Ephesians 3:8
AI-GENERATED SUMMARY
Based on the communion homily and Q&A from this date, as well as the recap provided in the following week’s sermon, this message explores the “unsearchable riches of Christ” found in Ephesians 3:81,2. Pastor Tuuri identifies a primary aspect of these riches as the unification of humanity—specifically Jews and Gentiles—into one body, the Church, through the blood of Jesus Christ3,4. He argues that this unity is the “mystery” hidden in ages past but now revealed, and that the Church is the vehicle through which God’s manifold wisdom is made known to principalities and powers5,6,7. Practically, the sermon calls believers to overcome societal divisions (such as race or class) and live as one body, finding their access to the Father through their union with the ascended Christ8,5.
COMMUNION HOMILY
I might mention kind of an email from Boo late last night and Jim’s teaching on the family in, I think, in Poland was attended by members from all three of the Polish churches—the church in Gdańsk, in Roswab as well as the church in Poznań. Kind of a picture of the unity of the churches of the CRC there. And I guess it was a great time together.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, if we—and you’ve known this, if you’ve been here any length of time—that at the supper of the Lord, we see the unity that we talked about today from the first half of the epistle to the Ephesians.
I’m just going to read from 1 Corinthians 11, the verses leading right up to the portion of the text that we commonly use at the Lord’s Supper. Paul writes this: “For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you and in part I believe it.”
So notice that first of all—divisions. It’s the opposite of what his entire ministry is all about, which is the bringing together of people in unity.
“For there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” Interesting. God again is superintending. He’s using sin sinlessly to affect his decree.
“Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper. If that’s what you’re doing, coming divided, you’re not really eating the Lord’s supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk. What do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.”
So here the unity of Paul’s message of Jew and Gentile is also expressed now in the unity of different social classes and of the entire body of Christ. Any divisions that exist are being addressed.
So when we come to this table, we come hopefully with a renewed sense in our minds and hearts to receive the grace of God, to cause divisions to cease and to live together as one body.
Our access to heaven and Christ is because Christ is in heaven. Christ brought his humanity into the throne room and he sits at the right hand of the Father. And because all of us—rich, poor, men, women, Jew, Gentile, whatever those distinctions were—for all those who have come to Christ, we’re all united in him. And because of that we have access to the heavenly places. So this is the wonderful news of the gospel of our Savior.
The next verse says, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this as my memorial.’”
Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for this bread and we thank you for the Lord Jesus bringing together Jew and Gentile and all the rest of humanity—those that are in him.
We pray, Lord God, that you would cause us to meditate on these things. Thank you for the gift that you give to us in providing this bread, the sacrament of grace. And we pray, Lord God, that as we partake of it we would renew our commitment to live as if we really are one body in Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen.
Please come forward and receive the blessings of God toward unity.
Q&A SESSION
Q1
**Doug H.:** You’re talking about no division between Jew and Gentile. Yeah. Which you know I think would mean I mean that was about the worst division you could have right at that time. So how about in the church now that you see a lot of this division in equity, economic equity and in race. It just seems to be boiling up right now. Yeah. You know any thoughts on the church’s position on that?
**Pastor Tuuri:** Well, yeah. You know, that’s all kinds of thoughts on that. You know, it’s when we bought the building, one of the great advantages of doing that, well, some would probably say it’s been a disadvantage, but I think it’s been an advantage to know where we’re planted and what group of pastors we’re supposed to work in connection with.
So, you know, the church is like Jonah, asleep in the hull of the ship while the storm rages around it. And in terms of this issue, you know, all the manifestations of the church’s division are found in the world around us. So you move away from Christ, you really move away from the ability to unite everybody and everything just breaks down into, you know, divisions of definitions of things, political action division, blah blah.
So yeah, I think that, you know, there’s been an excellent movement and it’s not just here with us. All kinds of churches are trying to figure out how to navigate those waters to bring unity out of the divisions that exist. Peter Leithart has done a lot of work in this area, and I’ve been doing it now for whatever it is 15 years or something here in Oregon City. And it’s hard. It’s very difficult. You know, we’re going to I’ve asked Aaron and Melissa to come to our next pastor’s meeting a week from this Wednesday.
And they’re still looking at their schedule because of what happened this week. But when Christine and I met with them, this is one of the things we wanted to do. And I know what’s going to happen. You know, they’re we’re going to have real problems because what people are trying to do is bring about unity not really in the person of Jesus, but under Jesus emptied of any kind of content, just an emotional unity.
