6/1/02 Epiphany 1 Ephesians 3:1-12
Eph:3:1: For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2: If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4: Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5: Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6: That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11: According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
PRAY
Various civilizations lay claim to inventing football. There are records of soccerlike games having been played in China more than 2,000 years ago as well as in ancient Greece, Japan, and Mexico. The Romans played a game known as harpastum that spread throughout Europe and was probably the origin of modern soccer.
England, however, was the real starting place of today's game. In 1863 the Football Association (FA) was created and uniform rules were established. In 1872 the first international game was played between England and Scotland. And it was in England that soccer professionalism was legalized in 1885. From there the game spread throughout the Empire and to the rest of the world.
Since then we English have become complacent, yet still think that an England team has almost a divine right to win the World Cup. This has led to a jingoistic and xenophobic attitude that can be illustrated by a T-shirt my brother-in-law bought before Christmas. It had an England crest and the score of 'England 5 Germany 1' on it. Underneath the 'England 5' was written the names of the English scorers and the times they scored the goals. Underneath 'Germany 1' the scorer's name written was, 'A German'.
In the Old Testament God had favoured the Jewish people and they became complacent and thought that no-one else could worship him like they could. They thought that they had the law and prophets and this guaranteed them a good standing with God. However, in both of today's readings we see that the gospel of Jesus is for everyone, Jews, Gentiles, even wise men !
Ephesus was the most important city in western Asia Minor (now Turkey). It had a harbor that at that time opened into the Cayster River, which in turn emptied into the Aegean Sea. Because it was also at an intersection of major trade routes, Ephesus became a commercial center. It was a multi-cultural centre and boasted a pagan temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Diana (Greek Artemis); cf. Ac 19:23-31. Paul made Ephesus a center for evangelism for about three years and the church there apparently flourished for some time, but later needed the warning of Rev 2:1-7.
Paul, who had been given the job of telling Gentiles about Jesus writes of the mystery of Christ, verse 4
What does he mean by mystery. It is a truth known only by divine revelation (v. 5; ). It is revealed by God through his undeserved favour, not earned or discovered by intellect, diligence or good fortune.
In my home town of Norwich there is, or was, a large park with a boating lake in it. People were discouraged from doing this, but, if someone through a stone into the middle of this lake you could see the ripples coming from the point of impact in ever widening circles.
This is a picture that illustrates the spread of the gospel.
At first it was hidden and then revealed to the apostles and prophets through God's Spirit. 5: Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
It was then revealed to Paul who spread the gospel to the Gentiles
8: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
Here the word "mystery" has the special meaning of the private, wise plan of God, which in Ephesians relates primarily to the unification of believing Jews and Gentiles in the new body, the church.
6: That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
My uncle has just died without leaving a will. Therefore, my father and his sister will each receive half of his estate. If, however, he had made a will and left half of his estate to the local Vicar and the remainder to my father then this would mean that the Vicar would be an heir instead of my aunt, because an heir is someone destined to receive an inheritance.
Some Jews disqualified themselves from the inheritance that was theirs in Jesus by rejecting him. Others accepted Jesus and received the same inheritance as Gentiles who came to trust in Jesus
6: That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
The words I stressed indicate the unique aspect of the mystery that was not previously known: the equality and sharing that Gentiles had with Jews in the church, the one body. The unity of Gentile believers with believing Jews on an equal footing was unexpected. This was and is to be a witness to everyone and everything, even heavenly powers. 10: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
The ripples of the gospel are to reach that far. The way that Christians love one another and are united with one another, despite worldly differences is to be a witness to a loveless and divided universe.
We have the duty and joy of living the gospel and telling others about it. Today's readings make it clear that the gospel is for anyone and everyone. For everyone needs Jesus.
It is clear through the repetition of "heavenly places" (1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12) that Christian existence is not merely on an earthly plane. It receives its meaning and significance from heaven, where Christ is exalted at the right hand of God (1:20).
Our faith is a gift of God the Holy Spirit, rooted in God the Son, Jesus, giving us access to God the father
12: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
We can approach God boldly, not confident in ourselves, but confident in what Jesus has done for us. This is something we celebrate and proclaim in this service.
PRAY