“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.. (Ephesians 3:8-10)
I absolutely LOVE this whole passage of scripture! Paul understood his calling. He explains it here so clearly – yet in veiled terms – that those who are called according to the will and purpose of God might see and understand. I wish I had the schooling and training he received. Yet that is not available to me. He explains, thoughout his writings, in the clearest and best ways he can, what we are called to be and do in our Christian walk.
First of all, we need to recognize that only by the grace of God we are saved. I’ve mentioned it before that when I got saved I thought it was easy for God. After all, in the world’s eyes I was a “good” person. It was almost like I thought I was doing Him a favor by coming over to join His cause. How foolish of me and how adolescent! I had no idea in my younger years just how much it cost God to save my soul. What a fool I have been!
Paul mentions here the unsearchable riches of Christ. Who can plumb the depths of Christ’s love for us? Who can understand how much He loved us to willingly sacrifice His earthly life – not to mention leaving behind the glory He shared with the Father from the beginning – to bring me into the family of God? The more I learn (and I feel like I have learned a lot from the early days), the more I realize just how little I know. I remember the Christian comedian Mike Warnke years ago. Our youth group (as I recall) went to see him live in Keokuk, Iowa. As he told his testimony and shared some of his life experiences with us we began to get just a glimpse of the mercy of God in his life. He closed that evening by saying that he had concluded the whole of the gospel could be summed up in the little song we learned as children: “Jesus Loves Me.” The whole truth of the gospel can be summed up in terms so simple even a child can understand it. How true I now have come to know that is.
Paul speaks of the fellowship of the mystery of the gospel and how it has been hidden from mankind until the days in which we live. The mystery of the gospel includes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to come live as a man in order to redeem fallen mankind from the curse of the Law. He totally, completely fulfilled the entirety of the commandments of the Old Testament Law in and through His earthly walk. It was through His death on the cross, in which He became the eternal Sacrifical Lamb that was slain to redeem all mankind from all sin for all time. Only God could have achieved such a monumental purchase, and only Jesus could seal it by the shedding of His own blood. We who have been washed in the blood can understand it and appreciate the high price God paid for our souls.
It now has become our mission, our calling, to validate and openly display the wisdom of God in choosing this method and process of redemption. We are to parade the grace of God before the world, but more especially to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. We are to exalt the wisdom of God in this matter by displaying His power working in our lives. As John wrote in I John 3:1, 2: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Hallelujah! You and I are the sons and daughters of God! Do you even understand what that means? We are not step-children or second-class. We are His children! We belong. We are accepted. We are loved.
I know the world likes to kick us around. Maybe it’s through our relatives, co-workers, or friends. But we can walk through this life with our heads held up high because we are children of the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. It is high time we come together as children of God and stand up for what is right in His eyes. We are called to be a light on a hill. We are the salt of the earth. We are the only thing that stands between total self-annihilation and life. It is time for us to strap on our armor and take up arms against the prince of the power of the air. We win in the end. But before that, we have to win in the heat of battle. Now.
I challenge you to discover your identity in the Body of Christ, to discover what He wants you to do for Him. We are many members but one Body. Christ is the head, we are the body. Now is the time. Today is the day. Rise up, oh mighty army! It is time for us to take dominion over our world in the Name of the One Who calls us.
Be blessed.
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