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.

The Mystery Is Out

Paul writes from a Roman cell, and he does not open with a complaint. He opens with identity. He does not say a prisoner of Rome. He does not say a prisoner of Nero. He says "a prisoner of Christ Jesus." Then he tells the Ephesians how he came to carry this message: "how the mystery was made known to me by revelation." Paul did not solve the mystery. It was unveiled to him. Picture a sealed letter that has finally been opened. The seal is broken. The contents are out.

And here is what was inside. Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers of the promise. Three phrases. Three explosions. Not second class heirs. Not associate members. Not conditional partakers. Fellow heirs. Same body. Full partakers. For centuries the covenant was Israel's, the promises were Israel's, the temple access was Israel's, and the Gentiles watched from outside the wall. That wall was not a metaphor. The temple in Jerusalem had a real one, the soreg, a low stone barrier with tablets inscribed in Greek and Latin warning that no foreigner could pass beyond it, and that whoever was caught doing so would have himself to blame for the death that followed. Every Gentile who came to Jerusalem read it and understood exactly what it meant. You can come this far. And no farther. In Christ, the no farther is finished.

Greek Word: mysterion (μυστήριον), a truth that was concealed and has now been openly revealed. In the world Paul wrote into, this word belonged to the secret societies, where only the initiated were let past the door and the knowledge was guarded from everyone else. Paul takes the gatekeeper's word and throws it wide open. This mystery is not a riddle for the clever to solve. It is not a code for insiders. It is a truth God kept hidden for ages and has now announced in the open, and the announcement is that the people who were kept out are brought all the way in.

This was never plan B. It was not an afterthought. Paul says it was according to the eternal purpose that God has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. God was never exclusive. He was strategic. He narrowed the story to Israel to bring the Messiah into history, and then through the Messiah He opened it to everyone. The wall was always temporary. The grace was always unlimited. So if you have been standing in the outer court, told by your past, by your failure, by your shame, or by someone who should have known better that you can come this far and no farther, hear this today. The faces have changed. The wall is the same. But the wall is down. You are not an outsider looking in. You are a fellow heir.

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.

Greek Word: oikonomia (οἰκονομία), from oikos (house) plus nemein (to manage). It means household management, administration, stewardship. Paul uses it in Ephesians 3:2 for "the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you," and again in Ephesians 3:9 for the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God. 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. You are not a spectator in God's household. You are a steward.

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.

Greek Word: polupoikilos (πολυποίκιλος), manifold, many colored, many patterned. It was used of intricate embroidery with many threads 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. The church is not just a meeting place. It is a cosmic announcement.

A Prayer for Fullness, Not Comfort

Paul falls to his knees and prays. Watch what he does not pray for. He does not pray for their circumstances. He does not pray for Rome to release him. He does not pray for their finances, their health, their comfort, or their safety. He prays for the inside. That they would be strengthened with power in the inner being. 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. Hold that in front of you all week, because it is the guardrail for everything else in this chapter. The greatest prayer in the New Testament is a prayer for inner strength and for knowing the love of Christ, not a prayer for easier circumstances.

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. It must move from your head to your spirit, from information to revelation.

Greek Word: pleroo (πληρόω), to fill completely, to fill to overflowing. It is the same verb Paul uses here in Ephesians 3:19, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God, and again in Ephesians 5:18, be filled with the Spirit. Not 10 percent of God. Not enough to be religious. All the fullness. Paul is not praying for a drip. He is praying for a flood. God is not trying to give you enough. He is trying to fill you until you overflow.

Far More Abundantly

This is Paul's doxology, his burst of praise. He has just prayed the biggest prayer in the New Testament, and then, as if all of that were not enough, he pivots to worship. It is perhaps the most expansive statement in the Bible about God's ability.

Far more abundantly. Not a little more. Not double. Not your prayer plus a bonus. 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.

Now notice where Paul locates the power. He does not say according to the size of our faith. He does not say according to how much we are willing to believe. He says "according to the power at work within us." That power is His. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead already dwells in you. He is not waiting outside the door for you to generate enough belief to let Him in. He is already at work, and He is the measure of what God can do.

So ask bigger. Not because bold asking unlocks God, but because the power that answers is already His and already at work in you. Do not cap what God has not capped.