Jan.
09
Skin Deep
Ephesians 3:1-12
Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles
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For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of
you Gentiles–
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Surely you have heard about the
administration of God's grace that
The boy who
wouldn’t
grow up ...
was given to me for you, 3that is,
the mystery made known to me by
revelation, as I have already written briefly.
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In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the
mystery of Christ,
5
which was not made known to men in other generations as it has
now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is
that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together
of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
7
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the
working of his power.
8
Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this
grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and
to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was
kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the
church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
freedom and confidence.
12
11
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with
T
oday is a special day. Every day is a special day for those who have received insight into the mystery of Christ. Nevertheless certain days take on special significance because on these particular
days the power of God’s grace was witnessed. Today is such a day. We will witness the power of
God’s grace as 4 people are baptized. They do this for many reasons all of which are based upon having
understood the ‘mystery’ of Christ. This word ‘mystery’ is recorded in verse 3. Paul speaks of a
“mystery” that was made known to him by revelation. This mystery is the mystery of how God has been
at work in the world through Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 2. “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace.” That word administration is
Oikonomia. The word suggests the management of a household or the household affairs of others. In
Paul’s letters it is used in two ways. First, to the responsibility entrusted to him of preaching the Gospel.
Second, to the responsibility committed to him ‘to fulfill the Word of God’. This fulfillment refers to the
unfolding of the truth about the church as the body of Christ. We see this in verse 9. “I became a servant of
the Gospel” Paul begins in verse 7, “9to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages
past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold
wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”
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The responsibility to fulfill the divine plan has been given to
the church. We are stewards of the grace of God. We, as the church, ‘enflesh’ the gospel so that it is visible both to the world and to the principalities and powers that
look on.
Are you getting the point?
You probably haven’t heard of Shelley Jackson’s book called, ‘Skin’. Its actually more
of a short story than a book but you won’t be able to buy it in a book store or even
read it in a magazine. Instead, you’ll have to look at the bodies of random people
around the world, because Jackson’s story is written solely on human skin.
No joke.
The 2,095-word piece of fiction is the basis of a very unusual project. More
than 2,000 volunteers are getting one word from the story tattooed on their bodies.
Each person bears one word only, and the full story will be distributed only to participants.
Question 1: What
does the phrase “more than skin
deep” suggest to
you in relation to
your Christian
life?
In what ways has
your faith
reached below
the surface and
changed your
life?
In what ways
does your faith
and the Word of
God need to go
deeper into your
life?
Shelley Jackson calls her story a “mortal work of art,” and she says it will connect
each participant to 2,094 other people. Jackson was the first person to get tattooed,
inking the story’s title to the underside of her wrist, and she quickly received more
than enough volunteers to complete the project.
Today, four people are going to stand up and confess publicly that they have come to
understand the mystery of Christ. This public declaration will take the form of baptism. Baptism according to Scripture is something a person does after Christ has
made his home in them.
Like the words carried out into the world by Shelley Jackson’s volunteers, the good
news of what God has done in Christ is carried by walking, talking, living, breathing
human beings. “In former generations” Paul says in verse 5, “this mystery was not made
known to humankind as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit” (v. 5).
The Word Goes Deeper
The big difference between Shelly Jackson’s words and the mystery of Christ is that
the gospel is more than skin-deep. Through Jesus, God has made us “fellow heirs, members
of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (v. 6). We’re
not connected only to 2,094 other people with tattoos on their wrists — we’re linked
to millions of fellow Christians in 238 countries around the world. This relationship
is made possible by Jesus, the one who came to connect us to God and to one another. Without Jesus, there is no relationship. Without Jesus, there is no good news.
Without Jesus, there is no story.
Today we have come to rejoice in the fact that four people have come to understand
the mystery of Christ. That they have had the Word of God not written on their
wrists, nor even upon their foreheads but upon their hearts. In the OT the Lord
speaks to the young man Jeremiah and says, ‘Jeremiah, the day is coming when I will
do something new. I will write my Word on the heart’s of my people. It will be like
nothing I have done before. My Word will go deeper.’
“This is the covenant that I will make … I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people” (Jer. 31:33). Now, that’s something to celebrate – the word of God has been written upon the hearts of these people. They know the Lord!
Now saying they know the Lord, that His word has been written on their hearts does
not mean that they are not perfect. They do not pass through the waters of baptism
because they have reached a certain level of spiritual maturity. Neither do they pass
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through the waters of baptism because they have reached a certain theological standard. The reason they are being baptized has nothing to do with any standard that they
have attained but has everything to do with the standard that Christ attained for
them. They stand here because each of them, much like the 2095 people Shelly Jackson
enrolled for her novel, knows that they have a story to share. Run into them in a supermarket, and you’ll see their word. Encounter them at a concert, and you’ll be given
a piece of the puzzle. Bump into them at work, and you’ll catch a glimpse of what
they are up to. You won’t see much, of course, but enough to know that they are part
of something bigger than themselves.
That’s why these people are coming forward for baptism. They are publicly declaring
before all of you, before the principalities and powers in heavenly realms, that they
have heard the old, old story and are pleased to be a part of it.
Question 2: In
what ways has
your faith impacted the life of
another person?
Recount some instances and give
thanks to God for
using you in this
way.
Spend time praying asking God to
show you the people that He wants
you to pray for
and minister to.
What are the
words - characters that you will
use this week to
unlock the mystery of the Gospel
to those the Lord
has revealed to
you?
