UNLEASHING GOD’S POWER THROUGH THE REVEALED GOSPEL - Eph 3:4-7

Good morning. 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.

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

According to one article, the Alaska Triangle is a mysterious region in Alaska

known for its high rate of unexplained disappearances, often compared to the Bermuda Triangle.

This area spans between the cities of Anchorage, Juneau, and formerly Borough.

According to Business Standard, since the 1970s, over 20,000 people have gone

missing in the region, including high-profile cases like the disappearance of U.S.

House Majority Leader Hale Boggs and Alaska Congressman Nick Begage Sr.

In 1972, when their plane vanished without a trace during a flight between Anchorage

and Juneau. There are several theories

attempting to explain the numerous disappearances in the Alaska Triangle.

Some are rooted in the region's treacherous geography, which includes vast wilderness.

Dense forests, glaciers, and deep crevasses that can easily hide the wreckage of planes or hikers.

In addition to natural factors, there are paranormal explanations tied to the

area. Native America legends speak of the Kushtaka, a shape-shifting creature

that lures people deeper into the wilderness.

Other theories include UFO sightings, with one notable incident involving Japan

Airlines Flight 1628 in 1986, when the crew reported unidentified aerial phenomena.

Some might even suggest that energy vortexes, which could disorient people and

malfunction navigation instruments, might exist in the area.

The Alaska Triangle remains an enigma, drawing attention for both skeptics and

believers in supernatural phenomena due to its high rate of disappearance and

the variety of explanations that attempt to make sense of them.

Now, granted, a lot of the theories of the Alaska Triangle are conspiracy theories.

Yet, I'm reminding us of the truth that unlike the unsolved mysteries of the

Alaska Triangle and the Bermuda Triangle,

the mystery of Christ has been revealed to us in the apostles and prophets of

the New Testament. Let's pray.

O Father God, we come before you and we praise you and we thank you.

We thank you for this wonderful opportunity we get to hear from your word.

May you teach us, may you guide us with your spirit, may you fill us with your spirit.

So that we can understand you, so that we can know in our hearts and minds what

it is you're teaching us and how we can apply it to our life.

Break down the dividing walls that are in us, the strongholds that prevent us

from fully giving ourselves over to you.

Lord God, we pray thank you.

Teach us today. Use us in your presence, in your precious and most wonderful

son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we have been going through a preaching series

in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Last time we studied in Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

God through Paul taught us that like the Apostle Paul, believers are to surrender

themselves to the lordship of our Master and wonderful God,

Jesus Christ, so that in the Holy Spirit, people around us can be reached with the gospel of Christ.

Secondly, like Paul used his gifts to manage his God-given responsibilities

as Apostle to the nations,

all Christ followers are called to use the gifts that God has given us to be

stewards of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

And lastly, Paul communicated with the Ephesians and us that God has brought

salvation to the Gentiles who believe in Christ as Lord and has united them

with Jewish believers in Christ.

And today we're going to continue on in our study in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

So I'd like you to turn with me today to Ephesians 3, verse 4-7, where Paul wrote.

Ephesians 3:4–7

About which 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 was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,

that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body,

fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was

given to me, according to the workings of his power.

In this passage, there are three main truths that I want to point out to you.

The first truth that I see God

teaching us today is that to understand God's Word, we have to read it.

Over this last year, my wife and I, in conjunction with Jonathan's teacher and

his reading tutor, we have really been working with Jonathan to improve his reading.

And one of our big challenges in getting my boy to improve his reading was getting

him to read in the first place.

My boy Jonathan would complain that he didn't like reading and he couldn't read.

However, one of the key principles to reading is that the more one reads,

the more we begin to understand.

And with training and help, the more Jonathan began reading.

And the more he is learning how to read, the more he is loving reading.

And this concept of reading in order to learn is what the Apostle Paul is teaching

us in Ephesians 3, verse 4, where Paul wrote about which,

Ephesians 3:4

when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.

I want you to see in this verse that Paul was communicating to the Ephesian

believers that when they read Paul's letter to them, they would be able to understand

the mystery of Christ that Paul was teaching them.

This principle that Paul was attempting to teach to Ephesians is not rocket science.

It's very straightforward. And although we definitely need the Holy Spirit to

open our hearts and minds to what God is teaching us and give us the power to

do so, we also cannot know what God is teaching us from His Word unless we read it.

The psalmist in Psalm 119, verse 105, praised God, singing, Your word is a lamp

Psalms 119:105

unto my feet and a light to my path.

Paul also taught in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16-17, All Scripture is God-breathed

2 Timothy 3:16–17

and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

And verse 17, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly

equipped for every good work.

Additionally, it's important to point out that not only did Paul declare that

through him the mystery of Christ was revealed,

but he also went on in the next number of verses to explain and clarify the

revealed mystery to his readers.

I bring this to your attention because John MacArthur stated that Paul realized

that spiritual knowledge must precede practical application.

What is not properly understood cannot be properly applied.

