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Henry Mahan

Uncommon Words

Ephesians 3:1-9
Henry Mahan • February, 2 2000 • Audio
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Message: 1432a
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
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which came back to the third
chapter of Ephesians. Paul came to Ephesus from Carmen, and his first stay there was
very brief, just a very short time he stayed in Ephesus. But
he came back again, and he stayed there about two or three years
preaching to these people. And they were very special people
to him. In fact, if you turn to Acts
chapter 20, that great sermon, farewell sermon, that he preached
in Acts chapter 20, was preached to the elders of Ephesus in Acts
20, verse 17. It says, from Miletus he sent
to Ephesus and called the elders of the Church from Ephesus. He
had been there two or three years preaching to them, and they were
very well known to him and very precious to him. And verse 18
says, when they would come to him, he said unto them, You know,
from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner
I have been with you all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility
of mind and with many tears and temptations, trials which befell
me by the lying in wait of the Jews, and how I kept back nothing
that was profitable unto you, but showed you and taught you
publicly from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and
also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ. That was preached, and you are
familiar with that sermon, that was preached to the elders at
Ephesus. This book of Ephesians, this
epistle, was written by Paul from Rome when he was in prison. When I was reading chapter 3, Several words caught my attention,
words that were to Paul of the greatest importance, but words
which are largely unknown to religious people in this day.
And I want to point out 7, 8, or 9, or 10, whatever we have
time for in Chapter 3, of these words that to Paul were very
important and very meaningful, but to the Most religionists
today, and to you, you're familiar with them, but most people are
not. In verse 1, Paul says, For this cause our Paul, the prisoner
of Jesus Christ. The prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Now, men don't understand these words. They understand when Paul
calls himself an apostle. They understand when Paul and
Peter say that we, too, are elders in the Church, or when Paul says,
I'm an ambassador of Jesus Christ, or even a servant of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But a prisoner of Christ? I'm
a prisoner of Christ? What's he saying here? He was
in prison by the will of the Jews. They put him back. He was
imprisoned by the will of the Roman officials and authorities. But he didn't consider himself
to be their prisoner at all. He didn't consider himself to
be under their authority at all. He was, but he wasn't. Behind
all that happened to Paul, he declares, is the sovereign will
of his God. So I'm not a prisoner of Nero,
I'm not a prisoner of the Jews. I'm here in prison by the sovereign
will of my Lord. I'm where he wills for me to
be, doing what he wills for me to do. That's what he's saying
here. I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
And the reason that I mention this in this fashion is because
he uses this term five times in his epistles, five times.
Look it up in the Concordance. Five times he said, I am a prisoner
of Jesus Christ. And all of the servants of God,
true servants of God, true people of God, who are really in subjection
to him, will be able to say some day what Paul says. I have learned
in whatsoever state I am to be content. I know how to abound
and I know how to be abased, but I'm content where I am because
I'm there by his will. I'm there by his will. I'm where
he wills me to be, I'm doing what he wills me to do for his
glory and for the good of his elect. Notice the last three
words of that first verse. I'm called a prisoner for you
Gentiles. I'm in prison for you Gentiles. I'm going to show you that over
in 2 Timothy, chapter 2. All of this that happened to
him, happened to him and took place for a reason, known unto
the God for purpose. the design of our Heavenly Father. He said in 2 Timothy 2, verse
9, wherein I suffer trouble, I suffer trouble as an evildoer. That's what they call me, an
evildoer. Even under bonds, even under prison, shutters, chains. But the word of God is not bound.
You can bind the serpent, but not the word. You can bind the
minister, but not the message. Therefore I endure all things,
even imprisonment, for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." So
that's the first word that is uncommon today, rare, but very
common with the Apostle Paul. Five times he uses it. of Jesus
Christ. Now verse 2, he says if you've
heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given
me for you, the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given me to you. Now what does the word dispensation
mean? It's used in the Bible frequently.
