Ephesians 3:1-12
M. Night Shyamalan movies seem like they have such a surprise ending, yet when you see a movie a second time, you notice all the way through what was going on. A good storyteller will definitely surprise you, but what happens doesn’t come out of the blue. Hints are dropped from early on to showcase the planned journey being led by the author. God does the same thing through the scripture journey. Leviticus lays out the process of Christ atoning work on the cross; Samuel drops all the hints about the Messiah being a prophet, priest, and king; even Daniel hints at the idea that foreigners can be saved. Everything the New Testament teaches is introduced in the Old Testament. God foreshadows His work.
Last week we heard about how the gospel is not only a vertical relationship, but also a horizontal one. If the final picture is Revelation 7’s every people from every nation worshipping God in unity, then our salvation is not only reconciling us to God, but also to other believers. Paul hit that idea hard in the previous section. Today, he is going to back up his passion with a reminder that this was always God’s plan.
Revealing the Truth
As long as there have been people, there have been people asking what God’s big plan is all about. What is His overarching purpose? Paul refers to this history when he references the mystery of the gospel, a revelation given to Paul that was “seemingly” hidden from people, but has been made known to Paul and others in these last days.
The story of Abraham starts in Genesis 12 God reaching out to him with three promises if he is willing to leave his family and follow God: 1) he will become a great nation, 2) he will have a great name, and 3) everyone on earth will be blessed through him. Once they grow into the nation of Israel, Moses gives them the law which has multiple provisions to include and provide for the strangers and aliens – sojourners among them. They are exhorted to be a blessing to those around them. Deut. 26 gave us a good glimpse at how the Israelites were to treat those outside of the genetic family. Even when they were exiled into Babylon, the Jews were told to go and be a blessing to your captors, seeking their success and safety (Jeremiah 29).
Inclusion and love towards other ethnicities and races has always been important to God – since the beginning. He made everyone IN HIS IMAGE. That means every person who has ever lived is or was an image-bearer of the creator God. And Abraham was blessed so that the every image-bearer of God would be blessed with the fullness of His presence. Paul took this to heart in his calling and made his life a living sacrifice so that non-Jews would have access to the gospel as well.
Revealing the Plan
And that is the plan – that all people throughout the entire world would have the opportunity to choose Jesus. This was always the plan and still is. Matthew 24:14 tells us that Jesus is not coming back until everyone on earth has heard – He wants everyone and His strategy is designed to reach through us to everyone else. Just like Paul, when we give our lives as a living sacrifice for the gospel, when we suffer for Christ, when we are bold in our witness, we are partnering with God on His world-wide salvation strategy.
Discuss the strategic changes in the Christian & Missionary Alliance that have us leaving some areas (after building up national pastors) and redeploying IWs to other locations. This is who we are as the CMA – it is our lifeblood. If you are here, then that means you are willing to join in the calling of God to all people (Matt 28:19. Acts 1:8) and life our lives with purpose on the mission of God to reach EVERYONE with the gospel.
Next Steps
Our local church, here in Lake Wales has a mission – that is to introduce our friends and our neighbors to the gospel of Jesus. To do that, we need to: 1) cultivate relationships based on friendship and trust, 2) plant the seeds of the gospel over time, and 3) be ready to reap the harvest when God opens that door. Here are ways to participate in that this week.
- Gather with Christian friends and discuss ways God can use you to reach your neighbors – create clusters and work together.
- Open your yard/living room/table to people in your neighborhood. Invite someone over this week to just be friends! Don’t force the gospel, just be a friend and let God do the work.
If you act in love and pray for God to work, that’s really it. Can you be a friend this week to someone in your neighborhood?
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