Grow With Pastor Joe

In our study of the book of Ephesians, we have seen the repeated message of the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ. The believer’s wealth in Christ is their position in Christ. Our positional identity of belonging to Christ then enables our behavior practically living out who we are in Christ. The walk of the believer is our belief and behavior being directed by our belonging. By grace through faith, our belief in Him gives us belonging (to Christ and one another) and then leads us to behave accordingly to who we now are. Who we now are determines what we do. Many Christians today struggle in their walk because they are unaware of the wealth they have in Christ and leave the unsearchable riches of Christ untapped in their life. This leads to the average believer living spiritually unsettled, unassured, and often unfruitful. Because you have been given unsearchable riches in Christ God doesn’t want you to walk poorly in Christ. Let me give you an illustration of what the believer’s wealth and walk looks like. As you read it, go ahead and sing it with me.

Like Jed, many Christians walk around without knowing that there is an unimaginable fortune under their feet. We live as spiritually poor when we don’t see that we are spiritually rich. Think of it this way. If you have a checking account, you can either write a check, swipe a debit card, or perhaps make a cash withdraw from the ATM. Now imagine you lose your checkbook and debit card. You have money in the account, but you no longer have the immediate access to it that you once had. Many Christians today seem to have lost their checkbooks and very few of them check to see what they have in Christ. In Christ we have an unseen gold mine that is filled with treasure to be used in our daily walk with Christ. In Him, we have an untapped spiritual oil field that is for our disposal. In Christ, we have a bank account in heavenly places in Christ that never runs out. Are you living spiritually poor when you have been given all of this to you in Christ? It is time that we look at what God says about us and walk in Christ according to the wealth that is ours in Him.

As Paul continues to unravel the mystery of the Church being the body of Christ made up of unified saved Jews and Gentiles alike, he pauses to remind us of what has been mentioned previously in his letter. The riches of His grace have been given to all who are in Christ by grace through faith unto the praise of His glory. God is today operating in and through His Church in the world. We are now a unified body of believers with our entire identity in Christ. All that we are, possess, and do is in Him. Everything that is in Christ is also just as unified together in His body, the Church. These positional truths have daily practical impacts in our life. This glorious mystery that was once hidden, now revealed in Christ, is for our learning and living. As we see the wealth of what it means to be in Christ then we will be able to walk in Christ for His glory and the edifying of His Church. Ephesians 3:1-13 has been a parenthesis that is preparing for Paul’s upcoming prayer. In today’s section of study, Eph. 3:8-13 will show us the unsearchable riches of Christ. Eph. 3:8-13 says, “⁸ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;⁹ And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:¹⁰ To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,¹¹ According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:¹² In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.¹³ Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.” In these verses we will see the preaching of the unsearchable riches (V.8-9), the priority of the unsearchable riches (V. 10-11), and the privileges of the unsearchable riches (V. 12-13).

As we begin to unfold the unsearchable riches of Christ, we must look first at the preaching of these riches in Eph. 3:8-9. Eph. 3:8-9 Paul tells us, “⁸ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;⁹ And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” There are three aspects to the preaching of the unsearchable riches in Christ. First, there is the man of the preaching. Paul is the man of the mystery and the man chosen by God to preach this mystery of unsearchable riches in Christ to the nations. It is this very preaching that has caused Paul to be locked up and write this letter to the church at Ephesus in the first place. Paul described himself as “the prisoner of Jesus Chris for you Gentiles” in Eph. 3:1 and now continues describing himself in humility. He now ascribes himself to the lowest position of all the saints. Paul says that he is “less than the least of all saints.” The word “saints” is the same word that we would use for “holy.” It is the reminder that all believers are positionally holy before the Lord being saved and separated from the world and unto God. This holiness is to be displayed in the daily walk of each Christian. Paul had latched onto this truth but humbly believes himself to be at the bottom of the barrel because of his previous life of persecuting the church (Acts 7-8 and Philippians 3). The description of the man of the preaching points us back to the power that saved him, set him apart, and now strengthens him through his trial filled ministry. Eph. 3:7, Paul points his entire identity and effectiveness in ministry to the “effectual working of his power.” Not Paul’s power but Christ’s power for, in, and through Paul. Paul was one who humbly and faithfully saw Christ’s strength displayed in his own weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:7-10). The power of Christ for, in, and through us produces grace filled humble believers and preachers. All preaching is to be done in humility and faithfulness to God’s call and commands. Any preaching done in pride or disregard for God’s instructions is not biblical preaching. This serves to remind us not only of Paul’s testimony but his example for preachers and believers today. Preachers lose power in their preaching when they preach pridefully. God’s grace and power in our life is to humble so that we, like Paul, would see ourselves us the least and lowly so that Christ would be magnified in our life. All preaching is dependent upon God’s grace. There is no effective ministry without the “effectual working of his power” for, in, and through us. Paul sees himself as a nobody telling everybody about somebody who can save anybody. We too are to walk like Paul in humility as we proclaim by grace through faith the unsearchable riches of Christ to the world.

