An African woman named Naomi started a dressmaking business. She had skillful hands and a good eye for color and pattern so she put those to good use to make clothes for her family and to earn an income. Naomi hired two women to help make the dresses and a young man to go into the city to get supplies and to sell the finished products. They worked hard, made quality dresses, and were reliable. The business was a success. Soon they had more orders than they could easily handle so Naomi hired two more helpers.
Everything was going smoothly then one day one of the young women said, “You know, I wonder if we could make other things as well as dresses? Curtains? Covers for chairs? Things like that?”
The others thought that was a great idea. They liked what they were doing but were ready for a new challenge.
Naomi smiled. The moment had come. She went to her desk and took out an envelope. A date was written on it, the day she had started the dressmaking business. She handed the envelope to the woman who had asked the question and said, “Open it and read it.”
The woman took out a single typed sheet of paper. She read it to the others. It described the plan for a large business making all kinds of things out of fabric.
Naomi told them, “I’ve kept it a secret from you all this time. I knew if I told you from the start you’d say I was daydreaming, and then you’d start daydreaming yourselves. We had to prove we could make dresses first. But now I’ve shared the secret with you. This is what I planned all along. Let’s do it!” (from Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: the Prison Letters, p31)
In the third chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul talked about God’s secret plan, and it’s similar to Naomi’s. He had the plan and was working on it from the beginning. A lot of work had to be done before he could reveal it. Finally the time came and he brought it out in the open.
Paul put it this way: that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel… (Ephesians 3:3-6)
For generations, Paul’s people – the Jews, the Israelites, the Hebrews – believed that they alone were the people chosen to belong to God and receive his blessing. Some Jewish groups believed that no Gentile could ever be right with God and all would in the end be punished and destroyed. Other Jewish groups believed most Gentiles would be condemned to hell but a few would be saved and receive blessings when the Messiah came by joining Israel as proselytes, by becoming Jewish in religion. They thought Gentiles could have faith in God but even then it wouldn’t make them as tight with him as they were.
But that was never God’s ultimate plan. The mystery, the secret plan, was “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Messiah” (v6). It was always God’s plan to fully include all nationalities, all races, all people in his Kingdom. No second-class citizens. No distant relatives. All of God’s love and grace and power for anyone. All of God’s salvation and blessing for anyone.
We need to always get this. You will never meet a person that God
does not want in his Kingdom. Whatever their nationality, their race, their heritage, their family background, even their religion or non-religion, God wants them to be his child. Whatever their culture, their way of doing things, their beliefs and values, God wants them to receive all of his grace and love and power and truth. And that includes you.
The moment came, like Naomi showing her business plan, when God brought this out in the open. It was “in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” The Son of God became a human, offered himself in death for all people, conquered sin and death by resurrection, reconciled the world to God, and took his place as King of all. He calls each person to turn from their rebellious self-centeredness and believe in him as Savior and Leader. He brings them into a personal relationship with God and other believers that lasts forever. He forgives all their wrongs and gives his Spirit to them and begins the process of inner healing and transformation.
No one has to have a certain ancestry or family tree. No one has to practice certain religious rituals and ordinances. No one has to do more good than bad things. Everyone can become fellow-heirs, fellow members of the body, fellow partakers of all God’s promises through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of course some say that’s not fair enough: you shouldn’t have to believe in Jesus; you just need to be sincere and do the best you can and live by whatever religion, non-religion or philosophy of life that fits you.
I don’t want to sound mean, but that’s just silly. Silly. It doesn’t address our need. What if your house burns down and you think, “I sincerely like to cook. I’ll bake a German chocolate cake. That should take care of things.” Silly. Or what if you broke your neck and you do the best you can by wrapping duct tape around it? Silly. Or what if your car engine blows up and you go to the lumber yard and get some 2x4s and plywood because you’re oriented to carpentry? Silly.
The gospel of Jesus Christ actually addresses our real need. That’s why God planned it.
But wait – it’s a mystery, it’s a secret plan. For generations it was not made known. And then some “holy apostles and prophets” get to know it; in fact, they heard it from Jesus himself and saw it put into operation. So what happens to it now? Does it just stay a secret that people have to decode for themselves? Do people have to have good enough behavior to qualify for receiving the secret plan? Do people have to become like the ones who claim to have the gospel, like Gentiles had to become Jewish to have Israel’s blessings?
Let’s read what Paul wrote next: of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. (Ephesians 3:7-12)
This is the secret plan that everyone can know. Paul was made a minister of the gospel and assigned to preach to the Gentiles. God chose him to go to the Gentiles with the good news of Jesus. He traveled all over Palestine and Asia Minor and presented the message to anyone who would listen. At the time he wrote this he was a prisoner in Rome and was “preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching [about ] the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31). The plan wasn’t being kept secret any more. The way for all people to come to God had been finished by Jesus so now everyone could be shown the Kingdom and told the gospel.
What he preached to them was “the unfathomable riches of Christ”, “the unsearchable riches of Christ”, the unimaginable resources and generosity of Jesus the Messiah. Paul was showing and telling people they could have abundant life by faith in Jesus. All that Jesus had was for anyone, regardless of their heritage or background or behavior.
Then Paul said (v10), “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church…” He’s still talking about the secret plan. God made the plan and made it happen with a lot of wisdom, a lot of understanding and insight and know-how. Paul wasn’t the only one who reveals the secret. The church, the followers of Jesus, get to make it known, get to bring it out in the open for all to see.
The church continues to show and tell the unfathomable riches of Christ. What we have for the world is the unconditional love of God. What we have for the world is mercy and kindness and compassion. What we have to give to the world is Christ’s grace, redemption, forgiveness. What we have to share with all people is healing and renewal by the Holy Spirit. What we have to show everyone is life-giving wisdom and truth and hope. What we have to provide to anyone is peace and power and purpose. What we have to offer to people is real acceptance and respect and partnership and love. What we have to let everyone see is passion and rejoicing and celebration in Christ. What we have to make known to all is how to connect with God and live in his Kingdom. Abundant life by faith in Jesus. 
The secret plan is for everyone to know. When I was in college I worked at an animal hospital in Arlington, TX. A high school girl named Cindy worked there, too. We became friends. Cindy’s self-esteem was just about zero, and she talked about taking her own life. Her family was devoutly religious, Catholic, but she had never made a personal connection with God. It was hard for her to even understand that. Over many weeks we talked – asked each other questions, shared our thoughts and ideas. I told her how I had personally accepted Jesus and what that meant for me. I explained how she could do the same thing. Finally, one day at work Cindy told me that the night before she had prayed for Christ to come into her life.
The secret plan, God’s way for people to be restored to him and have abundant life, is for everyone. Frightened, suicidal teenagers. Curious and eager children. Very religious. Atheists. Very moral. Very immoral. Hard-working neighbors. Addicts. Young families trying to make life work. Senior adults trying to finish life successfully. Terrorists. Rednecks. Immigrants. Church people, mosque people, synagogue people, temple people. All races and ethnicities and heritages. There’s no one that God does not want in his Kingdom. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. And we the followers of Jesus get to make it known!
God’s secret plan – All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:11, the Message).
Anyone, everyone, all can “have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (verse 12).
Next post: a short story based on this passage.
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