"Unveiling the Unfathomable Riches of Christ: Eph 3:8-10"

Part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being a student of His Word.

And here at Dillingham Moravian Church, that is our goal, to help us learn the

Word of God so that we can grow as disciples of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ

together and abide in Him.

My name is Pastor Simon, and welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham

Moravian Church. According to one article, the SS Clara Nevada was originally

a survey ship for the U.S. Revenue Service.

Near the end of its life, the ship was sold to the Maguire brothers.

The brothers, who purchased the ship at a fraction of its original cost,

quickly refurbished it and put it into service sailing to Alaska from Seattle.

Beset with problems on the first voyage, the ship tied up at Skagway,

Alaska on February 4, 1898.

And on February 5, 1898, the ship headed south with passengers and crews on board.

For reasons unknown, the ship collided with Eldred Rock and very quickly sank,

killing everyone on the vessel.

Along with the loss of rumored $165,000 in raw gold. With the gold price at

the time being $18.98 per ounce, that equals 8,700 ounces of gold.

Since this article was written, the gold is worth now $27,118,509.

The wreckage lies in less than 40 feet of water, and no one has claimed to find that gold.

That treasure, as far as anyone knows, is still lying underneath that water,

waiting for someone to find it.

My point with this illustration is that although the treasure of Clara,

Nevada is quite substantial, it pales in comparison to the infinitely humongous

treasure that God Almighty has given us in the grace of Christ.

Let's pray. Oh Father God, we

are so so grateful that you are our

Lord and our God and our Savior, we are

grateful that now all of us who are not

Jews have been incorporated into the nation and family of god because of your

Son Jesus Christ, and we are so grateful to you for doing that, Lord, as we hear

your Word, teach us, guide us.

And work in us so that we can apply what Your Word teaches us today.

In Your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we have been studying Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

The main theme of this letter is the unity of God displayed to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Last time in Ephesians 3, we learned that to apply God's Word,

we must understand the spiritual truths that God is imparting to us.

And to be able to understand God's Word, we must read God's Word.

The second truth that God has imparted to us through Paul is that the unity

of the Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ,

which was once a mystery hidden in God, has now been revealed through His holy

apostles and prophets, including the Apostle Paul.

Lastly, God through Paul communicated to us that God has appointed His minister

servants to proclaim the gospel

of Jesus Christ that is imbued with the life-saving power of God Himself.

And this is where we come to our passage today. In Ephesians 3, verse 8-10,

Ephesians 3:8–10

where Paul instructed, To me, the very least of all saints,

this grace was given, to proclaim to the

Gentiles the good news of the unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring to

light for all what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been

hidden in God who created all things so that the manifold wisdom of God might

now be made known to the church,

to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

As we study this passage this morning, I want to point out that it is the grace

of God that is on display in Ephesians 3, and especially in this passage.

I want you to see that Paul explained to the Ephesian church.

That there were two reasons why God's grace was given to the Jewish and Gentile

believers in the Church of Christ, and one overall purpose for God to give out His grace.

The first reason that God has given us His grace in Christ is that grace is

given to proclaim the good news of Christ's unfathomable riches.

Paul, in Ephesians 3, verse 8, explained to the Ephesian congregation.

Ephesians 3:8

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given.

To proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the unfathomable riches of Christ.

It is absolutely essential for us to recognize that from Paul's understanding,

the grace of God is always outward. It's always being given.

Grace is completely undeserved. There's nothing that anyone can do to earn it.

Grace is never self-focused grace

is the unmerited gift of

god and this is important for us to know because paul understood himself to

be the recipient of the grace of God for which he knew he did not deserve it

all Paul explained to the Ephesians that he was the most undeserving person of the grace of God,

and he viewed himself as the least of all the saints.

Now, I don't believe that Paul was being falsely modest here.

He believed this. And the reason I say that is because Paul knew where he came from.

Paul knew that it was only through Christ who intervened and stopped Paul or

Saul from persecuting and imprisoning and having Christians murdered with the

express purpose of wiping Jesus' way from the face of the earth.

In Acts 9, verses 1-9, Luke recorded how Paul was saved by God.

Acts 9:1–9

"Now Saul, still breathing threats and murders against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at

Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way,

both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

And as he was traveling, it happened that when he was approaching Damascus,

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul,

Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And Paul said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

But rise up, enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."

It was at this point that everything changed for Paul.

Christ saved him, transformed his life from being a servant of the Mosaic Law

and the traditions of the Pharisees to serving Jesus Christ as his only Lord and Master.

