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, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Summary: Paul opens the door of the “mystery of Christ” a little further and shows us that we are not alone in our curiosity about what God has done.
It is time to shake things up a bit here at Three Minute Bible. Today, we are going to look at an entire sentence! (Woo Hoo!) However, (wait for it…) today’s focus will be on the first eight words. The reason I wanted to highlight the entire passage is that this sentence of Paul’s is unusual. It contains some very interesting insights into God’s plans for his church.
Paul has just explained that he has been tasked with explaining the “riches of Christ” to the Gentile world. This “mystery,” as he calls it, is not unique to Paul. This is the same mystery we read about in the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. It is the mystery that Jesus entrusted to his disciples. It is the same mystery they shared after he ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Paul’s task is slightly different than the other Apostles. Most of us Gentiles don’t have the background that a Jew would have. There are many things the average Jew knows that a Gentile has never heard of. This is different for each of us, of course, but true on the whole. Paul’s task is more than announcing the Messiah to a group of people who were waiting for one. Paul has to explain to us Gentiles who the Messiah is and why we need one.
One of the fascinating things about this passage is that the mission of the church is not just to spread the gospel here on earth. The church has a larger purpose. The church itself testifies about God’s plan to the “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”
As we confront our daily lives, we find ourselves dealing with the messy business of putting up with other people. Each of us struggles with our selfish desires and the tangle of emotions that they result in. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that not only is God watching, but so are others in the “heavenly realms.”
If the church is the body of Christ, then it is also Christ’s voice. As we speak of what God has done for us, we need to be mindful of who is listening.
As we continue to look at this passage, we will discover some interesting insights. Not only into the voice of Christ but into the nature of God himself.
Application: As we act out our faith, it is good to keep in mind that we are always on stage.
Food for Thought: What are your thoughts on this passage?
My thoughts on this lead me to the concept of spiritual warfare. You gave the analogy of a stage, but I think it is more of a battlefield, with battlefield commanders looking at the field, and looking to God for guidance in strategy and victory.
I have come to believe that spiritual warfare is less of a battle for the human will, and more of the battle between God and evil, and the whole universe is a part of it. We are not puppets, we are a part of the battle, we need each other (humans and heavenly creations), and all of us need Christ.
I have come to believe that spiritual warfare is not some “devil” and some “angel” on my shoulder, but more of strategies that twist through generations like vines with thorns choking out life. There is no way to navigate this battlefield, or be victorious in this endeavor in any way, except through Jesus Christ, the Supreme Allied Commander.
Chris,
Your metaphor of “strategies that twist through generations like vines with thorns choking out life” is powerful! Thank God that we can turn to Christ and find comfort, Peace, and forgiveness. 🙂
Great thoughts Chris. I really appreciate your perspective- partly because my mind went to spiritual warfare as well. The manifold wisdom of God was made known to the spiritual authorities in the heavenly realms — this definitely reminds me of Ephesians 6: 10 – 12 a little later in this epistle. It is interesting that this was made known through the church. We are to be engaged in this battle and need to put on the spiritual armor. As Jesus said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against us as we operate in God’s power (Matthew 16: 17 – 18).
We need to realize that we are not on a cruise ship but a battleship – and live and pray accordingly.
Rich,
Thank you! I’m definitely looking forward to the Ephesians 6 passage! 🙂
Great observations CH & R!
05-22-2023, What are your thoughts on this passage? Ephesians 3:10-11
This passages tell us the angels in heaven learn “the manifold wisdom of God through seeing what God has accomplished in the church.”
They see mankind in all our weaknesses, and all our sin, our nature which was made in the image of God, destroyed by our one foolish choice. They see God at work in this train wreck to produce astonishing results.
The angels witnessed God the Son leave heaven and, confine Himself to a physical body. They witnessed His sinless life, in response the most powerful assaults and temptations Satan could muster. At the end of His life, as a sinless man, He submitted to God and was crucified on the cross of Calvary where He shed His blood as the atonement, full payment for all the sins of all mankind.
They see how God Himself saves sinful men while retaining His divine justice. By one mans disobedience, sin and death came into this world, and by one man, the God-man Christ Jesus, the power of sin is destroyed, and eternal life is available for all mankind.
The angels see what God is accomplishing in the church, they see the manifold wisdom of God that was concealed throughout the ages as His divine plan is coming to fruition. The growth of the faith is seen in the manifold wisdom of God. Jesus chose twelve men to take, preach the gospel into all of the world, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through signs and wonders the number of disciples began with 120, to 3000 on Pentecost, grew to 5000 in a short time, and was soon so large it was only described as multitudes. Persecution broke out against the disciples at the death of Stephen which contributed to movement out of Jerusalem and the spread of the gospel throughout the world, for they “went every where preaching the word”, Acts 8:4. The angels in heaven, like mortal men on earth, must have been amazed at the manifold wisdom of God when they saw how the gospel was spread to all nations of the world within one short lifetime, and continues today approximately 2,000 years later.
Ron,
Your words paint a picture of what the spread of the Gospel looks like from an eternal perspective. Interesting, and amazing! Thank you!