The Mystery of Gentiles As Fellow-Heirs

Transcript

GR 146
08/03/1975
The Mystery of Gentiles As Fellow-Heirs
Ephesians 3:1-7
Gil Rugh



The Ephesians Chapter 3 in your Bible. Chapter 3 begins with a statement that is going to break off and not be resumed down to verse 14. Paul begins, “For this reason I Paul the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentile.” Then verse 2 if indeed and verses 2 to 13 are a break in thought. Then at verse 14 he picks up, “For this reason I bow my knee.” So he uses the same expression. In the beginning of verse 14 as he used in the beginning of verse 1 and as Paul often does he will start to say something and that reminds him of another area and so he will develop that area. Then he goes back and resumed.

For this reason ties to what he has just been saying particularly in verses 11 to 22 of Chapter 2 regarding the grace of God that provided salvation for Jew and Gentile in Jesus Christ. And beyond that it took Jews and Gentiles and made them one body in Christ. So a new work was accomplished and in light of the grace of God that was manifest in accomplishing the building of this new body, the construction of this new building, the analogy that Paul used at the end of Chapter 2.

Paul goes on to offer a prayer. He identified himself as the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentile. We will talk a little bit more about verse 1 and the details of it in connection with verse 14 since that is the connection but simply a little bit of the background here as Paul identified himself as the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of a Gentile because the Ephesians are Gentiles and he is writing to Gentile. And so he sees them as the beneficiaries of his condition because it’s a result of the message that he is preaching that he is being imprisoned and suffering. And as a result of his preaching the message the Gentiles are hearing of salvation in Christ and thus becoming part of the body of Christ through faith in Him.

Verse 2 and we will center on verses 2 to 7 where Paul talks about his stewardship. Verses 2 to 13 talk about the whole area of grace and the stewardship of grace or the dispensation of grace as we would refer to it more commonly. In the first verses 2, 3 and 4 Paul talks about the stewardship as it was given to him, “If indeed if you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you.” Now this verse opens up “if indeed” that does not imply a possibility that they have not heard. This is a condition of fact again as we often refer to it called the first class condition, assuming that you have heard or since you have heard.

Paul knows they have heard. They have responded to the message that he has preached. So it doesn’t imply a doubt but since you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace given to me for you. You know something has been committed to Paul but given to Paul for them. It wasn’t given to Paul for Paul. This ties to his ministry of apostleship and it is good to keep it in mind because it illustrates again the fact that the gifts were given not for the benefit of the person who gets the gift but for the benefit of the body.

Paul had his position as an apostle and the revelation given to him as an apostle was for the benefit of the Church. It was not for the benefit of the Apostle Paul. So this stewardship was given to me for you. It is called the stewardship of God’s grace. In the usual King James Bible it’s called the dispensation of God’s grace. The word here is a compound word, word for house and the word for law, and put together house law. And it refers to the management or administration of a household, the oversight of a household.

In Luke Chapter 16, it is used of a steward. He is called a steward in a house. His responsibility was oversight of the household and the same word as we have here, a house management. Paul says the administration of God’s grace. The oversight of God’s grace was given to me. Now this whole area of administration or the dispensation Paul sees as something new because remember he has made a point in verses 11 to 22 that God has done something new. In verses 14 and 15 of Chapter 2 he talked about the barrier being broken down. And now something new is being done in that God has made Jew and Gentile one before Him.

Now Paul says the oversight of this area of grace was committed to me. Now grace refers of course to God’s dealing with men, something that is unmerited or undeserved. Now this particular administration or dispensation is called the dispensation of grace. Now we at Indian Hills have what we call a dispensational church. We believe there are dispensations revealed in the Bible. And Ephesians Chapter 3 is one of the chapters which makes it clear that there are dispensations revealed in Scripture.

In other words, God has revealed himself in progressive stages through the Bible. He did not say everything he had to say through Moses in the Old Testament. Otherwise there would be nothing to say through Paul. But He has progressively revealed more and more of himself to men. And if you read through your Bible, Old and New Testament, that becomes clear. That God every time He speaks makes something else known concerning himself.