But what’s true for these folk should be true for each and every one of us as well –
whether you have been baptized after conversion or not. If you have come to know
the mystery of Christ, people should understand that you are part of that story as
well. A good news story. A God-given mystery story. A gospel story.
The Word Reaches Further
The way you do your job, the way you grieve your grief, the way you listen to
someone’s heartache, may be the only sermon some people will ever hear. Through
you the Word reaches further. The truth is that we simply don’t know how or when
the Spirit’s imprint on our hearts will be read by somebody else. We often pray that
that the Lord would use us, but often have no idea that he actually is using us.
It was three years ago that Thomas Breitling and I met together with the wife of one of
the men who will be baptized today. The conversation quickly turned to that lady’s
desire for her husband to come to know the mystery of Christ. She wanted it so badly,
and yet there seemed little hope. The churches they had previously attended never
felt like home to him. As we sat there the Lord prompted me to pray for him and for
you. We prayed that he would come to know Christ and that we would be the instruments for that to happen. They both started to attend this church. He was so moved
by the love he experienced from all of you that he began to explore the Christian faith.
That exploration led to a decision to follow Christ and to the decision to be baptized
today. All of you, were God’s love letter to that man. Through you the Word reached
further. Yet, how many of you were aware of it, when you greeted him?
Our lives truly lived are how the world knows God. Imperfect we may be, yet we are
also the surface whereon the Spirit is writing God’s love letters to the world. This love
letter tells a story that is so much more than skin-deep. It reveals that everyone has
the chance to become “heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers
together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (v. 6). Everyone. Everywhere. Male, female,
black, white, native-born, immigrant, rich and poor. The mystery story that we are
challenged to tell is a tale of God’s unexpected inclusion of everyone who has faith in
his Son Jesus Christ (v. 12).
A boy writes down all his Internet passwords to keep track of them. His father noticed his password for Disney’s site was: DonaldGoofyPlutoDaisy. When the father
asked him why he chose such a long password, the boy said, “They said it had to be at
least four characters long.”
What are the characters — words — you will use this week to unlock the mystery of
the gospel to those around you? A word of acceptance ... or rejection? Inclusion ... or
exclusion? Receptivity ... or inhospitality? Unseasonable warmth ... or a January chill?
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Question 3: The
Word fashions
partners. Copying
the Gospel - imitating Christ is
not something
you do alone.
Have you developed meaningful
relationships
with other believers to support,
strengthen and
encourage you to
spread the word
and go deeper
into it?
If so, pray that
these relationships will go
deeper. If not,
pray that the
Lord would lead
you to such people who can partner with you!
Business writer Rhonda Abrams once saw a handwritten note over a jar for tips that
read: “If you fear change, leave it here.” “We all fear change,” she writes in The Costco
Connection (July 2004). Yet we all want to change — change our habits, our appearance, our income. Most of us want other people to change, including our spouses, our
children, and our employees. Sometimes, no matter how much we want change, we
just can’t make it work. Fortunately, God does not fear change. Scripture tells a story
of non-stop innovation as God reaches out in new ways to this world he loves so
much. And he does it through you and I. When people see you do they see the Word
fleshed out in your life?
Maybe you are a taxi-driver with a cab full of arrogant yuppies who look down on
you. What word’s tattooed on you? Maybe you are headed into the office after a
morning disagreement with the spouse, and you’ve got a meeting with staff and
you’re hearts not right. What word’s tattooed on you? Maybe you’re at your child’s
sports game and the coach isn’t giving your kid enough playing time. What word’s
tattooed on you?
The Word Fashions Partners
You know what really inspires me about Ephesians 3? As personally challenging as
Paul’s understanding of his stewardship of God’s grace was, he understood that the
Christian life was not something he had to live as an isolated individual. Verse 6
shows us that Paul was a member of one body, sharing with others in the promises of
Christ.
Copying the Gospel, or imitating Christ, is not something you do alone. In
the book of Acts a sign that a person had partnered with others to take the word further was repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38ff). Like the 2,095 people who present the
story “Skin,” our lives are a shared, interactive, mosaic. It is absolutely essential that
we work together to present the gospel to the world, for it is only together that we are
the body of Christ. Some of us are feet, some are hands, some are ears, and some are
eyes, and it is as a collection of members that we accomplish the work of apostles,
prophets, teachers and healers. It is only when we work together that the whole
Christian story can be told.
The point?
So, as 2005 slowly gathers pace, let’s be sure to share the mystery of Christ as the unified body. Let us all show real warmth to all who pass through these doors. Let’s ensure that we are as passionate in our worship and service as was Paul, so that
everyone will feel our commitment to the work of our gracious and powerful God.
Let’s go deeper with the Word, let’s take it further and let’s focus on Jesus in every aspect of our church’s life, so that we will all be able to deepen our relationship with the
One who is our Lord and our Savior.
Question 4: How
will your life be
changed as a result of today’s
message?
Can we develop these qualities in our own bodies, and in the body that is this congregation? Yes we can. But we have to go more than skin-deep. We have to reproduce
this message into our words and deeds. We have to act in ways that show the gospel
to the world. We have to embody the “unsearchable riches of Christ” as we care for
one another and serve the world (v. 8). Together, we can be part of the beautiful story
that God is writing in the world. As we close, let’s pray that the Lord would show us
what Word we should take others today.
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