CHANGING ENEMIES INTO FRIENDS
Imagine two groups that are bitter enemies becoming best friends. Bitter enemies unite to form one group. Is it possible? And if so, then how?
In this series, we are studying the Book of Ephesians. Paul wrote Ephesians as a letter to the churches in Ephesus. The Ephesians were Gentiles (Non-Jews) who had accepted Christ. He wrote the letter to encourage these converted Gentiles not to lose hope despite their opposition.
This week we look at Ephesians 3, which addresses the Mystery of the Gospel. We examine how God’s Good news to save humanity brings about a change in the relationship between two groups of people who hated each other, the Jews and the Gentiles.
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Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:
Father, your work in transforming lives is a mystery. Yet we ask that you change our hearts and make us more like you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A mystery, in a general sense, refers to something that is not easily understood or explained. It carries with it an element of secrecy, concealment, or complexity that often requires further investigation or deeper thought.
Paul, in Ephesians 3, refers multiple times to God’s plan of salvation as a mystery.
He begins Ephesians 3 with what he had talked about earlier: God’s plan for saving the Gentiles. So, Paul expresses in Ephesians 3:6
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, (Ephesians 3:6).
In Paul’s day, the idea of God saving the Gentiles was a radically new idea, especially for the Jews. It was a mystery. Who were the Gentiles? They were non-Jews. They were a group of people that hated the Jews, and the Jews hated them. They were bitter enemies.
Yet, Paul talks about his passion for preaching to the Gentiles. He expresses his love for them by telling them about Jesus and what He has done to save them!
Furthermore, in Ephesians 3, we learn how much Paul has suffered because of his radical message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
As a matter of fact, Paul is sent to prison because of his preaching to the Gentiles.
What Paul was preaching was a Mystery to the Jews.
This mystery is that in the church of God, the Jews, and Gentiles, though they once despised one another, are the same in God’s eyes. God loves both Jews and Gentiles.
In the book The Desire of Ages, it says: Jesus longed to unfold the deep mysteries of the truth which had been hidden for ages, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews, and “partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” Ephesians 3:6. This truth the disciples were slow to learn, and the divine Teacher gave them lesson upon lesson. (The Desire of Ages, p. 402)
Thus, Paul is excited about this mystery of the equality of the Jews and Non-Jews and his work for God.
In his message on the mystery of the gospel, Paul offers prayer and praise for the Grace of God despite his hardship and imprisonment.
If a preacher of salvation for all people, why was Paul in prison?
Read Ephesians 3, then watch part 2 of this video. Paul: Imprisoned Apostle to the Gentiles
Ephesians
(Lesson 6)
The Mystery of the Gospel
Part 2: Paul: Imprisoned Apostle to the Gentiles
Paul starts Ephesians 3 by saying he is a prisoner:
1, For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—.
Then in the next verses, Ephesians 3:2–13, he sidetracks and spends significant time talking about his work as an apostle, a teacher to the Gentiles. Then, in Ephesians 3:14, he goes back to the phase “for this reason” used in Ephesians 3:1.
Then he continues to offer his prayer report.
What is interesting is that In Ephesians 3:1, Paul says he is “a prisoner of Christ Jesus”. But wait! Wasn’t He arrested by the Romans? Isn’t Paul in a Roman prison? So, how can Paul be Jesus’ prisoner when he’s locked in a Roman jail?
Paul identifies himself as a “prisoner of Christ” to portray an image that he belongs to Jesus and not to Rome. So, while Paul may be in a Roman jail, Paul wants us to clearly understand that his life is really under God’s control.
He wants us to see that though he may be in a Roman prison, God has a deeper, divine purpose for his life.
In other words, Paul wants us to see that he is right where God wants him to be. This we see in Ephesian 4:1 when he says:
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, (Ephesians 4:1)
Notice what Paul in Ephesians 3:13 and Ephesians 6:20 says about his suffering?
In Ephesians 3:13 he refers to it as tribulation
13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:13)
In another chapter, Ephesians 6:20, he mentions he is in chains.
