Messages

In this section of text, Paul speaks of a mystery that was revealed to him for the sake of the Gentiles. A mystery in the New Testament is typically something that was once hidden but has now been made known. What has been made known? The Gentiles have been given the same standing as the Jews in the family of God.

In Paul's day, the world was divided up in two groups, Jews and Gentiles. The two did not mix, there was hostility between them. The Jews believed they were the ones who had received all the blessings of being God’s people, the Gentiles had been left without hope.

But God’s design from the beginning was to take the two and make them one and he did so through the blood of Christ.

This text is the glorious declaration of the Gospel. It is out of God’s great love that he lavished his mercy on us and made us alive with Christ. We are saved by God's Grace. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It is a gift we receive.

Chapter 2 begins with Paul teaching the good news, but to accurately teach the good news, people need to hear the bad news. Paul shares the bad news first. There is a cultural idea that we are all good people: since we are all children of God we must do something really bad to have that status removed. "Good” is our default position, and we have to behave our way to “bad.”

However, that isn’t what scripture teaches. We begin as those under the wrath of God, and without Christ, that is where we will remain.

After Paul's doxology, he turns his attention to the church. He is overwhelmed with gratitude for them and offers one of the highest and richest prayers in all of scripture for them.

This week our study of the church of Ephesus moves us into the book of Ephesians. This letter was likely written around 60 AD. Paul left his ministry in Ephesus around 56 AD. He went to Jerusalem and was arrested and eventually was taken to Rome. From his Roman detention, Paul writes this letter back to the people he spent over two years doing ministry with. The letter to the Ephesians begins with a reminder of all that comes with being “In Christ”. This term is used in some fashion nine times in the first fourteen verses.

After the riot (Acts 19), Paul leaves Ephesus. A year later he makes his way back to the area but doesn’t have time to stay. So he calls for the Elders to meet him in Miletus, as he has a message for them as they lead the church in Ephesus. This week's sermon should be directed at the QuadCity Elders and the church should overhear what is expected of them.

Imagine a church so influential that it changed a city's economy, that is what happened in Ephesus. The idol makers were running out of customers and because of this a riot broke out and engulfed the city. Instead of being afraid, Paul is excited to share the gospel in a stadium of 24,000 people.

There are times when Gospel work is miraculous, when God chooses to work in a way that falls outside of the laws of physics. Paul experienced this many times in his ministry in Ephesus.

We often think of the ministry of the Apostles as always being adventurous and excited, filled with feats of bravery and miraculous events. Yet while that is usually true, there is more to the story. In Acts chapter 19 we find Paul fulfilling his promise to return to Ephesus. He meets some disciples there, who, like Apollos, didn’t quite get the baptism piece right, so Paul corrects them. Then he did what he always did, he started preaching in the synagogue sharing about Jesus and he did this for 3 months. And when he wore out his welcome, he rented a local classroom and preached and taught every day for two years. Two years of faithful gospel proclamation. And what came of it? The gospel was spread all over Asia Minor. It was this faithful ministry of Paul in Ephesus that became the launchpad for the seven churches of Revelation.