It is a good thing that you approve in the budget
each year and allowing the staff to get away
for this time of retreat in Chicago at the Bible
Conference. It does something special to us and
our wives in unifying us, refreshing us in the
things of the Lord as we are preached to together.
This last week we were privileged to hear such
men as Dr. Howard Hendricks, Dr. David Jeremiah,
Dr. Joseph Stoll, Dr. Ron Blue, Dr. Donald Baker.
These men were the instruments of God in our
lives. We thank the Lord for the opportunity
to be there and to hear them and to come back
refreshed. I don't know about you, but I like
daffy -nitions. Do you know what I mean by that?
When I was a kid, I think it was Parade magazine
that used to have those with some regularity.
I always got a chuckle out of the words which
were defined in such a manner. I came across
some this last week that I thought were pretty
good. You know what a diner is? A choo -choo
car. They get better. Do you know what a hypocrite
is? A definition for a hypocrite is someone who
prays to God on Sunday and prays on people the
rest of the week. That's more painful than funny.
A church nursery. A ballroom. Marriage is defined
as the ways and means committee. She directs
the ways, he furnishes the means. An alarm clock,
a mechanism used to scare the daylights into
you. An antique, a piece of furniture that's
paid for. Being of some Irish extract, I appreciate
this definition of blarney. It's simply bologna
coated with an Irish smile. A honeymoon, the
period between I do and you'd better. A pedestrian
is a husband who didn't think the family needed
two cars. And here's a wife's definition of retirement,
twice as much husband on half as much income.
Well, I enjoy definitions, but definitions are
more practical for us, and today we're going
to look at some definitions. We're particularly
interested in defining the term the mystery of
Christ, which has been the focus of our study
in Ephesians chapter 3, verses 1 through 13.
Webster defines a mystery as, quote, something
unexplained, anything or event that remains so
secret or obscure as to excite curiosity. In
theology, any assumed truth that cannot be comprehended
by the human mind but must be accepted by faith,
close quote. Well, while those definitions are
certainly correct in certain situations, This
term that we're looking at today, the mystery
of Christ, cannot be defined in those terms.
Last week we looked at the messenger of the mystery
of Christ, and of course that is the beloved
apostle Paul. Today we want to look at the meaning
of the mystery of Christ. It is important for
you and me to grasp the significance. of the
meaning of this term. Without the grasp of the
meaning of the mystery of Christ, one will be
confused in his interpretation of the New Testament.
By the way, nearly as critical as the doctrine
of inspiration is the doctrine of interpretation.
How do we know what the Bible means? It is called
in theology hermeneutics. Herman who? Hermeneutics.
It is the science and art of biblical interpretation.
I repeat, I believe that nearly as important
as the doctrine of inspiration is the doctrine
of how one interprets the Bible. We as a church
are committed to what is called the literal,
or perhaps better, the normal interpretation
of the Scriptures. That means that we interpret
the Bible as it normally would seem to be interpreted
in its context. That's not hard to do once one
has the idea. That's the way that we read the
newspaper, for example. We read the front page,
the hard news, from a certain perspective. We
interpret it that way. We turn further in and
we see an advertisement. It claims to be a going
-out -of -business sale at this furniture store.
Well, we interpret that in a certain context.
Then we turn a little farther to the editorial
page, and we know that these are opinions, and
so we interpret those in that way. And then we
go back to the comic strips, and we read those
and interpret them a different way. You see,
that's simply applied normal interpretation.
And we simply use the same procedure when we
come to the Bible. We interpret it in a literal
way, which means that we interpret it as it normally
should be interpreted in that context. Now one
important principle of normal interpretation
is this. Before deciding what a passage means,
be sure that you have properly understood or
defined the words and phrases in that verse.
As you come to our text today in Ephesians 3,
you must first understand what the mystery of
Christ is before you can properly interpret this
passage. Let's talk first about a definition,
particularly of the term mystery. We see a definition
written for us in verse 5, but I would like you
to turn to two other additional words regarding
the definition of the word mystery in the New
Testament. First, go back with me to the book
of Romans, to the 16th chapter. We'll look at
verses 25 and 26. Romans chapter 16, verse 25.
