Ephesians 3:1-13
Bold Little Saints
September 14, 2014
Lynchburg, Virginia
EXHORDIUM
If we see God’s
promises to us in Jesus correctly, there is a necessary progression for us. It
is this,
1. Faith in the
work of Jesus Christ.
2. Confidence
to believe that God’s promises apply to me.
3. Boldness
to approach God in the name of Jesus.
4. Access
to the Father Himself.
5. Obedience
to our Father based on love.
This process
makes us bold little saints. What do I mean by bold little saints? I mean that our
confidence in Jesus gives us boldness. But in order to have confidence in
Jesus, one must admit that God owes us nothing. We need Jesus. We need a Savior
exactly because we have fallen short of God’s glory. But Jesus is all of God’s
glory revealed to us. We must make ourselves little in our own eyes if we are
to draw near to God in full assurance of our faith. But having done so, we do
not shrink away in fear. No, when we put on Christ, we are adopted as God’s
children. And as His children, we enter into His presence with boldness.
High
Ropes Example- The lifeline gives one boldness to cross into the presence of God.
The lifeline is Jesus Christ. In Him, you can do all sorts of things you never
thought possible.
EXEGESIS
1 For this
cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
For which
cause? The
cause of the expansion of the gospel to the world through the church. This is
the breaking down of any wall of division for anyone to come into the presence
of God.
The
prisoner of Jesus Christ- Paul is captive to the Romans but he is captivated by
Jesus. And for the sake of the Gentile world. He was such a zealous Jew that he
was not even willing that Jews hear about and believe in Jesus. But now, he has
not only accepted the blessing of the Messiah, Jesus, for the Jews, but has
fully embraced God’s plan to save both Jew and Gentile through Jesus Christ.
2 If ye have heard of
the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Paul is referring to his calling as the Apostle
to the Gentiles.
3 How that by
revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few
words,
This happened on the road to Damascus where Paul
saw the Resurrected Jesus. Thus, Paul, himself, was a witness of the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ and qualified to be an Apostle.
4 Whereby, when ye
read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto
the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit;
There were hints of this revelation in the Old
Testament. There was a promise that the light would dawn on the Gentiles. But
it was obscure and unclear.
As we look back into the Old Testament with the
light of Jesus, we can see these things clearly. It is as if the light switch
has been thrown on and suddenly it all makes sense. But we need not be too
harsh on our Old Testament brothers for not getting it until Pentecost. Even
the Apostles did not get it until Pentecost.
The Jews figured it meant that the Gentiles
would eventually come to understand that they need to become Jews. In fact,
even the Apostles had to deal with this. We see this in the Council at Jerusalem
in Acts 15. They correctly decided not to lay a burden on the Gentiles. They
did not have to become Jews.
Paul understood this clearly but was willing to
work with the other Apostles as God brought this to light in the work and
revelation of the Church.
This becomes clearer as Paul even stands against
Peter at Antioch. (Gal. 2:11-14.) Peter also realized that the Gentiles could
live as Gentiles and fully serve Jesus. He wavered in this in order to please
men from Jerusalem and Paul rebuked him strongly for it.
Both the calling and gifts
given to Israel and the calling of Saul reveal God’s kindness and mercy. We
must never give up on the stubborn and the seemingly reprobate.
Matthew
Henry Quote-
“Let us learn hence not to despair of the worst, of
the worst of persons, and the worst of nations. Nothing is too hard for divine
grace to do: none so unworthy but God may please to confer great grace upon
them.”
6 That the Gentiles
should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in
Christ by the gospel:
Fellow heirs
and of the Same Body- Keep in mind that this inheritance is not in the Old
Covenant. The Jews could not gain the promises via the Old Covenant. The
promises to Abraham, reiterated to Moses, and built up in David and Solomon,
were all pointing towards Jesus.
So, the body mentioned here is not the body of
the Old Testament believers. It is the body of the new men created in Christ
Jesus. This body is the Church of the living God. The Jews do not get to boast
about this as if the Gentiles have finally come into the inheritance. The Jews
have also finally come in. They have come into their majority. They are no
longer children who are no better than a slave. They are children who can
receive the full inheritance. This inheritance was waiting for Jew and Gentile
in Jesus Christ.
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