If I tell you that there’s a book in my hand containing all the secrets of Christian life and summarizing the highest truths taught in the Bible, will you buy it? You might be thinking, “But I’m not a great reader… and even if I want to read, I don’t have much time.” What if I told you that if you read it out loud, you could read the entire book in just 19 minutes? Who wouldn’t want to buy it and read it? I’ve kept everyone in suspense about what we’ll study after Philippians. Divya was pushing me to at least give a clue last week. My clue was, “I don’t want to come out of the Roman prison.” Any guesses? There are only four prison epistles: Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
Yes, our next study will be Ephesians.
It all started in my regular reading last year, in one sitting when I read five chapters. It filled my heart with so much bliss and wonder at the richness of the book; it felt like I had jumped into a treasure house. I asked myself, “Why didn’t I ever preach this?” Added to this, our one-and-a-half-year study of Philippians left me wanting more of Paul. So today, in the providence of God, I invite you to enter a treasure house of God.
I have to give an introduction with a background for this book today. Most often, introductions are boring, so I thought, “How can I make this not only interesting but practical?” Again, this is an experiment. I don’t know how this will turn out. God should help me. My introduction to Ephesians has three headings:
- Whet your appetite for Ephesians; make your mouth water for the book of Ephesians;
- Take you through a tour of the city of Ephesus before Paul went there;
- Learn four principles on how to enter our modern Ephesus, preach the gospel, and establish a church;
All the while giving you background information about the book of Ephesians. Isn’t that an interesting introduction?
First, whet your spiritual appetite for Ephesians and prepare you to appreciate the book’s profound teachings.
Once there was a man named Aaram Bhikari, meaning ‘lazy beggar.’ He had a sizeable ancestral property and a large piece of land, but he was too lazy to dig, work hard, and grow crops. As a result, he was so very poor. He lived in a small hut on that land, no bigger than a doghouse. He was very stingy by nature; he wore rags, begged for food, and led a miserable life. One rainy season, he fell sick and couldn’t get up to go out and beg for food; he went many days without eating and sadly died from the shivering cold, hunger, and malnutrition. A week later, a flood swept away his house and body; there was also an earthquake in the area. When the floodwaters receded, a great treasure house emerged from beneath his home on his land, built by his royal ancestors to store riches meant to be discovered only by hardworking future generations. Inside lay enough treasure and gold coins to sustain the entire town for a hundred generations. How sad! The townsfolk were stunned and cried inconsolably, writing a memorial song and teaching their children: Aaram Bhikari lived and died as a beggar, starving himself without realizing he had been sleeping above an ocean of wealth. Oh, if Aaram Bhikari had just dug a little deeper, if he had been a little more hardworking, he could have lived like our king.
Now, the book of Ephesians is written to Christians like him—Aaram Bhikaris. These are the kind of Christians who live unfulfilled lives and don’t understand that they have inestimable riches just beneath their feet if they would only dig. They wander through life starving, suffering from spiritual malnutrition, unaware of where the feast is. They don’t know how to tap their resources, maybe because they’re unaware of them, and so they never truly realize how rich they are.
The book of Ephesians is God’s treasure house for the Christian. If you don’t understand ‘treasure house,’ think of it as the believer’s bank account with an infinite spiritual balance. This book teaches us how to draw as much wealth as we need for all our needs. It’s a book about riches. It’s a book about fullnesses. It’s a book about being filled with things. It’s a book about inheritance. It’s a book that tells us just what treasures we possess in Christ. If we grasp the truths here, it’ll absolutely revolutionize our lives. It will teach you who you are, how wealthy you are, and how you are to use those riches for God’s glory.
Let me give you a foretaste of this book–filled with these ideas of riches, fullness, and inheritance:
1:7 talks about the riches of His grace. 3:8 talks about the unsearchable riches of Christ; 3:16, the riches of His glory. God is pouring all of His riches in the book of Ephesians. “But I don’t deserve this; how can I earn these riches?” No, no, it is all a gift of grace, the height of his grace. The word ‘grace’–God’s unmerited, undeserved kindness and favor–fills this book because Grace is behind all this lavishness God pours out. The word ‘glory’ is used eight times. The word ‘inheritance’ is used four times. The word ‘riches’ is used five times. The words ‘fullness’ and ‘filled’ are used seven times.