Now through Paul and the apostles, other apostles and prophets, God made known material regarding the oversight of His house in connection with his grace. There are only seven dispensations in the Bible and I jotted them down. If you use a Scofield Reference Bible where there is many notes pertaining to dispensations in the Scripture in their footnotes to help you, but the seven dispensations are in essence and that begins in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 28. It covers the time when man is in the Garden. It is called innocence because he is in an untried state. He is neither holy nor unholy. He is in a state of innocence. He has no sin nature. But he has not responded yet positively to God’s revelation of Himself regarding the Tree and so on that he was not to eat of. So we call that the dispensation or administration of innocence.

The second is of conscience. After the fall then man was expelled from the Garden, it begins in Chapter 3 verse 7 and of Genesis, Genesis 3:7. And man is left to his conscience or moral responsibilities as it is sometimes called. There are no laws set down by God. No guiding regulations. Man simply acts according to his conscience. Now that is followed by human government instituted after the Flood. Men failed in innocence by disobeying God. He failed under conscience because we find the Flood coming to destroy man for his sin.

So, human government begins in Genesis Chapter 8 verse 15. As God reveals himself again to Noah and some of the principles for the government of the world. That is followed in Genesis Chapter 12 verse 1 what we have been studying on Sunday evenings. With the dispensation of promise, where God revealed himself to Abraham and revealed what he would do with a certain people, the descendants of Abraham and we call it the dispensation or administration of promise.

Now we see how God has progressively revealed more. While in the Garden certain revelation, following the fall more revelation given, man’s conscience. Following man’s failure to heed his conscience we have the laws of government instituted. Following that God reveals himself and the promises that he has given to his people, the nation of Israel. Following that Exodus Chapter 19 verse 1 we begin the dispensation of law, the largest of the dispensations as far as our Bible is concerned because it runs from Exodus 19 all the way to Acts Chapter 2 where God revealed all the details concerning what he required of man as far as obedience, as far as worship, as far as what he could and he could not do. So God had revealed his will in the law.

Now in Acts Chapter 2 we begin the dispensation of grace or the church age. The word age has to do with the period of time. The word dispensation or stewardship has to do with the doctrine or teaching that characterizes that period of time. We live in the church age, this period of time where the church is the central people in God’s plan, and we live in the dispensation of grace where the prime teaching is grace. Under law the prime teaching was the law, the prime doctrine or teaching was the Mosaic Law. The final dispensation will be the kingdom, the earthly reign of Christ and that is picked up in Revelation Chapter 20 where Jesus Christ rules and reigns on Earth.

Now if you get the dispensations in mind, again we’re not trying to divide our bible up and section it off and so on in an unnatural manner. However, as you read through you see how God has progressively revealed himself. We call it progressive revelation and in Ephesians Chapter 3 this is what Paul is talking. A particular administration was committed to me and that Paul was responsible for the oversight, the teaching and preaching of grace to lay the foundation for the church and so you’ve heard of the dispensation of God’s grace which was given to me.

Now there is a progressive revelation and that every time God reveals more of himself man has more responsibility and knows more about God. The epitome of revelation is the dispensation of grace; its Hebrews Chapter 1 makes it clear in the opening verses you could turn over there quickly if you find Hebrews quickly page 332 in your New Testament. Hebrews Chapter 1, “God after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son or in one who is a son whom He appointed heir of all things through whom also He made the world and the He is the radiance of his glory the exact representation of his nature and uphold all things by the word of his power when had made purification of sins, He sat at the right hand of the majesty on high”. So previously God revealed himself through the prophets by now he revealed himself through his son Jesus Christ. Now Paul is committed the responsibility of presenting this revelation to the church and the details and outworking of it as God has planned.

