1-6-19 Grace - Benson/Vail Sermon

Pastor Timothy Patoka Epiphany: January 6, 2019 Administer The Mystery Of Christ Ephesians 3:2-12 1) The Mystery Of Christ Is Explained To All 2) All God’s Children Administer This Mystery Everybody likes a mystery, a game of cat and mouse when trying to deduce the unknown. Sometimes the mystery is “How did he do that?” as I often ask myself when I watch some of the magic shows on Netflix that are designed for adults. Sometimes the mystery is “What is the secret ingredient?” that you probably asked yourself after trying that delectable delight at some Christmas party. Sometimes the mystery is “Who is the culprit?” if you’re watching a show on TV. Mysteries can be fun when we know that we’re going to find out what or who the answer is after a little while.

But sometimes, mysteries can be of an entirely different matter. As we look at our verses for this morning from the Apostle’s letter to the Ephesians, we come across the mystery of Christ. This is a different kind of mystery than we’re used to.

Instead of asking, “How did they do that?” or “Who is the culprit?” we instead ask, “Who is this for?” Yet, as Paul explains to us, we don’t have to wonder for long.

Rather we can be sure who the mystery of Christ is for and how it is we manage its content by administering it.

1) The Mystery Of Christ Is Explained To All When the Bible talks about a mystery, it’s often referring to something that isn’t naturally known, something that needs to be explained to us. For example, take the sun and the mystery of how long it takes its rays to reach us. By nature, we know that the sun is somewhere way out there beyond the clouds, but we have no idea how long it takes for its light to reach us. It wasn’t until we developed the technology to measure the distance between the sun and us and calculated the speed of light that the mystery could be explained that it takes ~8 minutes for the sun’s rays to reach us. What was once a mystery no longer is a mystery. It is with this definition in mind that the Apostle Paul tells us what the mystery of Christ is: “This mystery is that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and people who also share in the promise through the gospel.”

(Ephesians 3:6) To say it simply, the mystery of Christ is that Jesus’ promise of salvation is for all people, not just the Jews who came from Abraham’s family line and grew up with the Old Testament Scriptures. It’s also for the rest of the world who is not a Jew by birth. Now that may not seem like such a big deal to us. But in 1

Pastor Timothy Patoka Epiphany: January 6, 2019 Paul’s time, it was. Because of the many Old Testament laws that the Jewish people followed and their focus on waiting for the Promised Savior, they were pretty much separated from the pagan Gentiles.

We no longer live in a time where all people are either Jew or Gentile. Yet there are still many people who are different from us, people for whom the mystery of Christ is for. We naturally share this mystery of Christ with our friends because we have something in common with them. But many times we stop there. We don’t naturally branch out past our friend network in sharing Christ. Sometimes we overlook people we don’t have things in common with. We ask them what their hobbies are and pass on to the next person in hopes of doing more than polite small talk. Sometimes we overlook people we disagree with down to their very core. We blame different people for the current partial shutdown of our government or criticize how they spend their hard-earned money. Sometimes we overlook people who are high maintenance or have problems we don’t want to deal with. We knowingly and unknowingly overlook them all because to share Christ with them would mean we have to build a relationship with them. And that’s not something we want to do. We would rather take Paul’s words that the gospel is for all people and change it so that it’s just for those who are like us and nice to us.

But that’s not who the mystery of Christ is for. It’s for all people of all backgrounds and all hobbies and all political ideologies and all temperaments. It’s because of that all-inclusive range that you too are included. Our God doesn’t restrict his love to just one kind of people. He loves all people, even those who don’t live up to Paul’s words. It’s for that reason that all people had reason to celebrate 12 days ago when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Because he is the Savior of all people. He kept all of God’s laws that all of us never can perfectly obey. He died on the cross as the punishment for all people’s sins so that all people may have peace with God in this life and the one to come. He rose from the dead to show all people that his promises of forgiveness and eternal life come from the power to deliver on those promises.

It’s because of who Christ is for all people that we can look back to Paul’s explanation of Christ’s mystery and see another comforting truth. “This mystery is that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and people who also share in the promise through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6) Not only is Christ for all people, but if you have faith in him you also have all his blessings. There are no partial believers who need to level up to secure or better

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Pastor Timothy Patoka Epiphany: January 6, 2019 their salvation. Rather, as the Apostle Paul tells us, if you are in Christ Jesus you are a fellow heir of eternal life, a member of the body that is made up of all Christians, and a sharer in the gospel’s promise of sins forgiven and peace with God forever. If you are new to Christ, let that sink in. You have the same blessings and assurance of salvation as does the Christian who was born and baptized in the church. If you are not new to Christ, let that same comfort sink in. You are not alone in this walk of life. You are united with countless brothers and sisters in the faith to lean on when hard times come upon you, to pick up when they could use a helping hand, to look forward to meeting again and getting to better know in heaven. The mystery of Christ may not seem like much at first. But when we consider that it is for all people and gives all of Christ’s blessings, we then realize that it means more than we can ever consider.

