Ephesians 3
EPHESIANS 3
Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
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Ephesians 3 videos-
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMbmJ7N-LFNKVN2n0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iv9uxkj7s25q1sb/1-2-18%20Ephesians%203.mp4?dl=0
ON VIDEO-
.One star only
.Paul the prisoner
.What mystery?
.Abraham and the stars
.Did the prophets know [fully] what they were saying?
.What does all this mean for our day?
.Not an ethnic gospel
.Apostles and Prophets
.The gift of prophecy
.Silence- the movie
.Nagasaki
.Syncretism
.Church history
.Franciscans and Dominicans
.The Logos
.Redemption history
.Higher critics got it wrong
.Mysteries still revealed thru the body of Christ- Incarnation principle
.God has done this
.The Divine romance
TEACHING- [Past posts below]
Paul speaks about the gift of grace given to him- how God revealed the ‘mystery’ to him about both Jews and Gentiles being part of one Body [community] in Christ-
Ephesians 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Ephesians 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
How how it is thru this body- the church- that God’s wisdom is being revealed- even to the angels and powers in the heavens-
Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
The principle is the incarnation- how we as living members of the Church are continuing to walk on the earth- as redeemed humans- and because the Spirit of revelation- the Spirit of God chose to reside in us- then we are the instrument where God’s wisdom and truth are being revealed.
Even the prophets of old see in into this church- they are indeed ‘living’ with God right now- they await the day when we will all be physically raised from the dead-
But as of now- they too look into the wisdom of God being revealed thru the church-
Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [note- on the video I explained how here Paul is talking about New testament Apostles and Prophets- but I also spoke on how even the Old Testament prophets have now seen the unfolding of the mystery- thru the church]
The great mystery of both Jew and Gentile being brought together in Christ might not seem as ‘big of a deal’ to us living in the 21st century-
But to the first century mind- it was a big deal.
For us today- we see how in order for God to truly reveal himself to others- it requires a community of people joined together in Christ- who have broken down the racial and ethnic barriers that we see in the world.
The fact that God joined groups who were opposed to one another [Jew and Gentile] and thru this reconciling of man he than revealed his wisdom to others- was an offence to the natural mind.
Remember- the mysteries Paul is speaking about were indeed contained in the writings of the prophets.
Yet the religious mind of the 1st century simply could not see them.
The truths contained in scripture are only revealed thru a unified community of people.
Paul himself was a trained teacher of the law- yet it took a Divine intervention to reveal the mystery of Christ to him [Acts 9].
And as he embarked on his great purpose- to reveal the love of God to those who felt rejected- he too began to experience the same rejection from his former community.
Yet it was the calling of God upon him- God’s grace that was doing it thru him-
Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
He learned how to embrace the calling- and all that went along with it.
Though an educated man- he would come to see that the love of Christ went beyond an intellectual pursuit of truth-
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
It is in the Divine romance of Christ and the bride that enables the unfolding of the mysteries of God.
The wisdom of God is a product of God being with man- God living and communing inside of this people- the church.
We live in a day where many well meaning teachers- who have the skills to communicate truth- often do not see the need for the truth of God to come from a Body of people who display what reconciliation actually is.
The 1st century church consisted of people who were once divided- people who held strong religious convictions.
Their beliefs came from the sincere study of the Old Testament scriptures-
It was from their dedication to these Scriptures that they felt it their duty to oppress the ‘other’-
Paul’s own experience shows us this.
But after his experience with Jesus himself on the road to Damascus- he began to see how it was thru these Old Testament Scriptures that God had already spoken about the redemption of all people-
Paul himself began to see that what he thought was right [the persecuting of the church] was actually opposed to the pre planned purpose of God from the start.
And this indeed was a great mystery- something hidden from the beginning of time-
1 Corinthians 2:7
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
We as the people of God- who come from all different backgrounds and ethnicities, we reveal the manifold wisdom of God to others- because we show how people who were separated from one another have not come together to form a unified community.
The walls have not only been broken down between us and God- but between us and our fellow man.
Yes- Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law- he took away the barrier that separated man from his brother-
Ephesians 2:14
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
And he brought peace on earth- good will to men-
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Yes- the powers in the heavens- the angels themselves began seeing it at the time of the incarnation-
And it is in this Divine romance between unified men- and God himself- that the angels still desire to learn from-
New International Version
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. Peter 1:12
PAST POSTS- [ Teaching I did that relates to this post- Ephesians 3- Verses below]
EPHESIANS- LINKS
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/
More-
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-johns-gospel/
https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/
[Accidentally posted more here- but the section I wanted is right below]
·1ST, 2ND CORINTHIANS
·1ST- 2ND SAMUEL
·1ST- 2ND SAMUEL [LINKS- UPDATED 3–17]
·1ST-2ND KINGS
·ABOUT
·ACTS
·ACTS [LINKS]
·ATHEISM- APOLOGETICS [LINKS ADDED]
·CHRISTIAN RECOVERY FROM ADDICTION [LONG VERSION]
·CLASSICS OF WESTERN LITERATURE
·DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA
·EPHESIANS [HIGHLIGHTS]
·FURTHER TALKS ON CHURCH AND MINISTRY
·GALATIANS [LINKS]
·GALATIANS- JOHN’S GOSPEL
·GENESIS
·HAGGAI
·HEBREWS- UPDATED 2015
·HISTORICAL FIGURES FROM CHURCH HISTORY
·HOUSE OF PRAYER OR DEN OF THIEVES
·HURRICANE HARVEY
·INSIGHTS FROM A REVOLUTION
·ISLAM
·JAMES- 2015
·JOHN [COMPLETE- LINKS ADDED]
·JONAH [LINKS]
·JUDGES- RUTH [VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED]
·JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
·LINK TO PAST POSTS- UP TO 12–2017
·LINKS TO STUDIES
·MARK [LINKS]
·MY BIBLE COMMENTARIES [OTHER LINKS]
·MY OTHER SITES
·N.J./NYC- 2017
·NEHEMIAH, ISAIAH
·NYC-NEW JERSEY TRIP- 2015
·ONE LINK
·OVERVIEW OF PHILOSOPHY
·OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE
·PROTESTANT REFORMATION- LUTHER
·QM
·RADIO CATALOG
·RAPTURE- 2ND COMING- 2 EVENTS?
