“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles – if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of Godʼs grace that was given to me for you, that by revelation the divine secret was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into this secret of Christ. Now this secret was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, namely, that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel according to the gift of Godʼs grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power. To me – less than the least of all the saints – this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to enlighten everyone about Godʼs secret plan – a secret that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things. The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christʼs faithfulness. For this reason I ask you not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.” Ephesians 3:1–13

By the sixth day in January most of society has moved past the celebrations of Christmas. Employees have returned to work, children have returned to school, and stores are beginning to set out swimming suits. The church, on the other hand, persists a full 12 days after Christmas Day to remember the celebration of Epiphany — or the visit of the wise men to the young Jesus as recorded in Matthew’s gospel (2:1–12). First noted in the fourth century, this celebration called the faithful to reflect upon the awesome reality of the Incarnation — that G-d became man; in Christ. The revelation of the incarnation prepared the way for another revelation — that the Gentiles would be joined with G-d’s people.

For Paul, Epiphany is not just one day, but describes his entire life and calling. He preaches and preaches and proclaims the message that G-d has revealed this mystery to him. Paul mentions that he wrote about this mystery briefly before. It is not clear if he is referring to his statements in chapters 1 and 2 of this letter or if this refers to another letter to the Ephesians to which we no longer have access.

Even if we are missing another explanation, thankfully, Paul’s description of his understanding of the mystery seems clear from the following verses. The Spirit has now made known “…G-d’s secret plan” — that what in former times was concealed he is now proclaiming — that the Gentiles are now fellow heirs, fellow members of the same body, and fellow participants in the promises.

It is time we begin to proclaim the same message — that everyone is invited to the table of Grace found in Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dave

“And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly lived according to this worldʼs present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest — But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved!” Ephesians 2:1–5

Notice the details — the situation Paul observed of the Ephesians:

1. They were dead in sin — the Greek word for “dead” is “nekros”, which literally means a corpse or dead body. Since we know Paul is talking about a spiritual state (not a physical state), we must understand this deadness here refers to the spiritual life. The Ephesians were alive physically but dead spiritually. Paul chose this comparison because it accurately describes not only the nature of an unbeliever but, like any dead person, they cannot recognize how dead they are. Just as a corpse cannot revive itself to life, neither can an unbeliever revive his own spirit into new life.

2. This state of spiritual deadness is part of their age — their known place in the universe. The word “course” in Greek is “aion”, which literally means age or a space of time. So, Paul explains that the natural state of every man and woman during “this age or time” is to be spiritually dead — at least preceding their introduction to Christ. Every person begins their life on earth in a state of spiritual deadness, and apart from G-d’s working in their lives, this state will continue uninterrupted until our physical death.

3. This state of deadness is according to the prince of the power of the air — namely Satan. He was the first to fall, and his deceptive influence contributed to the fall of Man in the Garden. Today, he rules the hearts of those bound in spiritual deadness, and he exerts his controlling influence through the fear of death.

4. We were all, everyone of us, living according to this dead nature. No one is “born” a Christian. Every human being is a sinner, dead in their trespasses from birth. All humanity shares the same starting point as children of (God’s) wrath.

Thus it is all dependent upon Grace. By grace we are saved. It is part of our absolution statement — it is something we need to hear each and every Sunday — each and every day — by Grace we are saved.

Pastor Dave