Let me just note three characteristics of the dispensation for you just so you have it in mind, don’t want to get on the sidetrack here. First there is a change in God’s relationship with man, in God’s governmental relationship with man. As God administers his world and his people there is a change, just as there was from a lord of grace. Secondly there is a revelation given to make known this change to man. So there is always revelation given. God is going to change his governmental relationship to man and he gives man revelation concerning what he will now expect. And the third aspect is the responsibility on man’s part to respond to that revelation. So the word is seen as God’s household and God is administering that household and he gives certain revelation concerning what he expects done in his house and man is responsible to submit himself to God and respond to the revelation that God gives. This world is his, we are his people and now he gives his directives to us.

Okay get back to Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 3, “That by revelation there was made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief.” So here Paul says that committed to me has been stewardship of God’s grace and it was given to me by revelation. So here we have a clear claim on the part of the Apostle Paul that God has made known to me how he wants the affairs of this world and his people administered during this period of time. So here is the element of the revelation that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, you remember a mystery in scripture was already confounded in Ephesians is something that could not be understood if God did not tell us.

So here we have God making himself known to man. God making his will known to man. He has made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief. Now I take it to what he means when he said I wrote to him in brief is Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 11 to 22 where it briefly summarize what this mystery is that Jews and Gentiles are made one in Jesus Christ. Now remember Gentiles are not made Jews nor are Jews made Gentiles but both Jews and Gentiles are made one before God. And we’ll talk about the content of this mystery a little more in verse 6.

Verse 4, “And by referring this when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ”. Now Paul said I am telling you this so that you’ll know how I know so much about it and here we’re back to basic question that we often refer to if there is a God and man is to know anything about him that God will have to make himself made known to man. There is no way for man to come to know about God unless God chooses to make himself known. Paul says that’s what God had done.

You wonder now how does Paul know this. Where did Paul get his material? How can he tell us that God is making Jews and Gentiles one now in a group called the Church? Very simple Paul says, God told me. He made it known to me so that I could make it known to you. So I want you to understand my insight, my knowledge, my comprehension into the mystery of Christ. In other words it is not possible to understand what Jesus Christ was accomplishing in his death and resurrection without the revelation that God would give concerning that.

It would not possible for man to understand by his own thoughts and studies apart from the bible to come to the conclusion that God had provided his son in order that salvation might be made available for Jew and gentile in order that both might be made one before God and Christ. You couldn’t know that unless God told you and that’s what Paul is saying. I received it my revelation, it was made known to me by God. Note verse 5, “Which in other generation was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit”. That’s and important statement and often missed.

As I mentioned not every Christian is what we call a dispensationalist, some are # and some fall into various other camps that we won’t go into. But the basic teaching given here is that this was never made known before. So to talk about the church in the Old Testament is not true or correct. We’d mentioned this before. There was no church in the Old Testament. Paul says, this was not revealed before. Verse 5, “In other generations it was not made knows the sons of man”. So the fact that God was going made Jews and Gentiles one in Christ is not found anywhere in the Old Testament. Now keep in mind what we’re saying because it is said in the Old Testament that there would be salvation for Gentiles and Paul mentions this is Romans as well.

But the fact that there was going to be salvation for Jew and gentile and they were going to be made one body, one new body is new material. Because anytime salvation of Gentiles is talked about in the Old Testament it is always talked about in connection with the gentile becoming a convert to Judaism. Where in passages we’re in the millennium the Gentiles will come up to Israel and the Palestine and in connection with the Jews will experience salvation. But you do not find anywhere in the Old Testament that God is going to make Jews and Gentiles one new creation, the church. Also this was not revealed before.

So you cannot talk about the church in the Old Testament. They were the people of God in the Old Testament there is people of God in the New Testament but the work that God is doing with his people is different. And he is not dealing with them now as a nation but any Jew who becomes a believer becomes part of the body of Christ. Any gentile who becomes a believer becomes part of the body of Christ and we are one then in Christ before him. So this was not made known to the sons of men in other generations. But it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit or by the spirit.

