Ephesians Part 52

INTRO: We are in Ephesians 3:1-13. The subject is the mystery of the Church and it is a most important one to understand. One can study history for a life-time and never figure out what life is all about. But when you study the Bible you can learn a lot of history and find out why the universe exists, why you and I exist, and what the purpose of it all is. Where else can you learn this?

And in these first 13 verses of Ephesians 3 Paul reveals a truth that had lain dormant for 4,000 years. It was a mystery because only God knew about it. But God's mouth had been shut about this matter. Then the fullness of time came, and God sent Christ into the world. In this message, time will be an important concept. Well, sinful man, sinful religious man, to whom God had been revealed rejected the sinless Messiah and had Him crucified, trusting that that would be the end of this troublesome Man.

But God did something amazing. Huge prophecies began to be fulfilled. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled in Christ. The Feast of Passover, the death of the real Passover lamb was fulfilled in Christ. The Feast of First-fruits was fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ. These were huge events. The central events of Scripture.