Not only did God give Paul the grace or the undeserved mercy of salvation in

Jesus Christ, but God also gave grace to Paul for an express purpose.

That primary purpose was to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles or nations.

Yet, I also want you to see that Paul called the good news or the gospel the

unfathomable riches of Christ.

You see, the word unfathomable meant not capable of being traced by footprints,

used only here and in Romans 11, verse 33. breed.

Romans 11:33

This is similar to trying to find a moose when hunting by tracking their hoofprints.

Often we track animals by finding a game trail, looking for their tracks.

I understand that now we can spot moose by plane or we can call them close with

moose calls, but we're not able to track the animals from the ground if we can't

find their hoofprints, right? Can't find sign of them.

And this concept of being able to track someone or something is what Paul was

getting at with this word unfathomable.

The riches or resources of Christ in the gospel are untrackable without God

revealing them to us in the grace of God through his servants or bond slaves in the word of God.

It is so essential that we understand that before Paul and the apostles,

the direct revelation of the Gentiles or non-Jewish Christ believers being brought

into and united into the family of God was unknowable.

That information was untrackable!

Yes, there were clues throughout the Old Testament, but there was no clearly

defined revelation from God.

You and I, as Christ's disciples, need to know two truths that are taught from Ephesians 3, verse 8.

Ephesians 3:8

The first truth is that we need to know where we came from or what we've been saved from.

One of the reasons why Paul was so passionately in love with Jesus, his Lord,

and so on fire for the mission that his Master had given him,

was because Paul knew full well

the depth of sin and the monstrous depravity that he was saved out of.

Paul was not being falsely humble here. He was being perfectly honest about

where he was rescued from.

But I want you to notice that Paul didn't wallow in false guilt.

Rather, Paul kept his focus on Jesus and on the mission that God and Jesus Christ gave him.

And this leads us to the second truth that I want you to see.

And that is that we need to know to whom and for what we have been saved to.

This is so crucial because so many Christians stay focused on remembering their

past sins and the damage and destruction that those sins have caused in their

lives. Now, don't get me wrong.

God uses guilt to bring us to repentance for our sins.

But when we have repented and turned away from our sin, we must,

by the gracious strength of God, be fully committed to and focused on Jesus, our wonderful masters.

And we must be completely sold out or committed to the mission that Jesus Christ

has given us through His Word.

However, it may not be false guilt that's holding you back from obeying Christ,

but some other sin, some other stronghold is blocking you from obeying Christ.

And sharing Christ to others. Whatever your issue is, surrender it to the Lord.

Repent of your sin or sins and let it go.

Then you must get moving, heading in the direction that God has commanded you to move forward in.

The second timeless truth that I believe God, through Paul, is wanting to teach

us is that grace was given to illuminate the mystery of God that was once hidden.

Alaska nighttimes and mornings during the winter can be dark,

and the sun did not rise for much of the winter until about 10 or 10.30 a.m.

It was almost pitch black in the early mornings when I would go out of the house

to get the vehicle started and ready to bring the kids to school or for Abigail to drive to her work.

A couple of years ago, I bought a caving headlamp that is brighter than any

other headlamp or flashlight that I have used.

I originally bought the headlamp for fishing at my set net site in the middle

of the night or for camping and for working on my car in the dark.

There's very few things that are as worse than trying to fix your car in the

dark, especially in the cold wintertime.

But what a difference that headlamp makes.

It is so wonderful that in

the darkness we can see clearly and

this concept of something that was hidden in darkness but then the

light is shined so that what was hidden can clearly be seen is what paul was

getting at in ephesians chapter 3 verse 9 where paul continued on and to bring

Ephesians 3:9

to light for all what is the ministration of the mystery which for ages has

been hidden in God, who created all things.

The word that Paul used to bring to light meant to cause to know or to illuminate,

conceived of as shining light onto something so as to make it visibly clear.

Similar to shining a powerful headlamp in the darkness,

God through His grace shone His light onto the mystery of Christ by using Paul

to make clear the salvation that God had carried out in Jesus Christ and how

that revelation affected the Gentiles who believed in Christ.

Another word that I want to bring to your attention is the word for administration

and stewardship, which referred to a method of tending to or managing the affairs of some group or people.

In modern times, we'd call this position a manager, a clerk,

an administrator, or even a governor of a state or a country,

someone who manages and directs the people and resources of a company, the state, nation.

