The
Priesthood of the Believer
Expository Studies through the Epistle
to the Ephesians
Chapter Twenty-two
The Dispensation of Grace
As we read Ephesians 3:1, we must
understand that Paul is most probably writing this epistle while in chains at
Rome under Pretorian guard arrested by the Roman Empire (Acts 28:16 and
30). He was arrested for preaching Jesus
Christ as the only true God. Such
preaching was heresy and treason within the Roman Empire since they worship a
pantheon of gods with the emperor himself declared as a god. Paul was sent into the midst of this
overwhelming religious and political tension to preach the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to Gentiles. Part of his message
to the Gentiles was complete repentance of their beliefs in other gods but
Jehovah and a complete abandonment of all pagan worship practices. Confessing Jesus to be the only Lord in this
environment was in fact equal to a death sentence upon all Christians.
“1
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to
you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the
mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in
other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto
his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles
should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in
Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to
the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power” (Ephesians 3:1-7).
All the emperors up to Constantine were extremely
hostile to Christians imprisoning them and killing them without mercy. The Jews too were also hostile to
Christianity. Have you ever asked
yourself if you could be faithful to Jesus and preach the Gospel under such
extreme conditions? Yet, these
conditions were considered normal to the Christians of Paul’s day and to many
Christians around the world today. There
are so few Christians in the U.S.A. and Europe who are willing to even live for
Jesus. It is doubtful if most of
American Christians would be willing to die for an opportunity to tell others
how to be “born again.” Preachers spend
most of their preaching/teaching ministry just trying to persuade believers to
abandon worldliness let alone trying to get them to engage a culture that is
hostile to the things of God with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The common characteristic and attitude
of most American local churches and individual Christians is apathy. They do not see churches services and
preaching as primarily existing to equip them for “the work of the
ministry.” Many local churches exist in
the same state of apathy as did Israel prior to her chastisement through
captivity. These so called Christians have just enough Christianity to make them miserable, but
not enough to make them effective.
God spoke of the judgments upon national Israel
repeatedly through His prophets over many years and throughout numerous
generations. God continues a similar
message to the apathetic Christians living in the last days (Revelation
3:14-22). Paul quotes some of those
prophecies in Romans chapter 11:7-11.
What Paul refers to in Romans 11:8 is what was revealed to national
Israel through the prophet Isaiah as recorded in Isaiah 29:9-16.
“9
Stay {the idea of the word is to hesitate
or question} yourselves, and wonder {be
amazed or astonished}; cry ye out {in
confusion}, and cry {same phrase used
twice for emphasis}: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but
not with strong drink. 10 For the LORD hath
poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep {of lethargy, apathy, indifference, spiritual unawareness or
carelessness}, and hath closed your eyes {refers to taking away spiritual understanding or the illumination of
revelation}: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered {to clothe in secrecy; referring to what God
had revealed to them from these various people through which He brought His
revelations}. 11 And the vision {the look; the idea is that which God allows us
to see of Himself, His will, and His pending actions in time} of all is
become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed {closed up and forbidden to be opened}, which men deliver to
one that is learned {knows how to read
and can explain the meaning of the written words}, saying, Read this, I
pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12
And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray
thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far
from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a
marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder:
for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of
their prudent men shall be hid. 15 Woe
unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works
are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be
esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He
made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no
understanding” (Isaiah 29:9-16)?
Religion
without relationship naturally produces a hardening of hearts towards God’s
will. At the very best, religion without relationship creates a
mere ideological faith and not a living faith, because real faith always
generates a real, vibrant relationship with God. The very notion of such a false kind of faith
is an abomination to God. What is God
referring too? He is talking about
prayer that does not consider the character and nature of the One to whom we
pray. He is referring to being
preoccupied with talking about God and establishing His will for our lives as
if God is a mere ideology of moral attributes or some impersonal force that is without a personality that
includes His own emotions.
To talk about God out of a mere intellectual knowledge
of Him is a sham compared to those who can talk of Him from a knowledge that
flows from an intimate relationship with Him.
Anything else is just self-delusion that borders upon the boundaries of
complete reprobation. What God speaks of
in Isaiah 29:9-16 is the point in time
when He gives these people up to their delusion of a real relationship with Him
by shutting down any further enlightenment of Himself to them. At this time, they will be given over to the
darkness of their own blindness regarding their pretentious delusion of a real
and living faith.
This was status of national Israel
during the four-hundred years between the prophecy of Malachi and the coming of
John the Baptist. The prophets and priests
of Israel were the eyes and ears of
God to Israel. These were the men
through whom God spoke and through whom God’s will was revealed and
explained. Although there were other
forms of knowledge, all true knowledge came to Israel through the sieve of inspired revelation (prophecy) and enlightened explanation (the prophets and priests). During these four-hundred years of silence,
God would begin a dispensational and transitional change in the way He would
reveal His will and give understanding of His previously given written
revelation. Instead of revealing Himself
through the prophets and priests, God would begin to give spiritual
understanding of His written, inspired Words directly to anyone who genuinely
believed that God existed and who began to seek to know Him personally (II
Peter 1:20). Christ spoke of this in
John chapter seven as He rebuked the arrogance of the false theological notions
of the “learned” of Israel.
