God’s Mover and Shaker Ephesians 3:1-13
Top 100 Influential People in History 1 Jesus 2 Napoleon 3 Muhammad 4 William Shakespeare 5 Abraham Lincoln 6 George Washington 7 Adolf Hitler 8 Aristotle 9 Alexander the Great 10 Thomas Jefferson
Notable Mentions 17 Martin Luther 36 George W. Bush 37 Winston Churchill 52 Gautama Buddha 53 Mark Twain 98 Grover Cleveland 99 John Calvin 100 John Locke
Top 100 Influential People in History 34 Paul the Apostle 65 Saint Peter
Paul Recipient of the mystery Apostle to the Gentile Prisoner of the Lord Jesus
What is the mystery in Ephesians 3? It is two-fold: (1) By His death on the cross, Christ destroyed the barriers that existed between God and human kind. (2) By His death on the cross, Christ destroyed the barriers that existed between Jews and Gentiles and has now placed them together in one body.
2:11-22 3:1-13 one body one household one chosen people one temple of God theirs (synkleronoma) together with Israel members together (syssoma) of one body sharers together (symmetocha) in the promise in Christ
John Stott “What neither the Old Testament nor Jesus revealed was the radical nature of God’s plan, which was that... the Jewish nation under God’s rule would be terminated, and replaced by a new international community, . . . and that Jews and Gentiles would be incorporated into Christ and His church on equal terms without any distinction. It was this complete union of Jews, Gentiles, and Christ which was radically new, and which God revealed to Paul . . .”
Paul Recipient of the mystery Apostle to the Gentile Prisoner of the Lord Jesus
Acts 9
Parable of the Money Lender Luke 7:41-43 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Paul Recipient of the mystery Apostle to the Gentile Prisoner of the Lord Jesus