Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Thought:  To me, "the administration of this mystery" is an unparalleled unfolding of the gospel and all its effects upon the world.  The gospel has made an enormous impact on our planet!

Question:  Do I participate in some way to help "make plain" the gospel to people?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:9 (NIV):  "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's message is not merely that Christ came to save sinners but also that God's intent was to draw the alienated nations (Jew and Gentile) back together.  God's gospel heals more than one problem, that is, the sin problem.  It also heals rifted nations, lifts abused women, brings dignity to slaves and allows a child to know the way to Heaven along with his parents.  The healing powers of the gospel, to unite into oneness various rended people, is the mystery Paul will teach.  Paul will "make plain" these truths.  Paul stands at the edge of a great historical change:  the sweeping effect of the gospel upon the known world.  The gospel had been hidden in many ways; now it was exploding widely, and all out of Paul's hand--Paul, "missionarty to the Gentiles."

The mystery was "kept hidden in God "in several ways.  How all prophecies could be answered in one man, Christ Jesus, was a mystery to Scripture students.  So many prophecies seemed to contradict each other:  how could one born in Bethlehem also be a Nazarene and come forth at one point out of Egypt?  The person of the Messiah was "kept hidden in God", in God's knowledge, in this way.  Another hiddenness, no doubt, lay in Judaism's failure to include Calvary in the experiences of their Messiah.  This crucifixion added much to the mysteriousness of the Messiah in Jewish thinking.  But because of the resurrection, Paul will be able to reveal the mystery of Christ's death to them.  Yet the resurrection itself is full of mystery.  How could this be?  But "hidden in God" is the surety of life, even life out of death, or from within death, and Paul himself is a prime example of drastic reversal from a way of death (murdering and jailing), into a way of life (forgiving and healing).

God created all things.  I like how Paul mentions this here.  Mystery revealed often exposes the existance of deep conflict.  We've attested to that even now by seeing the stark contrasts in Paul's life and between Jew and Gentile.  Take also the example of marriage in Ephesians 5:31 and 32.  How can two fully opposite persons, male and female, (to name but one opposition!), become one?  We see it occuring in two ways:  1) sexually and 2) in their children.  "Unity" in any of these cases is something of a miracle.  But God not only unites, He also created the diverseness which needs uniting.  God created "all things."  Mentioning this at the close of the verse shows us that God loves mystery and all its very contrastive parts as much as He loves revealing it and unifying the world in it.  He creates mystery, He creates its unfolding--He creates "all things"!

Prayer:  Father, Your sovereign control, as exemplified in the timely revealing of the mystery of the gospel, makes me feel SO SECURE!  Thank You, Father!  Amen.

Thought:  To me, Paul's captivation by God Who chooses to use humble people for noble ends is enthralling!

Question:  Could I receive God's power and become His servant?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:8 (NIV):  "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,"

Paul realizes the size of the responsibility given him.  The entire non-Jewish world needs to hear the gospel now.  His sense understands the expansiveness God is suggesting.  Paul keenly feels the burden for these souls.  This burden is, no doubt, deeply impressed into him also because of his own past.  He used to hunt down "anti-Jews", as it were.  Now he will seek to save them.  What a contrast!  It is because of this past of his that he calls himself "the least of all God's people."  He persecuted Christians, yet God saved him.  He considered himself on the lowest rung of the ladder for having formerly hurt Christians.  Yet God graced him for the largest task given in Christian history:  reaching the now accepted Gentiles for the first time.  The door was opened by God.  On the other side stood the largest crowd of unbelievers ever--the Gentiles!  Thus Paul, "the least", receives "the largest" task of all.  How like God Who works impossibilities out to achieve total opposites!

Besides the size of the job and the size of the change in Paul we also see the large size of what is preached:  "unsearchable."  How can Paul put it into words?  But what better man is there for the task than one who himself has been hugely transformed and altered by God?  Yes, Paul is called to a huge task, but God has enabled him in an equally huge way, and I would venture to say the same is true for each one of us called to our various tasks.  Paul will find language to express "the unsearchable riches of Christ" because he has experienced an unsearchably rich conversion.

Prayer:  Only by Your transforming power, dear Lord, can we even ask to be used by You for our fellowman.  Thank You for using us, Lord.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, we all need a "work" of God's grace and power to recreate us into servants of His gospel.

Question:  What does it mean to become a servant of His gospel?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:7 (NIV):  "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power."

Paul proclaims himself a full-time working servant of "this gospel", that is, that Jesus came, died and rose to unite Jews and Gentiles who are all sinners  needing saving.  He has devoted his life to it.  Though Paul willfully devoted his own life, it is really only by God's grace that he did.  Paul recognizes this and is grateful for God's gift of grace.  What is grace?  I have felt it is God giving a bit of Himself to us in such a way that we see Him more clearly, we grasp His love more really, we know Him better.  As we are given insight into God's nature from the grace God gives us to see it, we are changed, we are moved, we are forever impressed by His love.  Grace has been defined as unmerited favor.  We see this in His love.  We see it most evidently in His forgiveness and mercy:  His love that goes on loving us as we are unlovely.

