Least Made Glorious

It’s hard for us to understand what it’s like to grow up without hope and without God in this world, but the Gentiles of old understood. God had come near through the Gospel. Jesus’ death and resurrection were not for the Jews only, but also for the “repulsive,” rejected Gentiles. Jesus’ death and resurrection wiped away the sin that condemned us—and shattered the wall of hostility among the Jews and in the Law that kept people like us from any hope of eternal life. If only we could truly, deeply grasp this truth to the very core of our being! How would it change us? Paul’s not done marveling at what God has done for us Gentiles, so neither are we. Maybe we can get a little closer to the amazement Paul had for this miracle!  From Ephesians 3:1-21.

For A Reason

¹ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--

For what reason? The truth that Gentiles like us could actually be saved. That there was now hope for us who had formerly been cut off from God—by the misunderstanding of the Jews, by the ceremonial demands of the Law, and by our own disinterest. Paul is overwhelmed by the plan and purpose of God to bring even despised Gentiles into His holy household. And it drives him to pray another of his most famous prayers. But not yet. He’s concerned some may feel bad for his situation—and some may not even know him!

Prisoner for Gentiles

Paul describes himself here as a prisoner of Christ Jesus for sake of the Gentiles he’s writing to.

Wait! Is he in jail or has he just completely lost himself in the service of Jesus Christ? He has previously described himself as “on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena” (1 Corinthians 4:9, NIV84). Prisoners led out to die. Is Jesus holding him captive? Or is he in a human jail?

He is both. But he is a willing captive of Christ. He is entirely captivated by Christ, by His glory, by His love, as well see shortly. He is also a prisoner of men, “an ambassador in chains,” as he says in Chapter 6, verse 15 (NIV84).

And he is apparently in prison for preaching the Gospel among the Gentiles. We know the Jews have opposed and attacked and condemned him again and again, both in Jerusalem and elsewhere throughout the Roman Empire. He has also been hated and attacked by Gentiles, even at Ephesus—at the hands of Demetrius the silversmith!

Where and when is this imprisonment? It is impossible to say with certainty. But if we accept that this letter was written at the same time as Colossians, and Colossians was written at the same time as Philemon, then we know from his letter to Philemon that Paul was “an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus” (Philemon 1:9, NIV84). If so, then it would make sense that this was his later imprisonment in Rome, when he was eventually executed.

What we are certain of is that Paul was in prison because he was causing trouble by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Roman lands.

A Mystery

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

In verse 2, Paul writes, “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me.” Here’s more evidence that Paul doesn’t seem as familiar with the recipients of this letter as he ought, if it was truly a letter to the Ephesians. He spent at least two years in Ephesus, establishing and building up the church there. They should have known all about him! But we’ve talked about this already.

Whoever he was writing to, he wants them to realize that he has been commissioned by God to bring the grace of God to these Gentiles. As we talked about last week, the hope of salvation for Gentiles was hidden from the Jews. They didn’t get it! Even though there is ample evidence throughout the Old Testament of God’s willingness—even desire—to save Gentiles. But it was so confounded and confused and lost in the disobedience of the Jews and the judgment they suffered.

By Paul’s day, this was an unbelievable truth that resulted in a huge debate among the early Christians. Acts 11 records the reaction of the believers (who up till then were all Jews) to Peter leading the Roman centurion Cornelius and his household to faith in Christ. Verse 2 says they “criticized him!” Then after explaining all that God had done (Peter was just following orders!), they all stepped back in amazement “and praised God, saying, ‘So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life’ (Acts 11:18, NIV84).

Who knew God would do such a thing? Because God’s plan was shrouded in mystery to anyone who wasn’t looking for it. To anyone who thought God was only for them and their people.

But now it was coming clear. And Paul had been specifically commissioned by God to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles and announce to them that they could be equal heirs with the Jews, united as one body, one people, to receive the promise of eternal life through Jesus.

Understand: Paul is at the forefront of a revolution in theology. He has dedicated his life to bringing this Great News to a people who formerly had no hope whatsoever. He should rightly be considered a hero to you and to me. God surely would have used someone else if Paul were disobedient to the heavenly vision commissioning him. But he wasn’t, so we owe him an incredible debt of gratitude!

