Ephesians 3.1-7 (3)
Pray Psalm 119.17, 18.
Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.
Sing Psalm 119.17, 18.
(Open My Eyes: Open My Eyes, That I May See)
Open my eyes, LORD, let me see wonderful truths to transform me.
I am a stranger here in the earth; hide not from me Your glorious worth.
Deal with Your servant graciously that I may live obediently.
Open my eyes, LORD, let me see glory divine!
Read Ephesians 3.1-7; meditate on verse 3.
Let thoughts and ideas about “mystery” traverse your mind as you wait before the Lord in prayer.
Preparation
1. What did God make known to Paul?
2. How did He do that?
Meditation
“It’s a mystery to me.”
Have you ever heard someone say that? Or maybe you’ve said it yourself? We know what we mean: We haven’t got a clue. We don’t know. Or we can’t figure it out.
Everyone loves a good mystery, especially when the author or filmmaker finally makes the “reveal”. Then the whole plot—all its characters, scenes, conversations, and developments fall into line. God is a mystery. What’s more, He’ll always remain a mystery, because there is more to God than we can every see or know. God’s work of redeeming and saving His people was a mystery to them for many years. Then Jesus came, revealed God to His people, explained the way of salvation, and became for them the door into it.
Mystery solved, and every detail of all of history, culture, and creation clicks into place as Jesus opens the door to eternal life with God. Paul was especially the recipient of this revelation. God appointed Him to bridge the gap between Jews and Gentiles by making known the mystery of Jesus to each group and calling them to join as one in Christ.
We would never figure out the mystery of salvation apart from God’s revealing it to us in Jesus and His Word. And the lost people around us won’t figure it out, either. They’ll continue to crash around in life, like a pin ball shot into the game board, until someone reveals the truth that is in Jesus. This is our calling as ambassadors of God’s Kingdom and witnesses to the resurrection and reign of King Jesus. He Who has revealed the mystery to us is now revealing it through us. Life may be a mystery to many. But not to us.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
What has been revealed to us through the Scriptures—the arrival of Christ Jesus—was foretold.
Mystery solved. Those who will put the clues together from the Old Testament, clearly see Jesus as the “reveal” and culmination of all the forensics.
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” (Is. 9.6).
“And you shall call His Name JESUS…” (Matt. 1.21).
But then the next mystery was the grafting in of the Gentiles. All these beautiful promises were given to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. Not too many Billy Bobs or Patricks mentioned.
And yet it was important to God, to include all His children into His marvelous promises of mercy and grace.
Thus God appeared to Peter with the inclusive vision of clean and unclean animals being ready for consumption. “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 11.15). This led him to his first meeting with Cornelius, “a certain man in Caesarea…a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment” (Acts 10.1)—a Gentile. Cornelius had been “divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon” Peter to “hear words from” him (Acts 10.22). |
And the glorious words he had to share were these: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea…How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him…To Him all the prophets witness that, through His Name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10.34-43).
And with those words “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.” And then they were all baptized (Acts 10.44-48).
Another mystery solved. With all those clues we know that we, too, are God’s children.
“He does great things past finding out, yes, wonders without number” (Job 9.10).
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11.33)
“Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast” (Ps. 36.5, 6).
You preserve all people through Your mysterious grace, forgiveness, and mercy.
“Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD,
to serve Him, and to love the Name of the LORD, to be His servants—
everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant—
even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer…
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
The LORD GOD, Who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
‘Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him’” (Is. 56.6-8; Rom. 11).
But even with all those clues, generously scattered throughout the Scripture, unless God had graciously opened our eyes to see (Ps. 119.18); we’d still be scratching our heads saying, “It’s a mystery to me”.
Reflection
1. What do you understand by the word “mystery”? What does that have to do with our faith?
2. Why is it inescapable that mystery should have a large role in our faith? Put another way, could we really have faith without mystery? Explain.3. What is the role of Scripture in teaching us to live with mystery?
Lest what is little known should forthwith become the object of suspicion, the word mystery places it in opposition to the perverse judgments and opinions which were then prevalent in the world. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Ephesians 3.3
Pray Psalm 119.19-24.
Pray that God will reveal to you more of the mysteries of His grace, and that He will encourage you thereby to greater love and faithfulness.
Sing Psalm 119.19-24.
(Open My Eyes: Open My Eyes, That I May See)
My soul with longing breaks for You; all of Your judgments I would do.
For You rebuke the proud and the cursed, who from Your Law have strayed, and worse.
Take from me all contempt, O LORD, for I have kept Your holy Word.
Lift all reproach from me, O LORD—my soul renew!
Princes oppose me day by day, for I continue in Your way.
I will Your statutes hold in my mind. What great delight in them I find!
LORD, let Your testimonies be light on my path to counsel me
LORD, what delight You bring to me out of Your Word!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15). For more insight to a brick-like life, order a copy of our book, Bricks and Rungs, by clicking here.
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we continue looking at ways the Law of God applies to our lives. This week our Read Moore podcast wraps up our consideration of the question, What in Heaven Is Jesus Doing on Earth?; and our Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