Paul grew in this grace out of his Pharisaical stance of self-righteous murderings and imprisonings of people, into his Christian attitude of humble mercy and forgiveness, of not only his own people, the Jews, but also extending farther out to "the Gentile dogs."  Paul recognizes this is God at work in him, not he himself by his own effort becoming more like God.  He states "through the working of his power."  God does it all.  After God does it all, a truly responsive and grateful person, like Paul, will want to yield his life back to God in service.

Prayer:  Lord, after You remold me into a more kind, forgiving person, will You please use me to further Your wonderful gospel?  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, the goal of God's "mystery" is the sweet unity we all crave.  Hallelujah!

Question:  Do I know what it means to "share in the promise?"

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:6 (NIV):  "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."

Clearly now, Paul explains the "mystery."  As seen later in Ephesians 5:31 and 32, another mystery is very similar:  two becoming one, as we have discussed.  This mystery is accomplished "through the gospel", that is, the good news that Christ came and died and rose to save sinners.  Since both Jews and Gentiles are sinners, they all qualify to be saved!  They all can come together in Christ.  In "coming together", they all become "heirs together, "members together" and "sharers together."  They inherit, or receive from their "parent" God, everlasting life, among other things.  They become members of God's family, or heavenly realm.  And they share together in what Jesus promises all of us.  These promises include many things:  reignings, crowns, new names, tears wiped away, etc., the best promise probably being the elimination, finally, of our sinful nature, and the continual manifested, glorified presence of Our Lord with us, where faith and prayer will no longer be necessary.

Notice again that all is presented "in Christ Jesus."

Prayer:  Oh Magnificent Lord, I thank You, praise You, for taking the time and effort to unite me into Your faith, peace and especially the "promise in Christ Jesus"!  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, the revelation of the mystery of the gospel fulfills all my hunger for peace between me and my fellow men, and I am satisfied "in Christ."

Question:  Have I grasped the true meaning of the mystery of Christ?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:5 (NIV):  "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."

No one of earlier generations realized that Jewish culture and Gentile foreigners would become the subjects of unity.  It was hidden.  It was hidden by God.  Many past generations have existed through numerous disagreements and wars and so-called treaties of peace; but the kind of peace Jesus brought in his death and resurrection was not "made known to men" of the past.  Because it was a peace originating from God, it was only revealed by God via the Holy Spirit, and only to certain men; men who were filled by that Holy Spirit--apostles and prophets.  And it was revealed only at certain times in history, in God's perfect timing, when the setting was ripe.  Old Testament prophets were inspired to remark on this uniting peace and recorded it in several places in the Old Testament.  And the apostles,  chiefly Paul, have also written of it as led by the Holy Spirit.  "...men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."  (II Peter 1:21)  But eyes were opened to it on a broader scale only after Christ appeared to "make it happen."  Hence its "revelation", that is, revealing.  Thus we "see" this truth "in Christ."

Prayer:  Thank You, Father, that I live in a day to see the revealing of Your mysterious, marvellous GOSPEL!  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, we need to trust Paul's message as divinely inspired truth, with as much trust as God had in depositing it upon Paul.

Question:  Do we know where true insight (into the mystery of Christ) comes from?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:4 (NIV):  "In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,"

Paul realizes the Ephesians, who know of his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, now see what he writes to them in depth:  that Christ has come to Paul, shown him many deep truths, the greatest of which is that Jews and Gentiles can be united as they become saved by the blood of Christ.  Paul's "insight" into the mystery of Christ is, of course, gifted to him by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:  Father, thank You for gifting Paul, and other men like him, with the insights that have established Your Word, as given by the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, God's love of mystery, as demonstrated in His applications of grace, creates much awe in me of His plan and how it unfolds to all of us.

Question:  How has God revealed His mysteries to me?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:3 (NIV):  "that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly."

