Paul: a Trophy and Minister of the Gospel of Grace
“Paul: a Trophy and Minister of the Gospel of Grace” Date: February 22, 2015 Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:3-10 Introduction: James Stalker – in his Life of Paul – comments that “There are some men whose lives it is impossible to study without receiving the impression that they were expressly sent into the world to do a work required by the juncture of history on which they fell. . . . This impression is produced by no life more than by that of the Apostle Paul” (p 16). Stalker then makes several points, but I want to highlight two: First, he says: “Christianity obtained in Paul an incomparable Type of Christian Character. It already indeed possessed the perfect model of human character in the person of its Founder. But he was not as other men, because from the beginning he had no sinful imperfection to struggle with; and Christianity still required to show what it could make of imperfect human nature. . . . Christianity got the opportunity in [Paul] of showing the world the whole force that was in it.... His conversion proved the power of Christianity to overcome the strongest prejudices and to stamp its own type on a large nature by a revolution both instantaneous and permanent. Paul’s was a personality so strong and original that no other man could have been less expected to sink himself in another; but, from the moment when he came into contact with Christ, he was so overmastered with [Christ’s] influence that he never afterwards had any other desire than to be the mere echo and reflection of Him to the world” (p 12). And then secondly, Stalker comments: “Christianity obtained in Paul . . . a Great Thinker. This it specially needed at the moment. Christ had departed from the world, and those whom He had left to represent Him were unlettered fishermen and, for the most part, men of no intellectual mark. In one sense this fact reflects a peculiar glory on Christianity. . . . Christ had manifested forth the glory of the Father once for all and completed His atoning work. But this was not enough. It was necessary that the meaning of His appearance should be explained to the world. . . . There was one mind, it is true, in the original apostolic circle of the finest quality and capable of soaring into the rarest altitudes of speculation. . . . But even the mind of John was not equal to the exigency [urgent need] of the Church. . . . There was needed a thinker of broader and more massive make to sketch the first outlines of Christian doctrine; and he was found in Paul” (pp 1314). “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” – so begins the letter we know as “The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians,” which will be our focus for the months ahead.
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 2
I.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.” How did Paul himself see his ministry? A. Paul understood himself to be one of a small number of men chosen and sent forth by Christ with the authority to lay the foundation upon which the Church of Jesus Christ would be built and upon which it would rest, although he may not have understood the peculiar role that he would play in that process as Christ’s premier expositor of the Gospel. 1.
Paul spoke of the Church as “the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone. . . .” (Ephesians 2:19b-20)
2.
He would speak later in Ephesians of Christ gifting his Church, and says: “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherd and teachers . . . .” Some of these were to lay the foundation upon which the Church was to be built – apostles and prophets – and some to carry on that work by planting churches and shepherding and teaching their members.
B.
In Ephesians 3:1ff, Paul recounts something of his sense of his part in this foundational ministry as “an apostle of Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:1-11 . . . 1.
His is a stewardship of God’s grace – 3:2 In Galatians 2:7 he speaks of having been “entrusted with the gospel” And in Colossians, a sister letter to Ephesians, Paul speaks of “the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. . . . that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 3
reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2.
It is his to unfold the “unsearchable riches of Christ” In Ephesians 3:8 Paul says: “Though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
3.
In Acts 20, Paul summarizes his ministry in Ephesus when he addresses the elders of the church of Ephesus. He spoke of “declaring to [them] the whole counsel of God,” not shrinking “from declaring to [them] anything that was profitable . . . testifying both to Jews and Greeks, of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (vss 27 and 20-21). But a particularly revealing comments was made in vs 24, where Paul said: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” And with that I want to move to the second part of Paul’s selfidentification in Ephesians 1:1
II.
Paul, and apostle . . . by the will of God. Why did Paul add “by the will of God” to his description of himself as an “apostle of Christ Jesus”? Perhaps the best way to see it is to look at Galatians 1 A. Paul opens Galatians with these words: “Paul, an apostle-- not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – 2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Although Christ, and proclaiming the “unsearchable riches of Christ” was at the center of Paul’s ministry, the Father is never far away from his mind, because it was the Father who purposed to save him through
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 4
his Son, that he might proclaim the “unsearchable riches of Christ” in accord with the eternal purpose which the Father was unfolding in his Son, Jesus Christ (see Eph 3:8 & 11). B.
