If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in Ephesians chapter three. Ephesians chapter three. And I'm gonna start by reading
verses 10, 11, and 12. Excuse me. Ephesians chapter three. to the
intent that now under the principalities and powers in heavenly places
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by
the faith of him. Now, my title is this, The Manifold
Wisdom of God, as seen in Ephesians chapter three. Now most of this
will be actually in another verse, actually in verse four, because
this is where Paul starts. I think in chapter three, talking
about the manifold wisdom that's in here. In verse four he says,
whereby when you read, ye may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ. The mystery of Christ. So that's
it, the manifold wisdom of God, the mystery of Christ. Okay,
but now let's just start this out plain from the beginning.
The manifold wisdom of God is Jesus Christ. He is wisdom. In this statement, manifold means
multi-level. There's many parts. There's a
manifold wisdom of God. It's not just something you can
just say it straight out. You understand? There's stuff
going on that we don't know. and there's more to the wisdom
of God than man can actually understand. But I do wanna just
kind of read a few things from Proverbs chapter eight, where
it talks about doth not wisdom cry, this is verse one, and understanding
put forth her voice. She standeth in the top of high
places by the way in the places of the path. Verse four of chapter
eight of Proverbs. Unto you, O men, I call, and
my voice is to the sons, what? Of man. God has made known some of his
wisdom to us, and that wisdom is Christ. You go on here, this
is wisdom personified. I do know it uses the word she,
but I'll use the word he. But it's talking about Christ,
because you'll hear in a little bit. Here, verse six, for I will
speak of excellent things and the opening of my lips shall
be right things. Wisdom does not lie. Wisdom does
not lie. It tells the truth. For my mouth
shall speak truth and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing
forward or perverse in them. And here's a wonderful thing,
folks. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right
to them that find knowledge. Verse 13, the fear of the Lord
is to hate evil, pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way and the forward
mouth do I hate. Wisdom hates a lie. Wisdom hates
a lie. Verse 20, I lead in the way of
righteousness. That's Christ, folks. That's
Christ. In the midst of the path of judgment,
that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, I will
fill their treasures. Now here we go. The Lord possessed
me in the beginning of his way. before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, wherever the earth was. When there were
no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains
abounding with water. Verse 27, when he prepared the
heavens, I was there. I was there. Oh, I like that. Verse 30, then I was by him as
one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him. Verse 35, for whoso findeth me,
what's it say? Findeth life, life, that's Christ. Christ is our wisdom, Christ
is wisdom. For whoso findeth me findeth
life and shall obtain favor of the Lord, but he that sinneth
against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me, now here's
a statement, love death. All those that hate wisdom, all
those that hate Christ, love death. That's what it says. And you
know folks, that's what it means. They may not realize it, but
those who hate Christ love death. Men love darkness rather than
the light. And that's where we are in this
world. There are people who love God and then there are people
who hate God. There are people who love Christ and there are
people who love death. That's what Christ said. That's
what the scriptures say. Oh my. But here, let me give
you this. In this chapter, before we get
too far into it, in this chapter, the manifold wisdom of God, as
it's shown in Ephesians chapter three, in verse four we have
the mystery of Christ. Where is it? In verse six, we
see the gospel of Christ. that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ
by the gospel. In verse eight, we'll see the
riches of Christ. 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. In verse nine,
you'll see the power of Christ. and to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world has been hid in God, what? Who created all things by Jesus
Christ. Verse 11, according to the eternal
purpose, eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. the purpose in Christ. In verse
19 of Ephesians 3, and to know the love of Christ. Which passeth
knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. So the manifold wisdom of God
here in Ephesians 3 is the mystery of Christ, the gospel of Christ,
the riches of Christ, the power of Christ, the purpose of Christ,
and the love of Christ. The manifold wisdom of God is
Jesus Christ. But here, I just wanna speak
on this in particular. All right, the mystery of Christ,
verse four of Ephesians three. Whereby when you read, you may
