{"id":26445,"date":"2023-05-26T22:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ephesians-3_1-6-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-05-09T14:59:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T21:59:08","slug":"ephesians-3_7-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ephesians-3_7-13\/","title":{"rendered":"How Not To Take God\u2019s Grace for Granted"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ephesians 3:7-13\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ephesians 3:7-13.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ephesians 3:7-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a07-9: \u00a0When Paul says that he is “less than the least of all God’s people” (v8), he is referring to his infamous past when he tried to destroy Christianity and brutally persecuted Christians.\u00a0 Yet God turned Paul\u2019s life around and made him a messenger of this gospel to the Gentiles.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 First,\u00a0no matter what your past, God can transform you into an instrument for God’s glory, if you are willing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, like Paul, have an attitude of humility.\u00a0 Paul calls himself \u201cless than the least of all God\u2019s people\u201d (v8).\u00a0 Elsewhere he calls himself the \u201cworst of sinners\u201d (1 Timothy 1:15-16) .\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say we should be beating ourselves up all the time for our past mistakes and failures.\u00a0 But\u00a0when we have experienced God\u2019s mercy and grace for our mistakes,<\/strong>\u00a0it helps from time to time to remember some of those mistakes and to see ourselves as the most undeserving of God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 In so doing it helps us to appreciate and cherish God\u2019s grace so much more<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Third, notice the word that Paul uses twice (once in verse 7 and again in verse 8) to describe the calling God gave him to preach the Gospel.\u00a0 He calls it \u201cgrace\u201d, God\u2019s undeserved kindness.\u00a0 Likewise, as followers of Jesus, we are all called to share the gospel.\u00a0 Like Paul,\u00a0don\u2019t see<\/strong>\u00a0your calling to share Jesus with others as a burden or an obligation, but as God\u2019s grace, His undeserved kindness to you<\/strong>, that He would choose to use us in spite of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ephesians 3:9-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-11: \u00a0What \u201cmystery\u201d (v9) is Paul referring to?\u00a0 The mystery is that Jesus Christ is for Gentiles as well as for Jews, that the gospel is for all people everywhere.\u00a0 Paul seems to suggest that this revelation is such a mystery that not even the angels in heaven were fully aware of it (v10), but that this was God\u2019s \u201ceternal purpose\u201d all along (v11).\u00a0 Paul says that God wants to make this mystery and this wisdom known through the people of God, the church, and to display it before \u201cthe rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms\u201d, that is, before angels (v10).\u00a0 Throughout the Bible we see God using angels to teach truth and announce good news to humans.\u00a0 But here, for once, it’s human beings teaching truth and announcing good news to angels.<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a03:12\u00a0(NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 12: \u00a0Through Jesus Christ and our faith in Him, we can approach God with freedom and confidence, instead of with fear and insecurity.\u00a0 That’s because Jesus Christ has washed away all of our sins, so we can stand in God’s presence unashamed, forgiven, and righteous in His sight.\u00a0 So when you approach God in prayer, do so boldly, with joy and with confidence.\u00a0 As Hebrews\u00a04:16\u00a0says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”<\/p>\n

Ephesians\u00a03:13\u00a0(NIV)<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 13: Paul knew that his church in Ephesus might lose heart and become worried and fearful because Paul was in prison for preaching the gospel to people like the Ephesians.\u00a0 So Paul tells his church instead to see his sufferings for them in prison as something they could take pride in (\u201cwhich are your glory\u201d) and as a sign of how much they are loved.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 When someone goes through pain for you, it can be a sign of how much they love you.\u00a0\u00a0Ask any woman who has ever given birth.\u00a0 Ask any parent who has ever made a painful sacrifice for their child.\u00a0 How much a person sacrifices for you can be a measure of their love for you.\u00a0 So if Jesus Christ sacrificed His entire life and went through incomparable pain for you, what does that tell you about how much you are loved?\u00a0 God loves you more than life itself!\u00a0 You are incomparably loved by God.\u00a0 So don’t be ashamed of Jesus Christ, but be honoured by the fact that He gave His life for you.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me grace when I, like Paul, was less than the least of all God’s people.\u00a0 Thank You for loving me so much that You would sacrifice Your life for me.\u00a0 I am honoured by Your sacrifice and proud to have You as my Saviour and God.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ephesians 3:7-13.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ephesians 3:7-9 (NIV)
\n7\u00a0\u00a0I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
\n8\u00a0\u00a0Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a07-9: \u00a0When Paul says that he is “less than the least of all God’s people” (v8), he is referring to his infamous past when he tried to destroy Christianity and brutally persecuted Christians.\u00a0 Yet God turned Paul\u2019s life around and made him a messenger of this gospel to the Gentiles.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 First,\u00a0no matter what your past, God can transform you into an instrument for God’s glory, if you are willing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26445"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26448,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445\/revisions\/26448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}