All the fullness of Godhead given to us: Eph 4:13, “stature of the fullness of Christ,” the fullness of the Spirit. The climax of all this is Eph 3:19: “That you might be filled and flooded with all the fullness of God.” It’s just an incredible thought: that literally the believer can be filled with all the fullness of God Himself; that we would know the unsearchable riches of Christ; that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (v.20).
You see, it’s all such magnanimous, grandiose truths/concepts: fullness, riches, inheritance, wealth, resources – all in the book of Ephesians. There is enough wealth/treasures here to cover all past debts, present liabilities, and future needs and still not diminish your account.
How do we get all this? It’s not anything we did; it’s not anything we earned. It’s all in Christ. It’s all because we’re in Christ. If you’re in Christ, you’re rich beyond all wild imagination. It’s all based on Him. The book shows it is all because of His will, His grace, His power, His love, 2:4; His good pleasure, 1:9; His purpose, 1:11; His calling, 1:18; His workmanship, 2:10; for His glory.
“How do I know it is all mine?” Amazingly, this book shows the glory of the church. If God has worked in your heart and life to bring you inside the body of Christ–the true church–all this is your treasure. Chapter 3 talks about the glory and riches of the Church and how the Church is God’s grand and glorious work in the universe. Eph 3:9,10, “and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known (how?) by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.”
So, as a church, Ephesians is our treasure house. In the first three chapters, he tells us who we are and what we have, and in the last three, he explains how we can use all that in our daily lives, whether in the church, family, the workplace, or outside. So, the first three chapters cover the theology of the rich believer, and chapters 4 to 6 describe the practice of the rich believer.
Wonder is that the book is just six short chapters you can read in 19 minutes. But vast and infinite truths are hidden here. Many have praised this book to heights: Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ exposition spans eight volumes! He called Ephesians “the sublimest and the most majestic expression” of the gospel. F. F. Bruce, a noted New Testament scholar, calls Ephesians “the climax/quintessence of Paulinism…” C. H. Dodd called it “the crown of Paulinism.” William Hendriksen, “the divinest composition of man.”
A church pastor gave testimony that when he started this book, the church was 500 people; however, as a result of reading this book and members practicing the truths–the impact it had on their lives–the church grew to 5000 people. Yes, it is only the sovereign will of God that causes any church to flourish, but God uses means, and he has used this book to bless God’s people. Let us see what he does among us. Is this enough to whet your appetite and make your spiritual mouth water? Are you ready to dive into the book?.. Amen!
Can I request that you do two things every week? Pray and Read. Pray for me. I didn’t start this book because I understood the truths here; I didn’t even know how to preach the introduction. There is depth in this short epistle that I can barely begin to understand or apply to my own life, much less to expound on. We don’t want to start this with proud ambition–the Spirit will hide riches from such people–but with humble dependence on God. Pray for me and pray for the church with Paul’s apt prayer (Eph 1:17-19): “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” I pray that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Second, Read: I would advise you to find just 19 minutes weekly and read the whole book again and again. By the end of this book, God will transform our church’s thinking and lives.
Next, I want to take you on a tour of Ephesus as it was before Paul visited.
Ready?
Ephesus was the fourth-largest city in the Roman Empire. As a free city, it enjoyed the right of self-government to a great extent under the Romans. Although close to the sea, its harbor was inaccessible to ships due to the many small islands surrounding it. Consequently, trade was not a major industry. The city’s only means of economic survival was the temple dedicated to a goddess named Artemis–equated to the Roman goddess Diana.
This famous temple took over 200 years to complete and was one of the world’s seven wonders. Archaeological records indicate it as one of the largest structures in human history, featuring incredible architecture and an imposing size. A Greek poet said of it, “I have seen all wonders in our world, but when I saw the house of Artemis, the other marvels lost their wonder and brilliance, and I said, ‘The sun, apart from Olympus (the great mountain in Greece), has never seen anything so grand.’” Nothing else on earth compares to it in grandeur. Its vast dimensions, costly materials, extensive marble colonnades, opulent decorations with ornate carvings and priceless paintings, numerous statues, long-accumulated wealth, and the carved idols of the goddess all contributed to its status as one of the world’s wonders. This temple was the center of that city. Can you see in your mind’s eye the glory of that city? The temple was so renowned that Ephesus emerged as Asia’s religious center. Coins featured the temple and the goddess. The highest position in that temple was that of a sweeper–a servant of the great goddess.