Paul explains his ministry as an apostle in Galatians 1:11-16a Galatians 1:11 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. . . . What does he mean by “a revelation of Jesus Christ”? He explains it in verses 15 and 16 – 15 ... when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles . . .” [and so forth] Who is this “he who has set me apart before I was born [and] who called me by his grace”? It was God the Father, as is evident when he continues [and] “was pleased to reveal his Son to me.”
III.
1.
That may include Paul’s Damascus Road experience . . .
2.
But it no doubt includes the ministry of the Holy Spirit revealing to Paul the “unsearchable riches of Christ” of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 3 . . .
I want to take these last few minutes to say how all of this relates to Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, at least in a summary way. A. Paul was keenly aware that he was a man saved by the grace of God. There was good reason why he characterized his exposition of the “whole counsel of God” in Ephesus as testifying “to the gospel of the grace of God.” And Paul will unfold that in Ephesians 1 first off. Paul said in Galatians 1, in a portion I skipped a few moments ago: Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism,
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 5
how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone . . . In 1 Timothy, Paul would say: 1 Timothy 1:12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. He would testify in Acts 22 and 26 about his past, and how Christ appeared to him on the Damascus Road. It was an utterly transforming experience. Not only was he blinded by the glory of the risen Christ, but the Father opened the eyes of his heart by the Holy Spirit to see the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). B.
When Paul’s eyes were opened to see “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” knowing Christ became his great passion in life. He bore testimony to that in Philippians 3:7-15 . . .
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 6
Conclusion: Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road, and the Holy Spirit’s subsequent unfolding of God’s redemptive plan through his Son, produced in Paul a passion for the glory of God – a passion to know God as the glorious being that he is, a passion to glorify him by how he lived, and a passion to declare his glory to the nations – and also produced in Paul a passion for the preeminence of Christ in all of life and in all the world. And that is what we will see in Ephesians. We will see Paul burst forth in worship and praise as he unfolds the Father’s redemptive purpose in and through his Son and the Holy Spirit to the praise of the glory of his grace. We will see the way God takes hold of sinners dead in sin and standing under the threat of his wrath, and makes them alive in Christ, transforms them altogether by grace, and brings them together in his Church. We will observe how Paul exhorts us to live worthy of our calling to be a new redeemed humanity in the midst of this fallen world, by seeking to make Christ preeminent in every area of our lives and to the uttermost parts of the world. And while we are working our way through Ephesians, I’m going to ask you to read Ephesians every Saturday and Sunday. I’m going to build it into the Bible Reading Plan as well, that every Saturday and Sunday – which I do as one reading in the Bible Reading Plan for the month – I will have you read Ephesians, and pray that God will use it to develop in me, and in you, a greater passion for the glory of God and the preeminence of Christ in all of life and in all the world. I want to ask you to commit yourself to reading Ephesians every week, preferably in one or two sittings on Saturday and/or Sunday, and praying that God will work in you, and in me, and in the rest of the congregation, to produce in us a passion for his glory and for the preeminence of Christ in all of life and in all the world. Will you do that?
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 2
I.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.” How did Paul himself see his ministry? A. Paul understood himself to be one of a small number of men chosen and sent forth by Christ with the authority to lay the foundation upon which the Church of Jesus Christ would be built and upon which it would rest, although he may not have understood the peculiar role that he would play in that process as Christ’s premier expositor of the Gospel. 1.
Paul spoke of the Church as “the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone. . . .” (Ephesians 2:19b-20)
2.
He would speak later in Ephesians of Christ gifting his Church, and says: “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherd and teachers . . . .” Some of these were to lay the foundation upon which the Church was to be built – apostles and prophets – and some to carry on that work by planting churches and shepherding and teaching their members.
B.
In Ephesians 3:1ff, Paul recounts something of his sense of his part in this foundational ministry as “an apostle of Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:1-11 . . . 1.
His is a stewardship of God’s grace – 3:2 In Galatians 2:7 he speaks of having been “entrusted with the gospel” And in Colossians, a sister letter to Ephesians, Paul speaks of “the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. . . . that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 3
reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2.
