Heirs Together

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:1-12 NIV)

On Christmas night, Jesus was born. That already seems so long ago, doesn’t it? God wanted the world to know that his Son was born to save us, so he sent his angels to proclaim the good news. Whom did he send those angels to? Shepherds. This is so important: Not to famous people or powerful people. To shepherds. Regular guys. Why? So that we could be sure of this: Did Jesus come to bring salvation to regular people? Yes! To poor people? Yes! Just look at the shepherds.

Now, today, we’re at the end of the twelve days of Christmas. Since the earliest centuries, on the twelfth day of Christmas—Epiphany—Christians have celebrated how God brought a different group of people to worship Jesus. Who? The Magi or “wise men.” We really don’t know much about them. They came from another country, probably Persia or Babylon. They were very wise and wealthy—just think of their gifts to Jesus! This is so important: Did Jesus come to bring salvation to smart people? Yes! To wealthy people? Yes! Just look at the wise men.

The Christmas story illustrates in as powerful a way as possible that Jesus came to offer salvation to all people. Did Jesus come for shepherds? Yes. Did Jesus come for wise men? Yes. High school dropouts? Yes. Doctors? Yes. Blue collar workers? Yes. White collar workers? Yes. People living paycheck to paycheck? Yes. People with huge retirement funds? Yes. Have I mentioned you yet? That’s the most important part of all: Did Jesus come for you? Yes!

The Bible wants us to think deeply about this. In fact, in our lesson Paul calls all of this a “mystery.” The fact that God goes around showing his grace to so many different people who don’t deserve it is a “mystery.” We couldn’t know or understand it without the Bible telling us.  Here’s what’s at the heart of this mystery: “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” This is the “mystery” that God wants us to fully understand: “Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel.” Jews and Gentiles are heirs together.

Those shepherds outside of Bethlehem were Jews. What does that mean? They were descendants of Abraham. In about 2,000 B.C.—2,000 years before Jesus was born—God chose Abraham and his family to be the people from whom the Savior would come. Of course, this was all by grace. God could have chosen any family on earth, but he chose Abraham’s family. Abraham’s descendants became known as the Israelites and—even later—as the Jews. The Israelites were God’s chosen people, because God decided that the Messiah would come from their nation. And he did! Jesus was a Jew. Born of Mary, who was a Jew. The Jews were God’s people by grace.

Yet, the story of the Israelites illustrates what all of us human beings are like. God showered his grace on the Israelites over and over again, and what did they do? Reject him. Over and over again. Despite all of God’s grace to them, they ignored his commands. They worshipped idols. Even when Jesus himself came into this world, what did they do? They crucified him. Jesus’ own people rejected him. It’s hard to believe, until you think about what we human beings are like. The Israelites—the Jews—were chosen by grace, and yet they constantly sinned against God.

So, was there still the hope of salvation for Jews? Of course! How? Through Jesus. Through faith in Jesus and his salvation won on the cross. There are some Christians today who claim that one day all Jews will be saved. That is not true. There are some Christians today who claim that the modern nation of Israel is still the people of God. That is not true. Yet, some Jews will be saved. How? Through faith in Jesus. This is the Bible’s story for the Jews: They were chosen by God’s grace. Yet, they rejected God. But there’s still hope of salvation through Jesus. Understand?

Now the wise men… They were Gentiles. What does that mean? Gentiles are all people who don’t have Jewish ancestry. These two terms include everyone on earth: Either you are a Jew, or you are a Gentile. The story of the Gentiles illustrates what all human beings are like by nature. Most of the Gentiles didn’t believe in God. They had false gods and idols and false beliefs. They followed all the depraved and foolish desires of their sinful human hearts. The Gentiles were not by nature God’s chosen people, and they often showed it in how they lived their sinful lives.

So, was there still the hope of salvation for the Gentiles? Of course! How? Through Jesus. The Old Testament is filled with passages describing how even the Gentiles would come and worship the Messiah—the Savior. Earlier in our service, we heard, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isaiah 60:3). God’s salvation has always been for anyone of any nation who comes to him in faith. Yet, before the time of Jesus, that wasn’t perfectly clear. It sure seemed like God’s grace was more for the Jews than for the Gentiles.

