Paul the
apostle told the Ephesian church members how God revealed “the
mystery of Christ” in that the “Gentiles” would be
“partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel”. In
chapter three and verse seven of his letter, Paul shared how he “was
made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God”
where we read:
Whereof I
was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God
given
unto me by the effectual working of his power.
The
verse begins, “Whereof I was made a
minister, according to the gift of the grace of God...” Paul
began with the words, “Whereof I was
made”
which means “who became, came into existence, began to be and
received being” “a minister”
or “servant, one who executes the commands of another and
attendant”, “according”
which means “down from, throughout, toward and along” “to
the gift”
or “gratuity” “of the grace”
which is the Greek word “charis”
and means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness,
charm, loveliness, goodwill, loving-kindness and unmerited favor”
“of God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Paul was
made a “servant and attendant” of God's gracious “gift” of
“unmerited favor” to everyone who receives Jesus as their Savior
and Lord.
The
verse continues, “... given unto me by the effectual
working of his power.” Paul added, “given unto me” which
means “granted, shown, delivered and made available unto Paul”
“by the effectual working” which means “efficiency and
operation” “of his power” which refers to “God's
mighty work, strength, miracle, might and virtue”. God Almighty
entrusted Paul with the “gift of grace” by His efficient
“working power”.
When
we think through these words of Paul, we admire once again God's
desire and passion to promote His “gospel” to the
“Gentiles”. God desired to share His “grace”
with everyone who would receive His Son Jesus as their Savior, and He
chose Paul to extend the offer of it to them. Let us be sure to
understand, God deserves all the glory and praise for His wonder
“work” and “gift of grace” toward the human race.
Next
time Paul calls himself “less than the least of all
saints”, so read ahead, and we
shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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