The Purpose of the Church

Ephesians 3:8-10

Hear the Word

"To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places." Eph. 3:8-10 (NAU)

The Facts–"Just the Facts, Ma'am."

•	What grace did Paul receive?

◦	To preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

◦	And to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God

•	Why did God create all things?

◦	So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places

•	So that what might be made known?

◦	The manifold wisdom of God

•	Through what?

◦	The church

•	To whom?

◦	The rulers and the authorities

•	Where?

◦	In the heavenly places

•	Summarizing then, what is the purpose of the church?

◦	The church is to make known the manifold wisdom of God to rulers and authorities in heavenly places! (What an amazing mission! You mean God did not create the church to prove everyone else wrong, or to make everyone Seventh-day Adventists? Incredible!)

Interpretation–"What Does It Mean?"

•	(Groups) Let's take a look at the mystery Paul is to bring to light. From the context, what is this mystery?

◦	Eph. 3:6–"That the gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel"

•	So what is the administration of this mystery? What does it mean to administer something?

◦	To put something into practice

•	How is this mystery put into practice?

◦	As all are included in the body of Christ

•	And what will be the result when this takes place?

◦	The wisdom of God will be revealed in the heavenly realms!

•	What questions do the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms have about God's wisdom? Answer from the context–who might these designations include?

◦	1:21–above all rule and authority and name that can be named, our struggle is against the wicked forces of evil in the heavenly realms–these would include demons and possibly angels.

•	What questions do demons and angels have about the wisdom of God? What evidence do we have biblically that any questions exist at all? Answer from anywhere in scripture.

◦	–Satan has accused God of being a liar? What questions do the heavenly beings still have about God's veracity?

◦	angels long to look? 1pe 1:12

◦	Satan, in book of Job and Zechariah

◦	demons throughout the gospels

◦	principalities and powers of Eph 6:10-18

◦	1Co 2:7--

•	Answer from your general knowledge of Scripture.

◦	God's law cannot be kept (Gen., Job, Zech.)

•	What is the wisdom of God? In this context–what does Paul pray will happen that would reveal it?

◦	filled w/ all fullness of God–who? Us but who are we? Sinners! Wow!

•	How might that resolve the questions about God's wisdom in the universe?

◦	God is able to restore fully those who have fallen away–heaven is safe for eternity.

Why would He pick on the church to resolve those questions?

eze 36:23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

Eze 38:16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

What an amazing calling! God here offering, promising that through the inclusive church, His wisdom will be revealed to the Universe as Christ indwells people, and they are filled with the fullness of God!

Did you know that as You encounter situations, God will bring to you the very attribute of Christ needed to move forward into the fullness of God? Like crossing the Red Sea. Very simple really, if I am willing to get out of the way God will graciously give me the heart to listen to my wife. Argument in the car story.

We're here to reveal something about God which cannot be revealed unless we grasp the full extent of His love and allow Him to indwell us as a body.

What to do about it. How is God convicting you? If we're hearing correctly there should be conviction. How is God convicting you all? Am I the only one who has wondered what we're doing here? Has God given us an impossible task? COL quotes? Who's praising God with me?