Intro
- In 1956, Stuart Hamblen wrote the song “It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) - the chorus runs like this...
It is no secret, what God can do
what He’s done for others, He’ll do for you
with arms wide open, He’ll pardon you
it is no secret what God can do
- This is the issue in today’s passage
- God has had a secret hidden for generations, but in the fullness of time, that secret was revealed
- It is the joining together of Jews & Gentiles in Christ to form one body
----------------
- Many people love secrets & mysteries
- Especially the “who done it” type novels
-------------
- Most mysteries contain certain elements in the story
* You have a crime that has been committed.
* You have a villain.
* You have a Hero.
* You have a pretty young thing
-------------
- In the NT, those same elements are present...
* You have a Crime. - People who sin & rebel against God
* You have a Villain - His name is the devil or Satan
* You have a hero - His name is Jesus
* You have a pretty young thing - She is called the Church
-------------------
- When we talk about a secret, we talk about something that is not to be revealed to anyone else
- But God’s secret is now out in the open...
Ro 16:25-27 .. 25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith
1. God’s Secret
Q. Why is it we have secrets?
Q. Why do we, at times, like to keep secrets?
- For a number of reasons...it can be...
1. Out of Shame
- Most people have some “skeletons in their closet” that we don’t want revealed to the world, because we would feel ashamed if they were revealed
- And yet, knowing all about those skeletons, God is still willing to forgive us
2. Out of Discretion
- At times, it is appropriate to keep in confidence something that has been said
- When someone goes around telling others what has been said in confidence, then the community becomes full of gossip
----------------
- Mysteries are not much more than secrets yet to be revealed
- They serve a particular purpose as well...
1. For suspense
- There is the anticipation of what that secret might be
- The ending could be really good or it could be really bad
- You don’t know how serious the situation might be until the secret is revealed & so you are kept in suspense
2. For surprise
Q. How many times have you tried to anticipate the “who done it” in the mystery stories, only to admit when the mystery is revealed: “I didn’t think it was her”
3. To Arouse Curiosity
- A mystery or secret triggers in people the desire to know & discover the truth
- No one likes to be left “out of the loop” when it comes to a good story
4. To Stir up Amazement
- There is a sense of satisfaction & awe when the secret is revealed & all the pieces of the puzzle are put together
------------
- The mystery Paul speaks about here, he says, was not made known to the sons of men in other generations
- But now has been revealed to the apostles & prophets in the Spirit
Q. What, then, is the content of this mystery? What is the answer?
- We will get to that soon
--------------
- What we do need to understand is that this revealed mystery is of eternal importance
- Of all the time that has existed / Of all the events that have ever taken place, this is the most important of all
- It is God’s eternal purpose that is now made known & we’re part of it
------------------
Q. How privileged are the apostles & prophets of the Lord that they have had this secret revealed to them?
- They must be special & worthy to have received this!
- Hardly, says Paul
- In spite of being a Jew, this secret was revealed to him via GRACE
1. By Grace, Revealed to Paul
- There is a definition to grace & it this... God’s “unmerited favour” & it totally excludes a person’s worthiness
- In other words, grace is a gift
-------------
- In Gen. 6:8 we read that Noah found grace from God
- Then we read in the next verse that Noah was a righteous man & he walked with God
- Now if Noah’s righteousness is the reason he found grace, then grace would have the meaning of “favour earned” & we know that that cannot be so
- Because grace would no longer be grace, if it can be earned
- Noah was righteous because God first acted toward Noah in grace
-----------------
- Paul makes this abundantly clear when talking about himself & I think he particularly hammers this because as a Jew, he could give the impression to the predominantly Gentile church that he has a higher status than them
1. He was made a minister not because he was a worthy Jew, but according to v.7 it was “the gift of God’s grace”
2. It was not according to his own superior abilities, but according to the working of God’s power in him (again in v.7)
3. He maintains that he is the least of all the saints
- He thoroughly states the position that this new thing that God has revealed is solely through God’s generosity
- Not by class, not by pedigree, not by privilege, but by God’s generosity
------------------
- Paul speaks of this as a stewardship that has been given to him & that it involved suffering
- And in this respect, his suffering is to the church’s benefit
2. Paul’s Stewardship & Suffering
- In the movie Troy, which speaks of the Trojan War against Sparta, the opening scene is about two armies facing up to one another, but the contest is decided by two champions, one from each side
- Instead of all the bloodshed, only one man needs to die
-------------
- This kind of representative hero is also practised in the Olympic games & other sports
- Where the competitor represents his or her country in the winning or losing stakes
-------------
- This is the role that God has given to Paul
- He is the champion of the Gentiles
- The last verse of our passage is difficult
Eph 3:13 .. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
- He has been given a stewardship & must discharge that faithfully
- And he suffered for doing so
- But his suffering is for our glory
---------------
- That as he takes this mystery, unfolds it & spreads it around the world, many more Gentiles will hear, come to faith & know God’s salvation & glory
- Like that great hymn: “O that will be glory for me”
- 2nd verse reads...
