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HopeLives365

Mark Finley

3rd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Ephesians

01 Paul and the Ephesians

02 God’s Grand, Christ-Centered Plan

03 The Power of the Exalted Jesus

04 How God Rescues Us

05 Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church

06 The Mystery of the Gospel

07 The Unified Body of Christ

08 Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech

09 Living Wisely

10 Husbands and Wives: Together at the Cross

11 Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ

12 “The Call to Stand”

13 Waging Peace

14 Ephesians in the Heart


Welcome to another of our Sabbath School series on the book of Ephesians, lesson number 6, the mystery of the gospel. The memory text this week in Ephesians chapter 3 is I think 1 of the most powerful texts in the New Testament. Let's look at it Ephesians 3 and I'd like to start there with verse 14. And we'll read verse 14 to 21. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

You remember, we have been studying about the fact that through Jesus Christ, the wall between the Jew and Gentile is broken down. The wall between all of us is broken down. The wall between ethnic groups and various cultures is demolished in Christ. That's why Paul can write that in Christ, we are 1 family. The whole family in heaven and earth is in verse 16, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man.

This is part of the mystery of the gospel, isn't it? That we can be strengthened through the might of Jesus Christ. That there's something stronger than our propensities toward evil. There's something stronger than our passions, than our inclinations, than our temptations, and that is the power of the living Christ, that he may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width, the length, and the depth, and the height. We're going to be studying about that in the lesson this week, lesson 6, to know what's the love of Christ, which passes knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

It seems almost incomprehensible that God would take a fallen human being whose nature is contrary to God, who's lived a life of rebellion and fill us with all the fullness of God. Then verse 20 and 21, now to him, to who? To him, to Christ, who is able. What is he able to do? He is able, you know that song, he's able, he's able.

He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. He's not only able to do abundantly above all we ask or think, but he's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. How, how can he do this? Through the power that works in us. To him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end, amen.

This is an incredibly inspiring lesson that reveals that God through Christ is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. Now in Sunday's lesson we talk about Paul the imprisoned Apostle to the Gentiles. And in Ephesians chapter 3 there are really 2 major themes. First, that Paul is called by God to preach, and he has a passion to preach or share the gospel. He may be a prisoner, but he's called by God, and God has a divine purpose for his life.

And second major theme in in Ephesians chapter 3 is Christ's power to radically change our lives. We read about that in Ephesians 3 verse 20 and 21 that he's able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think. Now in the second paragraph of Sunday's lesson, it says, Paul identifies himself as the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Now this is his way of arguing that though he may reside in prison and in a Roman captivity and appear to be under the authority of the Roman empire, he has a deeper divine purpose being worked out in his life. And that purpose is to share Jesus, even in a Roman prison.

He's not the prisoner of Rome, but he's the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Now if you're in prison in the first century, you don't get meals of your choice served in there. You don't have a TV to watch in there. There's not some comfortable bed. It is a dark, damp, dingy dungeon, cold, shivering.

Food is not provided generally. Sometimes they provide just enough food to keep you alive, but you have to depend on friends to keep you alive with your clothing, with your food, bring in blankets to keep the chill of the night air off you. Roman prisons were not designed for people to live there for a long time. You don't have this idea of 5 years in prison, 7 years in prison, life imprisonment. Roman prisons, you were there until you were tried.

And at the trial, you were either flagellated, you could be executed, there might be a few paid a fine, so there could be a punishment. So Paul shouts of the triumph of Christ, the victory of Christ, that although he's in prison, the gospel still reveals Jesus' love, grace, and power. Monday's lesson, July 31, the long-hidden mystery of the gospel. What's the mystery that's been entrusted to Paul? You find it in Ephesians chapter 3, 1 to 6.

What indeed is this mystery of the gospel? Why is the gospel called a mystery? We get help here in Ephesians 3. It says, for this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me for you, how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery." And what is the mystery? The mystery is that through Jesus Christ and through the gospel, all human beings can be brought together.

It is the mystery that's been hidden through the ages that Christ reconciles us to himself vertically and reconciles us to others horizontally. The mystery of the gospel is the mystery of the good news that through Jesus, by Jesus, because of Jesus, we can be saved in his kingdom and we can have reconciliation with others. We can forgive others, as it says in Ephesians 4, verse 32, so clearly. It says that we are able to forgive others because we ourselves are forgiven by Christ. As we continue here, notice how clearly it puts it.