Secondly, there is the message of the preaching. For Paul, and us, there is only one subject in our message. There is only one object where our faith abides. Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is our message. Any other message is a false gospel. Preaching anything but Christ will scratch ears but it won’t draw hearts to the redemption that is in Christ. The only message that Paul ever preaches is the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” Within this message is everything that we need to see our wealth in Christ and walk in Christ. In other words, the message of Christ is our wealth and is our walk. It is our position and practice. Christ is the only thing worth preaching and if we preach Christ alone then the whole counsel of scripture will be dealt with. The word “unsearchable” is key in understanding what it means to preach Christ in all His richness. In a literal definition of the Greek word for “unsearchable” means to be “without explore.” The idea is that the unsearchable riches of Christ are past finding out, uncomprehensible, and immeasurable. Christ and all His richness are incalculable. Just as we can’t add up all the attributes and actions of God, we can’t calculate the wealth that is in Christ. It would be easier to count the grains of sand or stars in the universe than to calculate the riches of Christ. We can’t add Him all up without failing by subtracting who He truly is or dividing Him up into palatable pieces for us to understand. The unsearchable riches of Christ are infinite. Just as Christ is infinite in His divine person and work, so too are His riches. He is the gold mine that never runs out of gold dust. Jesus is the oil field that is never depleted by a drop. Christ is the bank account that never overdrafts or runs out of money. He is infinite in all that He is and does. Therefore, the riches that we have in Him are incalculable and infinite. Furthermore, the unsearchable riches of Christ are inexhaustible. Just as Christ is unchanging in His person and work, so too are the riches that we have in Him. He never stops giving to us and we don’t have to worry about exhausting our spiritual resources because they are in Christ. The truth of the preaching that Paul preaches and that by God’s grace I seek to preach each week is that Christ is our incalculable, infinite, and inexhaustible wealth. Because of this unimaginable wealth in Christ, we should then walk accordingly. This is the message that Paul preached. This is the message that we must preach. The gospel takes the dead and gives them life. The gospel takes the poor and makes them rich. The gospel enables the believer to walk in the wealth that we have in Christ. We must never waiver or stop preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. Christ is all we must preach and is the only thing worth preaching. Praise God for the wealth of the riches of His grace (See Eph. 1:7, Thirdly, the preaching of the riches of Christ deals with the means of the eternal purposes of God in Christ through His Church. While Eph. 3:8 deals with our wealth (vertically) in Christ, Eph. 3:9 deals with our walk (both vertically and horizontally in relationship) in Christ. We are now able to enjoy the “fellowship of the mystery” together (both Jew and Gentile believer) in and with Christ. We are a part of a new society, community, people, and body together with and in Christ. Each individual Christian is eternally united to Christ and His Church. Paul dealt with this in great detail beginning in Eph. 2. This will be practically laid out in more detail in Eph. 4-6. The Church is the means that God is working in the world today. It is the Church that gets to enjoy the unsearchable riches of Christ and is the means to proclaim them in preaching the gospel to the world. God is desiring that we would know these truths (Col. 2:1-3) so that our walk would match our wealth. The Lord chose Paul and the Church of today to preach the wonders of the mystery of the united body of Christ together in Christ which make up a beam in the glistening diamond of the riches of Christ.

Grow with me as we study the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ.

Grow deeper.

Grow higher.

Grow wider.