Epiphany Sunday

SERMON

In Nomine Jesu!

Text: Ephesians 3:2-12

If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in a few words, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all people see what it the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and power in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

In Christ Jesus, whose gospel message unites us as God’s own children, dear fellow redeemed:

Our world is divided in so many ways. We are divided geographically by mountains, rivers, deserts, and oceans. We are divided linguistically by thousands of different languages and dialects. We are divided by race, culture, and religion, all of which at times have led to conflict. This was not God’s intention. His desire was that we live in harmony with each other and with Him, but sin changed all that. Our sin has caused a division between God and us, and further divisions between us. Our sin led to the Great Flood of Noah’s time, which created the geographical divisions in our present world. Our sin led to the confusion of languages at Babel. Our sin causes Arab to rise up against Jew and Muslim to rise up against Christian.

Attempts to end conflicts and remove divisions have occurred. The United Nations is one such attempt. Yet, even there nations continually oppose other nations. Is there a solution to all of this division and the sin, which causes them? There are none arising from us human beings, but there is one arising from the heart of God—a mystery to man by nature, but a mystery revealed by God in the person of Jesus Christ. This mystery gives us hope. The Book of Revelation speaks of “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (7:9-10). There will be a time and a place where there is no more sin and consequently no more divisions. That place is heaven. In fact, it is interesting to note that when the “new heaven and a new earth” are described in the Revelation the phrase “also there was no more sea” is added, as if to stress that there will be no more divisions once we get to heaven (cf. Revelation 21:1). In the meantime, let us join the apostle Paul and REJOICE IN THE MYSTERY—GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION—a plan, which will end all sin and the divisions, which cause us so much sorrow and sadness.

I.

We see, first of all, that this is a mystery revealed in the Bible! Paul writes, “By revelation He made known to me the mystery…, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” Paul calls God’s plan of salvation “the mystery…which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men.” God’s plan for our salvation is a mystery—that is, something about which we as human beings would have no clue were it not revealed to us by God. Man is unaware that by nature he is incapable of dealing effectively with sin. He is oblivious to the fact that he needs a radical rescue from sin, which can only occur through divine intervention by a God-appointed Savior. God after the fall into sin promised just such a rescue, as He planned to send His only-begotten Son into this world to defeat Satan and all forces of evil, and thereby redeem our souls (cf. Genesis 3:15). God gave His plan to Adam and Eve personally, but it was all but lost by their descendants at the time of the Flood. After the Flood God gave His plan to Noah and his family, but it was all but lost once again by the time of the Tower of Babel. God then entrusted His plan to Abraham and his family on behalf of all human beings. He told Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). That mystery, while not “known to the sons of men,” was then further revealed as the Holy Spirit spoke through His chosen Old Testament prophets, and its fulfillment is completely revealed in the work of Jesus Christ, as recorded by God’s holy apostles.

My dear friends, we live in a world, which suggests that all religious writings should be viewed as equal in value. This is true our world tells us, whether we are talking about the Bible, or the Koran, or the Vedas, or the saying of Confucius, or the Book of Mormon, or the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, or any other. Such suggestions are nonsense! There is a distinct difference between the Bible and all other religious writings. The Bible alone, while written by men—apostles and prophets, was inspired by God the Holy Spirit and, therefore, is alone the source of absolute spiritual truth. The Bible alone reveals the true God and His plan of salvation. Peter tells us with reference to the Bible, “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Paul assures us regarding the Bible, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). Consequently, when we read our Bibles we can be confident that we are reading exactly what our God has chosen to reveal to us, and so reading truth. Yes, REJOICE IN THE MYSTERY—GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION! It is a mystery revealed in the Bible!

II.

It is, secondly, a mystery intended for all people! Notice that Paul says regarding the extent and effect of this mystery, “The Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.” Gentiles are all non-Jews—those peoples who are not the physical descendants of Abraham through his son, Isaac. God’s plan of salvation is a universal plan. “God our Savior…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1Timothy 2:3-4). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). These Bible passages all address the extent of God’s mystery of salvation. It does not matter where you live, what color your skin is, what language you speak, how young or old, how rich or poor! All those dividing factors are thrown out, when it comes to God’s love for us in Christ!

