In this episode of Expository Truths, Dr. John Kyle leads us on a thought-provoking journey through the third chapter of Ephesians, revealing the profound truths that the Apostle Paul shared with the early Christians. Delight in a meticulous exposition of Paul’s calling and his unique stewardship as an apostle designated to share the gospel with Gentiles, against the backdrop of Jewish opposition. As listeners, gain a deeper appreciation of how Paul received revelation directly from Christ and how this shaped his message and mission.
Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we’re called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise, without error, and powerful and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Enjoy digging deeply with Dr. Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the powerful book of Ephesians, giving us a marvelous summary of the good news of Christ and its implications for our daily lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
Please turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3, verses 3 through 7. Ephesians 3, 3 through 7. The letter of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians living in the city of Ephesus. Paul wrote this while he was under house arrest in Rome, and he wrote it to lay a proper doctrinal foundation for these believers, chapters 1 through 3, so they could then live out those doctrines for the glory of God, chapters 4 through 6. If you remember, Paul began by showing us the many incredible reasons that we should passionately praise our amazing God. And then Paul prayed a wonderful prayer for the Ephesian believers that greatly applies to every Christian today. In chapter 2, Paul reminded the readers more than once of what they once were before Christ rescued them, so they would then be captivated by Christ and everything that He’s done for them in saving them from the eternal wages of their sin. The call now as the saved is to respond accordingly. How? Love Him and love one another. Do good and godly works that glorify His name. Live so as to please Him. Bear good fruit. Be good stones in the temple that God is building. Lately, Paul’s been stressing the amazing fact that both believing Jew and believing Gentile, they now make up the church. And as Paul wanted to begin chapter 3 with another wonderful prayer for these Ephesian Christians, remember what happened to him? He first, before he even got to the prayer, he got sidetracked for 13 verses before he again returned to that prayer. What sidetracked him? Well, let’s look, and we’re going to just start in verse 1 just for context. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for you Gentiles… And here’s where Paul gets sidetracked. “…if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you…” And now verse 3. “…how that by revelation He may known to me the mystery, as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages has not been made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” So look. So look. Paul’s now a prisoner for the Gentiles, for the non-Jews, because Paul’s been faithful to his calling, his dispensation, his stewardship of specifically being the apostle to the non-Jews, being the apostle to the Gentiles. See, the Jews not only hated Paul’s gospel message, but they especially hated that Paul preached that message to the Gentiles. And all of this is what led to them to constantly following Paul around and harassing him and falsely accusing him and even imprisoning him. But that’s okay because that was Paul’s calling by God. And his calling wasn’t to be comfortable, no. His calling was to obey and to be faithful. See, like Paul, all Christians have a general calling by God to glorify Him with our lives. And also, all Christians have a specific stewardship and calling by God of using the unique gifts that God has graciously blessed us with. So, honor Him with your life, always, and honor Him with your spiritual gifts within the body of Christ. So for Paul, he was called to glorify God day by day because he was a Christian. But he was also specifically gifted as an apostle, and therefore he was called by God to specifically go to the Gentiles as an apostle. In our passage for today, Paul wants us to take note of three truths. The first is this, that God had revealed the mystery to Paul. That Paul knew of this mystery, which Paul reveals in verse 6, because it came to him, he says, by revelation from God. Paul’s point is that he didn’t learn the mystery from anyone else, nor did he discover the mystery through his own intelligence. No, but instead, he received this mystery by direct supernatural revelation from the Lord God Almighty. Okay, so when and how did that happen? Well, after Paul got dramatically saved in Acts chapter 9, it wasn’t long before he began to preach the gospel of Christ. Acts 9.22 says, Saul increased all the more in strength and he confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Isn’t that amazing? I mean, this guy gets saved and then everything changed in his life extremely dramatically. I mean, dramatically. The next verse, Acts 9.23 says, After many days were passed, The Jews plotted to kill him. And then Paul went after that to Jerusalem. Okay, so how many days passed before Paul went to Jerusalem? Three years. Paul talks about that in Galatians chapter 1. Go ahead and turn there if you want to. Galatians chapter 1, verses 11 through 12. Galatians 1-12. 