What is a dispensation? Well, in this regard, it is an
assignment. It is an assignment. It is a
stewardship. You have heard of my assignment. You have heard of the stewardship
that God gave me, God which is given to me of the grace of God. God gave me a particular stewardship. Let's read about it in Acts 9. Here's a clear declaration of
it. All believers are stewards of
the grace of God. About the only time that today's
churches and pastors and preachers use stewardship is with regard
to money. They have Stewardship Sunday
and Stewardship Messages, and what they're doing is raising
money, raising money, raising money. But that's not what Paul
is talking about at all. Here in Acts 9, verse 10, there
is a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him said
the Lord in a vision, Ananias? He said, Behold, I, Lord. I am here is in italics. Behold,
I, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise,
and go into the strait which is called strait, and inquire
in the house of Judas. but one called Saul of Tarsus,
for behold, he prayeth. He had seen in a vision a man
named Ananias coming in, putting his hand on him that he might
receive his sight. Ananias answered, Lord, I have
heard by many of thy about this man, how much evil he has done
to thy saints at Jerusalem. And even here he has authority
from the chief priest to bind all that call on thy name. But
the Lord said to him, now listen, here is Paul's stewardship, his
assignment. Go thy way, he is a chosen vessel
unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, a certain people,
the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. And I'll
show him how great things he must suffer for my sake. That's Paul's stewardship, his
assignment, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. God gave him
that task, that assignment. Back to Acts 20, when he was
talking to those elders at Ephesus, the elders of Ephesus, let me
show you how he closes that message, his final words in that message
to those elders. Verse 22. And now, I'll stop
there at verse 21. Verse 22 says, And now, behold,
I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things
that shall befall me there, except, say, that is, except, that the
Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions
wait for me, abide me as they wait for me. But now listen,
none of these things move me, neither can I, my life, dear
unto myself, so that I might finish my course, my dispensation,
my assignment, finish my course, and the ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus." That's what he said over there.
He said, the dispensation that God gave me to you. He assigned
me this particular stewardship and task for your sake. I have received this of the Lord,
and I'm going to finish this ministry testifying the gospel
of the grace of God." Then over in 2 Timothy, chapter 2, he wrote
to young Timothy, his friend and son in the ministry, in 2
Timothy, chapter 4. He says this about this stewardship,
this dispensation. In 2 Timothy 4, verse 6, I am
now ready to be offered. I'm ready to be poured on the
altar as a drink offering, not part of the atonement, but a
thanks offering. I'm ready to be offered. The
time of my departure is at hand. I fought a good fight. I finished
my dispensation. I finished my work, my course. and my assignment, I've kept
the faith." That's what he said, I've kept the faith, I've finished
my course. Now, back to our text. You have
heard of the dispensation of the assignment God gave me, of
the stewardship of the grace of God which he gave to me. Now,
that's our stewardship. Turn to 1 Corinthians 4. Let me show you another scripture
having to do with this assignment, stewardship that God gives to
his people. First Corinthians 4. What's required
of a steward? What's chief requirement of a
steward? Chief requirement. All right, verse 1 of chapter
4 of 1 Corinthians. If a man, let a man, let a man
so account of us as of the ministers of Christ. and the stewards of
the mysteries of God. There's a sense in which we're
stewards of everything we possess. If they want to handle it only
with money, that's their business, but that's not what it talks
about. We're stewards of the mysteries of God. Stewards of
the grace of God, stewards of the word of God. That's our assignment.
And here's the chief requirement. Moreover, it's required in a
steward. Can a man be found faithful? That's the reason Paul could
say, I've fought a good fight, I've kept the faith, I've been
faithful, finished my course. Am I a steward? You might ask. Well, turn to 1 Peter 4. Am I
a steward? Most assuredly. All believers
are stewards. All believers are not faithful
stewards, all believers are not good stewards, all believers
are not persevering stewards, but they are the stewards of the grace of
God. Now, the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober,
and watch unto prayer. Above all things have fervent
love among yourselves, for love shall cover a multitude of sins.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging. This is the
work of a steward. I say all believers are not good
stewards. This is the work of a steward.