understand the knowledge and the mystery of Christ. Well,
because of that, you wanna read verses one and two. For this
cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given to me, given me toward you, to you word. How that by
revelation he made known unto me the mystery as I wrote afore
in a few words. Whereby when you read, you may
understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Now, the first mention of the word
mystery in the New Testament is used by Jesus Christ in Mark
four and verse 10. It's also used in Matthew, the
same thing, but I like the one in Mark. So, And when he was alone, they that
were with him, they that were about him with the 12, asked
him of the parable. And he said unto them, this is
Jesus Christ speaking, he said unto them, unto you it is given
to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But unto them that are
without, all these things are done in parables. That seeing
they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and
not understand, lest at any time they should be converted and
their sins should be forgiven them. That was Jesus Christ speaking
to the 12. And the word used there for the
word mystery, it means secret. That's what it means. It's not
anything terribly deep or anything. Now, this word mystery is not
used in the Old Testament, but the word secret is used. In Deuteronomy
29 and 29, it says the secret things belong unto the Lord,
our God. But those things which are revealed
belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the
words of this law. Listen, folks, the secret things
do belong unto God. except what he has revealed unto
us. Except what, I mean, you understand,
let's be real clear. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is
wisdom, knows far more than we ever will. That's just the way
it is. He is that good, and we are that
bad. We are that, I hate, people don't
like you to use this word. We are limited in our understanding. Limited. The only thing that
we can know about Christ is what he has revealed in his word and
what he has revealed in your heart from this word, from his
gospel. The secret things do belong,
but those that are revealed, they're ours. They're ours. And I think that's good news
too. Oh my. The Lord has revealed
some things. Christ revealed his, the Lord
Jesus Christ revealed his incarnation in Genesis three and verse 15.
Where he said the seed of the woman's gonna come and gonna
bruise the head of the serpent. The woman's seeds heal, but the
woman's seed's gonna bruise his head, and he did at Calvary. Dan 2 in 22 says this, he revealeth
the deep and secret things. He knoweth what is in the darkness,
and the light dwelleth with him. I like that. Then we have written in Matthew,
after Christ started speaking in parables, it's Matthew 13
and verse 35, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophet saying, I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation
of the world. We have knowledge. We've been
given knowledge in the scriptures by the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ himself, in the Old Testament prophets, in the books, the letters
written by the apostles. We have been given knowledge.
And Paul is here talking about the mystery of Christ. We have
knowledge now of some things that were secret. They are no more. Oh my. But here's the thing, from the
words of our Lord Jesus Christ, using the word about the mystery
of the kingdom, unto some it is given to know, and unto some
it's not. That's the truth of the word
mystery. It's secret. And even now, with it written
here, it's a secret to those who love death. who do not love
Christ, who do not want to know Christ, who do not want to know
the wisdom of God, who do not believe the wisdom of God if
they hear it, says they love death. And Christ told us they love
darkness rather than light. Now, when Christ spoke, some were
to know and some were not. And that's just the truth of
it. People, I've heard it, you've heard it. Somebody put it in
a stupid Christian song. Oh, Christ's spoken parable so
that all might understand. It's not what Jesus said about
it. That's what some idiot songwriter
said about it, who never read it. Some are to know the mysteries
of the kingdom and some are not. That's just the way it is. Oh
my. Now, this New Testament word,
I told you, it means secret. That's what it means. But it's
a special type of secret. I like this part. I'd never really
looked it up that much. Because here, it means to keep
a secret. It's a secret. Wow. By silence. Silence. See, that's the thing
about a mystery, okay? The mystery has always been true. We just didn't know about it
one time. There was silence about it. It
was still true before it was ever revealed. But then when
the mystery is revealed, we know it. We are given to know it.
It was a secret by silence, by shutting the mouth, that's what
it says. I like that. It's always been
true, it was just not spoken aloud. It was not revealed. Oh, I like that. But Christ has
proclaimed this to the world. This is no longer a mystery.