“14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus
went up into the temple, and taught. 15 And the Jews
marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? 16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not
mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will
do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether
I speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh
of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him,
the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him” (John 7:14-18).
This is a remarkable text when we
understand it in the context of the history of Israel and the prophecies we
have just read from Isaiah. Simply
stated, Jesus is saying in John 7:17 that a faith decision towards God to obey
what God says must precede God’s
illumination of His Word or His revealed will as given in His inspired
Word. The willingness or desire to do
God’s will that comes from a faith relationship and a desire to glorify God in
worship and service must exist before God
will give someone knowledge of doctrine.
If a person’s desire is merely a desire for intellectual knowledge to
give himself status before men, rather than rightness before God, God will not
give that person spiritual enlightenment. In other words, the truth presented will not be
understood from the heart and that
truth will not transform the hearer’s
life the way God intends. Even though
Israel knew the truth, they lived their truth in dead externalism and not from
the heart.
There is a big difference between being the Church and attending
a church. That is what Paul is
speaking of in Ephesians 3:2 in the words “dispensation of grace.” Grace is the supernatural enabling of the indwelling Spirit of God given to a
believer when that believer is living in fellowship with God. Paul understood that being a Christian came
with overwhelming moral responsibilities in doing “the work of the
ministry.” He knew that what God had
called him to do was an absolute impossibility apart from a partnership in doing with the indwelling Holy Spirit of
God. Because of Paul’s partnership in
ministry with God, Paul saw miracle after miracle happen throughout his
life.
“22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are
they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours
more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths
oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save
one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In
journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and
painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in
cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that
which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is
weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I
must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore,
knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the
king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and
escaped his hands” (II Corinthians 11:22-33).
We do not see it spelled out in words, but Paul is
detailing the cost he paid to be involved in a partnership with God in the work
of the ministry. It was in the midst of
trials that Paul saw the miracles of God.
Perhaps this is why so few Christians never experience the miracles that
were common in Paul’s life. They never
experience the miracles that were common in Paul’s life because they are
fearful and unwilling to take the risks that are involved with engaging a world
that is hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
No one can expect to reap a harvest if you never get the seed out of the
barn! You will never walk on the water
if you never get out of the boat! You
will never win a soul to Christ if you are unwilling to confront a sinner with
God’s universal condemnation (Romans 3:23 and 6:23) and God’s solution in the
Person and work of Jesus Christ. The
question of consecration enters into the equation of discipleship here. That question is what price are you willing
to pay and what sacrifices are you willing to make so as to be used of Jesus
Christ to build His Church? Building
Christ’s Church is what all ministry is all about!
Christians think that the kind of life that the
Apostle Paul had, and the fruit he bore for Christ, is reserved for a few
spiritual elite of Christianity. The
truth they miss is that the reason for Paul’s successes was that Paul had
committed himself to die for Christ before
he faced any of the difficulties of ministry.
He expected to die for Christ
because he was involved in the work of the ministry. The willingness to die for Christ is where
all ministry truly begins. Christ said
this on numerous occasions and in various ways.
Christians today spiritualize
the reality of this expectation away into superficial allegories of death. Jesus is talking about real sacrifices, real
sufferings, and real death. Perhaps one
of the most definitive of Christ’s statements regarding the willingness to die
in order to see souls saved and to work in partnership with Him to build His
Church is found in Luke 9:20-26. This
text is definitive because it uses the suffering and death of Jesus as a
comparison
“20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that
I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 21 And he straitly
charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; 22
Saying, The Son of man must
suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 23 And he said
to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the
same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the
whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26 For whosoever
shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he shall come in his own glory {the
shame of unfaithfulness for Church Age believers during the Kingdom Age},
and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:20-26).
Very few people ever grasp the reality of Christ’s
expectation of self-sacrifice for the cause of redemption. Most Christians are willing to sacrifice a little.
Others are willing to sacrifice some. Many are willing to sacrifice selectively. However, few are willing to sacrifice it all.
The latter is what Christ expects of His redeemed. Therefore, most Christians take momentary
excursions in trying to enter into spiritual warfare with the minions of evil
to make disciples of Jesus Christ. As
soon as they experience any kind of resistance, they retreat back into the safety of silence. May God protect us from ever entering into
the place of ministry failure called the safety
of silence!