Love one another, hospitality without grudging. As every man
hath received a gift, a gift of knowledge, a gift of understanding,
a gift of grace, a gift of faith, even so minister the same to
one another. If God's given you a gift of
grace, it'll flow out of you to somebody else. And I'm to
love others as he loved me. I'm to share Exalt one another,
encourage one another, help one another, fellowship with one
another, reach out to one another. Why? Because we love each other. And that's what he's saying right
here. Charity, above all things, verse 8, have fervent love among
yourselves. Love covers a multitude, so use
hospitality to one another without gorging. As every man hath received
the gift, so minister the same one to another. as good stirreds
of the manifold grace of God, the manifold multitudes of grace. Oh, how God's blessed you to
be a stirrer of the grace of God. Not just this preacher, not just
these elders, not just me in the pulpit, everybody out here
is a steward of the grace of God, because everybody out here
has received gift after gift after gift after gift of the
grace of God. That man's got the wrong idea
just to pull into a shell and ignore people and not worship
and take part Let others see Christ and his grace in us. Encourage others. Everybody is
a steward. It requires a steward to be faithful. He is a steward of the manifold
grace of God, if he knows the grace of God. Here is another
word he uses in verse 3, how that by revelation, revelation,
he made known unto them the mystery. As I wrote a foreign few words,
revelation. Spurgeon declared that this is
one of the words that's most offensive in the gospel message,
revelation. One of the words that's most
offensive. One of the words that is a great
offense to natural men. What are those words? One is,
you call a man a sinner. It offends his dignity. Offends
his dignity. When you discount his good works,
natural man, it offends his righteousness, his morality. You discount his
good works. When you talk about an effectual
atonement of free grace, it offends his pride. But when you shut
them up, And here's the word, when you shut him up to revelation,
it defends his wisdom. He thinks that he knows. Scripture
says when a man thinks he knows, he knows not as he ought to know. Remember what that means? A man
thinks he knows, he doesn't know anything as he ought to. If a man thinks he knows by nature,
by his natural wisdom, by his natural understanding, by his
cleverness, If he thinks he knows, he knows not as he ought to know. God, Paul, didn't hesitate for
a moment to say that by revelation he had made known unto me the
mystery. That's the way I received it. Like Brother Donny Baird
says, till God opened my mind and opened my heart, I was dumb
as a box of rocks. I didn't know God. Now, here's
some scripture on that. Matthew 11. The gospel is a revelation. The
truth of God is a revelation. It's revealed. And that's the
only way a man or woman will receive it, a revelation. Here
in Matthew 11, verse 25. At that time, Jesus answered
and said, And I imagine he lifted his eyes to heaven like he did
in John 17. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise, from the clever, from
the intellectual, from the prudent, And thou hast revealed them,
these things, what things? The things of Christ, the things
of God, the things of grace, the things of heaven, the things
of the covenant, the things of salvation. Thou hast revealed
them unto babes. For even so, Father, it seemed
good in thy sight." Try Matthew 16. Listen to the Lord Jesus
here. Paul says, by revelation he made
known unto me the mystery. By revelation. Matthew 16, verse
25. Matthew 16, verse 13. When Jesus
came into the coast of Caesarea Philip, I asked his disciples,
saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? Or they said, some say you're
John the Baptist, some say you're Elias, others Jeremiah, one of
the prophets. He said to them, But whom say
ye that I am? Now, these men that he's talking
about, whom the men say that I am, they were the rulers and
the typical. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the lawyers, the intellectuals,
the educated, the worldly wise, the popular, the powerful, the
rich, those were men. They turned to these disciples,
one of whom was a fisherman, one of whom was a tax collector,
two who were in business with their daddy in fishing, Peter,
James, and John, different ones. He turned to these disciples
and he said, But whom do you say that I am? Whom do you say
that I am? And Plowman Peter, the fisherman,
answered and said, You're the Christ, you're the Son of the
living God. And our Lord answered and said,
You're blessed, Simon Bar-Jonah, Simon, son of Jonah. Flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in
heaven, my Father revealed that to you. And that's the only way
a man or a woman, regardless of position power, possessions,
popularity, or whatever, is going to know who he is by revelation. That's just so. One other scripture,
1 Corinthians 2, by revelation, by God revealing, God revealing
to the heart He resisteth the proud, he gives
grace to the humble, passes by the hard-hearted, and
he reveals his gospel to whom he will. Look at 1 Corinthians
2, 7. We speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world is our glory, which none of the
princes, kings, leaders, rulers of this world knew. But had they
known it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory.