·ROMANS-UPDATED 2015
·RUSSIA- U.S.- WORLD EVENTS
·THE GREAT BUILDING OF GOD
·WESTERN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION
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galatians- john’s gospel
[STUDY] GALATIANS/JOHNS GOSPEL
(1327) GALATIANS; INTRO- Okay, finally made it, been wanting to teach this letter for a while. Let me overview some church history that I feel would be helpful in understanding the book. During the 16th century Reformation you had an explosion take place within Christianity, though the official ‘schism’ dates back to the year 1054 between the western [Catholic] and eastern [Orthodox] expressions of the church, yet in reality it was the 16th century upheaval that really split the church. A few centuries before [14–15th century] you had rumblings within the church that had well taught Catholic men challenging many of the institutional concepts of the church; men like John Huss, Wycliffe and others. These men were extremely influential and had an effect on the church. Then in the 16th century you had Catholic writers who remained within the Catholic Church, but they too challenged the status quoi. Men like Erasmus of Rotterdam, these intellectuals would call for the idea of going back to the original sources of study [Greek New Testament and also other renaissance ideas] and this too would lead to the historic Reformation. But without a doubt Martin Luther [the Catholic monk out of Wittenberg, Germany] would be the firebrand of the movement. Martin was a well trained Augustinian monk who struggled with the guilt of sin for many years. Not normal guilt, but extreme. A fellow Catholic leader would encourage Luther to trust in the grace of God for his forgiveness. While reading the book of Romans [whose themes relate strongly to Galatians] he would come along the famous passage ‘the just shall live by faith’ and in Luther’s mind this was a total release from the bondage of trying to appease God thru all the religious works that he was going thru. In essence Luther discovered the historic gospel of grace thru the reading of Romans and was set free. Now Luther had no intention of leaving the Catholic Church, but as a very influential teacher/scholar out of the university city in Germany, he had lots of influence. The Catholic church at the time was worldwide and you had differing views of the church in various states. Many saw the state of the church in Rome as having given in to materialism and become too worldly. Rome was at the time trying to raise money for the restoring of the religious buildings at Rome and one of the priests going around selling indulgences was named Tetzel. The abuse of selling these ‘get out of purgatory early’ things was offensive to many Catholics, and Luther had ‘no small stir’ when Tetzel reached his area. These things would lead to the famous nailing of the 95 questions on the door of Catholic academia and would be the beginnings of the historic split. While it would take way too much time to go into all the theological differences between the Protestants and the Catholics, one of the main issues deals with how we as Christians view ‘being saved’. The historic Protestant position is called ‘justification by faith alone’ [Sola Fide] the Catholics counter with ‘the only time ‘faith alone’ is mentioned is in the book of James, where it says a man is not saved/justified by ‘faith alone’. Ouch! The main point I want to make is this letter deals with the early church’s belief that man is accepted with God based on the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Paul will challenge the ‘Judaisers’ [those who believed you needed to keep the law in order to be saved] and will argue that the law itself [Old Testament books] teaches that men are justified/accepted with God based on believing in the free gift of God thru Christ. Make no mistake about it, the New Testament clearly teaches this doctrine. Catholic and Protestant theologians BOTH agree that man is freely saved by the grace of God in Christ. But at the time of Luther’s day these glorious truths were lost in the morass of religious tradition and works. As we read thru this letter in the next few days, I want all of our readers to see the argument Paul is making from this basic theological view point. Is man saved by works [keeping Gods law] or grace? The bible teaches grace. Now I don’t have the time to also introduce the modern controversy between the ‘new view’ of Paul between Protestants [called new perspective]. There is an ongoing debate over whether or not the historic Reformation view of Paul is correct [men like N.T. Wright and John Piper are hashing it out] and I do think there are some merits to this discussion, but before we can delve into that aspect, we first need to see the historic question of works versus faith, and this letter is one of the best to deal with the issue.
(1328) GALATIANS 1- Mark Twain said ‘the classics are books that everyone loves to praise, but nobody wants to read’. As we begin this study I can’t emphasize enough the need for Christians to read the bible! Many of the current problems in Christianity would be solved if we simply got back to reading the bible in context. Okay, in chapter one Paul defends his authority as being one who was sent by God, not man. He explains how after his conversion he spent years receiving direct revelation from God; he was not taught the gospel of grace by consulting with man. Paul was in a unique situation compared to the other apostles, Paul was the first apostle to have had a strong intellectual background in both Judaism and philosophy; he knew his stuff. This ‘allowed’ God to reveal things to Paul FROM THE SCRIPTURES that revealed Gods grace and the reality of how men are justified by faith and not thru the law. In essence Paul wasn’t out in left field receiving Divine revelations about things that nobody ever heard about. They were new things in the sense that they were hidden in God until the time that God chose to reveal them [Ephesians 3].[Some sites see here https://ccoutreach87.blogspot.com/2024/08/ephesians-3-text.html
] Paul rebukes them for forsaking the true gospel and being drawn to another gospel ‘which is not