2) All God’s Children Administer This Mystery And it is we Christians who have the privilege to administer this mystery to all people. The Apostle Paul was doing so in his letter to the Ephesians. And he said to them, “In past ages this mystery remained hidden in God, who created all things. He did this so that, through the church, the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known.” (Ephesians 3:9b-10a) As Paul explains, it’s through the church, the body of believers, that we today administer the mystery of Christ to all people. When I hear the word “administer” I think of its close companion “manage.” When you manage something, you are handling something already present. Your job isn’t to create something, but to correctly use what has been given to you. And that’s a good way of looking at our role with the mystery of Christ. The blessings we have did not come because we did something to earn it. It was given as a gift from our Savior through faith in who Jesus is as described by the Bible. As such, it isn’t ours to hold on to and hoard up for ourselves. We are managers of a gift that’s meant to be shared with all because it is intended for all.

But again we have problems with that. We don’t always administer it properly. We demand that others do something first before we share Christ with them. We take our blessings for granted so that our hearts aren’t on fire for the gospel anymore. And so when we go about administering this mystery, it’s with a heart motivated by guilt or duty instead of thanksgiving. We adopt the consumerist mindset of our culture which is so ready to receive, but so slow to take ownership and give back. Or perhaps most common, we can look around at those worshiping with us and assume that out of all the people who are here, someone will

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Pastor Timothy Patoka Epiphany: January 6, 2019 administer this mystery outside of Sunday morning, someone besides me that is.

Like you, I too realize how difficult it can be to administer this mystery correctly and share it with all the people it is intended for.

But what has been entrusted to our administering is too good to keep hidden or private. For we have the unsearchable riches of Christ, that if any person is found in Christ they are fellow heirs of eternal life, they are members of the same body which is headed by Christ, they share in the gospel’s promise of sins forgiven, peace with God, and a new heart that is able and eager to thank God. Although we didn’t read this during our worship service, I’m reminded of what our Savior says in Matthew chapter 5 where he uses the illustration of light to describe how our administration of this mystery ought to be. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence.”

(Matthew 5:14-16a) No one lights a lamp only to cover it with a basket. To do negates the purpose of lighting the lamp in the first place. Whether it be an oldfashioned lamp or the lights in your house, you turn them on so they can shine and give light to people.

In the same way, for us to receive the blessings that our Savior has won and given to us and not administer them doesn’t make sense. Not only are we doing a disservice to our God who has given us his light, but we are also robbing people of that light. It is we, the church, the body of believers, who know what the mystery of Christ is and are given the privilege to administer to others so that they too may have the same blessings we have.

And I would like to encourage you to do that. Our administering of Christ’s mystery must start with ourselves so that we have something to share. Build yourself up and those whom God has entrusted to your care by regularly coming to God and his Word. It’s by doing this you can prepare yourself to think on your feet and speak with confidence when your own doubts attack you or when others’ questions come your way. Know that when the Apostle Paul says that the administration of this mystery is done through the church, he’s talking about you.

Rather than assume that someone else will administer this mystery, rise up to the occasion or check in later to make sure this mystery is reaching the people for whom it is intended. Not because you have to, but because you want to share with others the blessings that you now have – that because you are in Christ, you are an 4

Pastor Timothy Patoka Epiphany: January 6, 2019 heir of eternal life, you are a member of the body that is made up of all Christians, and you share in the gospel’s promise of sin’s forgiveness and peace with God. And after it is that you administer this mystery to yourself, you can then administer it to others. We all have unique ways that we shouldn’t discount simply because they are different or out-of-the-box. Think of the people you see on a regular basis, many of whom, if they represent the American religious landscape, could benefit from you sharing with them what Christ means to you or receive an invitation to learn more about him at a Bible study or a worship service. Think of the places you frequent where you can let your light shine by either what you choose to do or choose not to do. Think of the gifts that God has given to you, gifts which you get to thankfully give back to God in the offering plate to support the work of the church to do that which you cannot as a mere individual. Think of your own uniqueness that allows you to connect with people others do not. Think of your skills and abilities that God has given to you which provide you an opportunity to publicly give thanks to God for them. But not matter how it is we administer this mystery to others, our wish is that people may continue to come to Christ from near and far as we read about how the Queen of Sheba and the Wise Men from afar did.

Everyone likes a good mystery and finding out the answer to the question they have. But when the Bible uses the word “mystery” it’s simply referring to something that isn’t naturally known. As the Apostle Paul shows us in Ephesians chapter 3, the mystery of Christ is that our Savior’s salvation is for all people period. And once a person is in Christ, they have all his blessings. This joyous mystery has been given to us, the church, to administer to all people. What we manage is not our own, but rather it is from God. And as we go about administering this mystery, let us remember to include both ourselves and others.

Because what we administer is that there is salvation for all people in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

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