Now that’s a clear statement of supernatural revelation. Not everybody believes that the bible is the inspired word of God. But anyone who does not believe that the bible is the inspired word of God is backed into the position of happening to say there is no way to know for sure anything about God. Because if God has not revealed himself then all you have is your ideas about God. That is simply a projection of yourself and becomes a form of idolatry you’re worshiping yourself because you’re worshiping a God you’ve created in your mind. That is much your own creation as if you cut out of a tree and carved it and set it on a pedestal. The only thing is you’ve just done it mentally.

But God has revealed himself his to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit and we talked about this in the second chapter of Ephesians. One of the prime ministries of the apostles and the prophets was to receive revelation from God then communicated to men. There are no apostles or prophets presents today and we did some detail on this last week in connection with the apostles at the end of Chapter 2. Because there is no new revelation being given and that are not to surprise us. We go through periods of the bible where there is no new revelation being given.

The revelation that was given through the apostles and prophets was recorded in the scripture in order that we might benefit from it but we are living in the dispensation of grace, the church age. There is no need for any new material. Because everything that God wanted to say about the church, about his dealings with men during this period of time has already been said through the apostles and prophets. God simply had it put down in black and white so that you and I can read it and understand it. But we don’t need an apostle to come in here and speak to us. We don’t need a prophet to come because all the revelation that God intends to us to have regarding the church regarding to our responsibility before him in the period of time in which we live has been written down in black and white.

There is no new revelation. There is nothing else to be said. And many of those claiming that they are getting revelation today you may hear it with the bible you either find it doesn’t line up all or else they are not saying anything. They stand up and tell you what the bible already says. What they’re saying is if you are too lazy to read well I’ll tell you I got it directly from God, God doesn’t work that way. We get into the word to find out what God has said.

All right, was revealed to his holy apostles and prophets and I don’t equate prophets with preachers because it seems to me an inseparable element in a prophet’s ministry was he received direct revelation from God and then he spoke before to men. Preachers today and teachers are to be proclaiming the revelation that has already been given and that’s a major difference.

All right verse 6, the content of this mystery is laid out very clearly and concisely, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Paul is very fond of making compound words using the proposition with, now translated fellow here. Puts on the front of words even if he has to make a new word he puts it there, he does that here. They are fellow heirs, heirs with and they are members with in the body. They share together in the body and they partake in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Now important here, we’re saying that Gentiles and Paul is stressing Gentiles because he is writing to Gentiles verse 1, for the sake of you Gentiles. The Jews always had been recipients of revelation. Now their position has changed and that God is not dealing with them as a nation but the privilege of being recipients of revelation is not new to them so Paul is stressing newness to the Gentiles, they are the ones that were on the outside. Now they are fellow heirs, they share together as heirs of God joint heirs with Jesus Christ as Paul wrote to the Romans. Also sharing the same body, one body and that’s in verse 16 of Chapter 2. It may reconcile them both in one body to God.

Now you note, he doesn’t say to reconcile them together as one nation because Gentiles did not become Jews to become part of the nation Israel now as they would have in the Old Testament. But now Jews and Gentiles become one body and also fellow partakes of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I take in the context this cannot mean that the Gentiles inherit all the promises of the Jews because many of the promises to Israel in the Old Testament relate to them as a nation. If you’ve been following in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 if there is one thing that Paul has said is it is that God is not dealing with the nation as a nation. But we as Gentiles do benefit from the promise through the gospel. And it pertains to the salvation that we share now with the Jews as a result of faith in Jesus Christ.

So that is the mystery, that’s the content of it. When he talks about the mystery of Christ in verse 4, he is talking about the information in verse 6, not found anywhere else in the Old Testament that Gentiles and Jews would equally share before God now as one people and that is what God is going in this day. Verse 7; “of which I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power”. Also that “I was made a minister” that’s the word servant. We get the word deacon from it. It has nothing to do with the official capacity we think as if he is our minister or our pastor. It simply means a servant of which I was made a servant according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of his power.

