Ephesians 3:1-7 says,...
Today's verses are Ephesians 3:1-7, which read,
v.1-3 - For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.
"For this reason" refers to the unity of the body of Christ because of the cross and the grave rather than any nationality or people group. Paul came to them who were considered "outsiders" with the gospel message. He came as a "prisoner of Christ Jesus" under the bondage of Christ with the message of God's grace. Paul had and will be a prisoner of men and governments but this is a bondage that is very different. There are no walls or chains to hold him down but something or someone else has him on a forced path to bring them this message.
The mystery that is known to Paul that he is now sharing with the Gentiles is his eyes opened to who Christ is to be shared with the Gentiles. Before we are saved He is a mystery. We may know a lot about Him but we do not know and experience the grace and love of God to send His one and only Son as a fulfilling sacrifice for our sins. God sent Paul to them and they should realize and be so grateful to hear and receive the message that came of Christ.
It is like Paul is explaining the steps in which the gospel made it to their ears. We may also look back in our lives and see how God orchestrated different people and events that started to revel this mystery to us. God uses His people to share the message with others who may also receive the gift given by God.
v.4-7 - By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insights 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, 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.
Here is another long sentence from Paul. The Old Testament spoke of Gentiles, other races than the Jews, coming to salvation through Christ but they didn't understand how that was going to happen. It was now, after the coming of Christ that it was revealed the fulfillment of those Old Testament passages.
v.1-3 - For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.
"For this reason" refers to the unity of the body of Christ because of the cross and the grave rather than any nationality or people group. Paul came to them who were considered "outsiders" with the gospel message. He came as a "prisoner of Christ Jesus" under the bondage of Christ with the message of God's grace. Paul had and will be a prisoner of men and governments but this is a bondage that is very different. There are no walls or chains to hold him down but something or someone else has him on a forced path to bring them this message.
The mystery that is known to Paul that he is now sharing with the Gentiles is his eyes opened to who Christ is to be shared with the Gentiles. Before we are saved He is a mystery. We may know a lot about Him but we do not know and experience the grace and love of God to send His one and only Son as a fulfilling sacrifice for our sins. God sent Paul to them and they should realize and be so grateful to hear and receive the message that came of Christ.
It is like Paul is explaining the steps in which the gospel made it to their ears. We may also look back in our lives and see how God orchestrated different people and events that started to revel this mystery to us. God uses His people to share the message with others who may also receive the gift given by God.
v.4-7 - By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insights 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, 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.
Here is another long sentence from Paul. The Old Testament spoke of Gentiles, other races than the Jews, coming to salvation through Christ but they didn't understand how that was going to happen. It was now, after the coming of Christ that it was revealed the fulfillment of those Old Testament passages.
On the Day of Pentecost, the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and were able to communicate to others in different languages the gospel of Christ. This also happened later in their presence to Gentiles as a sign to them that the Gentiles were truly receiving the same Christ as their Savior. They became "fellows."
Fellow heirs, members of the body, and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel, all give description that what the Gentiles were receiving was not a lower class of salvation but full salvation as they had received. They may have come to the party later but they had full rights through Jesus and by Jesus to enter.
It reminds me a lot of the story told about Jesus about the owner who went and hired different workers at different times and offered them the same pay. Each received that pay no matter if they had worked all day or only for one hour. The Jews have been working all day and the Gentiles may seem like they are coming in on the tail end but in God's system they receive what God provided through His Son Jesus Christ.
A last point is the phrase, "of which I was made a minister." Many times we may say, "I am going to be a minister" or "I am training to be a minister." Each of those phrases indicate the ability to be a minister coming from you. Paul describes himself as being made a minister and that points to someone else doing the working. He may participate and join in but the doing is coming from outside of himself, something and someone bigger than himself. Jesus said to the disciples, "I will make you fishers of men." Jesus was the action and the power behind it for that to happen. As a servant of God, we are being drug along by God to where He wants us to be and what He wants us to say and do. "Drug" might seem like a strong word but Paul calls himself a "prisoner of Christ Jesus." We need to see and respond to where God takes us that God is really in control.
"Lord, we so much want to be in control but as a Christian we need to realize that that would put us in an inferior position to You being in control. We try to run the show but that show doesn't have a great ending like Your show does. Help us at times to see Your hand working through our lives to reach out to others with the gospel of Christ and reinforce that You are in control. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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