When by the gift of His infinite grace
I am accorded in heaven a place
Just to be there
And to look on His face
Will through the ages be glory for me
Chorus...
O that will be glory for me
Glory for me glory for me
When by His grace
I shall look on His face
That will be glory
Be glory for me
- The spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles brings glory to the Gentiles
3. The Contents of God’s Secret
- This mystery that has been made known, encompasses all of what God is doing in & through Christ
- As we survey its use in the NT, we get these meanings...
- It is Christ in you, it is the one spirit union between Christ and His church, it is Christ Himself, it is the Gospel of Christ, it is the teaching of the Gospel, it is godliness that stems from knowing Christ, it is the partial hardening of Israel, in Revelation it is God’s judgements poured out upon the earth
- In an overall perspective we would say that it is God’s action in Christ & what that has brought about
---------------
- I have left out, though, the particular emphasis of today’s passage & that is found in v.6
Eph 3:6 .. 6 to be specific (about the mystery), that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
- The mystery revealed is the creation of the one body - the church - composed of Jew & Gentile believers
-------------
- What a contrast to the world as it stands in its despair, discontent, dissatisfaction & alienation from one another
- That God creates a unity that soars beyond anything that has ever existed on the earth
-------------
- Now we might think that God has somehow reversed what He has promised to the Jews - that they will be sitting as pre-eminent over the earth
- I don’t think so
If a father promises to take his son to an AFL game, but when he goes, takes both his son and his daughter to the game, he has not violated his promise. He has done more than he promised, not less.
There is a problem only if he promised his son that just the two of them would go to the game and spend the day together. If he then takes his daughter along, he has broken his promise
- What is now revealed from this once, secret, is that the Gentiles are fellow members of the body, fellow partakers of the promises of God & fellow heirs of God’s estate
Ro 4:13 .. 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- In one sense, the distinction of Jew & Gentile has been dissolved & believers from both groups are inserted into the one body - & that is, the church
- We become a building - a temple - in which God dwells by His Spirit
- This is what Paul has been saying throughout chapter 2
---------------
- Finally, what is...
2. The Purpose of This, Now Open, Secret
- The purpose of God is to put us on display
- What God has created in Christ - the Church - He is placing on display & not only to the world of men & women, but to the heavenly powers that be
- That is to angels of all different levels of authority
- Both holy & unholy - that is, angels & demons
---------------
- When the apostle Peter talks about the OT prophets, he mentions that not only they, but the angels longed to look into what the Spirit of God meant as the prophets predicted the sufferings of Christ & the glories to follow
1 Pe 1:12 .. 12 It was revealed to them (the OT prophets) that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.
- Angels didn’t know what God was going to do in Christ
- It was something, that for a long time, they have looked into
----------------
- The purpose of the unfolding of this mystery is that God’s wisdom in the creation of this unity between Jew & Gentile will be on display to the rulers & the authorities in the heavenly places
- It is all about...
1. Displaying God’s Manifold Wisdom Through the Church
- Secular history concentrates it’s attention on kings, queens, presidents, politicians, generals & athletes - they are the VIPS
- However, the revelation of this mystery places the church as central in history
- We are on display to the heavenly powers who are amazed at us - or more accurately - amazed at God who in His wisdom was able to unite Jew & Gentiles into the one body that bows to His will & authority
- Who has turned disrespectful rebels into loving creatures sensitive to His will
----------------
- Secular history also concentrates on wars, battles & peace treaties
- However, the revelation of God’s mystery sees the ultimate struggle between good & evil
- On the decisive victory of Jesus Christ over the powers of darkness
- On the peace treaty forged through Jesus’ death & resurrection
- On the amnesty granted to all rebels who repent & believe
----------------
- The heavenly powers stand in awe of God as they see the church - us
- In 1 Cor. 11:10 we read that angels are present with us in our services
- In Lk. 15:10 Jesus says that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents
- They are so excited as they look at what God is doing & that it is just amazing!
Conclusion
- No wonder God’s wisdom has astounded angels - it’s no wonder
- Listen to how AW Tozer describes the Christian...
A real Christian is an odd number... He feels supreme love for One who he has never seen; talks every day to Someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep;
sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge -- Tozer
Q. What, or rather, Who is at work in a person like that?
-----------
- What was a mystery has now been made plain
- God has healed the rift between Jew & Gentile - He has broken down the dividing wall
- God heals the broken hearted & broken relationships - all by the work of Christ as revealed in the Gospel
----------------
- You can know the pathway to healing today
- The invitation to turn to Christ is open to all
- As it is stated in that chorus...
It is no secret, what God can do
what He’s done for others, He’ll do for you
with arms wide open, He’ll pardon you
it is no secret what God can do