In other words Paul takes no credit to himself here. He says I am simply an instrument, a servant that God has delegated to a certain position and responsibility. So by cleaning the supernatural revelation and insight that does not elevate the Apostle Paul, it elevates God. God simply chose that Paul would be the vehicle through whom he would make himself known. Through whom he would reveal information regarding his dealings with mankind in this period of time. He has a gift and it is the result of the grace of God, a gift God. Paul doesn’t deserve it, he hasn’t earned it, he hasn’t merited it. It’s something God chose simply chose to do according to the working of his power.

So the issue is not the person of the Apostle Paul. The issue is God himself and God choosing to the use the instruments that he chooses to use fallible as they are he has to make himself known to man through man, men the apostles and the prophets. That’s quite exciting when you think of it. If what Paul says here is true then we’ll come to what is the most important discovery that a man could make throughout his entire life that if there is a God and this God is to be know he must reveal himself. If there is a God and he had revealed himself the most important thing that I could do in this life was to discover that revelation so that I could find out what God is like, what I am like and what God expects and demands of me.

Now if there is a God and he has revealed himself the most tragic thing that could happen in life is that a person would through life unaware or ignorant of what God has said because that person will go through life ignorant of God and ignorant of himself in true and in a objective way. Paul says that God has made himself known and this is God’s plan. Man has missed it and you can tell that he has missed it by simply asking a friend of yours today what God is like. Ask him if he expects God to allow him in the heaven and see the kind of answers he gives. Here we’re told the salvation that God has provided, ask him upon what basis God would forgive his sins. If he is responding the revelation God has given you’d have to say well, God will forgive me solely on the basis of what Christ has done and I place my faith in Christ therefore I am been forgiven.

I’ve been made one in the body of Christ. How do I know that, well, God said it. There is credit to my intelligence I can read and I read Ephesians Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. Isn’t that a logical way for God to communicate to men. When you want to say something to someone else what do you do? You open your mouth and blurt some words out. We communicate with words on a personal level. God wanted to communicate to man what did he do. He wrote it in the sky, no. He simply spoke it forth, put it down in black and white. Now men chose not to believe it and chose not to receive it but whose problem is that, God’s, no man. It doesn’t change reality remember. You may not believe what we’ve read in Ephesians Chapter 3 but if Paul got it by revelation from God that will not change the truth of it. It will be truth whether you believe it or not.

That little statement the end of verse 6, where the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, fellow partakes of the promise in Christ through the gospel. How do you become a sharer in the body of Christ, in the promises that God has given, an heir together with other believers. You do it through the gospel. What is the gospel that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected from the dead. Paul lays it out very succinctly in first Corinthians Chapter 15. That’s how you become a partaker, it’s through the gospel and the gospel is presented in order that you might believe, in order that you might be a share together in what God has promised to those who will believe in him. So are you included in this group that we’re talking about in verse 6, are you a fellow heir, are you fellow member of the body, are you a fellow partaker of the promise.

Well, you have to ask yourself, have I seen myself as a sinner, have I seen Jesus Christ as the savior who died for me, on that faith have I placed my faith in Jesus Christ alone as my personal savior. If you cannot look to a point in time where that’s happened in your life, if you don’t have the confidence that that’s a settled issue for you this morning then there is a good probability that you are not one of those who are fellow sharers. You are not one in the body of Christ yet. But you can be that’s why it is presented, that’s why the gospel is presented, that’s why God brought you here this morning so that you could hear it and respond in faith to the son in order that might cleanse you from sins and make you one with other Gentiles and Jews in body, in the building that he has constructed for himself.

Let’s pray together. Father we thank you for your love, lord for the revelation that you gave of yourself in love. Even for your purposes and plans in dealing with us today, father for the grace as it is manifested in the salvation that you’ve provided for that we simply respond in faith to what you have done for that is all been accomplished for us and your son. Pray for any who here today who has not yet trusted him that they might even settle that basic issue before they leave and lord that we do have might be living in light of the glory through elevation that’s been presented rejoicing in who we are and what we are in your son for we pray in his name, Amen.