Least Preaching Greatest

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Paul has every right to consider himself one of the greatest apostles of his day, but listen to him in verses 7-9. He sees himself as “less than the least of all God’s people”! He’s not just the least of the apostles, but lower than the lowest of all God’s people.

Talk about low self-esteem! We think having a low self-esteem results in depression and giving up and shutting ourselves off from the world. Sure, if that’s all there is. But when God comes to you who are the lowest of the low and commissions you to take the greatest news of all to a people who otherwise had no hope, what does that do to you? We’ve already talked about that too!

It shouldn’t make you suddenly think you’re so great and awesome. Rather, it should turn your heart fully to the One who called you into His service. It should fill you with such amazement and gratitude and devotion and dedication that totally turns you inside out! You no longer look at your incapable self, but at your unstoppable God!

“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace”! Do you hear what Paul is saying? The word there is not slave, but rather the word from which we get “deacon.” He is a minister or servant. He has been entrusted with the message of life for millions who have been cut off. And it was a gift!

He wasn’t just entrusted with the message of eternal life, but to reveal the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He has the privilege of sharing with formerly hopeless people about the greatest Person in the universe, and how great He truly is.

And one last thing: God picked lowly Paul and revealed a far-reaching mystery that had escaped countless saints and scholars down through the ages! How awesome is that? The lowest of the low is privy to a universe-shaking truth! And just like that, the path to eternal life is opened to billions of people—including you and me! And Paul’s there, right at the door, right at the start, given a whole life’s work to make that truth a reality.

What would that do to you or to me, if we stood at the beginning of a new revolution in the mission and plan of God? If we were the doorkeeper? If we were key to a whole host of people coming to Christ? Wouldn’t you fall to your knees in wonder, asking, “Why me, God? Why would You give so great a privilege to a nobody like me?” And wouldn’t your heart burst with gratitude?

God’s Wisdom on Display

¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look at verse 10. As if bringing the Gospel to millions who were formerly cut off from hope wasn’t enough, there is far more at work than we realize. One of the things Paul brings out in this letter, perhaps more than in any other letter, is the idea that everything happening down here on earth, everything that God is doing for us and with us, all these things are revealing the greatness of God and His wisdom and power to beings we don’t fully understand. There are rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. In Chapter 6, Paul tells us that there are also “powers of this dark world and … spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV84).

Everything we do and everything God does, all these things are being watched by angels and demons, and they are marveling at or cursing God’s unfolding plan and the wisdom and power behind it all. Angels are involved as messengers and players in God’s great universe, and this is all unfolding for them in real time. They don’t see the beginning from the end. They don’t always understand their part or its implication in the greater plan of God. They’re watching as they carry out their instructions, interacting with us and our world, setting things up, bringing things about, and they’re wondering how it all fits together.

Granted, they can see a much bigger picture than you or I, since they individually have been watching and working since the beginning of creation. They have no limit to their lifespans, so they can piece together so much of what has already happened, but they don’t know the future, except what God has revealed to them and through them to us. They are waiting in eager expectation for the fulfillment of all things, and they are marveling at the incredible wisdom of God to plan and carry out all His purposes.

The fallen angels, demons, likewise are trying their best to mess things up for God and to destroy as many of us as they can. At times, they actually work to advance God’s purposes by their evil deeds. But they never truly thwart His plans. Neither do they stand in awe of the wisdom of God; they’re simply frustrated in their inability to derail what God intends. And yes, they’re forced to confess that God is so much greater than themselves.

The demons probably delighted in the fact that they had free reign over the Gentile nations. They worked to keep the Gentiles away from God and busy seeking worldly pleasures so they wouldn’t think to seek God. And then God did this! The wall was demolished and the Gospel was sent even to the Gentiles. What had been ages of holiday lifestyle for so many demons now became active war! They are furious that the Gentiles are now just as beloved and sought as the Jews! They have to spread their forces so much thinner!

