Last week we talked about Paul's calling, his ministry. We saw that God placed a specific call on Paul's life to make known the mystery. But what is the mystery? This week we will unpack the mystery.
Start this week with prayer. Ask the Lord to open your heart. Ask Him to teach you his Word this week. Be diligent sweet girls, and He is faithful to write His truth on your heart!
Read through Ephesians 3:1-13 and ask yourself. What is the mystery? Does Paul define it in these verses? (He does! Keep looking until you find it) In last week's homework I asked you to look up the mystery. Go back and look at it. (If you didn't get that far, now is the time to go find the definition on Blue Letter Bible)
Last week we marked the word body in Ephesians 3 (I like to mark it as a stick figure). Go back through the first two chapters and mark any references to the body that you find. Now go back through and mark the word church (Pay attention to any synonyms for the church. I mark church with a little building or house). What do we learn about the body and the church? Make a list about what you learn about each word (in chapters 1-3). (This is another reason we mark, it helps us easily go back and find where the key words are.) Now ask yourself, what does the body and the church have to do with the mystery? Write down your answer
Now let's look at another place in scripture that talks about the mystery! Go to Colossians 1:24-29, read through this passage and write down in your journal what you learn about the mystery. Now let's look another passage in Romans 11:13-36. A word of warning, this passage may seem very confusing. Your job is to learn what you can about the mystery. You do not have to understand everything. Pay attention to the imagery of the natural olive tree and the wild one. Write down what you learn in your journal from Romans 11:13-36 about the mystery.
Now let's return to Ephesians. Did you notice the word administration in 3:9? If not go back and read that verse. That word administration is the same word for stewardship in verse 2. What did the word stewardship mean? Go back at look at it in your notes (or look it up in Blue Letter Bible). Write it down again in this weeks notes. Consider what Paul is saying in 3:8-9 (including the administration). Write down in your own words what Paul is saying.
Now let's look at verses 11-13. How do they connect to verses 4-9? (notice the word purpose) How does purpose connect to the rest of these verses? Write down your observations in your journal.
Now stop, read Ephesians 3:1-13. Do you understand what it says and what it means? Remember this week we want to understand the mystery. What is the mystery? What does the mystery mean for us? If you don't completely understand its okay. That is why we come together for Bible Study and discuss it. Remember we always start with knowing what it says. What it says builds the foundation for what it means. Now I must ask a third question, how does this apply to you? Are you apart of God's body? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus by putting your faith in Him? Remember what Ephesians 2:8-10 says: It's by grace you are saved, through faith, it's not works (something you earn), it's just faith. Have you put your faith in Jesus? I never want to assume that you have. If you are apart of God's body, what does Ephesians 3:12 mean for you? What has been given to you? Write down your applications in your journal.
God's mystery is great! He in His great purpose brought the Gentiles into the body, His church. He took down the barrier wall and made the Jews and the Gentiles into one body in Jesus (and only by and through Jesus did this happen). Are you grateful? Do you realize you did not earn this? Does it humble you? It is not a truth to be taken for granted. Make sure you stop and thank Him that He made known the mystery of Jesus through the Apostle Paul.
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