The Mystery of the Gospel
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Joined Together, Growing Together
Ephesians 3:1-13 (ESV)
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Sermon Outline
The mystery of the gospel was hidden (v. 1-5)
The mystery of the gospel has been revealed (v. 6-9)
The mystery of the gospel goes out (v. 10-13)
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we confess that we can be blind to the mystery of the gospel. While you have made the gospel radiant, we turn to other things that captivate our attention. We also confess that instead of bringing to light the wonder of the gospel, we veil it, we muddy it, we make the gospel less persuasive through our words and actions. Forgive us for not stewarding the message of the gospel well. Forgive us for hoarding the gospel to ourselves and not sharing it with our neighbors. Remind us, O God, that the gospel is the power of salvation that bridges divisions across gender, age, culture, ethnicity, class. Renew our church to be the vehicle by which your manifold wisdom might now be made known. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?
Describe how the gospel was revealed to you. In what occasions did the gospel make more sense? Was it a journey over time? Were there specific and particular moments of clarity?
Imagine being a Gentile person receiving this message from Paul that the gospel is for you, and that you are no different from your Jewish neighbor. How might you imagine receiving this message?
In what ways have you seen the gospel not revealed, but is veiled, particularly by other Christians? How might we avoid making the gospel unpersuasive to others?
What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?