And the angels. How many wondered why God was by and large overlooking the Gentiles? Why this focus on one nation, one people? What about the thousands of other peoples and nations? Was God really so callous with His creation? Now they see God in a whole new light! Now they see what God intended from the beginning.

And before you get too bent out of shape at the billions who lived and died before Jesus came to fulfill God’s plan, keep in mind that the total world population at the time of Christ is estimated to be at most only 330 million people—that’s a little less than the population of the United States today. For four thousand years before Christ, there were still millions of people living and dying without a chance at salvation, but no where near as many as are dying today.

Today, there are approximately 60 millions deaths worldwide each year. Assuming a third of all people are true Christians—and that’s a generous estimate—40 million people die without Christ each year. Estimates by Christian missions groups place the number of people today with little or no chance to hear the Gospel at about half the world’s population. Assuming deaths are spread evenly over all populations, then we’re talking about 30 million people dying every year with little or no chance of having heard of Jesus Christ.

That means every 11 years, we, the Church of Jesus Christ, are allowing the same number of people as the entire world population in Jesus’ day to perish without hearing the hope of the Gospel. If anyone wants to point fingers, they should point them at us.

We’ve had the Gospel for two thousand years. And in two thousand years, we’ve taken it to much of the world, but the total number of people dying without Christ is far greater after the coming of Christ than before! After the Gospel came into our possession. After we came to understand that there was a life far more valuable after death than before, whose value could only be increased by giving up the things of this life and giving our lives to take the Gospel ever farther.

That’s on us, not God. We choose to build a life for ourselves on this side of eternity. And so we condemn countless millions to a Christ-less eternity—all so that we could have more food, more clothes, a bigger house, more and better stuff.

We need to repent. We are the church, the body through which God intended to reveal His manifold wisdom. The world and spiritual powers need to see the truth and wisdom and worth of God and His Son Jesus Christ—and they can only see it by how we choose to live for eternal priorities instead of temporal. By how we turn upside-down all we live for and love. We have no excuse.

Freely Approach God

¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Verse 12. It used to be that only priests could approach God, and that with all kinds of limitations and restrictions—and with great fear! If you missed some key sacrifice or stepped into the Holy of Holies at the wrong time—boom! You were dead.

Even the Jews couldn’t approach God with freedom and confidence. They had to keep their distance, offer the right sacrifices and limit themselves to the correct rituals.

Then God Himself came and lived among them. Those who believed realized that they could actually touch God and not be destroyed. They could eat and talk and laugh with Him! But they were all Jews.

What was revolutionary for them, was even more for us. Because now God had commissioned His servants to come to us and tell us that their God welcomed us into His family also!

Because of the Gospel, we too could draw near to God with freedom and confidence. We don’t need others to mediate for us. We have Jesus and Jesus is all we need. You don’t need me to pray to God for you. You don’t need to pray to Mary or some capital-S saint! In Jesus, we can approach the Father directly. This is what Jesus said,

In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. (John 16:26-27, NIV84)

If you love and believe in Jesus, you can speak directly to the Father, and He will hear it. You have no need to fear drawing near to Him, because by your faith in Jesus all your sins and imperfections have been covered. We still see them; God still sees where you need help! But He doesn’t count them against you, because you have loved and honored His Son by believing that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and the only sacrifice for sins.

You, a Gentile, can draw near to the God of the Jews, whom the Jews themselves fear to approach!

Sufferings for Glory

¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

In verse 13, Paul is coming back to his original point. Remember he identified himself as “Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (Ephesians 3:1, NIV84), then interrupted his train of thought.

Yes, he is a prisoner. He probably has not yet become convinced that this imprisonment will end his earthly service. But he is in chains and has suffered much to bring the Gospel to Gentiles.

He wants them—and us—not to be discouraged or feel bad because he is suffering on our account. Rather, he wants us to recognize that his sufferings are our glory!

What? How? What is wrong with Paul?

He has fought almost his entire adult life for us, that we could know the Gospel and be saved and know the rights and privileges we enjoy as children of God. There are earthly and spiritual forces that want to keep you in ignorance, that would rather you perish apart from Christ. Paul has been fighting for your life—your enteral life.

