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Book: Ephesians
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Ephesians 3:3
I. "How that by revelation He made known to me."
A. Paul claimed that the gospel that he received was by divine
revelation.
1.
GAL 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man.
GAL 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but
by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
2.
GAL 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb, and called [me] by his grace,
GAL 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the
heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
GAL 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles
before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto
Damascus.
3.
1CO 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto
you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was
betrayed took bread:
1CO 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures;
B. It would seem that on several occasions the Lord visited with
Paul to reveal to him the mystery of God's grace to the
Gentiles.
1. We of course are familiar with his Damascus road
experience. When Paul related this experience
Agrippa he referred to it as a heavenly vision.
2. After his experience he returned to Jerusalem for the
purpose of sharing the gospel with his former
colleagues. He tells us,
ACS 22:17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem,
even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
ACS 22:18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly
out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony
concerning me.
3. When Paul had come to Corinth you might expect him to
have some hesitancy in sharing the gospel, he had been
stoned and thought dead in Lystra, beaten in Philippi,
there was a riot in Thessalonica from which he escaped
under the cover of darkness, so by the time he got to
Corinth an extremely wicked city I can imagine that he
could have been doubting his call to the ministry, but
he tells us,
ACS 18:9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not
afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
ACS 18:10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee:
for I have much people in this city.
4. After Paul's disastrous experience of trying to witness
to his former colleagues from the porch of the Antonio
Fortress, as he was sitting in the prison cell Luke
tells us,
ACS 23:11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of
good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem,
so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
5. As Paul wrote to Timothy concerning his first
appearance before Nero, he said that all men forsook
him, however the Lord stood with him and strengthened
him.
C. Paul speaks of visions, trances and revelations.
1. Revelations has to do with the revealing of spiritual
truth. It can be a new insight into a scripture, it can
be a special revelation of God's love for you. God
gives us new insights into His already revealed truth.
He continues to reveal Himself to us in special and
loving ways. But He does not give to us that which can
be called divinely inspired scripture. Any true
revelation from God would never contradict the already
revealed truth that we have in the scriptures. Paul
said if he or an angel from heaven would preach any
other gospel, than that which they had received, let
him be accursed.
2. Visions are something different. So often they were
guided in their Christian service by visions.
a. The Old Testament prophets often referred to
visions. The first recorded vision from God was
given to Abraham.
b. Throughout the New Testament in the early
church they received direct guidance by
visions. The last vision recorded in the New
Testament was given to John.
c. When did God quit speaking to man by visions?
d. Did God choose to cease to use visions to guide
and direct His servants?
e. Could it be that God would still give visions
to those who were in a right frame of mind to
receive them?
f. As I understand the prophecy of Joel, it was in
the last days that God was going to pour out
His Spirit on all flesh and our sons and
daughters would prophesy, and the old men would
dream dreams, and the young men would see
visions.
g. I believe that these are the last days. Is it
possible that if we were walking more in the
Spirit, that God would reveal His will to our
lives through visions?
h. I do not want to be guilty as were the children
of Israel of limiting the holy One of Israel by
my unbelief.
i. I believe that there is little likelihood of
anyone receiving a vision who does not believe
that God ever speaks to a person by visions any
more.
j. Again this is one of the areas where I want to
be open to God, and should He so desire to
speak to me by a vision I want to be ready to
receive.
k. I believe that in a vision a person moves into
the spiritual world, where I see and
communicate with the spirit world.
l. In this realm, I move out of time into the
eternal, so that it is possible to see things
that to us in the time continuum are still
future. Thus many of the prophecies came
through visions. John in the book of Revelation
said that he was in the Spirit unto the day of
the Lord.
m. The spirit world is very real, some live
totally oblivious to it, while others are very
conscious of it.
n. The more you walk in the flesh and are bound by
the things of the flesh the less you are aware
of the things of the spirit.
o. Conversely, the more you walk in the Spirit and
live in the Spirit the more you become aware of
the spiritual world.
p. Though I may have never seen the world of the
spirit, I know it is there.
II. It was by revelation that God made known unto Paul the mystery of
God's grace that was to be extended to the Gentiles.
A. Paul mentions that he had already spoken to them about this
mystery.
1. In 1:9 Paul speaks of God having made known unto us the
mystery of His will according to His good pleasure
which He had purposed in Himself.
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