Warranted Suffering for the Mystery of Christ
Warranted Suffering for the Mystery of Christ
Ephesians 3:7-13
Introduction
Perhaps you have heard the name John Rogers. He was an English pastor of a protestant church in London during the mid 1500s—the time of transition between King Edward I and Queen Mary Tudor. While King Edward I was very friendly toward the reformation, Mary Tudor was not. Being the daughter of discarded Queen and ex-wife of King Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, she no doubt had a bad taste in her mouth for Protestantism. She was staunchly, and violently, Catholic.
Upon her rise to power, she outlawed the preaching and practice of Protestant Religion in England upon pain of death. She hoped thereby to stamp out what was to her a corruption of true religion and to reestablish Catholicism as the religion of England. Whence comes Mary Tudor’s nickname: “Blood Mary.”
John Rogers was a minister during this time. He was a pastor of the church of St. Sepulchre in London and was an earnest believer and preacher of reformation doctrine. He was married with eleven children, one of whom was still at the breast. But John, being a righteous man, would not stop preaching the truth simply because the state told him to, defied Mary’s law by preaching the truth. So he landed himself in trouble with the Queen. He preached a sermon in the second year of Mary’s reign against the growing power of the Pope in England and urged people to remain true to the biblical teachings of the reformation.
For this sermon he was summoned before the council, where he defended himself and was let off with a warning. This made the Queen unhappy, which led her to command him not to leave his own house. There he stayed in house arrest for weeks until the Bishop of London, a man named Bonner, had him committed to prison with thieves and murderers. Being summoned before the council again, this time he was condemned to death by burning at the stake.
On the 4th of February, 1555, in the morning, he was led away to be burned. He slept soundly the night before. His sentencing did not alarm him. The only favor he asked for from the Bishop of London was that he would be able to speak with his wife one more time, which the Bishop denied him. When the Sherrif gave him one final chance to abandon his faith, he denied it, saying, “What I have preached I will seal with my blood.” The Sherriff responded, saying “Well, I will never pray for you.” To which Rogers responded, “But I will pray for you.”
Then, being led to the stake, he was led past his own family, repeating Psalm 51 as he went: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!” And there he was turned to ashes for his faith.
Was it worth it? Inevitably we put ourselves into the shoes of such a man and ask ourselves if we could do the same thing. It has been truly said that, if the Lord calls you to do that, he will give you the grace to do that when it happens. But the question we should ask for this morning is this: is such a sacrifice warranted? Is it worth it? Or, perhaps, what is it that drives a person to make such sacrifices? What motivates a person to know the stakes, embrace them, and willingly walk into suffering, imprisonment, and even death for the sake of the gospel? Is it worth it?
Paul answers this question in Ephesians 3. Beginning to pray in 3:1, he mentions that he is a prisoner for the very gospel he is articulating in this letter. And this reminds his pastoral heart of something important—the Ephesians were tempted to be discouraged because of his imprisonment. And so, he digresses away from his prayer and takes time to explain to them his own stewardship of the mystery of Christ. And in so doing he lays out the warrant for his suffering for the gospel, and thereby encourages them not to lose heart because of what he is suffering. He argues, “Yes, it is worth it! Don’t lose heart!” And why is it worth it? Paul has already given essentially two reasons for this in verses 1-6:
1. Paul had received a stewardship within the greater outworking of God’s plan by a revelation from God. Paul’s warrant for suffering sprang from the reality that God had graciously given him a responsibility within the “plan for the fullness of time.” And this glorious responsibility was a warrant for his suffering.
2. Paul was in the privileged position of gaining insight into a mystery which God had kept hidden for generations and had now revealed to the NT apostles and prophets. The previously unrevealed mystery of God has now been unveiled, and Paul is right at the center of that unveiling. He was privileged to be included in that plan, and this was a warrant for suffering.