Both Jesus Christ and Paul tell us plainly. The mystery written
here by the Apostle Paul, plainly, has to do with the Gentiles. What'd he say? whereby when ye
read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which
in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men and is now
revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. And
here it is, the mystery of Christ, verse six, that the Gentiles
should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of
his promise in Christ by the gospel. Now verse three he says, how
about that revelation he made known to me the mystery as I
wrote a four in a few words. Paul had already written about
this in chapter two of Ephesians. That's what's just, believing
Gentiles are fellow heirs of the same body. What was Walter
talking about? Partakers of the promises of
Abraham. in Christ, by Christ, by grace,
through faith, and through his gospel. You understand? Jesus Christ said the very same
thing speaking to a Roman centurion. A Roman soldier in charge of
men, he told Christ, he said, you don't have to come to my
house, just say the word. He said, I'm a centurion, I have
authority. I say go and a man goes. I say come and a man comes. You say the word and my servant
will be healed. And Christ told him, that's the
greater faith I've not found in Israel. Oh my. When Jesus heard it, he marveled
and said unto them that followed, verily I say unto you, I have
not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. This is Matthew
8, 10, 11, and 12. Verse 11, and I say unto you
that many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit
down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. but the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness and there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Jesus Christ said this while
he was on this world about a Gentile centurion, a Roman centurion. Oh my, I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. He was speaking to a Gentile
and he made reference about Gentiles that would not only be in the
kingdom, they're gonna sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. I like that. I have hope. It was a mystery. But not to
Christ. He revealed it. Oh, there was
a time when the Jews got really upset with him. He said there
was many lepers in Israel. God didn't heal one of them,
he healed Naaman, a Syrian. And there was many widows in
Israel, but he didn't feed one of them. He fed a Gentile woman
by the prophet, Elijah or Elisha, I forget which one. It was one
of them, two guys start with an E. And they got mad. because God showed favoritism
to a Gentile and not to a Jew. Well, here. Many's gonna come
from the East and the West. In Luke it says they're gonna
come from the East and the West and the North and the South.
And guess what? We, as Gentiles, are gonna sit
down in the kingdom with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Folks, that's
part of the family of God. And he has made us a part of
his family. We are in a family of God. Oh,
I like that, I do. And they're gonna come and they're
gonna sit down. Gentiles shall be in the kingdom
of God. The kingdom of heaven. If you
got a problem with that, you got a problem with what Jesus
Christ said. And what the Apostle Paul said. Oh, I like that, I do. There
were statements of God through the prophets in the Old Testament
about the Gentiles, just statements. Behold, thou shalt call a nation
that thou knowest not. This is Isaiah 55 in verse five.
Thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations
that knew not thee shall run unto thee. When usually they're
talking about the nations in the Old Testament, they're talking
about Gentiles. And especially a nation that
thou knowest not. And nations that knew thee not
shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God and, hear folks,
and for the Holy One of Israel. Oh, I like that. Why? For he
hath glorified thee. You understand? He's the Lord of hosts. He's
the Son of God. He's the Holy One of Israel.
He's the Redeemer. Isaiah says that too. What'd
you say? Oh. You're gonna be found by
those that sought you not. That's us, folks. That's us. Gentiles. Oh, I like that, I
do. Oh. Now, at that time, Gentiles
were a rarity. And they joined themselves, in
the Old Testament, they joined themselves to the Jew, like Rahab,
the former harlot. But what Paul had said, which
I just wrote of you briefly, is actually in Ephesians chapter
two. So just back up a page from Ephesians
three. Look here in verse 11, now just
know Here's the wonderful thing. This comes right after, for by
grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. What?
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
That's verse 10. Verse 11 says this, wherefore
remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh who
are called the uncircumcision by which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands. Listen, wherefore remember ye
used to be Gentiles. You were Gentiles, okay? But
in verse 10 just before that, Paul wrote for what? We are his
workmanship. Paul included himself with these
Gentiles that he's addressing. This apostle of the Gentiles,
but here, this was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He's a concerning law,
a Pharisee. Walter talked about it last week.
Concerning the law, he's a Pharisee. According to the commandments,
he was blameless. And here, this Jewish apostle,
to the Gentiles, yes, but this Jewish apostle said, we are his
workmanship. Then he tells him, he says, remember
that in being in time past, Gentiles in the flesh who are called the
uncircumcision by those that are the circumcision in the flesh
made by hands. But that, at that time, ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in the world. Remember the pit from which ye
are digged. That's where we all used to be,
without Christ and without hope and in the world. But now, Here
we go, folks. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye
who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one. Who's that? The Jew and the Gentile. He has made both one and broken
down the middle wall of partition between us, having," and here's
this, what Walter's been preaching in Galatians, having abolished
in his flesh the enmity, even what? The law of commandments. contained in the ordinances,
for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace,
and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby. The Jew and the Gentile are now
one body. Anybody wants to say any different,
deal with this. I'll believe the Apostle Paul
before I believe anybody else. That's what he calls in chapter
three, the mystery of Christ. The mystery of Christ. Christ has redeemed us once for
all. All of his people, Jew and Gentile. And right now, he said, he is
made of the twain, one new man. Oh my, making of the twain, Jew
and Gentile, one new man, making peace. He is our peace. He is our peace. Oh, I like that. And it says it plainly. Abolished
in his flesh, the enmity, the law of commandment. He abolished the law of the commandments
for the Gentile and for the Jew. I like that. I like that. Because I can't
keep those commandments. I never could. And neither can
you. Oh my. He abolished them. Where? On the cross. On the cross. Understand, On the cross, he
was made to be sin. That's what the scripture says.
