"The Plan is in Place" - Epiphany

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-12

Today is Epiphany –the day Christ was revealed to the Gentile world. Usually, this is when we celebrate the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem, but its significance is actually much greater than that. This celebration marks the day when the non-Jewish world could begin to see the Jewish Christ as their Savior, too. But that process would a very difficult and trying one, to say the least!

The Pharisee Saul was one of the most feared men in first century Christianity. He was highly educated, he was zealous in his faith, he was committed in his efforts to wipe out those “heretics” who followed the teachings of Jesus, and he was encouraged in his efforts by the Jewish hierarchy. He was, in every sense of the word, a “state sponsored terrorist”!
He worked diligently to find and arrest anyone who ascribed to the Way of Jesus and to destroy their ways of worship (Acts 8:1-3). He was committed to overseeing the execution of those he deemed to be the most dangerous (Acts 7:54-60), and to force as many as possible to renounce their faith in Christ (Acts 26:9-11).
Saul was powerful in his faith, and had no doubt whatsoever that he was on the right tract, and that his work was endorsed by not only the Jewish authorities, but by his great God Jehovah. But the Lord had other plans, and he was about to work a new way, and a new name, in the man. The road to Damascus – a way that Saul had traveled before – would take on a new meaning for this hater of Christ. By a divine “epiphany”, he would come to understand exactly what attracted so many to this new understanding of faith, and this “Hebrew of Hebrews” would become the primary evangelist to the Gentile world.

Read Ephesians 3:1-7

The persecutor Saul, now known as Paul, the one who had once imprisoned the people of Jesus, was now in a Roman prison under the same sentence. But there was one major difference – before this, his zealousness was for the benefit of his own faith. But this new faith in Christ had nothing to do with his benefit – it was to be a blessing for the Gentiles. It was no longer about making himself look better to Jehovah – it was about giving others the chance to experience grace by faith in Christ. And the grace that he now enjoyed was never for his glorification – it was for those who had never before mattered in his, or any eyes, in all of Israel.

God’s plan of salvation was working its way through this former fanatic of the law, but Paul doesn’t refer to it as a “plan” – he says that it is “the mystery” of faith. This mystery of God’s plan has previously been misunderstood by Israel. Paul says that it has been hidden – not that the Lord had never told the people, they just had never known what it meant. In Genesis 22:17-18, Abraham is told that his ancestors will be blessed so that they can be a blessing to the rest of the world. But Israel had never understood that this meant that others would know salvation by the grace of their God. And Paul readily admits that he wouldn’t have understood it either, if it hadn’t been for the Lord’s “revelation”.
After all, who could even begin to understand God’s way, except by the conveying of his wisdom and vision. The prophet Isaiah (55:6-9) wrote of God’s call to the people – and we read that the Lord declares “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” Almighty God’s ways – his plan – will always remain a mystery to us, except by faith in Jesus Christ.

The problem with humanity is that we think that we would like to know about salvation, but, unfortunately, most will never accept it if there are any strings attached! “Just give it to me, and leave me alone!”
And even if the Lord did reveal his plan to those who had no faith, it wouldn’t make any sense to them, and it would still be worthless in their lives. But the old “Saul” never understood the plan either, that is until he had faith in Christ and became Paul. It was then that the plan began to make sense, and he would respond to this mysterious revelation in incredible ways.

The plan that God has had all along is this – that Gentiles, people who cannot claim descendency from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, will share in the promise of salvation with Israel – not by heritage, but by faith in Jesus Christ. And not only will they have a share in glory, but it will be as though they are truly and fully sons and daughters of Abraham.

Read Ephesians 3:8-12

Paul continues to refer to himself as “servant”, and especially as “the least of all God’s people”. Contrast this with his personal attitude before he met Christ – when he saw himself as being the greatest. In his letter to the Philippians (3:4-6), he confesses that he had been very proud of his position in Israel – “If anyone has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more; circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”
As a Jew, Saul had every reason to be proud of who he was, and everyone else would have shown him great honor and respect. But by faith in Christ, he had gained a whole new perspective on life. It was no longer his wisdom and position that gained him glory, but his humble service to whatever the Lord called him to do. And he sees his mission to the Gentiles as evidence of God’s grace in this life – that he had been chosen to be the one to reveal the long hidden plan of God to the “excluded”.

But is Paul truly the least of all the apostles of Christ? Remember that the appearance of humility or greatness is a matter of perspective. In our own eyes, we must claim and act with a humble heart, that we have set earthly greatness aside in favor of the humble heart that comes from surrendering to Almighty God. But in God’s eyes, the humble become great in his kingdom. Paul even makes reference to the purpose of the Church – that it exists to reveal the wisdom of God to all authority, to the insight of earth. He refers to the eternal purpose of the church which, in a fundamental way, is to be the evidence of God’s power over evil and ignorance.

Unfortunately, the Church is filled with fallible humans, and as such, we, as a whole, aren’t always in tune with the Lord’s eternal purpose! But when we serve the Lord in a humble and submissive way, we can receive, and we will be able to share, the divine wisdom that Paul is talking about.

So where are we in this passage? Are we serving the Lord through a servant’s heart, or are we still stuck in searching for glory through the ways of earth? Do we strive to be admired by the people of this world, or are we focused on becoming “the least” within their limited vision? The apostle Paul would have us know that there is no hope and no plan except in the Lord God Almighty, and that understanding and trust in that plan will continue to be an unsolved and unrevealed mystery until we surrender our ways to Christ.

The message on the Campville UMC sign board this week says “New Year – Same God”! I like it, and I think that we could almost add “New Life” to this, for that is what Paul’s message is about - a new life and a new way for all. God’s plan has been in existence since the beginning – it’s just that no one understood it until Jesus came on the scene, and introduced the world to a brand new way in him. The point of Paul’s revelation to the mystery of the Plan is that we don’t know everything yet, but God reveals his wisdom to us bit by bit as we grow in faith. His message is that the Church must stand firm in the ways and word of the Almighty if we are to grow in faith, and must never begin to fall back into the ways and word of earth.
It is by God’s grace that we have been invited into glory – that our human position in life is no longer a limiting factor for us. But our dependence and hope for this life can no longer be our primary focus, either. Paul came to realize that this life was never about him – that it was about God and his message to the world. Paul left his own plan and position behind so that he might begin sharing the Lord’s plan, in the Lord’s way, and to the Lord’s purpose, with all who would listen.

That’s the “new life” that this “new year” can bring to each of us, if we let it. The plan is there – if only we will reach out and claim it for ourselves.