Not 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, 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. Now keeping in
mind what it says there, would you turn into
the New Testament to the book of Colossians and
the first chapter and see another verse that
defines for us what the word mystery means in
the Bible. Paul is speaking about the gospel
again, and he says in verse 26 of Colossians
1, that is, the mystery which has been hidden
from the past ages and generations. but has now
been manifested to his saints. You will notice
similar phrases in the two texts that we've just
read. Let's go back to Ephesians, where we're
going to focus our attention today and see if
we don't find some very similar wording. In Ephesians
3, verse 4, and by referring to this, when you
read, you can understand my insight into the
mystery of Christ. which in other generations
was not made known to the sons of men, as it
has now been revealed to his holy apostles and
prophets in the Spirit. To be specific, that
the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members
of the body and fellow partakers of the promise
in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Now, as long
as we're talking about a definition for this
phrase, the mystery of Christ, I want you to
notice first, that it's called the mystery of
Christ. That tells us at least two things. First
of all, the source of this mystery is Christ.
That is, it is something from him to us. Secondly,
the mystery of Christ tells us that he is also
the substance of the mystery. In other words,
the mystery that we're going to talk about is
something not only from him, but it is something
about him. There was a great deal revealed in
the Old Testament about the Christ, the anointed
of God, but now something more is about to be
unveiled. This additional truth was, as it says
here in verse 5, not made known. to the sons
of men in other generations. This additional
truth was unknown in previous generations. It
was veiled, perhaps, in some references, but
even the writers of those Old Testament texts
did not understand the fullness of what they
were writing. In 1 Peter 1, verses 10 through
12, Peter tells us that those holy men of old
diligently sought to know the meaning of their
own words, and yet were not given the privilege
of understanding them with full insight. And
so some of these things incorporated in the mystery
may have been in a veiled way spoken about in
the Old Testament, but not in a way that even
the writers could comprehend. Now with the light,
the spotlight of the New Testament, we can go
back to the Old Testament and study texts that
come to life. Truth pops out at us because of
the additional light that we have that even that
author back then did not possess. We are told
here that the mystery in its fullness was not
known in other generations previously, but it
goes on to say it has now been revealed. In other
words, God has chosen to unveil the fullness
of the mystery. And notice that he has done it
now, it says, N -O -W, a key word, because that
word reminds us that God does not continuously
reveal truth. God gives a little bit here, a
little bit there through this writer and that
one in the Old Testament. And then for 400 years
there is silence, no revelation from God until
the light dawns and the Lord Jesus Christ is
born. And then revelation is once more given
to man in that first century. But by the end
of the first century, once more, the door was
shut on revelation. God had said, God had unveiled,
God had exposed all that he intended to unveil.
So that when the last of the inspired books was
penned by John the Apostle, nearly in 100 A .D.,
many years after the death and resurrection of
Christ, There is a warning given at the end of
that book not to add to or to take away from
the things that were written in that book. And
not just in that book, but because of its unique
place, we believe it applies to the whole Bible.
In other words, God at that time, in that generation,
as Paul was writing contemporaneously, saying,
now God is revealing. But beloved, today God
is not revealing new truth. God is illuminating
us. God is giving us new light. God is giving
us understanding. God is teaching us. But he
is not unveiling brand new truths. That was done
through the writers of this book. And our job
today is to study this book. That's why we make
such an emphasis on this here in Grace Church.
Now Paul, as he was writing, says God has now
revealed it. Notice to whom. Who are the recipients?
Well, he says it's to the holy apostles and prophets.
That is, those who are part of the foundation
stage of the church. Generally speaking, we can
say the apostles received from God the doctrine.
And those prophets in those early days received
from God practical instructions. They did not
have the written New Testament books. They were
still being penned. And so God gave to them practical
understanding. What do you do in this emergency?