And of course, the unity that Christ has accomplished through Jew and Gentile is found in Christ and all that means in terms of his instructions to us, etc. So, is that what you’re asking about? That kind of division in churches.
**Doug H.:** Yeah. You know, it kind of reminds me of the EU. You know, they they want economic unity without political unity, and it doesn’t work.
**Pastor Tuuri:** Oh. Uhhuh. So, it’s like if the church attempts to have economic equality or racial equality without Jesus as a center, you know, it’s not going to work.
**Doug H.:** Yeah. You know, it’s like if the church attempts to have economic equality or racial equality without Jesus as a center, you know, it’s not going to work.
**Pastor Tuuri:** Yeah. That’s right. That’s right.
—
Q2
**Questioner:** Hi, Pastor Jerry. Enjoyed your sermon. Thank you. You brought something up that I thought was pretty cool, and I was hoping you can say something a little more about it. When he—you read about in verse 9, Ephesians 1—he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his final intention. This mystery of his will. That’s a that’s an interesting thing that he’s saying here that we can know God’s will. Oh yeah. Can you tell us can you elaborate a little bit on that?
**Pastor Tuuri:** I think it’s specifically in verse 9 it’s the mystery of God’s will in terms of bringing Jew and Gentile together. Actually through the law the Mosaic law he deliberately kept them apart. You know you can’t in terms of the Jew Gentile thing you know a lot of what’s going on Paul talks about in Galatians is that God, you know, why doesn’t he why did that happen?
Why was this bipolarity between Jew and Gentile? Well, in part that’s because the Jews represented the priestly nation, the Gentiles they were to minister to and they were kept apart because the ultimate unity that comes through Messiah was not going to happen until Messiah arrived, died for our sins, raised up, etc. So, it’s a prefigurement of what’s going to happen. So, you have to You look at the law.
I should have done this. I was going to read Ephesians 2. I’ll read it next week. But, you know, it’s very clear in Ephesians 2 that the dividing wall was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so, the laws that were established primarily through Moses, although probably more than that, sort of intentionally kept them separate until Messiah would come and bring total unity. So, I think when it talks about the mystery of his will in verse 9.
It’s really talking about that understanding now the separation understanding it’s a reflection of the separation of all humanity Adam and Eve conservatives liberals whatever it is and then realizing that now in Christ because Messiah has come he reveals the mystery of his will in saying that Christ will now bring everything he’ll reconcile all things so I think that’s what it specifically refers to there yeah and it is true that God’s will was sort of obscured in that issue but then he reveals it to us right we now he does that through you know all kinds of means but whatever has happened to reveal his will to us is God revealing it to us what can’t be known otherwise is that what you were asking about
**Questioner:** Yeah. You know, kind of well when I look at that I think of okay so you’re saying it’s specifically concerning the Gentiles and the Jews I kind of look at it more of a I think I mean I might be wrong but I kind of look at it as a possibility that we can know him know his will something that in order to live yes you know I mean yeah I don’t say oh I don’t know what God wants to do wants me to do and this you know
**Pastor Tuuri:** Yeah. In terms of Paul’s through his spirit he’s given us this ability to know him yeah in an intimate way where we can know his will.
**Questioner:** I think that’s pretty awesome.
**Pastor Tuuri:** Yeah, I think that’s right in there as well as that God’s strength is our suffering, you know, that unlike the world’s wisdom, you know, which is secularly or humanly political, God’s power comes through humility. So that’s being made known and reflected in Messiah dying rather than, you know, beating the beating the Romans in military action. And I think you’re absolutely right, and that’s part of the big deal.
And again, I should have read chapter 2, but I decided not to. But well, but let me go on. Chapter 2, you know, talks about this dividing wall and all of those three chapters. The reason why the unity happens is because everybody has now has sanctuary access. So a reason to understand things based on the temple is that various people were excluded from various sections and nobody really except the high priest got to go into the holy of holies.
Now God has revealed what’s in there. He’s revealed himself and that’s reflected in the opening of the door, the rending of the veil of the temple, all that stuff so that we can do just what you’re talking about. So that we can get into the direct presence of God and know his will, know him with all these immeasurable riches. So I think that’s very good observation, and I think it’s right in that whole theme of the first three chapters.
Dennis Tuuri 
Leave a comment