And to these reasons he adds more in verses 7-13. And from these reasons, we should fundamentally learn the following lesson: don’t lose heart over gospel suffering, whether in yourself or in your brothers and sisters. We undertake that suffering with warrant, and willingly, knowing who we have believed. And that’s easy in a church context like this. We will, or perhaps are, suffering for the sake of the gospel in planting a church. Our lives may not be in danger, but we can nonetheless lose heart because of the many small sacrifices we need to make for the gospel cause in planting a new church. The sacrifices we make now are worth it. And we should take heart. And why? Let us look first at the Gift of Paul’s Ministry:
I. The Gift of Paul’s Ministry (3:7-9)
Paul’s ministry, and ours, is a gracious gift from God. Look at how often Paul speaks of the “grace” of God or that which is “given to me.”
If the ministry itself is a gift from God, then certainly the energy and power to do that ministry is also a gift from God. That is why in 1 Peter 4:10 says that if we serve the church, we need to serve the church “in the strength that God supplies.” Serving the Lord in your own strength will only burn you out. Serving him in his strength will energize you. You’ll walk away from services tired but alive.
Paul’s ministry humbled him, and it should humble us. He says that he is the “very least of all the saints.” Literally, he says he is the “leastest” of the saints. Lesser than the least. Smaller than the small. Paul’s own name in Latin means “small.” And this was no false piety—something he says because he knows he’s supposed to say it but really doesn’t mean it in his heart. 1 Timothy 1:13, “Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” Or 1 Corinthians 15:9, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” His former life was an Ebenezer to his own shame—the pillar of remembrance that humbled him when he considered his own spiritual privileges. He was the least. The smallest. The opponent. The sinner. The blasphemer. The persecutor. But now, he is the apostle, the revealer of mysteries, part of the church’s foundation, a preacher of the gospel, a minister of the Lord by his mercy. Indeed, he often said it as he did in 2 Corinthians 4:1, “We have this ministry by the mercy of God.”
And this is a good example for us. None of us deserve to be here. Our service to the church is not deserved. It is mercy. It is a gracious gift. It flows from the abundant storehouses of his grace. Ministry and service to the church is like the mist that comes from Niagara Falls—the inevitable effect of having been brought near to the roaring outpouring of his grace in Christ. And how that should move us to serve! And how that should move us to suffer.
Paul’s ministry focused on evangelism, and so does ours. Paul was given this ministry, not just to be nice, not just to be politically involved, not just to affirm people, but to make known to them the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” What are those? Paul has been enumerating them in the first two chapters of this book.
But that should inform how we evangelize. We are making known Christ’s unsearchable riches! We are offering people wealth beyond their wildest dreams! Not a physical wealth (not yet), but a spiritual wealth of blessing flowing from the fountain of Christ.
And what a motivation that should be to us to evangelize our neighbors! We would love to see this church grow. But we would especially love to see it grow through individuals being saved by seeing for the first time the unsearchable riches of Christ. And that can’t happen unless you “evangelize”—the literal word underneath the term “preach.”
But even here we must reflect on the miraculous thing that preaching is. Preaching is the vehicle through which God reveals his mystery. Preaching unveils the unsearchable riches of Christ. Preaching illuminates the eyes of the heart and brings to light things the lie hidden in the mind of God. Preaching displays the wisdom of God. Preaching is an incredible thing! Paul says in another place, “It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe!” (1 Corinthians 1:21). And how little true preaching the church receives today! And oh how I desire that you would pray for me as I approach the pulpit every Sunday, that I might preach—as Paul says at the end of this book, that I might speak as I ought to speak.
Paul’s ministry was based on revelation and so should ours be. We are not going around and sharing our own ideas. We aren’t touting philosophy or psychology. We aren’t teaching self help. In fact, the content of our message cannot be divined through human methods of knowing. Remember the concept of the “mystery” from last week? 3:3 – the “mystery” was made known to Paul; 3:4 – he had been given insight into the “mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations but has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
Paul preached this message. His mission was to “bring to light for everyone what is the plan/administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things. And again, this is a massive motivation for ministry. I love to watch my kids have secrets, something that they want to tell me, something cool that happened. They can barely contain themselves. And how much more should be refused to be calm, cool, and collected when we have such a magnificent mystery to bring to light!