Paul's point in Ephesians chapter 2 for saying that God used him to bring to

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

light what is the administration of the mystery that God had hidden was to point

out that the mystery of Christ was purposely hidden by God and purposely revealed

to God's chosen people at just the right time.

There was nothing happenstance about the plan of God.

As Paul instructed in Romans chapter 5 verse 6. For while we were still weak,

Romans 5:6

at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Even from before the creation of the world, God the Father had a plan to reveal

His Son, Jesus Christ, and the salvation that He was extending to the world.

Satan's deception of Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve's fall from grace,

the fall of humanity into sin, the disobedience of God's people.

Israel, throughout their entire history and all the challenges and sins throughout

human history were not events that just happened and then God responded by planning

to deal with that situation right then.

Absolutely not. God foreknew everything. He used, allowed, and planned for even

the machinations of Satan,

the sins of Adam and Eve and all of humanity to bring about the sacrificial

death and resurrection of His most holy and precious Son, Jesus Christ.

God carefully orchestrated all the way back from Adam and Eve to Abraham to

King David and from King David all the way to the birth, life,

death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Nations, kings, rulers, and empires, individual people who are not even believers

in Yahweh yet, even Satan,

God moved and used them all, communicating His word through His prophets so

that Jesus would be born the Messiah King and pay the blood debt that you and I owed but could not pay.

More than all that, God through Jesus established His church upon the apostles

and prophets and the servants of God that have gone before us so that people

of all nations through faith in Christ Jesus can be united as one body,

one family, one nation under God!

For God dwells spiritually with His people through the Holy Spirit.

And get this, God is still working. He is still using nations and peoples and

his creation to orchestrate the return of his divine son, Jesus Christ when

He will punish the wicked who have rejected God.

Christ will establish His rule over the earth from Jerusalem,

and God will remake the heavens and the earth to finally remove the stain and

effect of sin from the universe.

And in the book of Revelation, Christ's church, both Jewish and Gentile Christ

believers from every nationality will be united in praise, worship,

in service of the Most High, Almighty God of Hosts!

And God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will physically live with His people.

And this will be the most amazing event of all time.

Nothing will top this! There are two ways that I see that we can apply the truths

of verse 9 to us as Christ's disciples.

As followers of Christ from amongst the nations, we can truly trust that salvation

in Christ was revealed to the world and we can be assured of our salvation by

the grace of God when we respond in faith to Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Savior.

If you are here or listening and you have genuinely responded to the grace of

God by surrendering in faith your allegiance to the Lordship of Christ over your life,

then the Bible teaches that you are saved from the wrath of God for your sins

and you have been made part of the family and people of God.

Many of Christ's church struggle with believing that they're saved or not.

Trust in Christ your God. Trust His Word. Trust in Christ's salvation of you.

And then join in the Great Commission that Christ has given all of us in His church.

If there is some sin or sins in your life that is preventing you from truly

abiding in Christ and joining in His Great Commission work, then in faith in

Christ, repent of your sins.

Recommit your trust in Christ and live freely and joyfully to make disciples

for Jesus Christ wherever you go.

We are all missionaries for Christ!!

The second application I want to show you is that we can know that God,

hiding His salvation plan regarding the Gentiles,

was purposeful and revealed at the right time and was orchestrated so that God

could send out His disciples to make disciples for Christ in the world as we

wait together for the mighty return of Christ.

We, you and I, can trust that Christ came and sacrificially died and rose from

the dead at just the right time.

The revelation of the new covenant in the blood of Christ and the revelation

of the non-Jewish Christ believers being adopted together into the family of

God were not late in their arrival.

Again, if you truly are a believer and a disciple of Christ,

you are part of God's family and part of the greatest racial reconciliation program on the planet.

You are beloved by God in Jesus Christ.

You are joint heirs with Christ, crowns princes and princesses in the royal kingdom of God himself.

You being part of God's nation and family is not a coincidence.

You and all of Christ's church were lovingly hand-chosen by God from before

the creation of the world to be adopted into His family and holy nation.

Trust Christ. Trust in his plan that he has revealed to us in his holy word.

The third point that I want to bring to your attention is that grace's purpose

is for God's wisdom through the church to be made known to the heavenly places.

Paul continued in Ephesians 3, verse 10, so that the manifold wisdom of God

Ephesians 3:10

might now be made known through the church, the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

I want you to see that Paul was instructing the Ephesians that God gave His

grace to Paul to communicate that the mystery of Christ, once hidden in God,

has now been revealed in Christ through Paul.

