Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
The Mystery Revealed; Ephesians 1:8-10
With all wisdom and understanding he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment - to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
“He made known to us” is critically different from “we discovered him” or even “our forefathers told us”. Here the initiative is with God. Here also is an admission that there are things we don’t and cannot know by reflection, analysis or discovery. We are so reluctant to admit/assume that someone else is in charge and there are absolute limits to human ability.
Here also is grace: he made his will known to us. Why should he? What motivated him? What does he gain by it? The answer in each case is love. God is love. What he does or doesn’t do is motivated by love for us. We don’t deserve to know, but his pleasure is that we share in this great secret and the culmination of his will. That is grace epitomized.
Paul uses the word “mystery” six times in Ephesians. In this context, mystery is neither a “whodunit” nor something that is marvelous but only partly understood, as it is used in some secular contexts. The Greeks of Paul’s day used mystery to describe a divine reality which is hidden and can be known only when revealed by the gods. Verses 9 and 10 describe something only God knows, but which in love he reveals to us who are his family. The truth that we have through revelation from God is equally (or even more?) trustworthy as what we know through our own observation and reflection.
Who can plumb the depths of God’s heart and mind? Only God himself - but the Holy Spirit lives in us and does just that. God not only reveals his innermost thinking and motivation with us, he shares himself with us, in effect making us part of the divine community as his children. We received the Sprit of adoption and by him we cry “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). The Holy Spirit always points us to Christ, and in the case of God’s purpose which he reveals to us, it is “in Christ”.
Having such profound and intimate knowledge of God should never make us arrogant, because we can take no credit for it, and it was meant to be shared. What we know, we owe to others. What we know about eternity comes to us only through God’s grace, his love for us which we didn’t really earn.
What was the mystery that God showed us? What we could never have known by ourselves is that at the right time, God will bring all creation under the headship of Christ. Jesus Christ will be given a name which is above every name in the cosmos, and he will be Lord of the universe. Not just Christians, but every human being of whatever rank or intelligence or wealth will one day say, “Jesus is Lord”.
But there is even more than that. One of the biggest frustrations face in this world is the feeling that life is not fair. After watching the movie The Player starring Tim Robbins, my wife and I were strangely dissatisfied with the ending. As we analyzed it we realized that the bad guys had won, and literally had gotten away with murder. The “good ending” of the movie was terribly unsatisfying. David expressed the same feeling when he said, “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73: 2 ff). The word used by Paul for “bring unity” is an accounting term referring to adding up a column of figures. One of the most satisfying prospects for believers is that everything will eventually “add up”. The day that Christ brings everything on heaven and earth together, justice and peace will kiss each other, relationships will make sense, and there will be a rightness in the order of things.
This “mystery” is part of the good news we have to share with the world. By submitting to the lordship of Jesus now, we begin to be part of the eventual order of God’s Kingdom, when his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. It is not enough for humans to seek fairness, or peace or “what they deserve” in this life. Our horizons must extend beyond the here and now to when the times will have reached their fulfillment (verse 9) and all will be well. Knowing that, and having this knowledge of “inside information” gives us the patience to live now with integrity and hope, in spite of temporary set-backs and frustrations.
Gracious Father, thank you for letting us in on the grand scheme of things. We acknowledge the deep obligation this places on us to share with others the knowledge of the unique place Jesus has in the universe and in our individual lives.
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