This can only happen by the Spirit, of course. Paul’s ministry is to “bring to light” the mystery. But that word is related to what he had said in 1:18, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know.” The enlightening of the spiritual eyes by the Holy Spirit is necessary. And here we need to remember something very important: We are not the Holy Spirit. We cannot change people. We can “bring to light” for someone the mystery of Christ, explain the gospel clearly, but it is up to the Holy Spirit to give the results. So, you just worry about being faithful. Let God worry about being fruitful.
Thus is the gift of Paul’s ministry—it was a gift of his grace, it humbled him, it was focused on evangelism, and it was based upon revelation. And all of this supported him in his imprisonment. To summarize, Paul saw himself as privileged to be part of something far bigger than himself, rather than downcast over his own sufferings. His privilege was his warrant—and so he threw himself into ministry and suffered whatever consequences might come his way for the sake of the Gentiles.
II. The Purpose of Paul’s Ministry (3:10-12)
Paul’s ministry was not only a gift. It also had a purpose. His ministry consisted in first receiving revelation from Christ about the church, then making known that revelation to everyone through writing it down and preaching it, thus bringing to light for all of humanity during this new age of the church what are the unsearchable riches of Christ. But why has Paul been given this ministry? The answer is in verses 10-12.
Paul’s message and ministry demonstrates the intricate wisdom of God to angels. “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Let’s break that down in its parts:
1. God’s wisdom is “manifold.” The literal translation would be “multicolored.” But the idea is an intricate pattern, interwoven with many different patterns and colors, in order to create something beautiful, like Joseph’s coat of many colors. And the point is that God’s wisdom is intricate. His mind is complicated. His thoughts are high. It is no easy task to understand God’s wisdom.
2. His intricate wisdom is made known. He has revealed his wisdom, demonstrated his wisdom, manifested his wisdom. He has not kept it secret but unveiled it.
3. His wisdom is made known through the church. Through this new reality in the history of God’s plan—a new and unified humanity. It is through you that God’s intricate wisdom has been manifested.
4. His wisdom is made known to angels. Paul says to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” This could be good angels or evil angels. 1 Peter 1:12 says that angels “long to looking into” these things. The holy angels desire to understand more of God and of his work. Since they cannot experience the graces and glories of redemption personally, they understand them by observing the work of God in the church. Stephen Curtis Chapman once wrote a song about this idea. The chorus goes: “Well, I can’t fly, at least not yet. I’ve got no halo on my head. And I can’t even start to picture heaven’s beauty. But I’ve been shown the Savior’s love. The grace of God has raised me up to show me things the Angels long to look into. And I know things the Angels only wish they knew.”
But I believe that this refers primarily to evil angels in Ephesians. I say that because there are two particular places where evil angels are mentioned. The first is Ephesians 2:2 which speaks of the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” The second comes in Ephesians 6:11f – “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” That tells me that when Ephesians talks about Christ being seated above all angelic authority in the heavenly places (in the spiritual realm), it means that Christ has dominated Satan and his demons. He has, as was prophesied so long ago, crushed the head of the snake.
Thus, I believe that his manifold wisdom is primarily being demonstrated to Satan and his demons through the church. And that is very important to the logic of Ephesians. Remember, God’s ultimate goal is to reforge the universe into a whole and healed place, with a whole and healed humanity ruling over it, with Christ at the head of that humanity. But the universe is fractured and distorted precisely because humanity is fractured and distorted. And who caused humanity’s distortion? Satan. And so God sets out to crush Satan’s head—and to reverse what he caused by tempting the woman and drawing humanity in to sin. He does this in Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection and ascension. And we are now joined to Jesus Christ, and thereby constitute 2:15 “one new man”—the reunited, reforged, healed, whole humanity which is to rule over creation with Christ at our head. And that tells Satan “checkmate.” God demonstrates to Satan through the church, “You cannot outmatch my wisdom. You cannot destroy what I have made. I will always heal what you harm. I will always straighten what you twist.”
