Sunday, September 23, 2018 – Ephesians 6:24
Grace Orientation as Noted in the Book of Ephesians, Pt. 4 –
God’s Humbling Grace
Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Eph
6:24, “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with
incorruptible love.”
9. Eph 3:8, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to
preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.”
This third reference to grace in
this chapter introduces a further revelation of the mystery with which Paul’s
apostleship was uniquely connected. This “humbling grace” was given to him to
preach the good news, cf. Gal 1:15-16a.
Gal 1:15-16a, “But when God, who had set me apart even from
my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16to
reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…”
In this passage we see that God’s
grace had a humbling effect on Paul, yet it also had an empowering effect.
Instead of boasting about his own abilities, Eph 3:4-7, and the fact that God had given him such an important
position and task, the apostle considered himself an unworthy servant, mainly
because of his past sins, failures, and antagonism towards Jesus Christ, as
prior to his conversion he had persecuted Christ by persecuting His church, Acts 9:5; 1 Cor 15:9; Phil 3:6; 1 Tim
1:13-15.
In spite of his previous position
of violently opposing the Church, the grace of God gave Paul the privilege and
responsibility of proclaiming to the world the mystery of the Church. He is
saying that his own unworthiness did not prevent him from being appointed. The grace
of God grabbed him and put him into action inside his great and wonderful plan
for his life; just as God’s grace does for you and I today.
Therefore, if God in His grace
could take Paul, “the least and worst of all the saints,” and give him such a
great role and responsibility, God can take every one of us and by His grace
give us an important and impactful role and responsibility inside the body of
Jesus Christ; which He does.
By saying, “the very least of all saints,” Paul is not putting himself down, that
would have been false humility, which really is just another form of pride.
Rather, he is boasting of God’s great grace in his life, 1 Cor 15:9-10; cf. Gal
1:15-16.
1 Cor 15:9-10, “For I am the least of the apostles, and not
fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But
by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain;
but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with
me.”
Therefore, we should not present
ourselves in self-abasing, false humility type of ways so that others feel
sorry for us or think more highly of us. Instead, we are to boast in what
Christ has done and is doing for us. He has and is taking a weak and sinful
creature and turning him into a powerful spiritual ambassador and warrior.
In the context of this verse, God
took a self-righteous arrogant religious “do-gooder” and made him a spiritual
warrior and ambassador. God took the “very least” one and did three great
things by His grace through him:
a.
Eph 3:8b, “Preached to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of
Christ.”
b.
Eph 3:9, “Brought to light the Dispensation of the mystery which
for ages has been hidden in God who created all things.”
c. Eph 3:10, “So that the
manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers
and the authorities in the heavenly places (the angelic forces).”
Notice in vs. 10, this is accomplished, “through the Church.” That means Paul
started it and you and I are to continue that work in our generation by the
power given to us by the Grace of God. And as we noted above, God’s grace had a
humbling effect on Paul, and it also had an empowering effect too. What God in
His grace did for Paul, He does to and through you and I today, also by His
grace. Remember, we do not have to serve Jesus; we get to serve Jesus.
When you view yourself as the
“least of all the saints,” you will gladly serve “the least of these,” Mat 25:40. Grace humbles you and causes
you to identify with everyone, including the poor and the weak. No one is
beneath you. The “least of all the saints” gives love, time, and energy to
everyone created in God’s image. And as Paul noted in vs. 7, we should realize that we need God’s grace to empower us to
do these things.
“This grace was given to me,” not only speaks of God’s empowerment,
but many times is speaking of the office itself. In Paul’s case the office of
“Apostle to the Gentiles,” which he also called “a grace,” Rom 12:3; 15:15; 1 Cor 3:10; Gal 2:9. You and I have also been
given the office of Royal Ambassadors for Christ, Eph 6:20; 2 Cor 5:20, in which His grace made us to proclaim His
truths.
This is also seen in the Greek for
the “spiritual gifts” we receive at conversion. “Gifts” comes from a cognate of
CHARIS, CHARISMA, 1 Cor 12. It is
speaking of the spiritual gifts that God has given to us with a ministry and
effect by His Grace. We utilize our grace gift through the grace power God
uniquely provides to the Age of Grace believer; His Holy Spirit and His Word.
We will see more of this in our next utilization of “grace” in the book of
Ephesians.
In conclusion, the goal of God’s
grace in Paul’s life was to make him an apostle and empower his gift “to preach
to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.” It was to Paul that
grace was given to make these glorious immeasurable riches of Christ known and
available to the Gentiles. As we have noted, “the unfathomable riches,” speaks to the plenitude of all Divine glories and perfections which dwell in
Christ, the fullness of grace to pardon, to sanctify, and to save; everything
which makes Him satisfy the soul of man. Paul, as we, has been graced out to
communicate these things to a lost and dying world.
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