Ephesians 6:20
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:20) (Split)
His use of the word tribulation and chains suggests that Paul is not under comfortable house arrest. Instead, in Acts 28:16, we find that Paul is by himself, in prison with a soldier guarding him.
16 Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. (Acts 28:16)
It is important to know that Roman prisons weren’t nice places to be during New Testament times. The Kingdom of Rome did not run well-organized prisons with sanitary facilities and regular meals. Rome had little need for prisons. Incarceration was not used as a means of punishment. People were sent to prison to wait to go to trial or to be executed.
Furthermore, prisoners were expected to provide for themselves. They were, therefore, dependent on relatives and friends to supply food and other personal needs.
Considering that being in prison was viewed as an extreme social disgrace, Paul most likely was concerned about the effect of his imprisonment on the believers.
They might ask, “How can Paul really be an apostle, a messenger from Jesus if he is in jail?” So, Paul seeks to help them understand that his being in prison is part of God’s plan.
What does Paul’s suffering say to us today?
We may suffer for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it is not God’s will that we suffer.
The book Steps to Christ says:
It is not the will of God that His people should be weighed down with care. But our Lord does not deceive us. He does not say to us, “Do not fear; there are no dangers in your path.” He knows there are trials and dangers, and He deals with us plainly. He does not propose to take His people out of a world of sin and evil, but He points them to a never-failing refuge.
His prayer for His disciples was, “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” “In the world,” He says, “ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 17:15; 16:33. (Steps to Christ, pp. 122)
Paul suffers for the Gentiles. However, his suffering may have been a mystery to them. Though it may have appeared to be a source of shame, in fact, Paul suffering turns out to be for their “glory (Ephesians 3:13). It turns out to be for their benefit. What was this mystery entrusted to Paul that would cause Him to be willing to suffer in prison?
Read Ephesians 3:1-6 then Continue to Part 3: The Long-Hidden Mystery of the Gospel
Ephesians
(Lesson 6)
The Mystery of the Gospel
Part 3: The Long-Hidden Mystery of the Gospel
In Ephesians 3:1–6, we discover five important points:
- First, in Ephesians 3:1 – Paul’s letter is addressed specifically to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish Christians in the house churches in Ephesus.
- Second, in Ephesians 3:2, Paul establishes that God has given him the special job of preaching the Gospel, that is, the Good News about God’s offer of grace to the Gentiles. He also makes a similar statement in Ephesians 3:7, 8 to this effect.
- Third, Paul revisits the mystery God has shown him. Paul has already addressed this issue in his letter in Ephesians 1:9, 10; Ephesians 2:11–22. And now he addresses it again in Ephesians 3:3, 4.
This mystery of the Gospel must be important for him to address it so many times.
He wants it to be clear that it is not his own invention. But He does claim that God has given it to him to proclaim to the Gentiles.
- Fourth, we see in Ephesians 3:5 that Paul isn’t the only one to whom God has given this mystery of the Gospel. As a matter of fact, The Holy Spirit also revealed the mystery to Jesus’ apostles and prophets in New Testament times. The Spirit’s explanation to these teachers and messengers in New Testament times surpasses the explanation given to God’s servants in Old Testament times. God’s plan was a mystery in the past. But Now, God reveals His secret to His servants during New Testament times.
- Finally, Paul declares in Ephesians 3:6,
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, (Ephesians 3:6)
As previously expressed, Paul has a passion for sharing the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, with Jews and Gentiles.
Together, both have become components of God’s new church. In other words, the mystery of the Gospel has transformed them from bitter enemies to fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.
This is the point Paul makes when he says in Ephesians 2:14–16
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:14-16).
The Lord would not have His people exclusive. Christ’s called messengers are to proclaim the gospel of His grace to all nations, tongues, and people. (Sons and Daughters of God, p. 44)
You see, the mystery of the Gospel is that God has always had a plan to save both the Jews and the Gentiles (the Non-Jews). God is inclusive, not exclusive. God unites, not divides. God has anointed his church to do as Paul did. What does he expect his church to do?
View the next video in this series. Part 4: The Church: Revealer of God’s Wisdom
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Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Church
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