Marvelous Grace for All
Ephesians 3:1-12 NKJV
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles – if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Marius Victorinus
Everywhere Paul reminds us that we receive God’s gifts not by our own merit but by grace. Grace belongs to the giver, not to the recipient. And by adding “according to the working of his power,” he also ascribes this to God, so that “if I do any work, it is God’s power. For it is not my power that works in me but God’s.” (Ancient Christian Devotional)
Warren Wiersbe
People who do not understand God’s “mystery” in His church are trying to make spiritual progress with the wrong map. Or, to change the figure, they are trying to build with the wrong blueprints. God’s churches on this earth—the local assemblies—are not supposed to be either Gentile culture cliques or Jewish culture cliques. For a German church to refuse fellowship to a Swede is just as unscriptural as for a Jewish congregation to refuse a Gentile. God’s church is not to be shackled by culture, class, or any other physical distinction. It is a spiritual entity that must submit to the headship of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. (The Bible Exposition Commentary)
Heavenly Father, gracious God, and Author of salvation,
We come to you through the merits of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross effected your great gift of salvation.
Salvation was first made known to the Hebrew nation, and our Lord Jesus came to us through the Jewish people, but how eternally grateful we are that the atonement for sin that Jesus accomplished is offered to people of every nationality, ethnicity, and language.
Your eternal purpose was that, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, all people would have “boldness and access with confidence” to you.
What wondrous wisdom, O Father!
What a magnificent plan of salvation!
What marvelous grace!
What matchless love!
We praise you and thank you through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Magnificent, Marvelous, Matchless Love
https://youtu.be/qgEn6ftrT-4?si=a6lxLV9WAMsR7Hur
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