11 through 12, just the previous book. Look what Paul writes to the Galatian Christians. Sound familiar? Look, it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Go down to verse 15, look what it says. But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went to Arabia, and then I returned again to Damascus. And then look at verse 18. Then, after three years… That’s when he says, I went up to Jerusalem. So again, Paul got saved. Paul was called by God to be his apostle along with the other 12 apostles. And then Paul went to Arabia for about three years and he had an amazing and a very unique experience where he met with Jesus himself and he received divine revelation from Christ. That includes both the divine message that Paul was called to preach, as well as his calling to go to the Gentiles specifically. And then it was after that, after many days, three years to be exact, that Paul went to Jerusalem for the first time as a Christian. So the point is this, that Paul wants everyone to know that he didn’t make this up. That he didn’t invent this. No, but instead, what he was preaching and who he’s primarily going to, the Gentiles, that came to him from God himself. See, it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. And that’s important to understand. Because Paul came under attack many times because of a message that he preached and because he preached that message to the Gentiles. Look, the word revelation in Ephesians 3.3 and also in Galatians 1.12, it means the unveiling of something that was previously a secret. And Paul is saying very clearly that Jesus is the one who revealed this secret, this truth to him. He says, Christ himself gave it to me and Christ himself revealed it to me supernaturally. John Brown says, Jesus Christ took Paul under his own immediate tutoring. He’s right. How incredible is that? That means that Paul wasn’t basing his calling and he wasn’t basing his teaching on the traditions of men or on the opinions of men or on the teachings of men. No. It came directly to him. from God and I think this revelation came to Paul not long after he was saved when he was in Arabia for that three-year period note that Arabia refers to the vast area all around Israel to the north and to the east of Israel and then down to the south near the Red Sea so after he was saved Paul went to Arabia and he got trained and even though he’s already increasing in strength and he’s already increasing in power not long after he’s been saved look he knows that he needs more in order to do everything, all the incredible things that God is calling him to do. He’s going to suffer much. He’s going to glorify God greatly. And so, taking the Scriptures under his arm, he went away into the desert of Arabia, in the same general area where Moses and Elijah had done much the same thing. And he’s pouring over the Old Testament Scriptures that he knew so well from his upbringing. But this time, he’s examining them from the fresh light of his conversion experience with the risen and exalted Christ. But even more, the Lord Himself is with him. And he’s teaching him, and he’s training him, and he’s revealing himself to Paul through the Scriptures, giving him insight into things that he formerly thought he knew, but he didn’t really know at all. And so it was there that Paul got trained by, he says again, direct revelation from God, from Christ specifically. Now please note that this kind of revelation that Paul is talking about, that he received, is very unique, right? See, we believe that biblically today… that God’s complete revelation from God to us is found fully and sufficiently and completely in this. That this revelation of God’s Word, God’s truth, was given to unique men of God who, under the inspiration of God, preached it and wrote the Scriptures for us. We also believe that once the New Testament was completed, that Scripture, God’s revelation to us, was also completed. See, the apostles were a very special and unique group of men who were divinely inspired of God and who laid down the foundation of the church. And once that foundation was laid down, the Scriptures were then closed and they were now complete, fully sufficient for everything that we would ever need for life in Him. Now in the past, God spoke to people in many ways. Through dreams and visions and men and angels and directly. But now, His written Word is how God speaks directly to us today. See, in the Bible, we now have the once and for all faith that’s been delivered to the saints, Jude 3. And there is nothing lacking now that we have God’s completed written Word. But for Paul… As an apostle, during this time, it was different and it was very unique. God really did directly give this to him. So Paul says that his message, his gospel, the scriptures that he wrote and spoke, they were given to him from God, along also with his calling to the Gentiles, which we’re going to get to in a second. Question. How do we know that the revelation of God, the Bible, is really from God and not from men? A few things. First, we know that the Bible is reliable, accurate, and trustworthy as an ancient document. We know this because the text itself is reliable and has never been contradicted. Regardless of what people might say, archaeology has consistently confirmed and supported the biblical record and has never contradicted the Bible, not ever. And look, people, places, and events in the Bible are repeatedly verified by archaeology. Second, we know that the Bible is unique, and it’s special among all books that have ever been written. It’s unique in its continuity, being written over 1,600 years, over 60 generations, by more than 40 authors on three different continents, in different circumstances, and in different places, in different times, different moods, in three languages, concerning scores of controversial subjects, and so on. But look, It speaks with one very clear united voice, and it’s clearly not the writing of men. The