God has ordained the local church for what we might
call the preaching moment. The preaching
moment involves the culmination of all of a week’s events and trials of
life into one moment’s time where they will be confronted, encouraged,
challenged, and strengthen by the preaching of the Word of God. I have come to believe that God has prepared
something special for every person in a local church at every preaching moment. If the preacher lives a Spirit–filled life
during the week, God will bring forth a special miracle that touches every life
in a local church during the preaching
moment. However, Satan’s minions do
not want that the miracle of that preaching
moment to take place. Some people
will be kept away from the service.
Others will not hear because of distractions within the church
service. Many others will not hear
because their attention is elsewhere.
May God help us to escape the apathy that results in the unheard sermon.
All that has been mentioned thus far is what Paul
addresses in Ephesians chapter three. If
it were not for the “dispensation of grace” (God’s supernatural enabling
through the ministry of His Spirit) operating through the preacher’s life
through the week, the preaching moment
does not occur the way God intends. If
it were not for the “dispensation of grace” (God’s supernatural enabling
through the ministry of His Spirit) operating through the lives of individual
believers throughout the week, the preaching
moment does not occur the way God intends.
It is through this supernatural spiritual dynamic that what God “made
known” (Ephesians 3:3) to the preacher wherein the believer is brought to
“understand . . . knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). If believers do not understand this
supernatural spiritual dynamic in which they are to be involved, they will fail
to take the gravity of the preaching
moment serious. They will fail to
understand the warfare waged against them as Ephesians 6:10-18. They will fail to understand the critical
importance in praying for their preacher in the way he prays for them during
the week (Ephesians 6:19-20).
If what is defined in Ephesians chapter four does not
happen, what is described in Ephesians 5:1-6:9 will not happen. These few chapters of Scripture are intent
upon taking us beyond attending a
local church to actually being a
local church. Doing Church and being
the Church are two completely different things.
Very few Christians ever get beyond doing
Church and attending Church. This is mainly due to the superficial way
they read and understand what Paul says in Ephesians chapters three through
six.
Although the subject of Ephesians chapter three is the
“mystery” of the Church, where Gentiles and Jews are joined together in one body, there is another mystery revealed
in the spiritual dynamic of grace enabling in the “effectual working of His
power” (Ephesians 3:7). Yes, the text is
referring to God’s working through the Apostle Paul, but the intent is that the
same “working of His power” is available to EVERY Spirit-filled believer. In other words, this “working of His power”
is universally available to EVERY “born again” believer-priest “in
Christ.” This “working of His power” in
the Old Testament was available only to specially anointed people. In the New Covenant, EVERY “born again”
believer-priest has the “working of His power.”
This truth means there are no excuses for failure. There no excuses for not knowing the Word of
God. There are no excuses for
disobedience or compromise. There is no
excuse for being unfruitful.
“1
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have
obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto
you through {the medium of} the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his
divine power hath given {perfect,
passive, participle} unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers {koy-no-nos', sharers or
participators with} of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”
(II Peter 1:1-4).
The “me to
you-ward” Principle (Ephesians 3:2)
There is an important principle for us to see in these
few words. The principle is a practical
issue of responsibility and moral culpability.
Every aspect of our personal knowledge of God’s Word and our personal
spiritual growth is to be distributed on the widest scale of possibility in our
influence of others. In fact, we can go
as far as to say that the distribution of all that we know of God’s Word and
all that we are as a Spirit-filled Christian is more than a mere desire of the
heart. The distribution of all that we
know of God’s Word and all that we are as a Spirit-filled Christian must become
the consuming burden of our existence.
What we see in Paul’s life is intended to be God’s example to all
believer-priests. We have this example
in the life of Christ first.
“21 For even hereunto were ye called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should
follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in
his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he
suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth
righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on
the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose
stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:21-24).
Paul commanded believers to imitate the way he walked
and talked. He also told believers to
single out others that lived like Paul lived so as to maintain a continuum of
such examples.
“17
Brethren, be {imperative mood}
followers together {co-imitators} of
me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample {tupos: a die or a stamp – the idea is replicating
the same thing over and over again}. 18 (For many walk, of whom
I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction,
whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their
shame, who mind earthly things.) (Philippians 3:17-19).
The Obligation of Replication
We might call the “me to you-ward” principle the obligation of replication. Every believer is obligated to “grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II
Peter 3:18). Then, we are obligated to replicate that growth in
the lives of others. A Christian that
does not reproduce growth “in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ” is failing at the most central obligations of the
Christian life. A failure to reproduce
growth “in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ” in the lives of others should drive us to our knees in prayer. Such failure should motivate us to examine
every aspect of our personal lives for worldliness or hidden sin that might
cause the Holy Spirit grief (Ephesians 4:30).
Perhaps the greatest cause of our failure in this area is merely
indifference towards the Word of God and a careless attitude for our own spiritual
growth.
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Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.
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