Again, this mystery was that Christ-believing Gentiles were to be united with

Jewish believers to form a new entity, the body of Christ, the church.

The unity believers in Christ's church is so crucial that one of the key purposes

of the church is to show off or display the wisdom of God to supernatural rulers

and authorities in the heavenly realms.

The word used here for ruler meant any supernatural being besides God acting

in a ruling or commanding capacity, either good or evil.

In Ephesians 6, verse 12, Paul instructed.

Ephesians 6:12

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against,

and here's the same terms, the rulers, against the authorities,

against the world forces of this darkness,

against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Now, Bible scholars are divided on whether these rulers and authorities are

just good angels or good and evil.

I lean towards the target audience of God's wisdom being both good and fallen

angels, but since the Bible gives us very little information,

it is more of an educated guess at this stage.

The hugely important question is, what is it that is so crucial to display to

the rulers and authorities in the spiritual realm?

To give some light to this question, let me show you a passage that will help us.

Let's look at what Jesus said in John 17, verse 20 to 23, where he prayed to the Father,

John 17:20–23

"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me

through their word. {That's us as well.}

Verse 21, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in

you, that they also may be in us. so that the world may believe that you sent me.

The glory which you have given me, I have given to them.

Look what this glory is. That they may be one just as we are one,

I in them and you in me, God dwelling in us.

That they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that you sent

me and love them even as you have loved me."

Biblical unity is not the absence of conflict or allowing each other to do is we see fit.

It is critical for us to understand that our unity within Christ's church is

based on the unity of the Holy Trinity, which is founded in the love of God

and the truth of God's Word.

Without God's truth-centered unity of His church, Jesus heavily implied in John

17 that the world will not know that the Father has sent Him to save the world.

The world will not know the love of God without our unity!!

More than that, as we see in Ephesians 3, verse 10,

Ephesians 3:10

the loving truth of God's Word-centered unity of Jewish and Gentile Christians

is the trophy that displays to the heavenly realms to make the resounding statement

that God was wise to make Jew and Gentile believers one in Christ's church.

One of my favorite Bible teachers, Harold Hohner, taught this about this verse.

"As angelic hosts witness the church, they must admit that having Jew and Gentile

in one body is evidence of God's wisdom."

I want to strongly encourage us today that our God-centered unity in Christ's

church is of such importance that it displays to the authorities and rulers

in the heavenly realms that God was

wise in uniting Jew and Gentile Christ believers as one in Christ's body.

The unity of Christ's church is so very essential that Paul wrote the entire

letter of Ephesians to explain it.

Our unity in Christ together, based on the love of Christ and the gospel truth

of God's Word, is so vital because this is the main way in which the world will

be led to salvation by the grace of God.

Jesus promised in John 13, verse 35, "By this, all will know that you are my

John 13:35

disciples, if you love or have love for one another."

If there is anything that we as believers should strive for.

It is the loving, word-centered unity of Christ's church around the mission

of Christ. Why? Because the world depends upon it.

As we live out the unity of God towards each other in the church,

we are God's showcase of His wisdom to the heavenly realms.

And again, not only to the heavenly realms, but to the entire world.

And the world sees what God is doing in us and is drawn to the Lord.

God, using Paul, has taught us three reasons why God gave us His matchless, marvelous grace.

Those three purposes were grace is given to believers in Christ to reclaim the

unfathomable riches of God's grace to the world.

Secondly, God's grace is given to make known the once hidden mystery of God,

which is the unity of Jew and Gentile Christians in one body of Christ.

And lastly, using the God-centered unity in Christ's church,

the purpose of God's grace is to display to authorities and rulers in the heavenly

realms that God was wise in uniting Jew and Gentile Christ believers as one in Christ's body.

God has given you and I so much undeserved favor in Christ.

However, it's also paramount that we see that God so loved His people that not

only did he save us in Christ personally,

but he saved us corporately to live in unity with each other, together with God,

like the persons of the Holy Trinity are with each other.

Let us together in the matchless grace of God showcase the wisdom of God,

not only to the heavenly realms, but to the world around us as well. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your wonderful Word.

Thank you for the truth that you have so wonderfully and abundantly given us.

Thank you, precious Father.

Use us as we go out of wherever we are.

Teach us your Word and send us out on the mission of making disciples,

teaching them all that you have taught us.

May we trust You, and may we abide in You as we do so. Thank You, Father.

In Your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Spirit, we pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this blessing from Romans 15, verses 5-6.

Romans 15:5–6

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony

with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one

voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Amen. Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.