You are precious to Paul—you are precious to God—so precious that not only would God sacrifice His only Son for you, but He would also appoint men like Paul to sacrifice their lives to bring you that good news and to instruct you in the way you should go.

How honored we should feel! Once it seemed God cared nothing for us; now He’s sacrificing people for us! What are we missing if we don’t feel the honor? We don’t appreciate the gift we’ve been given. We’ve heard it so much that we take it for granted.

This world, this life means more to us than the one Christ and others suffered to win for us. We need to see this gift as God Himself sees it, as Paul saw it. We need to understand and be embarrassed by what lengths God has gone through to save us. We need to soak it in. And we need to be convicted and compelled by it.

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians, in his second letter to them:

If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:13-16, NIV84)

We need to see things as God sees things. We need to value things as God values them. We need to stop looking at things from a worldly point of view. We need to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God in His service (Romans 12:1).

We need to pass along the blessing. Pay it forward. There are still so many who have yet to hear. It would be terrible for the chain to stop with us.

We’ve been talking about this change of view, this change of mind and heart, for a long time. Did you notice in the 2 Corinthian passage quoted a moment ago that Paul reveals the key that should trigger this transformation of our priorities and lives? Don’t worry if you didn’t. We’re about to hit it again. Paul is pretty consistent!

Pray for Christ’s Indwelling

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ^17a so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

In verse 14, Paul picks right back up with where he started this chapter: Kneeling before the Father in prayer. And what does he pray?

The first thing is for our strengthening! Because he’s asking God to do something huge, something that will overwhelm us, something that by rights should blast us into a million pieces!

He asks that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. Now he’s already told us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit as soon as we hear and believe in Christ and His Gospel.

The Holy Spirit dwells in us. But do you give Him space? Do you let Him speak to you and do you follow what He tells you? Did you know you can “quench” His fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19)? Did you know you can grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30)? We can insult Him by our deliberate disobedience. Do that enough times without confession and repentance, and you’ll end up condemned eternally rather than saved (Hebrews 10:26-31).

But Paul’s talking about something even bigger! When I quote John 14:21, where Jesus says He’ll show Himself to those who have and obey His commands, what does that mean? It doesn’t necessarily mean that He’ll actually stand before you and let you see Him with your eyes, though Paul clearly has seen the Lord Jesus at least in visions. We too could share in that. But before you get too excited about that, consider carefully the kind of person He reveals Himself to in that way. Do you measure up to the likes of Peter and the Eleven in devotion and service? Or Paul?

The average exuberant believer who claims such experiences needs to examine themselves to determine whether they love the revelation of Scripture and diligently seek to do all it teaches as much as they love the visions and dreams they have. They need to be especially careful before they go off telling others what they have seen or heard, especially if teaching or instructing them! There are other spirits out there who are happy to deceive the untrained and ignorant. Paul himself warns that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NIV84).

Jesus wants not merely to show up and let us see Him, but He wants to draw near in such deep and meaningful fellowship, like that of the best of friends. That’s what it means for Him to reveal Himself to us: He lets us know Him better and better. But understand, He is God! He is vast and all-knowing and all-powerful! Can you imagine someone so far above us in nature and wisdom and power and everything else coming to chat with you and sharing things that blow your mind with every sentence?

Sit down with a really smart person and listen to them talk about the things they know best and you know nothing about. You’d be lost in a minute!

And Paul wants us to have Christ come so near to us and remain with us! No wonder we need the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with power in our inner being! We can’t imagine what that kind of glory and power and majesty and wisdom will do to us!

Or maybe we can. Just look back at God appearing over Mount Sinai to the Israelites:

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." (Hebrews 12:18-21, NIV84)

Oh yes, we need strength! To stand before such a holy, powerful God, to talk with him face to face as Moses did. To have Him—not coming to visit then leaving—but remaining with us and opening up to us more and more! Pouring out such wisdom and power and glory that we cannot contain by our own strength.

But Paul doesn’t stop there.