Of all the deities in Asia, Diana was the most sought-after. People traveled long distances from afar to see the temple of Diana. Pilgrims and tourists coming into the city provided a livelihood for its residents. This pilgrim tourism business made many people very rich. Silversmiths amassed fortunes by selling Diana’s idols, and hotel and restaurant owners prospered from the influx of visitors to the temple. People visited devoutly and donated large sums of money. The temple treasury functioned like a bank, lending large amounts to businessmen and even kings. You see how important the temple was for the city; it served as a fortress of idolatry.
The temple’s chief attraction–Diana’s idol–was said to have fallen directly from heaven to earth. Artemis herself was a many-breasted crowned idol goddess, symbolizing super fertility. All sorts of ugly ritual worship were conducted. One of these involved Diana’s worship through “sacred” immoral encounters with a building full of prostitute priestesses (‘dassee’) who sold their bodies without any guilt as sacred service. There were various deplorable and perverse sexual acts performed in honor of Diana. Worshipers believed that participating in such profane sexual intercourse ensured them increased financial prosperity.
The city also brimmed with all kinds of magic; sorcery was practiced and taught, and all the so-called mystery books, famous best-sellers, were sold in Ephesus. These included subjects like black magic, necromancy (communicating with the dead), astrology, fortune-telling, methods for chanting and inviting spirits to connect with you for energy and healing experiences, as well as hexes and voodoo intended to inflict harm or bring misfortune and bad luck to enemies and their families, and love spells that could hypnotize someone into falling in love with you. The city served as an educational center for all this; it housed a big library explaining how to do all this, called Ephesia Grammata. This was Asia’s primary hub for necromancy, exorcism, and all forms of magical arts. The mystical silver idols and books sold here reached audiences worldwide.
So, that concludes our tour of Ephesus. How was the tour? Wow! How many of you feel like we should have seen all this?
A man named Paul entered this city, and everything changed. Today, the Temple of Diana, which you only know about because I told you, lies in ruins… no one remembers; it’s all destroyed. But the city of Ephesus is known to the whole world and will continue to be recognized until the end of the world because it was home to a true church of God. A man of God wrote an epistle there. This man impacted the entire city.
How did that happen? We know Paul went through three missionary journeys, as described in Acts. You can see the historical account of Paul’s visit to Ephesus in Acts 18 and 19. I encourage you to read those chapters to understand the events leading up to the writing of the book. Very briefly: In Acts 18, at the end of his second journey, coming from Corinth, Paul sailed to Ephesus with his companions, Priscilla and Aquila. He entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. After a brief time, they said, “Stay with us. We want [to hear] more.” Paul replied, “No, not now. But if the Lord wills, I’ll return to you later.” In the meantime, we see Apollos’ ministry.
In Acts 19, we see Paul returning to Ephesus as promised–probably in 54 AD. Here, he found some disciples who only knew John’s baptism. Paul further instructed them and baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then, the apostle began to preach again in the synagogue for three months. Some believed while other Jews opposed the message, so he took the disciples from the synagogue and found a public teaching place called the school of Tyrannus. There, he met regularly to expound the scriptures. Acts states that he labored and taught there for two years, with the school of Tyrannus serving as his headquarters.
In these two years of missionary work, many things happened. First, a great number of Jews and Greeks converted. Second, the knowledge of the gospel spread throughout the entire region of Asia. Acts 19:10 states that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. God performed miracles through Paul, and the gospel impacted the entire city. Third, social effects emerged from the gospel: “Also, many of those who had practiced black magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver,” Acts 19:19. That’s a lot of money. Their understanding of the gospel led them to do this. Fourth, because many stopped going to the temple and buying idols and other items from it, the temple business was severely affected. A meeting of businessmen was called by “Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Diana, [who] brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together with the workers of similar occupations, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover, you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So, not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship,” Acts 19:24-27. They incited a huge riot. You can read about that in the rest of the chapter. The gospel brought an amazing transformation. Fifth, a large and thriving church was established here. Now, Paul writes to this church in such a troubled city.
