Morning Message Text: Ephesians 3: 1-12
God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
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 people 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.
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 the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless 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.
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 that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Morning Message:
Unfortunately, in today’s church, we pay very little attention to Epiphany.
This should be celebrated by the church just as much as Christmas. The world resists and ignores Epiphany because they don’t understand the meaning behind it. Do you? Epiphany celebrates something very important in our faith, your inclusion in God’s plan of salvation. We take too much for granted in the church today. I think sometimes we start to think that we are entitled to salvation. Of course, a loving God included me, why wouldn’t he, I mean look how special I am. I know that we would never express it that way, but we live that way sometimes. Now don’t get me wrong, God loves all of us and thinks that each and every one of you is special.
We need to slow down in our relationship with our Savior and fully appreciate the wonder of how God saved us. We celebrate Epiphany on January 6th. Contrary to all of the manger scenes that you have observed, the wise men were not present the night that Jesus was born. They came sometime later making a long journey from the east. They were not Jewish, they were Gentiles. This is a very important distinction for us to make. Have you heard the witty quip titled, “The Three Wise Women”? It goes like this…. “Do you know what would have happened if it had been three wise women instead of three wise men? They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.” Maybe a king David doll with a slingshot, or a pacifier, or a warm blanket. We might start to think that God did not provide what was needed, but they brought Gold which would eventually pay for a trip to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. Frankincense was used by priests, this gift proclaimed Jesus as our High Priest, and Myrrh was an embalming agent symbolizing that Jesus was born to die for our sins.
Throughout the history of the Jewish people, God was placing signs to impress upon them something that he knew would be a stumbling block. God knew that their human pride would get in the way. He knew that their prejudice would cause them to push others away and God’s plan all along was the salvation of all mankind. Jesus was coming into the world to save all people and even though he was born to a Jewish family, his lineage proved that he was much more. If you read the Old Testament, you will see two Gentile women in the direct blood line of Jesus. Rahab, the prostitute who hid the spies in Jericho, and Ruth who was a Moabite woman who later married Boaz. Their son was Obed, and he was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David. God in his wisdom choose Abraham to be the father of a nation, not to be better than others, but to be a light to all mankind, that through their story all mankind might return to God. And all along the way God placed signposts reminding us that his grace was inclusive and for all people. The wise men, Epiphany is God showing us that we all can come to him through Jesus.
Today’s reading is entitled in my Bible, “God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles.” Paul is very clear in his writings that he was sent by God to proclaim salvation through Jesus to the Gentiles, that’s you and me. Paul repeatedly emphasizes the oneness of the body of Christ throughout his letter. Why is this so important? Because, Jews and Gentiles worshiping together, was such a miracle. Max Anders, in his New Testament commentary on Ephesians, says this. “We simply do not understand the degree of separation that existed between Jews and Gentiles. It was like saying there will no longer be blacks and whites in South Africa. It is like saying there will no longer be Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. It is like saying there will no longer be liberals and conservatives in the United States. All these people are going to be made into one.” In Paul’s day, the animosity between Jew and Gentile was so strong that a Jewish woman would not help a Gentile woman deliver her child, because the Jewish woman believed she was helping to bring another degraded human into the world. Jews would not even go through Samaria because it was non-Jewish country. They would walk 150 miles out of their way—around the border—to keep from entering territory inhabited by a people they called “dogs.” So when the gospel offered grace to all, it produced a massive shift. Suddenly, there could be no separate Jewish church, no separate Gentile church. God had only one family—and Jew and Gentile alike had equal status. It was a truly revolutionary time in the church.
Epiphany is so valuable to the church today. It helps us remember that God’s grace is inclusive. We are not outsiders, and we should never treat other believers as outsiders. Once someone comes to Jesus, they are a new creation.
We no longer carry around a label to express who we are. God gave us Epiphany as a signpost, a remembrance that he has called all people to himself in the incarnation of Jesus. Now, more than ever in the history of the church, we need to find that common ground that lies within God’s amazing grace. Heaven only knows that we face evil in this world like never before, All the more reason for us, those who have been saved through the grace of God, need to accept one another.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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