EPHESIANS 3:1-13
EPHESIANS 3:1-13
New International Version
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His 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, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
EPHESIANS 3:12-13
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
REFLECTION
Have you ever been denied access to a particular area? For example, at a football game, you have access to your seat, but not full access to walk onto the field. We all experience places where boundaries have been set, and our access ends at a certain point. But these verses encourage us that because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we have full, confident access to approach God. No boundaries drawn, no access revoked, no one at the door saying, “you’re not welcome here.” On the contrary, God wants His children to know that we can come to Him just as we are. We approach God with joy, praise, and thanksgiving on some days, then can turn around and bring our sorrow, tears, and anger the very next day. When we bring the raw, unedited version of ourselves to the Lord, He may not always change the circumstances, but He certainly will help shape our hearts and minds to see hardship in a different light. Paul was in prison writing this letter to the Ephesians, and expressed that his imprisonment was bringing God glory and being used to advance the Gospel of Jesus! The Lord didn’t immediately rescue him from prison, but instead gave Paul the spiritual eyes to see how the time could be used for the building of the Kingdom of God.
RESPONSE
Paul said that his suffering was being used for good. Is there a circumstance in your life that you have been complaining about? How might your perspective shift so that God can use you to be a light for Jesus in the midst of a hard situation?
These verses encourage us that we can approach God with freedom and confidence. What do you think it means to approach God with freedom?
Are there situations in your life that you avoid bringing to God? Take a moment to invite Him in to help you in that situation.