How [did all these things happen]? Oh, we wish such things would happen in our time. When you hear about idolatry, adultery, and black magic, doesn’t it seem quite contemporary, much like places such as Velankanni, Tirupathi, Ayodhya, Mecca, and others? How can anyone today go to such places, and even lesser ones, and build a church like Ephesus? I believe that even today, if God were to visit our area with a manifestation of His spirit, these sinks of iniquity and uncleanness, temples, and bars would go out of business because no one would buy their filth.
As a church of God, our purpose is not to huddle here forever. God willing, if He expands us and raises more men among us, we will go out and establish churches in other places. How do we do it? Can we draw from Paul’s missionary journey to Ephesus, reliving that experience and learning a few principles on how to do this? Yes, while the primary cause for any church is God’s sovereign will, we know He uses means. What were the means that led to this marvelous church being established in such a place?
Four ‘M’s: a Mission-minded church, Man, Matter, Method – four divinely appointed means for church planting.
Mission church:
The primary cause of any church’s birth is that somewhere, there is a mission-minded church with a burden to spread the gospel. In Acts 13, we see that the church of Antioch was one such church. They were growing. God was raising men. Acts 13:2 states, “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted,” … serving, praying, and fasting; Why? Because they were burdened for souls and the spread of the gospel. Fasting shows the intensity of their burden. A mission-minded church is always like that. They see a plentiful harvest, yet only a few laborers; in obedience to the Lord, they pray for Him to send more workers. So you see the verse: God responds… “the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”
Churches don’t just happen; they come into existence through churches that are mission-minded, which pray with burden, and with sacrifices, send qualified men for this work. Romans 10:13-15, “For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” Are we a mission-minded church? We must, with burden, pray [that] God should raise men. We should train, support, and send them for ministry. That is where it all begins. For example, Pastor Bala was sent by his church. Would there be Chennai, Madurai, and Bangalore Reformed churches today if he had not been sent? It is not easy; it demands so many sacrifices beyond financial support–consider the traveling and the sacrifices of the missionary. But unless we do that, we have to keep dreaming; Ephesus, Velankanni, and Tirupathi will remain as they are.
Next, Man:
What type of man does God use to attack the fortress of the very devil, like Ephesus? To enter great, imposing structures of pagan society and plant a flag for Lord Jesus Christ by establishing His church? In other words, what kind of men must we be, by God’s grace, to serve as instruments through which He will fulfill His eternal purposes for our generation, through you and me? That’s the question. Though this itself is a big series Pastor Mitch is teaching us under the title of “Man of God,” I’ll mention essentially two characteristics: men who are slaves to Christ and who reflect the character of Christ.
First, men who are faithful servants of Christ. [Paul] states in verse 1, “I am an apostle by the will of God.” He was not in ministry by personal preference but by the will of God, which was confirmed internally by Christ and then externally by the church in Antioch. He was a man conscious that his supreme loyalty was to the will of Christ. In Acts 20:18-19, while speaking to the Ephesian elders, you see the heart of this man: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;”
From the time I set foot in Asia, you saw my life was marked by continual service unto my Lord. Serving as a bondservant, the douleuō of the Lord, this ministry was more dear to him than his own life. Such churches are not established by volunteers seeking recognition for their work. They are the result of men who’ve had such a discovery of the glory of Christ and tasted His grace that it causes them to joyfully say, “Lord Jesus, Your love has captured me; I am Your slave.” They pursue the will of God at all costs; difficulties do not deter them; worldly attractions do not distract them; they do not chase after lucrative salaries; and temporary comforts cannot entice them. It is through such dedicated servants that God transforms a city and builds His church.
Secondly, men who reflect the character of Christ. Notice again in Acts 20:19, having stated the general principle that he served the Lord, he indicates three characteristics of his service: “serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;” I would suggest that these characteristics directly reflect the character and moral image of Jesus Christ himself.
