The Revelation of God's Plan. (Ephesians 3:1-13) - Wayne Denny

Downtown Church: Memphis, TN

Prayer: (v 1) “prisoner of Christ, (v13) “don’t lose heart”

Eph. 3:2-6 – Paul’s role in God’s plan

Eph 3:7-12 – The church in God’s plan

1. God’s plan for the world

2. The church in God’s plan

3. Individuals in God’s plan

1. God’s plan for the world

“Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me” – Eph 3:1 (ESV)

“to bring to light for everyone what is the plan” – Eph 3:10 (ESV)

“making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” – Eph 1:9-10 (ESV)

2. The church in God’s plan

and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. – Eph 3:9-10 (ESV)

“with” compound verbs in Ephesians 2 & 3

“made us alive together with” – Eph 2:5

“raised us with and seated us with – Eph 2:6

“fellow citizens with” – Eph 2:19

“being joined together with” – Eph 2:21

“heirs with, members of the body with, partakers of promises with” – Eph 3:6

"The church is unified across ethnic lines and is a newly created human being. By its very existence as a unified body, then, the church makes known to the evil spiritual rulers and authorities the vastness of God’s creative wisdom: he not only created the universe with its endless variety, but in a wholly surprising way he has also begun to restore the crowning achievement of his creation—humanity—to its original unity." – Frank Thielman

3. Individuals in God’s plan