Grasp Christ’s Love

^17b And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Paul also prays that we, having been rooted and established in love, may also have power to understand the impossible: the width and length and hight and depth of a love that surpasses knowledge! It can only explode our finite brains! So yes, again, we need power from beyond ourselves to begin to grasp the greatness of Christ’s love.

What is this love of Christ? It is love for people like you and me, who began as sinners and remain formerly-cut-off Gentiles. The lowest of the low. We are no longer sinners, but saints by faith in Jesus. And we are no longer cut off, because God sent His Gospel to our people and nation. We are still the lowest of the low, lower even than disobedient Jews. But we are now adopted as sons and daughters into the household of God. A privilege of unimaginable proportions!

Paul wants us to grasp how great God’s love in Christ is for us! And if we get it, it threatens to blow our hearts wide open!

Paul wants us to be filled with this same love—love for the despised and rejected. The lowest of the low. So that we overflow with it toward everyone around us! If we didn’t let it overflow, we would be blown apart at the seams!

It is also an all-consuming love for the Father, that we would do anything He asks. Nothing is too out of bounds. Even if it costs us our lives. Perhaps Paul has in mind something he wrote recently to the Philippians:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8, NIV84)

Do you understand the love Christ has for you so well that you would lay your life down in obedience to Him? That you would, like Him, lay your life down in order to bring the Gospel to those who are so completely despised and rejected—even by you!?

Do you understand that when we turn the page here and go on to the next chapter, we’ll begin to see all kinds of commands and instructions that God has for each one of us. Are you willing to do anything and everything He asks of you? Are you so filled with the love of Christ that you’re ready to go forward in obedience?

Funny how it takes obedience to know Christ better and knowing Him better compels us to greater obedience!

Do you understand the love Christ has for you so well that you would gladly surrender all your rights and privileges to serve those around you in whatever way Jesus commands?

Look what it did to Paul. He gladly suffered imprisonment and worse so that you and I could hear and know that God loved us too. So that we could know a love that compelled God to send His own Son to die for us in payment of our sins so that we who repent could be forgiven and granted equal standing in the family of God with Jewish believers. Remember that passage from 2 Corinthians I quoted? Paul said,

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, NIV84, emphasis added)

It was Christ’s love that compelled Paul to no longer live for himself but for Jesus, who came into the world “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10, ESV). Even the lowest of the low.

As if that were too small a thing, Paul concludes with:

Greater Things

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul is already asking the impossible—so impossible that we need the Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our spirits—something that shouldn’t be burstable!—so that we can receive Christ dwelling in us, so that we can understand such love that surpasses knowledge, so that we may be filled with the uncontainable God!

God is able to do even more! He’s not limited by our imagination, but by His power! And He is all powerful!

Conclusion

The only question is, are you willing? Are you willing to be filled with the fullness of God, and overflowing with His love and filled with Jesus Himself, so that your life becomes a living display of all God has recorded for us in His Word?

Are you willing to lose everything for His sake? Are you willing to lose all your rights and privileges for the sake of those around you who do not yet know of God’s love for them? Are you willing to suffer scorn and mocking and poverty and beatings and imprisonment and even death so that those who have yet to hear of Christ’s love might finally hear because of you?

There is a hard truth in Scripture. Jesus said to Simon the Pharisee: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47, NIV84).

How low are you in your own eyes? Are you the lowest of the low? Does it scare you to see yourself that way? Then it’s your pride and your ego that stand in the way of you truly knowing Christ and all He has on offer for you. It is your pride and your ego that stand in the way of God’s blessing on your life and on your eternity.

If you saw yourself as you truly are, as God sees you apart from Christ—as all the world and all spiritual powers and authorities see you clearly—then you could receive glory and honor from the Lord beyond anything you could ever dream or imagine.

Jesus was exalted to the highest place after making Himself nothing, taking on the nature of a slave and humbling Himself in obedience to the point of death. Do you really think He can not or will not reward you in like measure, according to the degree that you surrender yourself in obedience to Him? He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

It will cost you everything, but it will win you more than you could ever imagine!