How do you handle that situation? What do you
say to a group of people like this over there?
God gave to the prophets direct revelation as
to how to handle those things, how to cover those
situations, what to say to those people. Those
were the prophets. It was direct revelation.
God gave it to them. And notice that he gave
it to them, as it says here, in the Spirit. Here
we have the identity of the revealer. The Holy
Spirit throughout the Bible is the agent of revelation.
As Peter says in 2 Peter 1 .21, regarding the
Old Testament writers, but applying to the New
as well. He says that they were born along, they
were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Jesus
said to the apostles, when the Spirit of truth
has come, He will bring to your minds these things
that I have said to you. The Spirit of God is
the agent of revelation. He is the one who enabled
these men to write so that what they wrote were
words beyond their own. They came out of the
vocabulary of those men. But as they wrote, what
they wrote was the very thought. They were the
very words of God. There's a marvelous miracle
in this book that we have that we call the Bible.
It is the revelation of God. Well, in this revelation,
we have exposed to us the mystery. It is truth.
that was previously hidden, but has now been
made known by revelation from God. The Greek
word here is the word musterion. It is the root
word for our word, mystery. The word musterion
is similar to terms in pagan religions of that
day. These cultic groups had secrets which were
given to their initiates, not unlike some of
the lodges today who claim to have certain secrets
that are passed on only to their members. Well,
that procedure is rooted all the way back into
paganism. Those mystery religions, as they were
called, had certain mysteries, certain secrets,
that were passed on to the people who came in
to their particular group. For example, those
who worshiped Isis and Osiris. And if you recognize
those terms, they are names of cartoon figures
that some of your children are watching on Saturday
morning. Some of these cartoons are absolutely
pagan in their origin. They go back to the gods
and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology. Did
you know that? There were people who worshipped
Isis and Osiris. It was a very serious religion
back in the days of the Apostle Paul. Well, the
people who were converted to the worship of these
figures were given certain mysteries. Now, there's
a contrast between the word mystery in the New
Testament and those mysteries. Those mysteries
in pagan religion, and it was a very similar
term, two or three of them that were used. Those
mysteries were intended for concealment. But
the term musterion or mystery in the New Testament
is for revealment. It's to expose, not to hide.
Likewise, there are some liberal scholars who
tell us that Paul borrowed some of his ideas
from these mystery religions. They say, for example,
that Paul got the idea of baptism. and of the
Lord's Supper from the mystery religions of his
day. Someone else has said that Paul got the
idea of the resurrection from the mystery religions
of his day. That is absolutely false. These ideas
and teachings, these commandments, were given
to us by revelation from God. Paul did not borrow
them from the mystery religions. While there
may be similar terms that are used, Entirely
different meanings are given to these similar
words. A mystery, in the New Testament sense,
by definition, is something that God allowed
to remain hidden in the past, but which He has
now been pleased to reveal to us in this age.
Now let's talk about the description of this
mystery that we have defined in brief. A fuller
description is given to us in verse 6, where
he says, to be specific, that the Gentiles are
fellow heirs, fellow members, and fellow partakers.
Here we have another statement regarding the
unification of Jew and Gentile. The church, which
began as only Jewish, now embraces Gentiles as
well. Indeed, a new identity is given to both
the Jew and the Gentile who believes on Christ.
No longer is he Jew. No longer is he Gentile.
But now he is in Christ Jesus, a new person,
a new creation. As it says back in chapter 2
and verse 15, He made the two into one new man.
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be
found in the Old Testament. It did not exist
then. The truth of the church did not exist in
the Old Testament, in the revelation of God.
It existed in the mind of God, but it was not
until the times of the apostles and prophets,
and specifically and especially through Paul,
that God exposed to us the doctrines regarding
the church. What we see here is not an alliance
between Jew and Gentile. This is not an agreement
between them to get along. But what we have here
is rather an amalgamation of both Jew and Gentile
who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is so
difficult for you and me today to understand
what this meant to the first generation church.