But he was in the world, and the world knew him not. But as it is written over in
Isaiah, the natural eye hath not seen, the natural ear hath
not heard, neither hath it entered the heart of a natural man. The
things God Almighty in his covenant of mercy has prepared for them
that love him. But, how do you know them? God
hath revealed them unto us. by his Spirit, by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things,
yea, the deep things of God. Verse 14 says, The natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. They are confusing
to him, they are foolishness to him, he is ashamed of them,
they are offensive Neither can he know them, he just can't know
them. They're spiritually understood. I tried. No man can come to me
except my Father Drausen. And it is written they shall
all be taught of God. Every man that's taught of God,
mysteriously, supernaturally, privately, in the heart, taught
of God, he'll come to me. come to me. He'll never leave
me. He'll come to me. He'll never
be ashamed of that gospel. He'll crave the word, he'll desire
the word, he'll thirst for the word, hunger and thirst for righteousness,
hunger and thirst for knowledge. Oh, that I may know Christ, that
I may win Christ and be found in him, by all means to the resurrection
of the dead, my pursuit, my one object, my one goal is to win
Christ to be found in him. That's not known in this day.
We learn a doctrine, we argue a doctrine, we learn a creed,
get a position, make a profession, join a church. by revelation, by revelation,
by divine, powerful, Holy Spirit revelation, he made known unto
me," what? A mystery. That's another word
people don't use in reference to the gospel today. Look at
these two verses 3 and 4. By revelation he made known unto
me the mystery, mystery. I wrote that to you in a few
words. Whereby when you read, you may understand," and this
is the only way you can understand, "...my knowledge of the mystery
of Christ." The Bible uses this word so often
in reference to the person and work of Christ, mystery. I hear
people say, well, maybe you can put it in words that they can
understand. I've heard preachers say, well, I preached so the
little child could understand. There's no man going to understand
anything about the mysteries of God apart from the Spirit
of God revealing it. It's a mystery. Now, you listen
to how many times it's used. Take your Bibles and turn to
these scriptures. That's the thing about taking
the word of God with you. You need to read it. You need
to see it. I don't like computers. I don't
like for people to bring things to church, you punch a button
and it flashes up. I like to hear the rhythm of
the pages of God's word. Hold the word in your hand, the
word, the word of God. Take the word of God. Bring it. Take it, open it, read it. You
need to see it. Ephesians 1, verse 9 and 10.
Listen. according to his good pleasure,
which he purposed in himself, that with the dispensation of
the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, which are in heaven, which are on earth, even in him."
You see that? Look at it. Keep looking at it. He made known unto us the mystery
of his will. Not my will, your will, his will. He made known to me the mystery
of his will, made it known to me by revelation. Look at Ephesians
6, verse 19. Pray for me, that's what he's
saying here in verse 19. Verse 18, with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all the saints, and for me. Pray for me that, listen, that
evidence might be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly
to make known the mystery of the gospel. Oh, I thought if
I knew the gospel, the only people who know the gospel are the people
who believe the gospel, who are saved by the gospel, who are
redeemed by the gospel. to whom God has revealed the
gospel. Nobody else knows the gospel. They can use that word,
but they don't know the mystery of the gospel. The mystery of
the gospel, how God can be just and justified. His eternal purpose,
his eternal covenant, the mystery of, well, take this, turn to
Colossians 1, verse 25. Listen to this. Well, I made a minister, according
to the stewardship, the assignment of God which is given to me for
you, to fully preach the word of God, to fulfill, to fully
preach the word of God. Even the mystery, which has been
here for ages and for generations, but now is revealed, is manifested
to his Saints, to nobody else but his Saints. To whom? Those saints that God will make
known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles, which is Christ in you, in you, in you. That's the hope of glory, the
only hope of glory, Christ in you. That's a mystery. How can
Christ be in me? That's a mystery. Mystery. 1 Timothy 3, listen. 1 Timothy 3. Mystery is the only reveal. A
mystery is not a mystery if you know it. That's right. A mystery is not what you call
a mystery if everybody knows it. It's not a mystery. That's
what this world is. Everybody knows God. Everybody
knows the gospel. Everybody knows Jesus died on the cross. Everybody
knows it. No, it's a mystery. It's been here for generations.