This is a great motivation to obedience, isn’t it? God motivates us by telling us truth. And this is the truth: angels are watching. You are always being watched for the evidences of God’s grace! And this is particularly seen through the unity of the church. Remember what Paul has been talking about. Chapter 2 is all about the unity of Jew and Gentile in one new man—the renewal of humanity. Which means that strongest testimony of the wisdom of God to the angels is the unity of the church. Which means that Satan will do whatever he can to destroy that unity! Beware the whispering lies of the devil! Do not give in to the temptation to destroy the unity of the church. That’s why Paul says in Ephesians 4:3, be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Don’t create the unity of the church. Don’t force the unity of the church. But maintain it. How? Through holiness! Humility, gentleness, patience, forebearance, love. All the virtues that he exhorts us to in chapters 4-6 are all designed to promote and preserve the unity of the church so that we demonstrate to angelic powers the wisdom of God through our life together. Which in turn is also a great motivation to involvement. How can we manifest the wisdom of God through our unity if we are not together—singing, working, praying, thinking, evangelizing, planning, ministering, teaching, servicing.
That’s exactly what Paul means when he says that he accomplished this “according to his eternal purpose.” That is a direct reference to 1:9-11. God has a purpose. A goal. An aim. Something he is accomplishing, which he devised before he made the world. And that purpose was to exalt his Son to the praise of his grace in the praises of his saints by redeeming them and righting the world from sin.
And here is the takeaway: That’s worth suffering for! Knowing that you get to be part of the display of God’s eternally-devised, all-encompassing, cosmic-scoped, multicolored, intricate wisdom to display to heavenly beings much powerful than we are how wise God is should astound us, and should motivate us to serve his church, and should motivate us to suffer and even die for that cause. It’s worth it.
But there is another thing to mention: this purpose is demonstrated to the angels through our boldness and access with confidence through faith. Our unity with each other and our unity with God through Christ gives us three things:
1. Boldness – the idea is “full disclosure,” saying it all. There is no thought that is not off limits to God. We have the ability to address the Lord as a loving father who wants us to tell him what’s on our minds, and who has given us the right of children to freely speak to their Father.
2. Access – that is, a way to approach him. This was used in 2:18, “through him we both have access in one Spirit.” Approach to the Father. Access to his presence.
3. Confidence – Not braggadocios boastfulness, but the assurance that comes from trust. We are confident that we will be heard, not because of anything in us, but because of the gracious provision of our God.
III. The Conclusion Regarding Paul’s Ministry (3:13)
If it is true that this ministry which landed Paul in prison is a gift of God’s grace to him, and if it is true that Paul’s ministry shouldered purposes which were grandiose in scope and significance, then the conclusion must dawn on us: Paul’s suffering is warranted. And therefore, the Ephesians ought not to be discouraged over Paul’s suffering! He says, “Don’t lose heart over what I am suffering for you.”
I think the suffering of church leaders should bring sadness to the heart of those they lead. That’s a normal reaction. It’s similar to how my children feel sad when I’m sick. They come and pile my bed with stuffies and bring me soup, and come check on me ever five minutes. It’s sweet. And I think a healthy relationship to church leadership should be the same way. We are concerned with the suffering of those who lead us. We hear about their hardships, and we feel that.
But there is a temptation when we hear about the hardships of leadership to allow that sadness to turn into discouragement, especially when it is for the sake of the gospel. Try to put yourself in the Ephesians’ shoes. Here was the man who preached the gospel to them, who knew them well. And they knew him. He was their pastor for two years. He sacrificed for them. He worked a regular job to bring the gospel to them free of charge. He labored for their good. He headed up an Asia Minor missions effort. They knew and loved him. But beyond that, they also had been well taught. Here was one of the foundation stones of the church! Here was one who was commissioned by Jesus Christ directly! Here was the primary driver of the Gentile mission! You can imagine how losing someone so important would be a discouragement to them. You can imagine the doubts: “How can the plan of God move forward without Paul? What will we do when he isn’t here? What will we do if he can’t continue his mission.”