The inbred discrimination, the deep hatred between
Jew and Gentile was so real in that day. Now
it is in part of our world today as well. But
it was everywhere in that day. The Jew arrogantly
despised the Gentile. The pagan Gentile looked
with disgust upon the Jews who thought they were
better than everybody else. You see, the Lord
Jesus Christ came and took away the barrier of
the dividing wall and united Jew and Gentile
through faith in himself. So that today there
is not a Gentile church and a Jewish church.
That is not the plan of God. I know that there
are some people who believe in what is called
messianic churches. That is, converted Jews.
who worship together. Their idea is that they
should worship together and let the Gentiles
worship over here. There are some fine men in
America today who believe that. It is absolutely
unbiblical. That is not the plan of God. The
Lord Jesus Christ has removed these human and
earthly bases for discrimination and separation
among people. Another example is found back in
Galatians chapter 3. Would you turn there with
me? And look at verses 26 to 29. Paul says to
them, You are all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus. For all of you who are baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither
slave nor free man. There is neither male nor
female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. And
if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's
offspring and heirs according to promise. You
see, there is not room in the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ for a fellowship for the rich over
here and for the poor over there. It is not the
plan of God in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ
for the men to sit here and for the women to
be around the perimeter as it was in the Jewish
synagogues. It is not the plan of God for there
to be a Gentile church here on this corner and
a Jewish church on that corner. I'll go further.
It is not the plan of God for there to be a white
church here and a black church there. And that
is true whether it be St. Paul, Minnesota, Forsyth
County, Georgia, or Johannesburg, South Africa.
Those kinds of separations do not exist in the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. These differences
rooted in human prejudice and discrimination
have no place among those who are believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ. For we are all one in
Christ. Now the Old Testament did reveal some
things about the relationship between God and
Gentiles. Let me just review a couple of them
with you. First of all, in the Old Testament,
God promised that the Gentiles, non -Jews, that
the Gentiles would be recipients of blessing,
through the Abrahamic covenant. In Genesis chapter
12, verse 3. Genesis 18, 18. Genesis 22, verse
18. In all of these verses, you will read that
God planned to bless the Gentiles as a result
of his covenant with faithful Abraham. And you
can also read in the Old Testament, particularly
in the book of Isaiah, That God's plan was, even
then, to save Gentiles. In Isaiah chapter 42,
verse 1, again in verse 6, Isaiah 49, verse 6,
Isaiah 60, verse 3, just three or four examples
of many verses that tell us even back then in
the Old Testament, God explained that he was
going to save Gentile people. But the concept
now, listen now, the concept in those days, was
that God would save them by converting to Judaism.
God would bring blessing to the nations, to the
Gentiles, through Israel. But the mystery that
was not known then, and was only known after
the apostles, and I say again, especially the
apostle Paul, is this truth that Jew and Gentile
would become equal. That they would become one
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was not that God
was going to bless the Gentiles through the Jews.
But now at the cross, Jew and Gentile are on
equal ground. And they come by faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ into the church. This new identity,
this new entity, this new humanity that God is
putting together. in this age. That unique relationship
was revealed through the Apostle Paul. It was
not known in the Old Testament. And that, my
friend, is what the mystery of Christ is. There
are other aspects to it, but that's the heart
of it. Now, there are three terms that are used
in verse 6 to elaborate on this unity. First,
fellow heirs. That has to do with the legality
of our relationship. It has to do with inheritance.
What he's saying here is that Gentiles share
equally with Jews as both believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Gentiles will share in the covenant
of Abraham by faith, Galatians 3, verses 6 through
9. Gentiles and Jews who come in faith to the
Lord Jesus Christ become the spiritual descendants
of Abraham. The promises, the material national
promises given to Abraham and the Jewish people
are fulfilled spiritually in the church. That's
not what I mean. Those promises will literally,
materially, on earth, be fulfilled in the kingdom
age, the millennium of Christ, which is to come.