Bible is also unique in its circulation, being the most published and popular book ever. It’s also unique in its translation, being the first book translated, and also having been translated in more languages than any other book. It’s also unique in its survival. God has preserved His Word for us. Having survived the ravages of time, manual copies, persecution and criticism. The Bible is a blood-stained book. And we are truly blessed to have it in our hands today. I mean, people bled and died to get this to us. And we should never, ever treat that fact lightly. It also is unique in its honesty, dealing with the sins and failures even of its heroes in a manner that’s unknown in ancient literature. And then, it’s unique in its influence, having far and away a greater influence on culture and on literature than any other book in existence. Third, the Bible is a book of predictive prophecy literally fulfilled. For example, there are some 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah that were exactly and literally fulfilled by Jesus, such as His birth in Bethlehem, His manner of death and burial, and so on. Another example, the Bible describes the rise of four successive world empires with such accuracy that all the critics can do is claim that the passage was actually written after those events happened, even though it clearly wasn’t. Only God can do this, see? Fourth, the Bible is a book that has profoundly changed the lives of millions of people, regardless of their race, class, era, sex, locale, age, or social status. This book has changed my life through the working of God the Spirit in a profound way. The Bible passes every test. Every test. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions because it passes every test. It’s indeed God’s true revelation for us, fully sufficient and fully complete. And look, Paul was able to take part in getting God’s revelation into our hands because he was an apostle with a very unique ministry at a very unique time in history. God gave this truth to Paul, and God also directly and very clearly called Paul to preach to the Gentiles, which was… A very unique calling at that time. And that’s what Paul says in Galatians 1. And it’s also what Paul is referring to specifically in Ephesians 3 verse 3. And so incredibly, the Gentiles would be fellow heirs with the Jews under Christ. And Paul would have the incredible blessing of preaching the gospel message to them. Look at the end of verse 3. Paul says that he has already briefly written about this, which refers back to him mentioning this in chapter 1 and chapter 2. And then Paul says in verse 4, “…by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge and the mystery of Christ.” So what’s he saying here? That he wants them to understand what he understands. That Paul wants these Christians to grasp the full meaning and the full significance of what he’s saying here. Note a couple of things. Note that this truth, this mystery, was once not made known. That’s what a mystery is, right? I mean, a biblical mystery refers to a previously hidden purpose of God, which, when uncovered, is now understood by the Spirit-taught believer. A biblical mystery is a truth which, without special revelation, would have been previously unknown. Henry Morris said, “…a mystery refers to God’s plans, which previously had been kept secret from His people in earlier times, except in types and shadows, but were now being revealed in all their fullness and in all their grandeur.” And that’s right. So, as verse 5 says, “…the mystery, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men.” So, again, it wasn’t previously known. This shows us that God’s revelation to humanity is progressive. In other words, God didn’t reveal Himself to human beings all at once, but instead, God revealed Himself to His people over many centuries, periodically giving new revelation that built on, but that didn’t contradict or deny what came before. This is called progressive revelation. And it means that God didn’t unfold His entire plan to humanity in the book of Genesis or even in the entire Old Testament. See, everything God gave us previously in the Old Testament was true. Of course it was true, but it was incomplete. So the progress wasn’t from untruth to truth, no. But it was from less information to more full information. And now, with the New Testament, we have the complete, final, full revelation of God. As one said, “…the Old Testament was like a developing work of art, with each part adding more until it was finished in Christ, when the revelation of Christ was completed in the New Testament.” See, the work of art continued to be added to. And it wasn’t fully complete until the New Testament revealed Jesus Christ fully to us, which came fully in the book of Revelation. And now we have all of it. Praise the Lord for that. We have everything. All the revelation of God for us contained in one perfect book. Here’s just a couple examples of progressive revelation. In times past, God gave His people certain foods to avoid, but now we have no such food laws in Christ. Amen? He fulfilled it. In times past, God’s people had to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins, and that was only temporary, but not anymore, because Christ died for the sins of His people once and for all on the cross, no more sacrificing animals. In times past, the sign of the covenant was circumcision, but not anymore. And in Christ, circumcision has no spiritual value or merit. See, the old was all leading up to Christ, and once Christ came, lived, died, and rose again, and then once the apostles wrote down the truth about Christ, ending with the book of Revelation, look, the revelation