August 16, 2015
Scripture:
Let’s look at a few words in Galatians 5:11b. The Apostle Paul is talking about preaching grace and not law. Mr. Darby’s translation says, “the scandal of the cross.” A scandal is a public embarrassment. So Paul is saying that he isn’t preaching public embarrassment. Read 1 Corinthians 1:18. This is no scandal to the apostle or to us. This is what has been before us this morning. God’s power lifted us from where we were to heights of glory.
Hymn 366 - We are little children, very young indeed
Prayer
Last time, I spoke we started the book of Esther. We met King Ahasuerus, and Queen Vashti. They lived in the palace at Shushan. Ahasuerus ruled over 127 provinces. King Ahasuerus had had a feast, and had asked Vashti to join him, but she refused. Ahasuerus became angry with her. So he talked to his wise men, and they said never to let Vashti come before him again, and to find another woman to be queen.
Chapter one happened in Ahasuerus third year of reigning, but chapter two takes place in the seventh year of his reign.
Esther 2:1, 5-8, 10, 11, 15 - 17, & 20
Our story begins with King Ahasuerus remembering Vashti. Maybe he was regretting what he had done in his anger. But he couldn’t change what he had done. So he sends men out to find women who are suitable to be queen.
We have gone through Ezra and Nehemiah and have seen those who had been taken captive. We read about the decree given to go back and rebuild the temple. Well, Mordecai was one of the ones who had been taken captive. Mordecai brought up and cared for Esther. He worked at the palace.
Esther was one of the women chosen to go to the palace to be brought before the king. Well, Esther was Jewish, and the king was Gentile. She didn’t let them know that she was Jewish.
The women who had been chose had to prepare for a year before they could be presented to Ahasuerus. They had to spend a certain amount time with oil of myrrh and sweet odours.
Mordecai was concerned for Esther, so every day he passed by to see how she was doing.
The king was going to choose which woman was going to become queen. They would come before him one by one and he would decide if he wanted her to be queen.
Five years after the feast in the first chapter, Esther was called before King Ahasuerus. The king liked her; he liked her so much, in fact, that he made her queen.
When God’s people were taken from Jerusalem, He promised that in the land of the Gentiles they would have favour. Daniel was shown favour when he was at the palace. Esther obtained kindness from the keeper of the women. She obtained favour from all who saw her. And she obtained grace from the king. God was using it all to work out His plan for His people.
Esther was still very submissive, and willing to obey Mordecai. Blessing came from her obedience. So, Esther is now queen. We’ll see as we continue in our reading that God was using all these circumstances to work out His plan in His time.
Ephesians 3
This chapter is parenthetical, with more parentheses inside of it. Paul was speaking directly to the Gentiles here, and therefore to us. He was a prisoner for us Gentiles—but why? He had been given an administration (Darby translation), a duty: he was responsible for dispensing the grace of God to the Gentiles. Before he administered the law, now he administered grace. But why was he a prisoner?
Paul was in a Roman prison, probably in shackles. He probably would have preferred to be in Ephesus, verbally teaching these things; but that wouldn’t be good for you and me. The only way God could have Paul properly administrate his message was to tie him up in prison and have him write it out in letters. That is why we have his teaching today, and that is why Paul said he was the prisoner for the Gentiles. He was a prisoner for us.
This administration was given “you-ward.” Paul was a special, anointed “middleman” so to speak. God gave Paul the dispensation, and Paul was to give it to the Gentiles. God made known mysteries—divine mysteries—to Paul. They were special revelations that hadn’t been told in Old Testament times. They were in God’s mind, but He never told man until He told Paul. Now that they have been revealed, they are no longer mysteries, but they are marvellous.
Many today don’t believe in Divine Revelation. If science can’t prove it, they won’t believe it. They are missing out on so much that God has revealed! This particular revelation to Paul was a special one. It was the mystery of “the Christ” (Darby translation): the revelation of the One Body. This is big, and this is marvellous. Some call this passage the headquarters of Christ’s body, for this is the first place that Paul wrote about it.
This revelation is for us, too. It shows us what was in the mind of God in a past eternity, even though His thoughts had never been told before. Once the revelation did come, it was written out to those that knew the Lord. It’s truth that we can revel in!
This truth was given to the apostles and prophets—these were New Testament prophets, not old testament prophets, or the passage would read “prophets and apostles”—by the Spirit of God, and the end of verse 6 points out that you can only enter into it through salvation. Once in, though, we are part of a joint-fellowship, a joint-body, and are joint-partakers in the promise of Christ. This is what Paul preached, and why he was in prison. He went around saying that Jews and Gentiles had been brought up to the same new level, and were joined together! No longer are there Jews and Gentiles, there is oneness in the Body of Christ. He is our head, and we are brought up to that level.
The Jews who didn’t accept the gospel wouldn’t stand for this; they didn’t like the proclamation of grace. Neither Jew nor Gentile could keep the law, though, which is why God brought in grace, lifted us up, and joined us together. When He comes and reigns, we will all be one in Him.
We can view the One Body as every believer from Pentecost to the Rapture, but another way to look at it is: those who are saved on the earth right now; or those who are indwelt by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is the One that joins and forms the Body, and right now He is here in the world, not with those who sleep in Christ. Once we are all in heaven He will form the Body of all saved, but practically speaking, right now the Body of Christ is those who are saved and still alive.
Paul learned the truth of the One Body right back on the Damascus Road, when Jesus asked him, “Why do you persecute me?” He was telling Saul, “If you touch my people, you touch me. We are one.” If one member of the Body suffers, we all suffer. Paul was now in prison, able to tell this to the Ephesians as a revelation. We are all one, joined together in Christ!
Hymn 189, Little Flock — O God of matchless grace
Prayer