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 men 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.
- Ephesians 3:2-6, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
The fact that we are celebrating the Festival of Epiphany has already been made known several times today. But did you know that...
Epiphany was recognized and celebrated as a holiday by the early Christian Church well before Christmas was?
Epiphany has been called “the Gentiles’ Christmas” because it so clearly emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all the world’s people (something brought out plainly in our Scripture lessons for today, perhaps most notably in the familiar account of the Wise Men coming from a distant land to worship the Christ Child)?
Based on that Scripture account, Epiphany is known in some places of the Christian world as the “The Festival of the Three Kings” and in others as “The Festival of the Star,” and the custom was for the clergy and choir boys to march from house to house singing carols, led by a star affixed to a pole?
Epiphany is the fabled “Twelfth Day of Christmas” that we sing about, it always falls on January 6, and that it brings to a conclusion the Christmas cycle?
The word itself comes from the Greek language and means “manifestation” or “showing forth” or “revelation” of something before unknown; and besides the truth that Jesus is Lord of all, it also commemorates the fact that Jesus revealed Himself to be true God time and time again through His miracles?
Did you know those things? Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t. But one thing I believe we all know is that this particular Festival day is a little different than the others. Maybe it’s because the other major Christian holidays call to mind a certain event in the life of Christ (birth, resurrection, ascension, etc.), whereas this special day centers more on a truth about Christ. Whatever the case may be, as compared to the “better known” church festivals, for many of us Epiphany has a certain mystique about it...
If that is case, our text for today is a most fitting one for the occasion. You may have noticed that in it the Apostle Paul uses a key word several times. It’s a word which may describe our feelings about this day, but far more importantly, it’s a word that describes the message of this day. The word is “mystery.” Let’s turn to our text now and listen to what the Apostle Paul has to tell us about
EPIPHANY: THE REVEALING OF MYSTERIES
Specifically, Paul turns our attention to:
“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s
grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by
revelation, as I have already written briefly.
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into
the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as
it has been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the
Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one family, and sharers
together in the promise in Jesus Christ.”
A little background information... Of all the congregations Paul had started, the one in Ephesus (to whom he is now writing) was the one where he stayed the longest, approximately three years. In these opening words Paul reminds them of things he had undoubtedly already told (and which he alluded to earlier in this letter). He tells them of how God in his grace revealed certain things to him that he and the world wouldn’t have otherwise known, and which he then passed on to them. And while talking about all this, he uses the word “mystery” three times...
What does Paul mean by the word “mystery”? In this context a mystery is something
that, to begin with, is known only by God but which He then makes known to
human beings in order that they might tell it to others. It is a mystery not in the sense that
it can never be known, but in the sense that it can’t be known unless it is
revealed to us. And God revealed the mystery
of Christ and the meaning of the Gospel message to the Apostle Paul, which
he gladly shared with others.
This is not to say that Paul and those in the early church (New Testament times) were the only ones to understand and then pass along the Gospel message. Believers in the Old Testament also knew of God’s plan of salvation and the promised Savior. They knew and believed through the hundreds of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Consequently, people who lived and died before the coming of Christ at Christmas were saved eternally the same way we are: Through faith in the Savior from sin. The only difference is that they looked forward to a Savior who was to come, while we look back on a Savior who has come...
When Paul says this truth “was not made known to men in other generations as it has been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets” he’s telling us how blessed we are to live at a time when we see and understand how all the details of God’s plan of salvation come together in Jesus Christ. What was believed but still somewhat “mysterious” to Old Testament believers has been fully revealed to us in the New Testament. Like the Apostle Paul, God in His grace, working through the Holy Spirit and the Gospel message, has granted us “insight into the mystery of Christ.” We fully know who He is and what He has done for us...
Paul goes on to talk about another facet of the mystery of
God, namely “that through the Gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with
Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of
Jesus Christ.” What the Bible
reveals to us is that Jesus Christ is for all people – Jews and Gentiles
(non-Jews) alike. Now, this may not
appear overly significant to us, but we have to keep in mind what a radical
idea this was for the ethnic Jewish believers in the Ephesian congregation,
which also contained “Gentiles.”
Jewish believers had grown up with the idea that they were God’s Chosen People. And they were, in the sense that God chose them out of all the nations on earth to be the people through whom the Savior would come. But this choice was purely an act of grace on God’s part, not because of any intrinsic merit or worthiness on the part of the Jewish nation. And the separateness and distinctiveness God imposed upon them through Old Testament laws and customs was to preserve this nation so that, as promised to Abraham, “all peoples on earth would be blessed” through the Savior coming from them.
However, they often forgot this. And they often thought of themselves as better than everybody else... Yes, God had ordained some laws of separation from Gentiles. And yes, even at the great temple in Jerusalem there was a separate courtyard only for Gentile believers and beyond which only Jewish believers could go. But all of this was to somehow facilitate the great plan of salvation. Unfortunately, many Jews had misinterpreted the ways of God and thought of themselves as superior to the Gentiles.
Now, by repeating the word “together” three times, Paul emphasizes that there was no longer to be any distinction between believers. This is the mystery of the scope of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is for everyone. All are one in Christ Jesus. All are on equal footing. As it is put in one of our hymns:
In Christ there is no east or west, In him no south or north
But one great fellowship of love Throughout the whole wide earth
With God there is no tribe or race; In him we all are one
He loves us as his children through Our faith in his dear Son
And finally, this indeed is the Epiphany message, is it not? Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of all the people of this world. And, thankfully, by His grace, that includes us. What was promised for hundreds and even thousands of years and believed but not seen by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other Old Testament heroes of faith, has been fully revealed to us. Fully unraveled for us is the mystery of God’s grace, the mystery of Jesus Christ, and the mystery of the scope of the Gospel message. What blessed people we are!
Let’s make a couple more observations and applications at this point. In the opening words of our text, Paul talked about “the grace of God” that was given him to know and preach Jesus Christ. Let’s talk about “the grace of God” that has come into our lives...
Ever wonder why it is that we live at this place and time, rather than having been born a thousand years ago in the “dark ages” when historians described life as being “nasty, brutish and short?” Why is it that we live in the wealthiest, most technologically advanced nation in the world, rather than scratching out a living in a third world country? Why is it that we have at our disposal adequate housing and medical and dental care, when much of the world doesn’t?
Is it because we are somehow more deserving of this kind of life than others? Is it because we are inherently better than others? Is it because we struck a pre-natal bargain with God before we were born instructing Him in what part of the world we wished to be born and what kind of economic strata we wished to be born into?
No. We have what we have and we are what we are because of one reason. Grace. God’s amazing grace.
But the greatest evidence of His grace to us is not what we have physically; it’s what we have spiritually. The “mystery of Christ” has been revealed to us. A little later on in this chapter Paul talks about the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” The word translated “unsearchable” is a word picture that calls to mind a person trying to track another person by following their footprints. As he moves along he comes upon another set of footprints crossing the first. This happens again and again, so it becomes impossible to continue. There are just too many footprints. The quarry becomes “unsearchable.”
This is a picture of what happens when we try to fathom the riches of Christ. As we contemplate one thing that is wonderful about Him, something else comes to mind. As we contemplate that, another comes to mind. And so it continues. We cannot count all the coins of glory that make up the riches of Christ. In Him we have forgiveness... peace... help in times of trouble... comfort in sorrow... power for living... strength for the journey... assurance of His presence... and after all this, the promise of eternal life.
But the riches of Christ aren’t only for us. The message of Epiphany always has a mission thrust. Christ is for all people. In the Book of Revelation the Apostle John saw an angel flying in the sky who “had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people.” One of the neatest pictures to try to envision is what it will be like in heaven among all those believers from every nation, tribe, language and people...
We must be especially grateful for the Epiphany message and especially supportive of the mission work it brings to mind because of the direct impact it has had on our lives. Most of us fall into that ethnic category of “Gentiles.” Which means somewhere along the line someone brought the Gospel to our forefathers. So we who have benefited from mission work ourselves must do all we can to unveil the mystery of Christ for others...
... So when you think about it, it’s really not that hard to understand why Christians from early on made such a big deal about Epiphany, is it? It celebrates a truth that has deep meaning for each of us. While many may still view life as a “mystery” in the common sense of the word – not knowing why they are here or where they will go when they die – through the grace of God that mystery has been revealed to us by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...
May the blessings of Epiphany – appropriately demystified
and understood – occupy our hearts on this wonderful and important day, and
stay with us always. Amen.