First, this was a declaration of Christ-like humility: humility in his relationship with God and others in the work of God. Lowliness of mind manifests through his self-assessment. This man possessed extraordinary gifts: with all his miraculous powers, people took his handkerchief, placed it on the sick, and they were healed (How would you feel if crowds rushed to touch you for healing?) Great world travels, successes of the gospel, church planting, all the revelation of truths, and writing seventy percent of the New Testament; yet he states, “I was with you in lowliness of mind.” He confessed, “I find no good thing in my flesh,” referring to himself as “the chief of sinners.” After the glorious truths he teaches in Ephesians, in the first practical application in chapter 4, he says, “I beseech you with all lowliness of mind.” This is a common trait found in all men who are greatly used for God’s kingdom–whether Whitfield, Wesley, or Spurgeon. Even though they were so famous–just mentioning their names could gather ten thousand people–they were [ever] so humble and had a lowly assessment of themselves. Spurgeon remarked that when he looked for young people for ministry, he didn’t seek just knowledge or zeal–that could stem from natural youth, but what they looked for was lowliness of mind. This [humility] cannot be natural in young men; it is evidence of grace.
Secondly, tears. He served with tears. He repeats this in Acts 20:31, stating, “[R]emember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Why? For some, tears indicate weak character, and others may act dramatically and cry over anything they cannot face. But Paul’s tears were expressions of the deep care and compassion he felt for souls. Isn’t this a beautiful reflection of his Lord? When He saw large crowds, He felt compassion; when He looked upon Jerusalem, He wept.
Paul was a man who deeply cared for eternal souls. If you ask anyone from that world about Ephesus, they would say it was the most religious city in the Roman Empire. Yet when Paul arrived in Ephesus and saw the grand temple and its idolatry, we can only imagine how it affected him. Just like in Athens, he was almost certainly greatly distressed, deeply troubled, and stirred. Because you know what he saw: he saw the city was a stinking, putrefying graveyard filled with demon-possessed corpses wandering here and there. That is why he wrote in Eph 2:1 that “you… were dead in trespasses and sins.” He says, “With all of these rituals, with all the grandeur of the worship of Diana”—he uses some of the saddest words in scripture—“you were in the midst of all your ritual religion, you were without hope, without God” (Eph 2:12). He noted that the “rest of the Gentiles” were “walking in the vanity of their minds, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts” (Eph 4:17). All uncleanness and sexual deviation were among them. As in Romans 1, they were given over to depraved and vile passions, in the gutter engaging in acts that cannot even be named among saints; ignorant of God, ignorant of the truth, and darkened in understanding. It was the saddest condition any people could be in.
That state of souls and the compassion for them brought tears to his eyes. Don’t we see the same Ephesus around us? But do we perceive it through our Lord’s eyes? If so, then why are there no tears? His tears reveal profound inward grief and pain. He feels deeply about the horror of sin, impending judgment, and the spiritual state of souls, about eternal hell. It broke his heart and stirred his spirit; he couldn’t keep quiet. He couldn’t sleep without taking action. See, churches are built not with nice, slick, stylish dialogue preachers but by men who have true burden and compassion and feel deeply for souls–to the extent that it brings tears to their eyes.
Thirdly, “with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews.” He served Christ despite facing opposition, much like Christ himself. With deep opposition from those familiar with Old Testament scriptures and religion, he encountered resistance from religious men. The Church suffers because of weak men who seek only appreciation; when they face minimal opposition, they cease all efforts. Not Paul; he served the Lord despite overwhelming opposition.
Sent by Mission Church: Such a Man. Now Matter:
What did he say that made such a deep impact on Ephesus, which was once like a graveyard but later blossomed into a beautiful garden? What was his content? The content of the message is so important. He says in Eph 1:13, “In whom ye also having heard the gospel of your salvation.” What was the gospel of salvation? What should we preach when we go to a place filled with idolatry and immorality like Ephesus? Should we demonstrate from their religion that Jesus Christ is God? Or should we use their magic books to prove that Jesus is the true God? No, Paul declared the gospel. He tells the same Ephesian elders in Acts 20:26-27, “I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” What does that mean, Paul? Acts 20:20-21 states, “[H]ow I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Can I tell you? Paul taught five key points of biblical gospel content we studied some time ago:
- Who is God?
