This is a story from Pastor Tim, Pastor Tim collects clean jokes, so here is one: The parents in our cycling group were discussing the subject of teenagers and their appetites. Most agreed that teenagers would eat anything, anywhere and at any time. Some were concerned that such appetites always made it hard to judge when you should feed them because they were always grazing. A veteran parent of six children told us of his method for judging the true hunger of teenagers. "I would hold up a piece of cold, cooked broccoli, and if they were jumping and snapping at it, I figured they were hungry enough to be fed."

Last time I spoke, I spent 25 minutes talking about and around the first verse of Ephesians, chapter 3.

That first verse showed us a huge amount of truth

Incarcerated by Caesar, chained to a Roman soldier every moment of every day, Paul acknowledges only being a prisoner of the Lord

Paul was a prisoner of the Romans to protect him from those who vowed to kill him

He was given rest and protection to enable his continued ministry to the gentile churches

Paul commissioned others to do the footwork

Paul prayed

Paul wrote much of the New Testament

But, now we will look at another aspect of this passage

Lets turn to Ephesians 3:1 - 2

Body

The purpose of Paul’s existence

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles; {2} if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

Paul existed to serve Christ Jesus, no matter what the cost

We know all about his being a prisoner of the Romans

He was there because he was a slave of the Lord

Over and over Paul identifies himself as a bond-servant of Christ

Or as Jesus’ slave

In Philippians 1:1 Paul calls himself and Timothy bond-servants of Christ

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Paul existed to be the steward of the gospel

Note in verse 2 of Ephesians 3, the word dispensation

This is not the theological dispensation that being the various ways God has dealt the mankind

This dispensation means "the administration of a household or estate; dispensation or stewardship

Paul was given the responsibility to administer the grace of God to the Gentiles

Please let me quote from my Pastor’s Sermon Bible

What an enormous responsibility laid upon ministers of God!

Every minister of God is a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is to serve Christ no matter the cost-even if it means imprisonment or death

Every minister of God is a steward of God's grace.

He is responsible for ministering the grace of God to men.

And just a reminder, every Christian is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ

Young and old minister to those around them

We all have our stewardship

Even the youngest

The oldest

And everyone in between

As has been said over and over again, we are either a missionary or a mission field

Lets go on to verses 3 - as Paul writes about

The Mystery, better we start at verse 2

if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, {3} how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, {4} by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), {5} which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: {6} that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

I mentioned before the meaning of dispensation

Paul had, evidently, told the church about his conversion and commission experiences

I’m not going to reiterate these experiences except to turn to the Acts of the Holy Spirit, chapter 9, verse 15 and 16

We know Paul was blinded, he waited 3 days and the Lord sent Ananias to help him, we have here part of Jesus and Ananias’s conversation

"Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. {16} "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."

We know Paul spent three years with the Lord learning the mystery and everything he needed to know concerning his commission

Here Paul alludes to his time with the Lord

He, obviously, calls his commission the grace of God

Unmerited favor extended to Paul and through Paul to the Gentiles

Now a Biblical mystery is simply truth not known before

A truth that was not known before the apostles and prophets

A truth could not be discovered by human reason

A truth that had to be revealed by God if it was ever to be known

Please take note of this striking point that needs to be noted by all men.

The mystery of Christ was not a creation of man's mind, of his rationalizations, concepts, thoughts, and ideas.

Man could have never figured out the mystery.

No man in this physical world could ever penetrate the spiritual world and discover the truth, no matter what some have claimed.

In John 3:13 Jesus told us this very thing:

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

The spiritual world and the mystery of Christ had always been a mystery, and they would have remained a mystery if God had not acted and revealed them to Paul and the other apostles and prophets of his day.

This mystery is revealed in verse 6

The mystery of Christ, of the church, of the body, of our inheritance

The mystery of Christ was a threefold revelation.

First, we, the Gentiles, are fellow heirs of God with the Jews.

In John 4:22, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well

"You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

Salvation is of the Jews

Through Abraham all the world would be blessed

Before Jesus Christ, if a person wished to be saved, he had to approach God through the Jewish religion.

