Even though he is in prison for spreading the Gospel, Paul is still delighted and praising God for the role he got to play in telling everyone about the Good News. He gets to tell the mystery of God’s plan of redemption for all of humankind and welcome everyone into the same family—male and female, all ethnicities, all ages, all economic levels—together in one body, the Church.
7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. 8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. 10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:7-10, NLT)
Here is how I charted the information that is in Ephesians 3:7-10.
| God | Paul |
|---|---|
| God’s grace & mighty power made our salvation possible (7) | Paul feels privileged to serve God by telling everyone the Good News (7) |
| God chose & empowered Paul for this mission (8) | Paul knows that he didn’t earn or deserve the privilege of telling everyone about endless treasure available to them in Christ (8) |
| The creator had this secret plan ready from the beginning (9) | Paul gets to explain God’s plan and grace to all (9) |
| God will bring all together to form His church, & the angels will praise His wisdom (10) | This message is for both the earthly and heavenly realms, & it will be seen in the church (10) |
As I thought to put these verses in pictures and words, I felt like God was challenging me as He had challenged Paul—spread the Good News.
In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus told his followers to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” For Paul, this was his life mission. What is God telling me to do?
Pray with me. God, I am a part of your family, your church. Let me live with this family in true love and Holy Spirit fruits: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let the Church be filled to overflowing with your Good News, so that all those around in both the earth and heavens will know about Your love and grace. Amen
Listen to Zach Williams sing “Go Tell It on the Mountains”
Kathleen S Evenhouse 