- Who is man?
- Who is Jesus Christ, and what did He do?
- The Promises of the Gospel
- The conditions of the Gospel and warnings of the Gospel.
This is precisely the gospel of Paul. Let me show you how.
First, he taught them who the true living God is. Because in Acts 19:26, silversmith businessmen were upset because they were losing business. “Throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying (What?) that they are not gods made with hands.” This is because there is a living, glorious, higher God. This is the first thing you must teach. Men cannot understand what sin is until they know who God is. So, we begin by teaching who the one true living God is. You see him doing this in Athens in Acts 17. He starts by explaining who God is–his glorious attributes and his sovereignty. He taught these Ephesians just how great this true God is: his sovereignty, justice, holiness, glorious attributes, holy law, and his claims and rights over his creatures. Without discussing God and his sovereign grace, all this talk about the cross, forgiveness, Jesus, and salvation by your own free will can completely distort the gospel. Because he preached the gospel with the correct foundation, he could write at the very start of the epistle about election. Today, if you go to most churches and explain Ephesians 1:4–God’s election—the church will become divided. Some people left our church because we taught this. Why? They have only heard a twisted, man-centric gospel that does not begin with a glorious God. It’s a little mini God of modern evangelism who loves everyone in the world, gives his son, and is begging helplessly before sovereign man to come to him through his free will. This neglect of God’s attributes has fostered a climate in which the great doctrines of sovereign election are rejected. But not so with these people. He can write to them, saying, “Blessed be the God who chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.”
Secondly, he states in Acts 20:21, “I taught you repentance toward God.” Here, show them who man is, his fall, depravity, and how sinful he is, as well as the great need for repentance. This is why he can freely write and expect no offense or shock when he declares that they were dead in their sins, that they were children of wrath by nature, and that they were without God and hope. You’re not just sick; you’re dead in your sins. You don’t need a little patchwork; you need to be made a new creation. You don’t just need a bit of help; you require an intervention of divine power.
Thirdly, faith in Jesus Christ. Teach them who Christ is and what he has accomplished. Christ and his work are the central messages of the gospel. That is how Paul can write an epistle filled with Christ, entirely based on his grace and his work, with no praise for the flesh.
Then, the promises of the Gospel—all the glorious blessings of the Gospel. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,” Eph 1:7. Forgiveness, justification, sanctification, and adoption—Paul will elaborate upon all these. Then, the two great conditions of the gospel, “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” Acts 20:21. Finally, pleading with and warning sinners of the consequences of rejecting this gospel.
That’s Paul’s gospel of the grace of God. If you remove any one of these elements, it becomes another gospel. Today, the cursed state of Christianity is because of twisting this content. This message transformed that horrible city. May I say it’s that same message of the grace of God that will penetrate the citadels of 21st-century paganism, transforming men and bringing them into the knowledge of the living God? The problem is we don’t believe in the power of the gospel. When this gospel could change a place like Ephesus, how can we doubt its power today? Paul preached this message with confidence. We need to declare the same message. That will change the city and create biblical churches like the Ephesians’ today.
So, three ‘M’s – Mission-church, Man, Matter. Finally, Method:
Many say today that the message is crucial, but you can use your own methods. Imagine if Paul arrived in a city full of idolatry. “How are we going to impact this city? The first step is we need to get a hearing.” Did he say, “Okay, people are drawn to this beautiful temple, so if we want them to listen to us, we should probably build a bigger and fancier temple so that when people see it, they’ll say, “Oh look! The temple of the Christians is better,” so they will come in to hear.” No. Or did he suggest, “All come to see the temple with smoke, stage, learn rituals, enjoy music, and see the dance of prostitutes; so let’s get some smoked stage with lights, fill the building with music, and get some chorus girls to sing and dance on the stage… then they will come to hear the message?” Isn’t that what churches are doing: competing with the world for people’s attention, trying to accommodate culture? Going to the world and learning from them to attract people? Everyone enjoys music and dance, so let’s have music and dance in church.
But you don’t see Paul doing any of that. He used three simple methods. 1. He uses every platform to communicate the uncompromising message of God. 2. He uses every form of verbal communication of God’s message. 3. He carefully organizes the results/fruits of the communication into churches.