The "administration of God's grace" to Paul, the giving of God by God to Paul, (that is, God's great "revealing"), is equivalent to "the mystery made known" to Paul.  What was the known mystery?  Refer back to 1: 9 & 10:  "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."  The mystery is what Christ accomplished.  In Revelation we have the "mystery, Babylon" which is what man can accomplish.  These two are mysterious because they contain many secrets and processes, many parts and thoughts, when viewed bit by bit are perhaps confusing and unreadable; but when taken as a whole, the purposes are very clear and the end is seen.  Surely the old testament prophets knew very little of Jesus but that He would come and save.  We today who look back at all the accumulated prophecies and history see mucy more clearly the end-product of "the mystery."  During Paul's day they still struggled, perhaps in the very heart of the mystery, as Jew and Gentile were brought together; but today we see the beauty of that unification and understand what Christ accomplished.  Further ahead in Ephesians 5:32 Paul says that marriage is, and does demonstrate, a "profound mystery."  Two flesh join and become one.  This parallels Jew and Gentile joining and becoming one.  And both parallel Christ and the church (5:32b) becoming one.  The mysteriousness is that two diversities can ever join to become one at all!!  How can sinners be joined to a Holy God?  This is supreme dichotomy.  Yet that is exactly what happens in and through Christ.

Prayer:  Thank You, Father, for revealing more of Your mysteries through the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, we ought to aspire to Paul's example and live for others.

Question:  In what way and to what purpose has God's grace been administered to us?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:2 (NIV):  "Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you,"

Paul validates himself to being this kind of prisoner, showing he is not crazy to live this kind of life.  He proves his sincerety by reminding them that they have all heard the story of what happened to him on the road to Damascus, and affirming with them that this indeed was God sending grace.  He says God's grace was "administered" to him.  To me this means applied to Paul personally, specifically and purposefully; to be given authoritatively by One over him who can bestow it upon him exactly.  Paul says he knows God "administered" the grace for the Gentiles via himself.  He is clear, so clear, about his calling.  He knows his job.  (Do I know mine?  Do I see the purpose, the reason, God graces me?  Is it not for some others somewhere who need God?)

God never gives something to someone to have it dead-end there with them.  It is given to be given again.  Our gospel received will shine and live anew and afresh when we give it new and fresh to someone else who has never heard.  This is the nature of God Himself:  ever new and fresh, alive with love that flows and grows, never-ending and ever gracious.

Prayer:  Oh, precious Lord, may I act with responsibility and share the very grace You gave me with others near me.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, the apostle Paul is one very dynamic, if not the most powerful, of all the apostles.  We're so blessed to have his writings!

Question:  Am I willing to follow Paul's example and become a "prisoner" unto Jesus Christ?

Scripture:  Ephesians 3:1 (NIV):  "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the sake of you Gentiles--"

Paul has seen and shared the grand scope of God's fore-ordained plans which involve the eternal intent to unite Jews and Gentiles.  Now he says this is the reason he gives himself to the Gentiles:  to share this and make it clear to them that they are loved, accepted by God, covered in His grace and promised eternal life right along with the Jews.  Paul is extremely dedicated to telling this "mystery" to all Gentiles.  He allows himself to be "the prisoner of Jesus Christ," that is, he willingly puts himself into a life of captivity and bonds, bearing the name of Jesus to the entire world.  Paul is not free, (by his own choice), to live unto self; he is a willing bondslave to Christ.  To be a prisoner is an unwanted, unpleasant experience.  Paul is willing to undergo that as he goes from place to place preaching, taking the reproach and shame that comes from an unbelieving world, a world happy to trust in anything other than Jesus Christ.

Prayer:  Lord, work in me until Your love constrains me, moves me, to be the kind of selfless Christian, like Paul, that You want me to be--FOR OTHERS.  Amen.

Thought:  To me, God's power to reach and change and build me personally is fantastic and immeasureable!

Question:  Have you come to the full blessing of God's maximum inclusion of you into His "building project"?

Scripture:  Ephesians 2:22 (NIV):  "And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

Now Paul applies these truths about the church universal to another level:  the local church, the Ephesian Christians.  He says that "you too", any handful of believers anywhere, are currently being built together as well.  God is seeking to make of "you too" a dwelling for His Spirit.  The goal for both church universal and local is to be Spirit-filled, Spirit-indwelt.  I like the tense of verb here:  "are being built."  It is an on-going, present activity.  We are in process.  This is an encouragement.  No doubt any building project experiences moments of seeming defeat, downturn or even disaster, but the end results become the proof of the Master-Builder's ability.

Take this analogy down to another level:  past universality and locality, into the very life of the individual. "You too," an individual believer, are being "built together" to become an acceptable dwelling-place for God to live in.  "You too", individual Christian, are in process, day by day becoming more and more conformed to Jesus Christ, more and more full of His Holy Spirit.

"A dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" is a fantastic phrase to meditate upon.  God can live in us!  We used to be separated from Him completely, but when we received Christ, we began to "house" God.  Can The Living God Almighty be housed?  Yes!  He lives in thousands, millions of believers' hearts and is working to fill their lives with His Spirit!  What a fantastic and marvellous thing!  Praise the Lord!

Prayer:  Oh, my God and Master, praise Your Most Powerful Name!  Your strengthening and building up of me is SO WONDROUS--thank You!  Amen. 

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