It is his to unfold the “unsearchable riches of Christ” In Ephesians 3:8 Paul says: “Though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
3.
In Acts 20, Paul summarizes his ministry in Ephesus when he addresses the elders of the church of Ephesus. He spoke of “declaring to [them] the whole counsel of God,” not shrinking “from declaring to [them] anything that was profitable . . . testifying both to Jews and Greeks, of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (vss 27 and 20-21). But a particularly revealing comments was made in vs 24, where Paul said: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” And with that I want to move to the second part of Paul’s selfidentification in Ephesians 1:1
II.
Paul, and apostle . . . by the will of God. Why did Paul add “by the will of God” to his description of himself as an “apostle of Christ Jesus”? Perhaps the best way to see it is to look at Galatians 1 A. Paul opens Galatians with these words: “Paul, an apostle-- not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – 2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Although Christ, and proclaiming the “unsearchable riches of Christ” was at the center of Paul’s ministry, the Father is never far away from his mind, because it was the Father who purposed to save him through
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 4
his Son, that he might proclaim the “unsearchable riches of Christ” in accord with the eternal purpose which the Father was unfolding in his Son, Jesus Christ (see Eph 3:8 & 11). B.
Paul explains his ministry as an apostle in Galatians 1:11-16a Galatians 1:11 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. . . . What does he mean by “a revelation of Jesus Christ”? He explains it in verses 15 and 16 – 15 ... when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles . . .” [and so forth] Who is this “he who has set me apart before I was born [and] who called me by his grace”? It was God the Father, as is evident when he continues [and] “was pleased to reveal his Son to me.”
III.
1.
That may include Paul’s Damascus Road experience . . .
2.
But it no doubt includes the ministry of the Holy Spirit revealing to Paul the “unsearchable riches of Christ” of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 3 . . .
I want to take these last few minutes to say how all of this relates to Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, at least in a summary way. A. Paul was keenly aware that he was a man saved by the grace of God. There was good reason why he characterized his exposition of the “whole counsel of God” in Ephesus as testifying “to the gospel of the grace of God.” And Paul will unfold that in Ephesians 1 first off. Paul said in Galatians 1, in a portion I skipped a few moments ago: Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism,
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 5
how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone . . . In 1 Timothy, Paul would say: 1 Timothy 1:12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. He would testify in Acts 22 and 26 about his past, and how Christ appeared to him on the Damascus Road. It was an utterly transforming experience. Not only was he blinded by the glory of the risen Christ, but the Father opened the eyes of his heart by the Holy Spirit to see the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). B.
When Paul’s eyes were opened to see “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” knowing Christ became his great passion in life. He bore testimony to that in Philippians 3:7-15 . . .
01~Paul: Trophy and Minister of Grace, p 6
Conclusion: Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road, and the Holy Spirit’s subsequent unfolding of God’s redemptive plan through his Son, produced in Paul a passion for the glory of God – a passion to know God as the glorious being that he is, a passion to glorify him by how he lived, and a passion to declare his glory to the nations – and also produced in Paul a passion for the preeminence of Christ in all of life and in all the world. And that is what we will see in Ephesians. We will see Paul burst forth in worship and praise as he unfolds the Father’s redemptive purpose in and through his Son and the Holy Spirit to the praise of the glory of his grace. We will see the way God takes hold of sinners dead in sin and standing under the threat of his wrath, and makes them alive in Christ, transforms them altogether by grace, and brings them together in his Church. We will observe how Paul exhorts us to live worthy of our calling to be a new redeemed humanity in the midst of this fallen world, by seeking to make Christ preeminent in every area of our lives and to the uttermost parts of the world. And while we are working our way through Ephesians, I’m going to ask you to read Ephesians every Saturday and Sunday. I’m going to build it into the Bible Reading Plan as well, that every Saturday and Sunday – which I do as one reading in the Bible Reading Plan for the month – I will have you read Ephesians, and pray that God will use it to develop in me, and in you, a greater passion for the glory of God and the preeminence of Christ in all of life and in all the world. I want to ask you to commit yourself to reading Ephesians every week, preferably in one or two sittings on Saturday and/or Sunday, and praying that God will work in you, and in me, and in the rest of the congregation, to produce in us a passion for his glory and for the preeminence of Christ in all of life and in all the world. Will you do that?