Until Jesus came. Once Jesus came and lived and died and rose from the dead, this mystery of Christ was made known more clearly than ever before. What, again, was that mystery? “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Jesus told his disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18). Whom were they to preach to? “All nations.” Jesus sent Paul “to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.” Whom were the boundless riches of Christ for? Even Gentiles! Jesus’ salvation is for the whole world. So are all people going to be saved? No! All people who are united by faith in Jesus are going to be saved. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

God wants you to understand this “mystery of Christ.” All human beings really have the same story. Some people are Jews: Chosen by grace, rejectors of Jesus, yet saved by faith in Jesus’ salvation. Some people are Gentiles: By nature sinful, yet receivers of God’s grace, and saved by faith in Jesus’ salvation. When you look around, people seem so different, but we’re really all the same. In one way or another, all of us have sinned against God over and over again. Yet, God loves all of us with his grace—his undeserved love. He offers salvation by faith in Jesus.

Paul says that he himself is a perfect example. Was Paul a Jew or a Gentile? He was a Jew. He had grown up knowing all God’s promises and all God’s commands. Yet, what had he done? Rejected Jesus. Like so many of his people, he had rejected Jesus and persecuted Christians. Yet, what had God shown him? Grace. Undeserved love. Here’s how he puts it: “Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.” Paul was a perfect example of how God works: He was less than the least of the Jews—he had even persecuted Christians!—but what did God show him? Grace.

Do you know who else is an excellent example of all this? You and I. Most of us are Gentiles. We’re not of Jewish ancestry. The truth is, Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2026 is about as far away from Israel in the year 0 as you can possibly get. We don’t deserve to be part of God’s family. Each day shows our sins more than the day before. Isn’t that the truth? Yet, what has God shown us? Grace. Undeserved love. God lets us in Oklahoma hear about the “boundless riches of Christ.” This is what unites God’s people. If you’re a Christian, you are a sinner saved by God’s grace.

Everybody today is searching for unity. Sadly, people search for unity in the wrong places. It’s common for people to seek unity through denying God’s Word. Just this week, someone said to me, “We’re all so much closer than we think. Let’s stop focusing on the differences.” Do you know what the next thing that person said is? “Jesus is not God. But let’s stop focusing on the differences.” Isn’t that our world? “Let’s unite by denying what the Bible says. Then we can all be together!” Is that true unity? Absolutely not. Every word of the Bible is God’s Word.

It’s just as common to seek unity today through celebrating sin. That is tempting. All of us by nature love to sin. How about we all call sin good and then all sin together? Doesn’t that sound good? It really does! Let’s praise sin and tolerate everything and be united in living however we want. Isn’t that the way? No! That’s foolish. There’s a God, and he’s going to judge all of us.

There’s a better way to unite people. It’s a mystery, unless you’ve heard the Bible. The greatest unity isn’t found in skin color or language or culture or lifestyle. The greatest unity is found at the cross of Jesus. There every person has to confess their sin. There every person can find the grace of God for them. True Christian unity is being united by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. Like the shepherds and the wise men. They didn’t have much in common. Yet, they were united by falling to their knees in front of a Baby on whom all their hope depended. That’s unity!

I’ve said this before: What’s the most diverse group of people in the world? The Christian Church. Even in our little corner of the Christian Church, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, it’s amazing to see how the gospel unites people. Did you know that our WELS is part of a worldwide group of churches that has 34 different denominations on six continents? This summer, that worldwide group of churches—the CELC—will have its convention in Zambia, Africa. Lutherans from six different continents will gather together to study God’s Word and encourage each other. We’re all so different, and yet we’re all heirs together of God’s salvation.

What’s true around the world is also true in our lives. How can different groups of people grow closer together? Not by denying God’s Word or celebrating sin! Instead, think of a triangle. Imagine you’re one bottom corner, and the other person is the other bottom corner, and God is the top corner. As you grow closer to God—the top corner—what happens to your relationship with that other person? You get closer together. The closer any two groups of people grow to God, the closer they grow together. That’s true whether it’s Jews and Gentiles or husbands and wives or anybody… The closer we all grow to God, the closer we grow to each other.

Because by faith in Jesus we are “heirs together.” That’s a beautiful phrase: “Heirs together.” An inheritance is always a gift. You don’t earn an inheritance. An inheritance is always a gift. That’s what salvation is. A gift. We are heirs together of God’s gracious gift of salvation.

Over the next week or so, you’re going to have to put away Christmas. It’s always a little sad, isn’t it? It goes by so fast, but its message is meant to endure. You’ve seen the shepherds and the wise men kneel before Jesus. Don’t put that away. In 2026, don’t find your identity in your race or culture, but in Jesus Christ who came for you. In 2026, don’t look for your meaning in what you do, but in what Jesus Christ did for you. In 2026, don’t yearn for glory here on earth, but look forward to the glory that waits for you in heaven. In 2026, don’t look at other people as the “other,” but remember that we are “heirs together” of God’s grace. The closer we grow to God, the closer we grow to each other. We are “heirs together” of God’s gracious gift of Jesus Christ.

(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)