In Joshua 1, verse 8, the Lord commanded Joshua and Israel, saying,

Joshua 1:8

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate

on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way successful, and then you will be prosperous.

What God was commanding Joshua was that to obediently apply what God's Word

was teaching, the believer has to continually read and memorize the Word of God.

And the blessing is that the believer's life will be overall successful and

prosperous in living according to the ways of God.

To apply this verse to us as Christ's disciples today is a pretty simple concept.

For us 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.

I'll go even farther. We must read God's Word continually.

I want to encourage you today that if you're serious about living for Christ

and understanding His Word, then you must read the Bible consistently and continually.

More than that, just as Paul was instructing the Ephesians as to what God's

revelation to him meant, we also must take instruction from God's Word and from

biblically sound teachers who know God's Word well.

So far, Paul was communicating to the Ephesian believers that when they read

Paul's letter to them, they would be able to understand the mystery of Christ

that Paul was teaching them.

The main truth I want you to see from this passage is that God has revealed his mystery.

In Ephesians 3, verse 4 through 6, Paul stated, about which when you can read,

Ephesians 3:4–6

you can understand my insight in the mystery of Christ.

And let's look at verse 5, which in other generations was not made known to

the sons of men as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.

That the Gentiles as fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow

partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

From before the creation of the world, God had a plan for the salvation of the world.

Yet God only gave in detail certain parts of His plan.

And then in other parts, there were clues and glimpses that God gave throughout.

The Old Testament. Some glimpses in the Old Testament are found in Genesis and in Isaiah.

They're not the only ones, but I'm going to show you two today.

In Genesis 12, verse 1 through 3, we see the first major clue that God desired

Genesis 12:1–3

his salvation to go out to the nations.

In verse 1, And Yahweh said to Abram,

Go forth from your land and from your kin and from your father's house to the

land which I will show you,

and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great,

and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you,

and the one who curses you I will curse. And here's what I want you to see.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

In Isaiah chapter 49, verse 56, the Lord God foretold through Isaiah,

So now Yahweh, who formed me from the womb to be a servant, to return Jacob

back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him.

For I'm glorified in the sight of Yahweh, and my God is my strength.

Look at verse 6, and he says, Is it too small a thing that you should be my

servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return.

And here it is. I will also give you as a light of the nations so that my salvation

may reach to the ends of the earth.

With all these clues and many more, the full revelation of the unity of Jewish

and Gentile believers was not made known until Paul's declaration in Galatians

Galatians 3:26–29

chapter 3, verse 26 to 29.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And here's what I

want you to focus on, verse 27.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek. There's neither slave nor free man.

There is no male or female for you are all what?

One in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed,

heirs according to the promise.

In regards to salvation, not only has there been unification between Jew and

Gentile believers, but also male or female, slave or free person,

all are on the same footing before God.

There is not one who is better than the other or receives more salvation than the other.

God's salvation in Christ is the true racial, social, and spiritual unity that we all need.

What we as Christians can learn from this verse is that what was once a mystery

hidden in God has now been revealed,

and we are to trust what God has revealed through His holy apostles and prophets,

including the Apostle Paul.

We, you and I, do not need to be searching for answers, for the meaning of life

from other religions, or from philosophies, or from nature.

God Almighty, the Lord of all life, has revealed to us His wonderful salvation

for all people everywhere in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ,

through His precious Word, the Bible.

And I want to encourage you, learn God's word and believe what He has said through His spokesman.

The third truth that I want to point out to you today is that Paul was made

a minister by God's grace through God's power.

Let's look at verse 7 of Ephesians chapter 3. Of which I was made a minister

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me according to the workings of his power.

In this verse, Paul attributed his apostleship to declare God's salvation to

the Gentiles as part of working for his Master and Lord Jesus Christ.

The word that Paul used for minister or servant referred to a person working

in the service of another.

Paul was not acting on his own, and he wasn't a self-appointed apostle either,

like many accused Paul of during his time.

No, Paul was a servant to his Master Jesus.

Paul, as a servant or slave, which that's what the word servant means, slave,

served his Master Jesus with affectionate love and devotion as the most important

treasure of his life, and he obeyed his good and wonderful Master immediately and completely.

More than that, his service to the Lord Jesus was given to Paul by Jesus in

accordance with the grace of God.

The word that Paul used here wasn't just grace, but it's grace that is outworking,

meaning the resulting activity that is necessary consequence of genuine beneficent

goodwill, especially used of the outworking of God's will.

So what that means is that God chose Paul to be his ministering servant as a

display of God's goodwill towards Paul, but also through Paul,

the goodwill of God in Jesus Christ would be expressed to the non-Jewish world.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 5, instructed the Corinthian church,

1 Corinthians 3:5

What then is a pause? What is Paul?

Servants through whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to each one.

Back in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 7, Paul used the word working,

Ephesians 3:7

which meant operation of.

But the even more exciting thing about this word is that it is where we get

the English word for energy.

I want you to see the very next crucial word that Paul used. That word was power.

Possession of controlling influence often understood as manifesting influence

over reality in a supernatural manner.