But there's a very real sense, says the apostle
in Galatians, in which we Gentiles now become
fellow heirs. And so it has to do with our legality
in our relationship. Then fellow members deals
with life. It has to do with our being fellow
members in the body. We share the same life.
You see, my ear shares the same life principle
with my big toe. They're about six feet or a
little less than that apart. But there's the
same life supporting them, you see. My tongue,
which I just about bit off during breakfast this
morning, shares the same life principle with
my thumb. What's the point? The point is this,
that when you and I believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, we are added to the body of Christ by
the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That's the biblical
definition of that, baptism. We are placed into
the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
And as we are placed into that body, we are made
members of the body. We have a use, we have a
function in the body, and God gifts us to fulfill
that function. We share the same life in Jesus
Christ. We're part of the same body, you see.
We are fellow members. And then we are fellow
partakers. This is not terribly different than
the other two. but it seems to deal with the
idea of liberty here. The first deals with legality.
We are fellow heirs of the inheritance in Christ
Jesus. The second has to do with life. We are
fellow members of the body. The third has to
do with liberty. We are fellow partakers of the
promise. This term, fellow partakers, was used
in that day. It is discovered in some of the
papyri that has been found by archaeologists.
of the co -owners of a house. What did it mean?
Well, it meant that those who owned the house
had the same liberty in the house. It belonged
to them equally. We are said to be co -owners
of the promise, explaining that no longer are
we excluded from these promises, no longer excluded
from the nation of Israel. Now we are part of
that. We are fellow partners, fellow partakers
of the promise. We have wonderful liberty in
the Lord Jesus Christ. No longer are we Gentiles
outside. But God has opened the way for Gentiles
and Jews to be a part of this, to share the same
liberty in Christ Jesus. You see, this mystery,
this unity, which is revealed here, is the unity
that Jesus prayed for in John chapter 17, when
he prayed that we all may be one. just as he
is one with the Father. There are some very sincere
and well -meaning people who use that prayer
today to try to accomplish denominational ecumenism,
bringing everybody together under one roof. I
want you to know that that is not what Jesus
prayed for. If that is what Jesus prayed for
in John chapter 17, then his prayer has never
been answered. What did Jesus pray for when he
said, Father, I pray that they may be one, just
as we are one. He was praying for our essential
unity, not denominational unity. That won't happen
on this earth with our imperfections, our own
convictions and ideas. But he was praying for
essential unity. which occurred, by the way,
on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God
came and began this new body, this new entity
called the Church. And every time someone believes
on Christ and is added as a member to the body,
that prayer is answered all over again, unity,
that they may be one as we are one. Now unity
is very special. It is the unity of the Godhead
itself. It is a unity that is indivisible, and
that is why Paul says so strongly in chapter
4, look you people, he says, guard the unity
which the Spirit has produced in your midst.
Because you see, the unity of a church is its
glory. The unity of a church is its witness to
a watching world. So Paul says to guard it. Well,
let me close with the determination. We've talked
about a definition of the mystery of Christ,
a description of the mystery of Christ, its unity.
And now let's talk about a determination. There
are two things I want to say about that flow
out of the end of verse 6. First of all, participation
of Jew or Gentile is limited. It is only for
those who are in Christ Jesus, as it says there.
It is only for those who are in Christ Jesus.
You see, eternal destiny is determined by one's
essential unity and identity. One who is identified
with the world, will have the destiny of the
world, which is judgment. One who is identified
with the Lord Jesus Christ will share the destiny
of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is eternal glory.