But Paul tells them, “Don’t lose heart.” Don’t lose your motivation for continuing in the gospel work. Don’t lose your enthusiasm for the church! Don’t be discouraged or downhearted. Why? Because think of the privilege! And I think that’s a good word for us at this new church. When we started out we had the advantage of all of it being new and exciting and different. But as we have begun to settle into a rhythm of life together, we are seeing more clearly the magnitude of what we’re doing and the amount of work it takes to do it! There’s a lot of work. A lot of holes. A lot of problems to be solved. A lot of issues to be addressed. A lot of work to be done. There are children to be discipled, marriages to be strengthened, unbelievers to evangelize, finances to steward, prayer to pray, fellowship to be had, hospitality to be practiced, and on and on and on. And that takes sacrifice.
But remember your privilege! Remember your calling! Remember the mystery of the church! Remember that through the church God’s wisdom is being displayed to cosmic forces of darkness! Remember that it is through that work that you do damage on the spiritual battlefield. And that is a great motivation to continue in service. Don’t lose heart. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose your enthusiasm. It’s worth it.
But he adds one final step: Paul’s suffering is their glory. What in the world does that mean? What does it mean that Paul’s suffering is the glory of the Ephesians? To see what this means, lets look at the other places that Paul has already used the word “glory” in Ephesians. The first place is in chapter 1, with the threefold refrain, “To the praise of the glory of his grace” (1:6), “To the praise of his glory” (1:12), and again “to the praise of his glory” (1:14). The work of the Triune God to redeem a people for his own praise accrues to the praise of his glory. Which means that it is through that redeeming work that God’s glory is manifested. God demonstrates his glory through redeeming a people, and then those redeemed people turn around, see how God has redeemed them, perceive glory in that method of redemption, and then erupt in praises and thanksgiving.
That is why Paul prays in Eph 1:18 that we would have the eyes of our hearts enlightened, “that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” Now that we’ve been redeemed Paul wants us to spiritually see how we have been redeemed. And as we see how we’ve been redeemed, he wants us to perceive riches of glory expressed in the redemption of the saints. Jesus Christ has an inheritance, and that inheritance is the saints—and that inheritance is glorious. We are the glorious inheritance of Jesus, precisely because he has made us glorious through his sacrifice.
So then, how does this inheritance become glorious? Through the preaching of the gospel. Through Paul’s work of preaching to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Which is always attended by suffering. And right there you have the connection. Paul’s suffering is the glory of the Ephesians, because it was only through suffering that the message of the gospel would come to the Ephesians. Paul suffered to bring the Ephesians the saving message of the gospel—which is just another way of saying, Paul’s suffering was the Ephesians’ glory.
This was baked into the cake from the beginning. Acts 9:15–16: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” To carry the Lord’s name before unbelievers will mean suffering. For Paul it was significant. 2 Cor 11:23–27.
And we are no different. When you join the church, you sign up to suffer. And that’s not just true of a church plant. That’s any church. The flesh rages against us. The world hates us. Satan seeks to destroy us. And therefore, if we are seeking to establish a gospel beachhead in the city of Rosemount, we will suffer.
But again, get the connection: that suffering is the glory of those who will believe. Because that suffering is the very thing which brought the gospel to them in the first place. The suffering of the saints is the glory of those who believe. That’s why we repeat the story of John Rogers with holy reverence—not because that suffering had earned him anything, nor because we glory in pain and suffering, but because that suffering has preserved the gospel for us. He sealed it with his blood. It is our glory. In an ironic yet beautiful way, the suffering of the saints crowns the church with beauty and splendor.
Conclusion
Suffering for the gospel of Christ is warranted. Paul is in prison for good reason. And, as the Lord wills, he is happy to do it. It demonstrates his privilege to be given the ministry he has. It fulfills grand and marvelous purposes toward the angels and in other dimensions. Thus, they should not be sorrowful that he is in prison, but they should rejoice. His sufferings are their glory.
Acts 4:1-31