the freely gospel
Paul call’s his problems not embarrassing but “glory”
v21 – Paul glorifies God
The church is glorified by the uniting of Gentile and Jew
How does this make sense with Paul in chains (v1)
The Church is not just to affirm our faith, to share the gospel, to deal with pastoral issues
v10-11: to display the wisdom of God
How would we choose to display wisdom?
Would we choose us?
God has chosen to display His wisdom in us – to the principalities and powers
The principalities and powers – chapter 1, 6
The church is to manifest the wisdom of God
Example of Job
The church displays God’s wisdom by the nations being saved (v2-5)
Example of film/book
Once a mystery is revealed – the whole story is understood
The Old Testament is like this because there is a mystery that is revealed
This mystery: v6 – “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of the His promise in Christ through the gospel”
No longer a mystery but would have been mind-blowing at the time
Gentiles were considered almost as enemies
In the Old Testament it might have seem that the devil was winning
Examples
Then Pentecost happened
People take the gospel to their communities and start preaching to Gentiles
God is glorified as the Gentiles are saved
If you want to glorify God: pray for world mission, share the gospel, get involved with sharing literature, etc
The church displays God’s wisdom as people are transformed
Example of Saul of Tarsus (inc Acts 26:9-11)
v7 – Paul became a minister [and an apostle] of Jesus Christ
What a transformation of Paul – hard to imagine a more stark transformation
We too were dead in our trespasses and sins – an enemy of God
Jesus’ is defeating the evil one and our salvation shows His victory
He is displaying His wisdom in us
Personal example
God shows His wisdom as He saves us and builds His kingdom, transforming us into the likeliness of Jesus
Paul has been transformed – and is now in prison for preaching to the Gentiles
This brings glory to God
People can only be transformed through God
We are transformed into bold worshipers (v12-13)
We are called to come and worship
How can we be transformed?
Recognise Your Father
v14 – Paul bows his knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [God]
God is our Father
Whatever our childhood, we have a heavenly Father
A Prayer Request
Pray for us to be transformed (v16-17a)
Example of rundown house
Paul is asking for power through the Holy Spirit to be transformed, to strength us, to live in our hearts more and more
Pray to grasp the power of God’s love (v17b-19)
Starts with God’s love
Meditate upon it and glory in it
The width of God’s love – explanation
The length of God’s love – explanation
The depth of God’s love – explanation and example
The height of God’s love – explanation
Closing Remarks
v20 – The gospel will go on forever
God has called us to glorify Him in the heavenly realms
Let us display God’s glory in the heavenly realms