January 12
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GRACE TO PREACH WITH PASSION AND BOLDNESS
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; 10 so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to become discouraged about my tribulations in your behalf, since they are your glory.
-Ephesians 3:8-13
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We hear Paul’s humility in verse 8 when he says that he is the least of all saints and yet the Lord has given him this wonderful gift to bring God’s plan into action to all the Gentiles. In verse 10, we hear Paul reveal to the Ephesians that such multidimensional wisdom of God. He has given to the church the mystery that has long been kept from many of God’s people. In verse 11, God’s plan is to carry out his eternal purpose for all of mankind and was carried out through Jesus Christ Himself. Only in Christ can we have the boldness and access to confidence by believing in Christ alone. He pleaded the Ephesian not to lose heart. Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians from prison. He was imprisoned because on a visit to Jerusalem he had the chance to preach to a big crowd near the temple mount (Acts 21:39-22:22), but since the Jewish crowd could not stand the idea of the good news of the Messiah being extended to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21-22), they had Paul imprisoned.
According to a commentary, Paul tried to figure out the greatness of God’s grace, and started tracking it out as one might track out the shore of a lake. He soon discovered that it wasn’t a lake at all, but an ocean, an immeasurable sea. God’s riches are unsearchable; we will never know them completely. Having been entrusted with such riches, Paul’s passion was to make this gospel known to all people. He wants everybody to see and share in the fellowship of this mystery – which is a mystery precisely because it was unknown and unknowable until God revealed it.
How many believers would do what Paul did under the same circumstances he was in? It was an amazing grace how Paul continued to preach the gospel no matter what.
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REFLECTION
• Share an experience when you were on fire to share the gospel to someone?