of God is now fulfilled. fulfilled and completed. And one of the truths that was hidden, not completely, I mean, it certainly was alluded to in the Old Testament, but it wasn’t made clear to the people, was the Gentiles becoming heirs of the promises of God. That’s good news because most of us are Gentiles. So yeah, there were little hints, but it wasn’t ever made fully known. Those Old Testament believers didn’t really get it. They didn’t really comprehend it. And it wasn’t until the New Testament time that the Old Testament truths were really understood. I mean, they couldn’t see the church made up of Jewish believers and Gentile believers. There’s no way they could see that. It was unfathomable for them at that time. As John MacArthur noted, before the church age… No person, not even the greatest of God’s prophets, had anything but a glimpse of the truth that Paul now discloses. The Old Testament teachings that relate to this mystery can only be understood clearly in light of New Testament revelation. We know the meaning of many Old Testament passages only because they are explained to us in the New, and that’s right. I mean, no one really knew the full meaning of God’s promise to Abraham, where God said, in you all the families on the earth will be blessed. And no one knew the full meaning of Isaiah’s prediction. I will also make you a light for the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. No. Until it was explained by Paul to mean the offering of the gospel to everyone. See? It was a mystery. But while it was previously hidden, good news, it has now been revealed. Verse 5. In other ages it wasn’t made known to the sons of men, but now, look, it has been revealed by the Spirit. to his holy apostles and prophets. The apostles being the twelve minus Judas with Matthias replacing him and then the apostle Paul. And the prophets being the New Testament prophets who were specially gifted men who spoke God’s revelation, God’s word to the early church during this very unique time in history. And it was through these called and gifted men of God that the Spirit of God revealed God’s truth to them. And one of the things that God the Spirit revealed and made clear to them which they then made clear to the people, was this mystery in regards to the church. Okay, so, you already know it, but what’s the mystery? This, verse 6. Gentiles are heirs and partakers of the promise. It’s not really much of a mystery. We’ve been talking about it for a while, right? Verse 6. The Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. We have no idea how revolutionary that was. Remember, before Christ came, the Jews and the Gentiles, they despised one another. They utterly hated one another. I mean, at this time, there had been a centuries-long hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles. And to most of the Jewish people, there were only two races of people, Jews and everybody else. Jewish pride ran deep. The Jews believed that the Gentiles were created to fuel the fires of hell. To the Jews, the Gentiles were dogs. And to the Gentiles, the Jews were a homicidal enemy of the human race. So the hostility ran both ways. They hated each other. And look, even after the church began in Jerusalem, it was only Jews who came to faith in Christ for many years. But then finally, finally, at the right time, God made it clear to Peter that the good news of Christ is for all people, right? Jews and Gentiles. The gospel is for everyone. How good is that? And the Gentile doesn’t have to become Jew first in order to be saved. No, all he has to do is believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, and that’s it. And that’s true for everyone. How are people saved? They’re saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. End of story. Jew, Gentile, doesn’t matter. Faith in Christ alone is what matters. But what about the really, really, really bad person? Don’t they have to do more than just believe? Shouldn’t they have to go through some extra steps? Because of their past wretched lifestyle of sin and rebellion, what’s the answer? No way. Because we’re all really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad. Right? According to God. None of us deserve what we have in Christ. We’re all in the same boat. And if we’re saved by our own goodness, then none of us would be saved. And that’s what makes the good news of Christ so amazing. And the good news of Christ isn’t for good people. It’s for bad people like us. Jew, Gentile, man, woman, old, young, addict, adulterer, liar, cheater, black, white, the person who grew up in the church, the person who never set foot in the church, the rebel, the person who’s steeped in a false religion, the sinner, everyone. See, the good news of Christ isn’t just for a select few. No, it goes out to all and everyone who truly surrenders to Christ in repentant faith will indeed be saved. Amen? Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Ephesians on expository truths with Dr. John Kyle. Continue on with us next week at this same time. And to find this sermon in its entirety, as well as other sermons, visit vacavillefaith.org. Faith Community Church seeks to exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying God through the pure, deep, and reaching message of the gospel through faithful exposition. Pastor John is the preaching pastor at Faith Community Church of Vacaville, a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas. Join Faith Community Church for worship Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. Located at 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A in Vacaville. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s vacavillefaith.org.
