We cannot live the Christian life without being grounded in the truth. All of us want to be able to EXPERIENCE God, EXPERIENCE victory, EXPERIENCE joy, love, and all the other good things. The high road to experience is TRUTH and DOCTRINE. The pathway to a rich experience with Christ is by a thorough understanding of the TEACHING of Scripture.  Ephesians 1-3 will ground you in this TRUTH and DOCTRINE so that you can experience the power of God and the fulness of God.

Now, our text this morning is Ephesians 1:9, Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.

Everyone likes a good mystery.  In our text this morning we see that God has made known unto us the mystery of His will.

What is a mystery? It is a divine secret, something hidden but now revealed.

In our common usage it is a secret that you have to figure out something by putting clues and facts together.  Murder mysteries have clues where you have to connect the dots.

The Scripture does not mean this when it uses the word mystery.

Throughout history there have been mystery religions, where those who are initiated take oaths to keep the secret of the sect. The Masonic Lodge is still such an organization, where those who join, take an oath of secrecy.  There are many reasons why Christians should never join the Masons, but one of the reasons is because of their oath of secrecy, that what they do inside their doors is a closely guarded secret and you cannot find out unless you join their group.

The Scripture does not mean a secret that we are not to tell anyone.

A mystery does not mean that it is something indefinite and you cannot know it for certain. Christianity is not something that cannot be stated clearly in terms of fundamental truth.

Whose secret is it? It is a divine secret. It is God’s mystery.

Romans 16:25, 26: The Gospel was kept hidden, or secret, since the world began, but is now made clear by the scriptures of the prophets. A divine mystery is something that was kept hidden.

What is revelation? Revelation is God’s objective truth. He has revealed to us the mystery of His will. God has illumined us, abounding toward us with all wisdom and prudence.

The preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery.

The work of Christ in dying upon the cross and rising again, was a mystery. It was kept secret. Men took the blessed Lord and crucified him because His death was a mystery, something hidden, for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

A Bible mystery is a divine secret that has become a revealed secret. The divine secret has now been made known to us by the process of revelation.

1.    The REVELATION is DISCOVERABLE, v.9

The revelation is available and discoverable for US.

Having made known unto us… (See also Ephesians 3:3,5,10).

We do not approach the Word of God with our intellect only, nor with our humanistic ideas, but by the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

The word US comprises all men: male, female, bond, free, Jew, Gentile, Greek, or barbarian. 

In Romans 16:26, “According to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

The US in this passage is those He has saved, the weak things, the foolish, the poor, as well as the rich. The truth of these things is no longer a mystery to us, but it is a mystery to those who are not saved. The natural man cannot comprehend the word of God, for the world by wisdom know not God and it is by the foolishness of preaching God saves them that believe.

Ephesians 1 stretches from eternity past to eternity future. It begins with the foundation of the world and it ends with the dispensation of the fulness of times and beyond when we will be forever with the Lord.

Were you there in the foundation of the world? Are you right now in the future dispensation of the Kingdom of Christ?  No, but God is as near the time when He elected you from the foundation of the world as He is when Jesus will gather together all things in Him!

Notice that He has:

• Blessed US, v.3

• Chosen US, v.4

• Predestinated US, v.5

• Accepted US, v.6

• Redeemed (US), v.7

• Illuminated US, v.8

• Revealed to US, v.9

Man is a master at building barriers that shut other people out. In many cultures, women are looked down upon as inferior.  In other cultures, people have been looked down because of the color of their skin, the amount of money they possess, the kind of house they live in, or the kind of car they drive. 

An expression in Paul’s day was, All men are divided into two classes, Greeks and barbarians.

Paul writes much in Ephesians 2 and 3 about how through the Gospel, God has broken down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile.

Ephesians 3:6, That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.

Partners together in the same inheritance!

Members together of the same body!

Sharers together in the same promise!

This is the mystery that Paul is getting to as he proceeds through this book and unfolds God’s eternal purpose.

Sad but true, religion puts up barriers. Jews put up barriers between them and Gentiles. Now, however, both Jew and Gentile approach God equally on the very same basis. There are no first class Christians or second class Christians.

The mystery of His will is not just for males, nor for any particular class of people. It is not just for the rich, nor just for the Jew. It is for all those who are redeemed by the grace of God.

