The Mystery Is Out

Ephesians 3 is one of the most breathtaking chapters in the entire Bible. Paul, writing from a prison cell, calls himself "a prisoner of Christ Jesus" and then launches into a revelation so staggering he has to interrupt himself to make sure you understand what you are hearing.

He is revealing what he calls the mystery. In the New Testament, a mystery is not something impossible to know. It is something that was hidden and has now been revealed.

And the mystery of Ephesians 3 is this: Gentiles, outsiders, those who had no claim, are now fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. The wall is down. The excluded are included. The strangers are now sons. The mystery is out.

Grace Qualifies the Chosen

Paul describes himself as "the very least of all the saints" and yet he was the one entrusted with this mystery. He did not volunteer. He was a persecutor of the church. He was the last person anyone would have picked.

But that is how grace works. Grace does not choose the most qualified. It qualifies the chosen. God does not call those who are ready. He makes ready those He calls.

Your assignment in the Kingdom is not tied to your resume. It is tied to His grace. And His grace is sufficient for whatever He has called you to do.

The Greek word oikonomia (οἰκονομία) stewardship literally means "the law of the household." Paul was entrusted with a specific management responsibility: to make known the mystery. Every believer carries a stewardship, a portion of God's work entrusted specifically to them.

The Church: God's Display Case

Through the church. Not through angels. Not through the sun, the stars, or the heavens. Through the church.

The church, this gathered, imperfect, diverse, Spirit-filled assembly of people who have nothing in common except the blood of Jesus, is God's chosen display case of His wisdom to the unseen world.

When the church loves across racial divides, God puts His wisdom on display. When the church forgives the unforgivable, God puts His wisdom on display. When the church holds together in unity across culture and background, principalities and powers see something they cannot explain.

The Greek word polupoikilos (πολυποίκιλος) manifold, many-colored was used of embroidery with many patterns and colors woven together. God's wisdom is not monochrome. It is displayed through the diverse, unified, Spirit-knit body of believers. Every background, every nation, every story woven together into one tapestry of grace.

A Prayer for Fullness, Not Comfort

Paul falls to his knees and prays. Not for their circumstances, not for their finances, not for their health. He prays that they would be strengthened in the inner person. That Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. That they would be rooted and grounded in love. That they would comprehend the incomprehensible love of Christ. That they would be filled with all the fullness of God.

This is not a small prayer. This is not a comfortable prayer. This is a transformational prayer.

He prays that they would know what surpasses knowledge. That is not a contradiction. It is a paradox of grace. The love of Christ is so vast that it cannot be contained in theological categories. It must be experienced.

Not 10 percent of God. Not enough to be religious. All the fullness. The same word used when Scripture says the earth is full of the glory of God. That is what God wants to pour into His people.

Far More Abundantly

This is Paul's doxology, his burst of praise. And it is perhaps the most expansive promise in the Bible about God's ability.

Far more abundantly. Not a little more. Not double. Far more abundantly than all that we ask, and not just ask, but think. Even your imagination does not reach the ceiling of what God is able to do.

The limitation is never on God's side. The power is at work within us and it is limitless. The question is not what God can do. The question is what we are willing to believe and yield to.

You have not yet asked for too much. You have probably asked for too little.