The Boundless Riches of Christ

The Christian Community Comes Alive
Seeds of New Growth

From Derbe to Philippi

Ephesians 3:7-13 The Message

^7-8 This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
^8-10 And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!

^11-13 All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!

For Reflection 

In carrying out God's call to ministry, Paul is speaking to people who have no concept of God's way.  Paul reveals in these passages his feelings of inadequacy.  Paul also reveals his unreasonable trust in God.  He understands his mission, to make plain God's love for all humankind and God's intentions for God's creation.  Paul claims no special knowledge, no high divine status, no superior position.  Instead, Paul displays his trust in God who guides him and prepares him.  Paul accepts the mystery that is God.

Pray

That you will take up God's call to you.  Pray that you will act by the will of God in humility to help others to see the fruits of a life lived in the hollow of God's hand.