1. He uses every platform to share the message of God. He was determined to preach nothing but the gospel, even when people rejected and mocked him, because he knew that amidst all that rejection, the message he preached God would use as the power unto salvation for His elect. He firmly believed in the power of his message; he had seen it save great sinners powerfully. So he comes to Ephesus convinced of the power of his message. And just as an earring seller focuses on ears and a nose ring seller concentrates on people’s noses, Paul fixed his attention on their ears. “I have a message that will save them; they are hearing 101 useless things; if only I could push my message into those ears…” Everywhere, he was fixed on ears. Every time he got a platform to talk, he preached that message without compromise. In Acts 18:19, he entered a Jewish synagogue in Ephesus and reasoned with the Jews. During his second visit to Ephesus, Acts 19:8 tells us he “went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.” Why a synagogue? He started with a place where there was already some knowledge of God from the Old Testament because the chances of them receiving, understanding, and accepting the message were higher there. So he started there. He knew as he preached the truth, the conscience would convince them of his message.
The same applies today. We should seek platforms and boldly share the gospel, never fearing men. Platforms where people are already familiar with the Bible, like family Bible studies, are our starting point. Consider traditional nominal Christians; there is so much opportunity before us. So we started this 1689 [LBCF study] with people who already knew some truths.
When some in the synagogue rejected him, he found the school of Tyranus, maybe a common neutral public space where he could preach the gospel. In this school, disciples were separated and prepared to become the future Ephesian church. When people visited Ephesus, they also came and heard Paul, and the gospel spread to all of Asia like that. We have to be enterprising to find platforms, neutral halls, and other places to communicate the gospel. That is why I take advantage of functions and birthdays for this purpose. Our brother Prakash recently seized the opportunity to share the gospel during his son’s birthday party. Find platforms to share the gospel in five points.
2. He uses every type of verbal communication to convey God’s message. Yes, he performed miracles, but when he writes to the Ephesians, he does not attribute their faith to those miracles. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” Eph 1:13. You were saved when you heard and believed the Gospel. The man always looks for a platform; once he secures it, he preaches, argues, exhorts, reasons, warns, and rebukes—utilizing every form of verbal communication to share his message. Acts 18:4 states he “reasoned in the synagogue,” while Acts 19:8 reports he was “reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.” Observe the pattern throughout his ministry: Acts 20:20-21, “how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:27 states, “for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” and again and again. The dominant activities over three years of ministry, during which this mighty work occurred, included reasoning, proclaiming, testifying, and teaching, among various other forms of verbal communication.
Yes, it seems foolish to preach who Jesus is and what He did as the answer to all the world’s problems. The world certainly sees this as foolishness. Yet, God has ordained by the foolishness of preaching to bring about His mighty work of establishing His kingdom. As we confront our country’s giant Ephesuses, we are called to share this gospel message using various forms of verbal communication on every available platform. Every week, we teach, preach, and testify within the church and through various other media: audio, video, YouTube, and shorts, and now we have begun our writing work.
3. The final method: He carefully gathers the fruits of his preaching into churches. When Paul preached, some responded; some were effectually called, and they were saved. This was the fruit of his preaching. What did he do? He did not just leave them as they were and go to other cities to preach the gospel. No, he organized them into functioning churches. You see that in Acts 19:10, he preached in Ephesus for two years. This is how the Ephesian church was born. Later, he was able to call elders and talk to them because he established them as churches and trained men to be pastors. This was always the practice. He used all platforms and various forms of verbal communication to preach the gospel and then organized the believers into functioning churches. He instructs in 1 Timothy and Titus to do the same. Our hero Paul is not saying, “So many souls are dying; so leave the people who already believed and go into the world and preach the gospel.” No, the church should be built up; this is part of the gospel work.
So, my brothers, as an introduction, I tried not only to give an introductory class but also to show principles on how we can plant such churches today. This grand church was formed because a mission-minded church sent Paul, a man of God who preached the right matter using the right methods. We need 4 ‘M’s: Mission-church: right Man, right Matter, right Method. If we follow this apostolic model, God will help break the strongholds of the devil in our day, and with God’s help, we can see more Ephesian churches today.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 