The Jews who really believed the promises of God were the heirs of God.

However, since Christ, Gentile believers-all peoples of the earth-no longer have to approach God through any other people or religion.

No matter who we are, we are now to approach God face to face through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Every person now has the glorious privilege of approaching God

No Matter who we are

No matter what we have done

No matter where we are or have been when we come

No Matter how we come

No matter why we come

If we are genuine in seeking after God, we can now approach God through Jesus Christ alone

There are no barriers, none

No wall or sign near the door to the temple proper

No veil between the holy place and the holiest of holies

There are no barriers to prevent us from coming to God and being adopted by God as an heir of God with all other believers

Verse 6 reveals to us this mystery of which Paul is writing about

that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Every time I read something like this, I am reminded of Peter in Acts 11 beginning with the first verse.

The Lord has summoned Peter to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, to present the gospel

After the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem heard about this, they were not happy with Peter.

Now the whole narrative is found from verse 2 to 18, a long story, but I believe that we should re-familiarize ourselves with what happened

Because this is, I believe, that this is the beginning of the wide spread revelation of the mystery of which Paul speaks

Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. {2} And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, {3} saying, "You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!" {4} But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying: {5} "I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. {6} "When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. {7} "And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' {8} "But I said, 'Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.' {9} "But the voice answered me again from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.' {10} "Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. {11} "At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. {12} "Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. {13} "And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 'Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, {14} 'who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.' {15} "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. {16} "Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' {17} "If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" {18} When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."

This was the mystery played out in real life

And I love verse 18, When they heard these things they became silent

Luke felt it necessary to insure that we knew they were dumb struck, the mystery of God and of His Christ was revealed in this one incident

Then after being shut up, Luke tells us that they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."

Those individuals who had head about what Peter had done at first criticized him

That is until Peter taught them the grace of God toward you and I

What mercy

What Grace

The salvation of God through Jesus Christ was revealed and we are the beneficiaries

We don’t have to become holders to the religion of the Jews

We don’t have to become circumcised

We don’t have to adhere to the 613 individual rules acknowledged by the Jews to be a supplicant to Judaism

We need only believe that Christ died on the cross for our sin

Now I want to be sure you understand, I must believe, I must accept the fact that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary for my sin, period.

Christ died on the cross of Calvary for your sin, period.

When I come seeking salvation, I must know that God’s sacrifice of His Son on that cruel cross was for me, period.

Jesus died for me, exclamation mark

Jesus died for you, exclamation mark

We need only accept this fact and then receive Jesus as our personal savior

Personal, my savior

Personal, your savior

Each individual must make that decision for themselves

God has many children, but no grandchildren

When I accepted Jesus for myself, I became a child of God

When Eric accepted Jesus for himself, he became a child of God

Lets examine verse 7,. Which actually ends the sentence which began in verse the first verse of chapter 3

of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

Here Paul simply points out that God did it

It was all God’s doing

Even though Paul admits to being the minister of the grace of the mystery of salvation

He gives the Lord all the glory

Then in verse 8 we see

The humility of the servant of God

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Paul begins here with an exclamation

To me! An exclamation of disbelief

God gave me this grace?

Who am I?

I am the least of all the saints

Paul does not say the least of the apostles

He asserts over and over again, his apostleship

He asserts his equality with the most respected and revered of the apostles

But, along with that, he asserts that he is the least of all the saints

But, Paul was not dismayed

Paul had a compulsion to spread the gospel

A compulsion born out of thanksgiving

A compulsion born out of love for Christ

A compulsion born out of humility

A compulsion born out of a deep concern for people

Who gave Paul this grace?

God through Christ Jesus

But we all have our stewardship

Each of us has been entrusted with the gospel of salvation through Christ

Are you as thankful as Paul?

Do you love Christ as much as Paul?

Are you better than Paul?

Do you have that concern for others?

Christ has entrusted to us the precious gospel

How many souls have you lead to the Lord?

A very small percentage, maybe 10%, of Christians have ever had that privilege

Are you a member of the 10% or the 90%?

The greatest commandment is this

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' {38} "This is the first and great commandment. {39} "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' {40} "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."