It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Listen to this 1 Timothy
3. without controversy, without debate. Glory is the mystery
of godliness. Mystery. Number one, Christ. God was manifested
in the flesh. That's a mystery. Well, we know
who he is. He's a carpenter. We know his
mama. We know his brothers and sisters.
How does this man say he's God? Well, you know, before Abraham
was you were. You're not 50 years old, that's
a mystery. Justified in the Spirit, seen
of angels, preached to the Gentiles, that's a mystery. Believed on
in the world. Did you know faith is a mystery? But I'll believe on Jesus any
time I want to. No, you won't either. Faith's
a mystery. Nobody understands faith except
the man's got it. That's right. He doesn't understand. He just knows he believes. He
just knows. I just know I was blind and a
man named Jesus gave me sight. I know that. A mystery. Received
up into glory. A man received up into glory.
That's a mystery. Ephesians 5, I want to show you
this one. It talks about husbands and wives. And it says in Ephesians
5, verse 23, the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is
the head of the Church. He is the Savior of the body,
therefore the Church is subject unto Christ. So let the wives
be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives as
Christ loved his Church, gave himself for it, that he might
sanctify and cleanse it with a washing of water by the word
that he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and
without blemish." Look at verse 32. This is a great mystery. Men have been arguing for years
about the true church. Church of Christ said they were
the church, Baptist said they were the church, this and that
said they were the church. They just wrangle and wrangle all the time, and
they miss the mystery. The mystery is not your doctrine,
it's not your evidences, it's not your duties and your devilry,
it's that there's a relationship between you and the Son of God
that's the same relationship between a man and his wife. They're
one flesh, one body. He loves you. You're married
to him, you're his heir, joint heir with Christ, and you live
forever with him and reign with him, the King of kings, and you're
his buyer. That's the mystery. That's not
something to argue about, that's something to enjoy seeing. My wife and I don't sit down
and argue about who's boss and who's supposed to do this and
who's supposed to do that. We're so thankful for one another.
We love each other. I don't know how I'd make it
without her. But my love, I tell you, I just
run dry on all this arguing about who's doing the right thing.
You gotta know, if you know him, you know the right thing. You're
wondering whether a man, it's the mystery. And when a man discovers
by God's grace a revelation of the mystery, I tell you, he just
quits arguing about it. I tell you one thing, the name
on that door out there doesn't make me the bride of Christ.
What made me the bride of Christ is he chose me and you and married
us, and we're his. That's right. Which, in verse 5, says, in other
ages, this mystery was not known to
the sons of men, as is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets. This mystery in other ages was
not known to the sons of men. as is now revealed to his apostles
and his prophets by his Spirit, and from them to us. We're reading
here. Well, they knew God. Now, listen
to this. Abraham wrote of me. Let's go
back further than that. Abel brought a sacrifice of blood. God had respect to sacrifice.
His brother Cain didn't believe God. He didn't believe God. Abel did. And Abel now speaketh. His blood speaks from the ground.
His blood is a witness that he believed God. Enoch believed
God. He walked with God. He had this testimony. He pleased
God. Without faith it's impossible to please God. He believed God.