It says, how that by revelation, verse 3 of Ephesians 3, he made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in a few words, by which you read, you may understand my knowledge and the mystery of Christ, who in 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, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel. So what is Paul describing here is this mystery. The mystery is that not only does God have the Jews as a chosen nation, but through Christ, the Gentiles have been brought into the family. That's a divine mystery. It's a mystery that the gospel goes to all men and women, that charmed by his love and redeemed by his grace, we are part of the same family.

We go to Tuesday's lesson, the revealer of God's wisdom. What does Paul say about God and the actions of God in Ephesians 3, 7 to 13? He says basically 3 things. First, that God has commissioned him to preach the gospel. That the gospel is not something merely that Paul has chosen to preach.

It's a burden that's laid on him by Christ. He's been chosen, commissioned by Christ. He has divine authority from Christ. Second, he points out that God has created this world and everything in it, and that as creator, God, he is worthy of our worship. And thirdly, that God's wisdom is made known through the unsearchable riches of Christ.

In other words, Paul's called to preach, Christ created us, Ephesians 3, 9, all things were created by Christ. And Christ has redeemed us. He is worthy of our worship because he's our creator and he is our redeemer. The closer we draw to Jesus And the more we see the magnificence of his love and the greatness of his power, the more we're gonna feel little, the more we're gonna feel unworthy. We see God as our creator.

He spoke and worlds came into existence. He spoke and sun, moon, and stars appeared. He spoke and earth was created, was carpeted with living green. He spoke and flowers appeared and fish in the sea. And he spoke and you have the animals.

He got spoken, all of that took place. He is the all powerful creator. And when you think of the God that created the sun, moons and stars through Christ, you feel pretty small, don't you? Then when you think of Jesus in his perfect life, his compassion, his unbridled love, his unfathomable love, his infinite love, When you think of his patience, when you think of his kindness, when you think of all that and you think of how far you fall short, you feel pretty pretty small, don't you? But Ellen White puts it this way in Steps to Christ, page 64.

The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes. For your vision will be clearer, your imperfections will be seen in the broad and distinct contrast to his perfect nature. I know in my life I feel that way at times. The closer I draw to Jesus, the more I see his righteousness, his goodness, his perfection. The more I see the imperfections of my own character.

And the closer you draw to Christ, why is this so? Because the closer you draw to Christ and the more you see your imperfections, the more you will be driven to trust his perfection. The more you see his, your unrighteousness, the more you'll be drawn to his righteousness. In Wednesday's lesson, Dr. John McVeigh talks about Christ dwelling in our heart.

He asks us to compare Paul's earlier prayer request in Ephesians 1, verse 16 to 19, with his plea for believers in Ephesians 3, 14 to 19. Now, if you look at those passages together, you're gonna notice a common theme. First Ephesians chapter 1, verse 16 to 19. It says, do not cease to give, Paul's praying. He says, I don't cease to give thanks for you, I'm praying for you, I mention you in my prayers.

And he says in verse 17 that he's praying that we'll receive wisdom and revelation from God. He says in verse 18 that he prays that the eyes of our understanding might be open, that we might know the hope of his calling. You can see why Paul would pray this at a time of writing to Ephesians, because the Church at Ephesus was part of a pagan, immoral culture. The Church at Ephesus lived in a city that worshipped Diana or Artemis, pagan gods. Thousands of immoral, pagan priestesses would flock the streets of the city at night.

You had commercialism and materialism and what we would call secularism or godlessness. So Paul says, I'm praying for the church at Ephesus that you never lose sight of your calling, that you realize that you're sons and daughters of God, that you have a destiny in Christ. Then it says, I want you to know, I'm praying that you'll know the exceeding greatness of Christ's power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. Paul is leading them from what is around them, the culture, so that the culture doesn't squeeze them into its mold, so that they are not transformed by the culture, but they transform the culture around them. Paul is praying here for them, that they experience the mighty power of God.

