The Mystery of Christ

So we learn here, that the apostle Paul was a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles, from verse 1. What does this mean? It means that Paul went to prison for preaching that salvation in Christ should be offered freely to the Gentiles as well as the Jews; offered on the same terms, as it was offered to the Jews first; namely, that it was by faith in Christ that a person is saved and justified and brought into the kingdom of God, and the family of God. The unbelieving Jews did not like this, and so Paul had been persecuted and hounded wherever he went. And eventually, his preaching Christ in this way landed him in prison in Rome. What I want you to see was that this was according to the will of Christ. Christ had led him to preach the gospel in many places before. But now, he was locked up. Paul, from this vantage point in prison, would now show all Christians how the gospel was not bound, but that he could still preach it and see fruit borne to eternal life, even though he was imprisoned. This evening we want to think together about the mystery of Christ, not only in the apostle Paul's life, but also in our own life as Christians. 1st – I will speak to you about the mystery of Christ in relation to Paul's being bound over to the Gentiles. 2nd – I will speak to you about the mystery of Christ in relation to Paul's having revelatory knowledge concerning the Church. And 3rd – I will speak to you about the mystery of Christ in relation to Paul's becoming an effective minister of grace.