Power, or “dynamis”, is the word where we get dynamo from.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a dynamo is a machine by which

mechanical energy is changed into electrical energy.

All this to say that God, in the outworking of His goodwill,

sent out the gospel of Jesus Christ into the world through God's servant Paul.

And how did God send out His good news to the world?

In the energy-producing, almighty power of the one that controls all reality.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, proclaimed, For the word of the cross is

1 Corinthians 1:18

foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved,

and here it is, the power of God.

In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 21 to 24, Paul also continued on and said,

1 Corinthians 1:21–24

verse 21, For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God.

God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

For indeed, Jews asked for signs and Greeks searched for wisdom.

But we preached Christ crucified to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness.

But to those who are the called, both Jew and Greek, Christ,

and here it is again, the power of God and the wisdom of God.

There are three ways that we can apply this verse to us today.

The first application that I take from verse 7 is that we cannot make ourselves

ministers or servants of Christ.

It is God that appoints his servants to preach the gospel, not us.

Now, in the context of this passage, Paul was writing about the ministry that

God gave him as an apostle to

the Gentiles and the other apostles who God revealed the gospel through.

In Ephesians 4, verse 11 through 12, the apostles, prophets,

Ephesians 4:11–12

those who speak God's word, elders or teachers.

Pastors, and evangelists were given gifts, authority to preach and teach and

equip the congregations to carry out the ministry of Christ's church in the world.

Let's look at verse 11. “And he himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets,

some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the

saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.

My point is that we cannot choose to be given these offices or gifts.

They are God-given. They're not self-given. They're not human-given.

There are a lot of self-appointed preachers, evangelists, and prophets.

But if their message is not in line with the teaching of Scripture through the

apostles and Paul, then as Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 1,

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

that message is no gospel at all.

And it's evidence that those preachers and teachers are not sent from God.

And secondly, we can also apply the truth that God has given all Christians,

in cooperation with Christ's church, the general task to go and make disciples

and teach the truths of the gospel,

starting with where we are living out to the world.

We, you and I, must treat the Great Commission with seriousness of being Almighty

God's command to all believers in Christ.

The second truth that you and I can learn is that Christ is the gospel.

The gospel is the very power of the unlimited and all-powerful God to save those

who believe in Christ as their only Lord and Savior.

Jason Petty, a Christian poet and spoken word artist, said one of my favorite

lines about God, Trying to prove God is like defending a lion, homie.

It don't need your help. Just unlock the cage.

Peter in 1 Peter 3, verse 15 taught us that every disciple of Christ is to sanctify

1 Peter 3:15

Christ as Lord in your hearts,

always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account

for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear.

But it's important that you and I understand that defending the truth of the

gospel, like we are being pushed backward as enemy forces, puts us on the defensive.

And that's not what Peter was teaching at all.

Peter was teaching is very similar to the maxim that I was taught when I was playing soccer.

A good defense is a good offense.

Peter's focus was on believers always being ready to give an account of the

hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

He wasn't trying to say that we need to defend the gospel, that we didn't need to defend God.

I share this with you to emphasize what I believe Paul was also emphasizing,

that God and his wholly driven gospel of Jesus Christ does not need defending.

The gospel needs unleashing. The gospel needs proclaiming.

And then we step back in prayer and watch what's wonder what God will do.

God in this passage has taught us three essential truths that is crucial for our Christian life.

We have learned to apply God's Word, we must, we must understand the spiritual

truth that God has imparted to us.

And to be able to understand God's Word, you, we, all of us, we must read God's Word.

Truth that God has imparted to us through Paul is that what was once a mystery

hidden in God has now been revealed, and we are to trust what God has revealed

through His Word, including through the Apostle Paul.

And lastly, God, through Paul, has communicated to us that God has appointed

His minister-servants to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ that is imbued

with the life-powering and saving power of God Himself.

And yet as Christians, we must remember that all of us have been commissioned in Matthew 28,

Matthew 28:19–20

verse 19 to 20 with the God-given mission to go and make disciples of all nations,

to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to keep all that I commanded you.

And here's the promise, and behold, I am with you always.

I want to impart you with courage today by reminding all of us that all of these

principles can be only accomplished by the power of God as we trust,

surrender in all things to our wonderful Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

And through prayer-filled trust in Jesus, as we share the gospel with others,

we are unleashing the unlimited power of the Almighty God to save all those who believe in Jesus.

Rather than caging God's power by our faithlessness,

you and I are called to unleash His awe-inspiring power to save as we trust

in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself up for us. Let's pray.

Father, we thank You for the wondrous Word that You have given us.

Teach us, use us, help us to apply Your Word, help us to be bold in our sharing

of Christ as we trust in You. Use us, Father.

Lord, we pray. Thank You. Thank You for Your Word.

May we read it. May we apply it. May we live it by Your grace and Your strength.

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

I'll leave you with a blessing here from Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20 to 21.

Ephesians 3:20–21

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we can ask or

understand, according to the power that works within us.

To Him be the glory in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.