If you compare that to Ephesians 3, verse 14 to 19, you have something very, very similar, because here, Paul again talks about the mighty power of God. He says in verse 16, that Christ would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man." So here Paul recognizes that Christianity is not gritting your teeth and bearing it. It's not clenching your fists and saying, I will overcome this temptation if it kills me. But when we come to Christ, there is supernatural power that flows through our lives. When we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit strengthens us in the inner man, the inner woman, to face the challenges of life, to face the temptations of life, to overcome our inherited and cultivated tendencies towards sin.

So here in Ephesians chapter 3, we find the secret weapon of victory, not in our strength, but in his, not in our power, but in his. We are strengthened by might into the inner man. Here in the lesson, the second paragraph down, it says, ponder this thought. Your family, despite its imperfections and failures, belongs to God. Your family is not in the cruel grip of fate, but in God's caring hands.

God loves imperfect families. They bear the divine name. They carry the mark of his ownership. In Ephesians 3, 16 to 19, Paul asked God to grant believers an abundant spiritual experience marked by the inner strength through the Spirit's presence, intimacy with Christ, who is also portrayed as dwelling within, and a settled, secure spiritual identity. Paul talks about, remember, the breadth, length, height, and depth.

What's he talking about? The breadth of God's love. It's so wide, it brings in all of us. The depth of God's love, it plunges into the deepest part of our beings and changes us. The length of God's love, it can take us from here to heaven.

The height of God's love, God's ideal for his children is more perfect and greater than we can ever imagine. You remember what it says in the book of Isaiah 55? It says, there, my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor my ways your ways, says God. In other words, what's the height of God's love? It is the height of his ideal for us.

God has an ideal. The breadth of God's love, it's so broad it reaches all of us. The length of God's love, it takes us from here to eternity. The height of God's love, his ideal is greater than we can ever imagine. The depth of God's love, his love plunges into the depths of our life and heals us, brings healing to us in the innermost recesses of our being.

Thursday's lesson talks about the fact that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Is indeed. The 1 who has come to transform our lives, the 1 who has come to transform our lives, the 1 who has come to make us over again and to renew us in Christ. Let's look at Thursday's lesson, glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. Paul concludes Ephesians 3 with this doxology.

Remember, we read it earlier. Now to him who is what? Who's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power that works in us, keep in mind that He is able. He's able to do in your life more than you can possibly imagine. The 1 that began a good work in you will finish it.

He is the author and finisher of our faith. He's able to do in your church, your church with all its imperfections, your church with all its conflicts, your church with all of its laudacy and complacency, he's able to do in your church above what you could ask or think. If you have a vibrant church that is growing rapidly in Christ, God wants to do something more. If you have a missionary-minded church that is reaching out to the community, God wants to do something even more with it. If you have a church that is unified, God wants to even bring you closer in fellowship to 1 another.

But if you have a church that's laitocene, complacent, a church that is arguing with strife, God wants to bring that church together. You say, is that possible? Listen. Paul says, as he quotes Ephesians chapter 3 that God can do exceedingly above, our author says in reminding us of Paul's words, This is so true that God can bring us together in unity, that he imagined believers being filled with the fullness of God. He celebrates these spiritual realities in praise, again, marveling at the abundance of God's power on offer to the saints to bring them together in unity.

The imprisoned apostle raises our vision to the grand horizon of God's purposes and grace, reminding us that whatever our current circumstances, we are participants in God's ultimate plan and his power is at work in us. God can bring us in unity with himself, and he can bring us in unity in our church. Why? Because of his strength, his power, His inner working of His Spirit. May it be so in our lives.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for your Spirit. Thank you for your power. Thank you that we can be strengthened in Christ moment by moment, day by day, and transformed by His grace and brought together in unity with our brothers and sisters. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Series

3rd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Ephesians

06 The Mystery of the Gospel

Parent Series

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Other Teachings in Series

01 Paul and the Ephesians

02 God’s Grand, Christ-Centered Plan

03 The Power of the Exalted Jesus

04 How God Rescues Us

05 Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church

06 The Mystery of the Gospel

07 The Unified Body of Christ

08 Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech

09 Living Wisely

10 Husbands and Wives: Together at the Cross

11 Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ

12 “The Call to Stand”

13 Waging Peace

14 Ephesians in the Heart

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