I know people wanna fight about it. I don't wanna fight about
it. That's what the scripture says. It says that he bore our
sins on the tree. Now you understand, he bore them,
he was made to be sin, but my sin, your sin. You understand? Those were our sins that were
laid upon him on the tree and he took them away. He suffered
the punishment, what? That we deserved. You know, if
they weren't my sins when he died, I'm not free. You understand? They're our sins. He has borne our iniquities.
He was chastised for our peace by his stripes. We are healed. and he abolished the law of commandments
on that tree. I don't have any commandment. I want to, I would love to be
able to keep the 10 commandments. I'd love to be able to keep the
law. I'd love to be able to love the Lord my God with all my heart,
soul, mind, and strength, but I can't. But I thank God because
he did. He did. And what, and listen,
He is made unto us by God. Wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification all through his redemption. He's our righteousness. It's not my righteousness, it's
his. It's not your righteousness, it's his. And he abolished the
law of commandments. I like that, I do. And that's
for the Jew too. The Jew and the Gentile. One
man, one new man. Oh, I like that. He abolished the law of commandments
to us, Jew and Gentile. He made peace. The one new man,
Jew and Gentile, one new man has peace with God. Oh, we have
peace with the law of commandments. I'm gonna set free because the
Jew and the Gentile is free or are free. from the law in Christ
Jesus. Talk about blessings in Christ.
Thank God for the gift of his son. Thank God. And here's the
thing. This was a mystery. It was not
known. Oh my. What'd they say about,
you know, if the princes of this world had known the things we
know now, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But here's the thing, the princes of this world now don't know. If you don't know Christ, you
love darkness. He's the light. Men hate the
light and love darkness. and men either love Christ or
they love death. That's what it says. This was
a mystery to us and I'm sure it's still a mystery to some
because they don't get it. We believers are fellow heirs
and of the same body. I mean, he's continuing that
on and here, verse nine. and to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world has been hidden God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. I was thinking of it on the way
up here, and Earl mentioned it on one of his sermons on Isaiah
53. You understand, Christ told some
Jews, he said, other sheep I have. which are not of this fold. Folks,
that's the Gentiles. Jesus Christ said, I have them.
They were already his. They weren't of this fold, but
yet, yet, that's the point. Them I must bring. When he is bringing in many sons
unto glory. Oh, I like that. You understand,
And Earl was talking about this. He said, you understand, there
are sheep and there are goats. I will choose between cattle
and cattle. There are sheep and there are
goats. A sheep has never been a goat
and a goat will never be a sheep. But there are two kinds of sheep.
There's lost sheep and there's found sheep. Oh my, I'm gonna
tell you something. These Gentiles that Paul was
right to here, including us, they were always sheep. They
were lost sheep at one time. What do you say? But that at the time ye were without
Christ, and that's the whole point, folks, without Christ,
that's where he starts. being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of the promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. That's the definition
of being without Christ. And at one time, we all were
without Christ, even being lost sheep. We didn't know him. We were just like the children
of Rad. But then one day, you heard the
gospel of your salvation. Christ gives life. Christ gives
faith. Christ will cause you to hear
the gospel. And he'll give you the power
and you'll believe it. Oh, I like that, I do. You understand,
this is God's salvation we talk about here. There's a church down in Princeton
that says Salvation Through Christ. It's the Salvation Through Christ
Church. I'm assuming it's Pentecostal
of some bent or another. I don't know. I'm not planning
on going in there. But you understand, I much prefer
a salvation by Christ. Salvation by Christ. By grace,
through faith, but that's not of yourselves. It's the gift
of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. And that's whether what? You're
a Jew or a Gentile. He is made of the two, one new
man. We are right now, Jew and Gentile,
believers, the body of Christ. One body. Members in particular,
fellow heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs of Jesus Christ.