2.    The REVELATION is the GATHERING AGAIN of all things under Christ

What is the secret in Ephesians 1:9?

Having made known unto us: that is revelation, the Word of God.

Verse ten defines the mystery of his will: that God is going to gather together the entire universe, Jews and Gentiles, males and females, rich man and poor man, red, yellow, black and white men, under the headship of His Son, Jesus Christ. This earth is pretty scattered right now, but there is coming a dispensation in the fulness of times where He is going to gather together in one again all things in Him.  That he might re-gather or gather together again. The term, “Gather together in one” is all one word in Greek with the word “HEAD” in the center of it (anakephalaioo: head up).

It has a prefix ana which means again. He is going to gather together under one head all things just as they were at the creation of the world, and it will never be undone by sin.

This is the unfolding of God’s eternal and ultimate purpose.

The things in heaven: cherubim, Seraphim, and the archangels.

Things on earth: All the nations, the animals, the plants, the natural resources, will all be gathered together in Jesus Christ.

The history of the world is behind this simple expression and next week we will look at what exactly this dispensation of the fulness of times is. Let me say that, the White House, the Republicans, the Democrats, the Libertarians, and no other political action group will bring about this fulness of times.

The fallenness and the perversion and problems of the world are written about every day. Death, pain, problems, are written about every day.

So what are we to do since we know the end of the story?

Educate people? Let’s clone? Abort the unwanted? Kill the elderly? Give health care and housing to the poor? Go to self-help seminars? This earth is fallen! But someday all will be subdued to the Lord Jesus Christ some day.

Isaiah 11:6-8: The predator and the prey will lie down with one another. The seed of the serpent will not threaten the seed of the woman.

Romans 8:21, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

2 Peter 3:10, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise (rhoizedon) a great rushing sound like a roaring flame. It sounds like what it is. A hissing and whizzing because the heavens are going to pass away with a feverish heat and all the works of the earth of the earth will go whooosh. Everything will be dissolved and then there is nothingness, but we look for a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Behold, I show you a mystery! Death will be swallowed up in victory.

He has granted to us wisdom and insight, so that we are illumined when we are faced with His revelation. It is made know to you, and it makes sense to us and we understand it and it has transformed us. It makes a difference to us. We have staked everything upon it.

The answer to the problems of this world is that there is a world to come that will never pass away. There will be a new heaven and earth. No sickness. No mold or mildew. No death. A perfect world. We live for this. We invest in this. We teach this to our children and are not satisfied until they believe it. You tell this to the average person walking around Washington Square Park and see if you are not different! Ask them what the answer to the problems of the economy and world wars.

3.    The REVELATION is by GRACE:

Why did God make this mystery known? It is according to His good pleasure which he purposed in himself.

It pleased God, it was according to His good pleasure that he abounded toward us with all wisdom and prudence. He has given us the insight into the eternal and ultimate nature of things and He has overflowed toward us so that we can see the ultimate end of things. He has illuminated our blind eyes and hearts to know the mystery of His will, His REVELATION, because it pleased Him!

It is according to that which HE PURPOSED in himself. He set forth His purpose and it will come to pass.

To us, the Bible makes sense! It is food for our soul! The words of Jesus give joy and satisfy our deepest longing.

John 4:14, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Thy words were found and I did eat them and they were unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.

Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President of the United States, said, The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life.

Daniel Webster, the great lawyer, said, I believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the will and the Word of God.

The educator, Henry Van Dyke said, No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure (the Bible) for his own.

Martin Luther said, To hear or read the Scriptures is nothing else than to hear God.

This Book is divine, and they are written that we might have joy in knowing God!

If you want to experience God, you must read the REVELATION of God and you must ask for the Holy Spirit to ILLUMINE your spiritual eyes to see the wonderful things from God’s Word. Revelation is God’s Word MADE KNOWN, Inspiration is God’s Word WRITTEN, and Illumination is God’s Word UNDERSTOOD.

The most important issue we face in this world is our view of God. An incomplete or distorted view of God affects our relationship to God. The only way to have a Biblical view of God is to know Him through the Word of God.

It is all a marvelous evidence of God’s grace. To the praise of the glory of His grace! It is not because we are more intelligent or better than anyone else, it is because of God’s grace. God purposed in himself the great plan and provision of our redemption and the re-gathering of all things.