Every one of us today is identified either with
the world and with sin, or we are identified
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Participation of
Jew and Gentile is limited. Not every Jew, Not
every Gentile is a part of what we're talking
about today. It is only that Jew and that Gentile
who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ and is thereby
in Christ Jesus. You say, how do you get to that
position? I'm over here. I'm identified with
sin. I'm identified with the world, and I know
I'm lost. How do I get identified over here with
Christ? How do I get plugged in? Well, the answer
is, and the second thing that we notice, participation
of Jew or Gentile is available. Available to
anyone through the gospel. The last three words
of verse 6. Through the death, the burial, and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for our
sins. Participation by Jew or Gentile is available
to all. All one has to do is to believe, to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. The gospel is
a precious and personal love message from God
to Jew and to Gentile. When the Lord Jesus Christ
died on the cross, he died for Jew and for Gentile.
And now since the Jew and the Gentile are on
the same level, anyone, whether Jew or Gentile,
may come to Christ and be saved. Anyone can appropriate
by faith the gospel, the good news, that Christ
died for our sins and rose again. Our friend,
he died for your sins. And the way has been opened
for you to come to him. This last week we had
the opportunity as a staff to visit the Billy
Graham Center in Wheaton. If you have not been
there, I would urge you to go sometime to see
the museum. In one wing they have what is called
a walk through the gospel. As you enter that
wing, there is a sign on the wall inscribing
for all to read John 3 .16. For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son
that whosoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life. And as you turn from that
sign and proceed, you immediately are confronted
by the cross. And as you approach the cross,
you enter through a door in the shape of a cross.
How beautifully that depicts the gospel. How
is it that we participate in the mystery of Christ?
How is it that we become in Christ? It is through
the gospel. It's by coming through that door
that Jesus Christ has opened through his work
at the cross. Anyone may appropriate that. by
faith. In the first service this morning, we
had a married man, a young married man in his
20s, who's attended church for some time, but
who today, for the first time, received the Lord
Jesus Christ by faith. I can't help but believe
in this congregation at this hour that there's
someone, some person, who understands what it
is to be saved, and you're ready this morning
to make that same decision. Participation is
limited, but it's also available to anyone who
will come to Christ in faith. Let's bow together.
With our heads bowed and eyes closed, I wonder,
my friend, if the Spirit of God may be working
in your heart at this moment. You've been in
church. You've heard the gospel. You know the
story of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
But up to this point, up to this point in your
life, there's not been that personal commitment
to the Lord Jesus. There hasn't been that personal
appropriation by faith of the gospel. Dear friend,
will you understand that that's God's only means
to save you? But it is his means. And he makes
it available to you right now. Will you, in the
quietness of your own heart, right where you're
seated, pray to the Lord Jesus? Will you acknowledge
to him your personal sins? For all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. Will you
tell him that that includes you? And will you
tell him also that you understand that he came
into the world and died for your sins? That you
believe what the Bible says, that he rose from
the dead? And you are personally, at this moment,
committing your eternal destiny to the act of
receiving him as your Savior. My friend, if that
has been the prayer of your heart, and God knows
your heart, The words are not so important as
the spirit of your heart. If that has been your
prayer in these moments, with heads bowed and
eyes closed, would you lift your hand to let
me know that? As that young man did earlier this
morning, would you say by the uplifted hand,
Pastor, today, for the first time in my life,
I have received the Lord Jesus. I've prayed and
asked him to save me from my sin. Would you lift
your hand and then put it down? I'm not going
to come back and grab you or embarrass you, but
I would like to be able to pray for you. Is there
one? Yes, today I believe. Today I receive the
Lord Jesus Christ as my own. Father, we bless
you for the mystery of Christ, for the fact that
you have revealed to us this wonderful truth
that we are fellow heirs and fellow partakers
of the promise in Christ Jesus. We rejoice in
this message, and at the same time we recognize
that it's not for us only, but it's for the world.
I pray that you will make us adequate conveyors
of this message, faithful proclaimers of it,
not only in our community, but personally and
through our missionaries around the world. Thank
you, Father, that you have exposed to us this
truth that has been hidden in previous generations
and by which we are related to you in this age.
In the church, the body of Christ. In Jesus'
name, amen. Let's stand together. Would you sing
with me without accompaniment? Everyone standing.
Amazing.