Now, if you want to, Think about this in relations to Romans chapter
11. Even so, then at this present
time, this is verse five, there's a remnant according to the election
of grace. And I'm gonna tell you this,
that's Jew and Gentile, Jew and Gentile. If by grace, then it
is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace, but if
it be of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is
no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded. unto you is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto others it's not given. Christ used to say it, that he
that hath an ear, hear. Oh my, I'm gonna tell you something. But, I mean, verse 13 of Romans chapter 11.
For I speak to you Gentiles inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles. I magnify mine office. If by any means I may provoke
to emulation them which are my flesh, and I might save some
of them. Talking about the Jews. For if
the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what
shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead? For if
the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy. If the root
be holy, so are the branches. And if some branches be broken
off, and thou, Gentiles, being a wild, but you're still an olive
tree, a wild olive tree, but you're still an olive tree, were
grafted among them, and with them partakest of the root and
fatness of the olive tree. Boasts not against the branches,
but if thou boasts, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. You understand, folks? The good
shepherd only has one flock. One fold and one shepherd. The Gentiles were grafted into
that tree that was already there. There's only one tree. He put
us in it. For the most part, the Gentiles
were outside of it in the Old Testament. Now in the New Testament,
we're in it. Don't boast. You were grafted
in. They were broken off. You were
grafted, the tree's still there. The tree didn't go anywhere and
the tree's never going anywhere. But you, the Gentiles may get
broken off and the Jews grafted back in. You understand? That sounds like a mystery. God's
gonna do what God's gonna do. But you understand, if God's
gonna save you, he's gonna put you in this one tree. You're
gonna know the one shepherd, Jesus Christ, but the righteous,
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the mystery, and it's
the mystery of Christ. It's the manifold wisdom of God,
and the manifold wisdom of God is our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the mystery is the mystery of Christ. He put the Jews and the
Gentiles together, what? In one body, one new man. And
that body, it's his body. We're members in particular,
but he's the head. He's in charge. And if he wants
a body right now that's mostly Gentile and just partly Jew,
more power to him. I'm just happy to be here. I'm
glad to be here. I'm joyful in being here. And
I can tell you this, the good shepherd will find every one
of his lost sheep. They're already his. They're
lost, but he's bringing them in. He's bringing them in. Oh,
I like that. and we partake of the root and
the fatness of that one olive tree. Why? Because there's one
new man. One new man. This was revealed
by Christ to the Apostle Paul, and by his grace, we know Jesus
Christ. Our Lord and our Savior. Gatsby wrote this. I'll quit
with this. In every changing scene below,
tis yours by faith this grace to know. For now are we sons
and heirs of God, fast hastening to our blessed abode. I said
it a couple weeks ago. He takes that storm and makes
it a calm. Why? So you can go to that desired
haven. He's bringing in many sons unto
glory. And he's gonna gather everything
in Christ together. Jew and Gentile. This is the
mystery of Christ. It's part of the manifold wisdom
of God. As Paul wrote about it in, Ephesians chapter three. And you know, I like this, because
I'm gonna tell you something, folks. Bringing the Jews and
the Gentiles together, he used the gospel of Christ, we get
the riches, the unsearchable riches of Christ, but it took
the power of Christ, and it was because of the purpose in Christ.
And it was all done in the love of Jesus Christ for his people
and for the Father. He did it and he gives it to
his sheep. And I wanna just say thank you.
You know, I mean, what do you say? Thank you, Lord. Without
him, We have nothing, and without Him, we are nothing. And before we knew Him, we loved
death, just like everybody else. But He is bringing in many sons
unto glory. Why? Because that's what He wants
to do. They're His sheep, lost and found. But the lost ones, He's gonna
make the found ones. Oh, I like that. Then he'll go
back out and find some more, till he's done. He's gonna save
every one of his sheep. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this, this time, this place. You've given this to us,
to have a place to try and preach your word and praise your holy
name and exalt and extol the Ancient of Days, our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has given himself for us, and he's given himself
to us. Thank you, Lord. Bring in your
sheep, wherever they may be, and we'll give you all the honor
and the praise and the glory, now and forever, amen.