A practical application of this truth is about to occur in our midst. On January 13 three of our members, Loren Hansen, Russ Schmitt, and Josh Stelter, will be flying along with Larry Hansen to Tanzania as part of the Mission Helper Program. They will finish construction of a seminary in Himo. When completed Pastor Jesse Angowi and other pastors within the Lutheran Church of East Africa-Tanzania will train pastors for their own and affiliated Lutheran churches, so that the mystery of the gospel can be preached throughout central and eastern Africa. Our men will not speak the same language. They will be of a different race and from an entirely different culture. Yet part of God’s plan is that they will be united in this project and work side by side with members of the LCEA in order to further God’s kingdom. What an exciting opportunity for the men involved! What a joy for you and me as we sponsor and encourage their work! Yes, REJOICE IN THE MYSTERY—GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION! It is a mystery intended for all people!

III.

It is, thirdly, a mystery based upon Jesus Christ! It is unfortunately true that we so easily take for granted our knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is what has happened within the external Christian church today, where so many bearing the name of Christ have given up the conviction that you must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved. The Bible tells us, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Yet, many who profess the name of Christ are among those who now claim individuals can indeed be saved apart from Christ! Paul would beg to disagree. Listen to the emphasis Paul places upon Christ when he says in part in our text: “The Gentiles should be…partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel…. I…preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…to make all people see what is the fellowship of the mystery…through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known…according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus.”

The miracle of Christmas did not occur, so that Jesus Christ could be one of many prophets, or one of many teachers. He was the Son of God incarnate, sent by God to save the world through His sinless life and innocent death. From eternity God chose to save us from ourselves—our sins and the consequences of our sins. The means He chose to do that could not be human, for we have all been rendered spiritually impotent through sin. Jesus came, however, to conquer both sin and Satan. Yes, the Baby of Bethlehem became “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). God’s mystery is not a "self-help" program. We are terminally ill and need a heavenly cure. That cure is the name Jesus, whose love moved Him to come for us, to live for us, to die for us, to rise for us, and now to rule over us. He will sustain us until that great day when either He takes us to Himself, as He did our dear Meta Schweim this past week, or until He appears in glory to judge both the living and the dead! Yes, dear friends, REJOICE IN THE MYSTERY—GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION! It is a mystery based upon Jesus Christ!

IV.

It is, finally, a mystery intended to give us confidence! Paul concludes our text by saying, “We have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” The mystery—God’s plan for our salvation is something so very practical. It affects the attitude, with which we meet and greet each new day. No one can deny that the consequences of sin afflict our lives. They take the form of illnesses afflicting bodies, or temptations afflicting souls. They include the problems within our marriages and families, as well as stresses and strains on the job or in school. From terminal cancer, to divorce, to joblessness, to migraines, we face problems in this world due to sin. While it may appear that some individuals lead lives of comfort and ease, that is only an external façade. Each human being has his or her own set of problems with which to deal. Knowing the Jesus Christ, embracing God’s plan of salvation by faith, rejoicing in the love and grace of God cannot, however, but positively affect our general attitude in life.

When I was teaching in Eau Claire at our Immanuel Lutheran College, I used to drive the students crazy with early morning, upbeat energy. Part of that is personality—I am a morning person. However, the underlying positive attitude towards life that I possess is based upon the mystery of God’s plan of salvation. I would hope that you would share the same! We know our God loves us, for we are part of the world He sent Jesus to save. We know what our future holds for us, because the Bible promises us the gift of eternal salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. We know that as we walk through each day of our lives seeking faithfully to follow our Savior, He is with us, watching over us, and will use His power to bless us. Those facts give us confidence. Those facts instill a boldness that is not based in self, but rather in our Savior. Dear friends—let us REJOICE IN THE MYSTERY—GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION, for it is a mystery intended to give us confidence! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting