The unsearchable riches of Christ and the mystery go hand in hand. The cornerstone of these riches is Christ. Through Him the good news of a great gift was being offered. This was a message the world had not known before. The grace of God and the wealth associated with it was being revealed for the first time through the Apostle Paul.
—Ephesians 3:8–9 NKJV “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,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;”
—Ephesians 2:8–10 NKJV “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
—Romans 6:7–10 NKJV “For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
Hidden in the mind of God — Revealed to Paul
—Galatians 1:12 NKJV “For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
This revelation of the mystery, the unsearchable riches Christ was a truth that was hidden in the mind of God. You can search the Old Testament and prophecies but you will not find a mention of it until is was revealed to the Apostle Paul.
Through Paul, God is sharing the good news of the cross and revealing the full meaning of it that had been kept hidden. In the epistles of Paul you will find many nuggets of the mystery, but in Ephesians 3:8-12 we get a nice look into some of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Some of the unsearchable riches of Christ we are being introduced to is salvation by grace, the body of Christ made up of Jews and Gentiles, that we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenliness, that we are seated with Christ in the heavenliness which gives believers the unique perspective of having a heavenly hope and calling.
Unsearchable Riches— Salvation by Grace
God has a wonderful free gift —Salvation by grace through Christ. This gift was something God planned before the beginning of time but kept it concealed until He was ready to reveal it through the Apostle Paul.
—Romans 5:15–17 NKJV “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”
We learn now that Christ’s dying on the cross was not a tragedy that would bring the immediate wrath of God down upon the world but was God’s answer to abolish death. We are now made aware that Christ is our Savior. Amazingly, we are declared righteous before a holy God.
—2 Timothy 1:9 NKJV “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,”
2Tim. 1:10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
—Ephesians 2:5 NKJV “Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
—Ephesians 2:8 NKJV “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
Unsearchable Riches — Body of Christ
The body of Christ is made up of many members. The body of Christ is not a denomination or particular church. It is not a building but a living breathing creation. Each of us (believers) are members and are equipped to uniquely fulfill the role God has given us.
The body of Christ is the first time where we also see that both Jew and Gentile are being joined together by Christ. Before the Gentiles only had access to God through the nation of Israel but now they are being offered eternal life, apart from Israel. In essence we are now fellow heirs with Israel in the body of Christ.
—Ephesians 3:6 NKJV “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,”
—1 Corinthians 12:12–14 NKJV “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.”
—Romans 12:5 NKJV “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
Unsearchable Riches — Every Spiritual Blessing
—Ephesians 1:3 NKJV “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
By searching the scriptures you will find many of the Spiritual blessing but we get a nice summary in the first chapter of Ephesians.
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,” Before the foundation of the World God was showing His love toward us. He had a master plan that through Christ, we could be holy and without blame before Him. How wonderful it is to receive this offer of life, considering we were at enmity with God and dead in our sins. Through Christ God has set us apart from sin.
“having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself” This is a great privilege. Here We are being officially made part of God’s family. We are being declared to be a son of God and earn all the rights and privileges of a son. Since we are now His children we get to enjoy the glory, and benefits that it brings. It is a rich inheritance that also gives us access to the Father.
“He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Something grand happened when we placed our faith in Christ; accepting his payment for our debt, when he died on the cross for our sins. The stink of sin had been removed from us. God now sees us through the lens of the risen Christ. He no longer sees us as fallen man but sees the glory of Christ in us. We have been made holy in the eyes of God by Christ.
“we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” In rebellion man broke his relationship with God and the stain of sin has made man unacceptable to approach a holy God. At the cross with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection God paid the debt for our sin. He purchased us with the blood of Christ. Not only did he purchase us but in that act of love all of our past, present and future sins were forgiven.
“made known to us the mystery of His will” God had kept secret the purpose of the Cross; His master plan to bring salvation to all. Through the cross, God has joined Jew and Gentiles into a new living organisms called the body of Christ with a heavenly position. Instead of the death of Jesus being a victory for Satan, it is his ultimate undoing. For by the cross came redemption, justification, righteousness, the forgiveness of sins, and a heavenly position for all believers.
—1 Corinthians 2:7–8 NKJV “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Unsearchable Riches — A Great Inheritance
In all this God is working out His eternal purpose. We are learning about our great inheritance that God planned before time began. At the center of everything is Christ and by Christ, we are God’s crowning jewel.
In studying the unsearchable riches of Christ we begin to gleam the value of our great inheritance. It is comforting to know that these unsearchable riches are guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. We do not have to worry about our position with God. It is eternally secure through Christ. Nothing can take away our salvation, inheritance and citizenship in heaven.
—Ephesians 1:13–14 NKJV “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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Become a Member of the Body of Christ
Would you like to enjoy these unsearchable riches in Christ? He has done all the work in your behalf at the cross. Simply, place your faith in Christ knowing that he died your death on the cross. All your sins have been forgiven, your life has been purchased with the blood of Christ. If you are not yet a member, I hope you will join the body of Christ.
—Romans 5:8 NKJV “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
—Romans 5:10 NKJV “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
—Romans 5:1–2 NKJV “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
—Ephesians 2:5 NKJV “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”