God’s Word reveals to us the richness of His love, instructions so that we can maximize our joy in Him, and great doctrines we can cling to for comfort! If you’re feeling down, run to the Word of God for strength and renewal. It’s like a cup of coffee for the tired, weary parent. It’s a life-raft for the overboard sailor. It’s a parachute for the troubled airman. It’s medicine for the broken sinner.
Psalm 119:9-11 “9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Paul’s desire for the church of Ephesus is for them to know the mystery that God has revealed through the gospel of Jesus Christ! The gospel can be summed up in a few verses:
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This is the gospel in a nutshell! I want us to see the gravity of this. Jesus said this to Nicodemus at least two years, maybe more, before He goes to the cross!
What did early believers, the Way, have in order to gain revelation of Christ? It wasn’t until 397 AD at the Synod of Carthage that the New Testament documents was confirmed. They would have used oral tradition and The Old Testament, written in Hebrew. For the Gentile it was translated into Greek and known as the Septuagint. They would have also used letters from church leaders such as James, Peter, and Paul. The gospels were written between 50-90 AD. Paul’s letter to the Ephesian Church is believed to be written around 62 AD. So the letters from church leaders explaining doctrine were critical. James was written around 50 AD but that was to the Jewish church in Palestine. 1 Thessalonians was written in 51 AD. Good insight for church history on scripture usage is found in Frank Viola’s book “The Untold Story of the New Testament Church”.
Therefore, we are blessed to have the revelation of God before us! Many have been killed following their call to translate this Word for us. The first English language Bibles were produced in the 1380’s by John Wycliffe. These copies were translated out of the Latin Vulgate, which was the only source of text available to him. The Pope was so infuriated by his translation of the Bible into the English language that even 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the bones to be dug-up, crushed, and scattered in the river! John Hus, One of Wycliffe’s followers, promoted Wycliffe’s ideas: that people should be able to read the Bible in their own language. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415 for his convictions, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. The last words of John Hus were that, “in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” Almost exactly 100 years later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 thesis, thus continuing the theme of biblical proclamation to all people.
We have the benefit of this revelation today, but at great sacrifice to those before us!
What Do We Receive from God’s Revelation- His Word?
We Receive Confirmation (vv.1-12)
Paul confirms the gospel to the church at Ephesus, a Gentile church that needed to hear that they can be saved! The fact that Jesus Christ died for everyone, the Gentile, the Jew, the slave, and the free, should bring us great comfort!
Through the revelation of God’s Word given to several authors guided by one Holy Spirit to compose 66 books, with one theme, the revelation of Jesus Christ, we don’t have to guess. We don’t have to guess about our purpose, our mission, our joy, His will, His plan, and our worth to Him. It’s clearly spelled out! It’s written as a “dovetailed” love letter to maximize our greatest joy in Him! Listen to what John says:
1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”
and
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
We Receive Confidence (vv.7-13)
If anyone should second guess themselves, it would have been Paul because of his past! He has full identity in Christ, therefore he has confidence that what God has revealed will in fact happen!
If it’s written in the Bible, you can bank on it happening or have happened!
Psalm 119:104-106 “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.
We Result in Change (vv.14-21)
2 Timothy 3:14-17 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[b] may be complete, equipped for every good work.”