Skip to main content

Ephesians 3:10: Wisdom of God Made Known


Ephesians 3:10
[10] so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (ESV)

We are so limited in our understanding of many things.  The church that God has established is one of those things that we just do not fully grasp.  We tend to think of church as a building.  It is a place to come together and worship.  But, the Apostle Paul opens our eyes to things that we not only do not know, but also things we cannot see.

One of the main purposes of the church is to make God's wisdom known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  These rulers and authorities are not seen by us, but that does not make them any less real. In fact, I wish the church of today took much more seriously the reality of spiritual rulers and authorities.  Let's look at these spiritual entities a little more intently.

First of all, we have angels in the spiritual realm.  They are simply God's messengers.  And while appearances of angels to humans is very rare, there are recorded events where God's messengers carried very important messages to people.  But, the fascinating thing is that angels are quite interested in seeing God's wisdom on display in his church. Listen to the Apostle Peter's words regarding these special spiritual beings:

1 Peter 1:10–12
[10] Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, [11] inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. [12] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (ESV)

Now, there are other rulers and authorities to note in this verse.  Fallen angels are able to see the wisdom of God on display through the Church.  While holy angels long to see God's wisdom at work, and are sent to serve the church, fallen angels, or demons, acknowledge God's wisdom and are appalled by it. They seek to disrupt and distract the church from walking in the wisdom of God. James, the brother of Jesus, gives us insight into these fallen creatures:

James 2:19
[19] You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (ESV)

The church displays God's wisdom to all spiritual rulers in heavenly places.  Does that expand your view of the church?  It's a little bit more than something you attend once a week.  And if it is such a powerful display of God's wisdom, do you think we ought to think about our place in the church as something far more important than we usually do?

In what ways are demons shuddering as they observe you declaring the wisdom of God?  In what ways are angels saddened at how you are failing at the task?  Ask God to help you to be a more effective part in declaring God's wisdom to all spiritual entities in the heavenly realms.

Comments