Enoch walked in the light of God's word, the life or the life
he had, the promise of God. He believed it. Abraham saw my day, Christ said. He walked in faith, he believed
God. Moses wrote of me. David said,
the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand. I don't
know how much doctrine Moses knew about the things we know
so much about today, the apostles, God. Because this mystery was
not known to the sons of Ben, as is now revealed, God spoke
to them with a prophecy. He speaks to us by song. He's
got a greater witness, greater revelation, greater understanding. Well, how do they say it? They
believe God. And that's the only way you're
going to be saved, is to believe God. But believe the revelation. Believe what you know, what you've
been taught. And Christ is the essence and
core and center of what we've been taught. That's right, we
believe him. And here's the mystery also,
that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers
of the promise in Christ for the gospel. Partakers of the promise. Verse
6, that's another word, the promise in Christ for the gospel, by
the gospel, the promise. I'm going to give you a couple
more words and quit. What promise is this? Chapter 1. Abraham's faith was based on
the promise. He staggered not at the promise
of God, but strong in faith. He was persuaded what God had
promised he was able to do. And here, listen, Titus chapter
1, verse 1 through 3. Here is the promise. Paul, a
servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the
faith of God's elect, and the acknowledgment of the truth which
is after godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, that
cannot lie, promised before the world began. But hath in due
times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed
to according to the commandment of God my Savior. This promise,
whose promise? God's promise. Where is it vested? In Christ. When did he promise
it? Before the world began. The promise
of life. I have the same promise Abraham
had. God promised him life in Christ. He promised me life in Christ. We're partakers of that promise. Partakers. But I want to give
you one more word and then I'll close. That's the word minister.
Verse 7. Whereof I was made a minister. The minister and the ministry
is not a vocation. It's not a job. It's not a profession. It's a call. It's a call. Turn to 1 Timothy 1. Verse 11. While you are turning there,
let me remind you of a scripture in Acts 13 where God spoke to
the Church at Antioch, and he said, "'Separate unto me Paul
and Barnabas for the work whereinto I have called them to a work.'" I look at 1 Timothy 1, verse
11. According to the gospel, the
glorious gospel of the blessed God, or the gospel of the glory
of God, which was committed to my trust, and I thank Christ
Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, he enabled me, he carried
me faithful, and he put me in the ministry. He put me, literally
put me in the ministry. Then, of course, back to our
Ephesians 3, right across there in chapter 4, we have this scripture. Now verse 8 of Ephesians 4, that
he ascended. What is it but that he also descended,
first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended
is the same also that ascendeth up. all things, and he gave some
apostles, some prophets, not all, some, some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers. What for? For the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ. So to speak for God to discern
the will and way of God to lead and oversee the Church is a gift
which God gives by the effectual work of his Spirit to men whom
he calls." That's what he says in verse 7 of our text, where
I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God
given to me. This call and these gifts of
the ministry are given by God. by the effectual working of his
power." Now, verse 8. Will that make a man proud? Will
it lift him up with pride? No, sir, it will not. Paul says, "...unto me who am
less than the least of all the saints." I don't merit it, deserve
it, earn it. He said, I'm not fit to be called
an apostle. I persecuted the Church of God.
But unto me who am less than the least of all the saints is
this grace," it's a grace, given, given. It's not learned, it's
not acquired at a seminary, it's given, that I should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable, unspeakable riches of Christ. Here is the chief work of the
ministry, to make all men see. what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been healed
in God, who created all things by Christ Jesus." When you say
all men, will everybody in the world see this? No. It's the
same, saying all men is the same as when Christ said, if I be
lifted up from the earth, I draw all men to me. What's lifting
up is his crucifixion, lifting him up in the gospel, lifting
him up in the But he's not going to draw all people of the world
to himself, he's going to draw all his elect. Men of all nations,
tribes, communities, tongues, and heaven, being chosen of God. I'll draw all of them to me. All that my father gave me, he'll
come to me. And we've been called.
Henry Mahan
About Henry Mahan

Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.

At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.

In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.

Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.

Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.

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