# 18 2018 Dev. Eph.3:6. God’s Plan! Read verses 1-13. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
Eph. 3:6 “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.”
Paul continues to explain what he understands as a mystery revealed by the Holy Spirit to Paul, the apostles and prophets. Paul continues this section: “For this reason”, pointing back to Ephesians 2:19-20 (see devotional # 16). In this section Paul clarifies his call to preach to non Jews commanded by Jesus himself. That was a huge shift in understanding God’s establishment of Israel.
Paul tells us what God’s intention is: Vs. 10-11 “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.” It is obvious that God plans to redeem every square inch of the universe. It is a plan that is beyond our comprehension!
We look at two issues, first; what is the meaning of our call as follower of Jesus? By grace God calls us to serve Him and in that commitment we all become preachers of the gospel (“use words if necessary”). That is our work, our jobs are how we make a living. What a blessing it is for work and job to become one and the same thing. Everything done in the the name of Jesus is good work and lasts forever. In fact, good works become the building blocks for the New Heaven end the New Earth!
Secondly, it affects our perception of the church: The church is the body of Christ, people forgiven of their sins, Christ’s presence in the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. The church is important, it is God’s instrument and is a part of God’s plan to redeem the universe which is more important. When the church is seen as a building, God’s plan is minimized, figuratively and in rare cases literally, we should tear down the steeples and the walls and let the people God wants to redeem into our fellowship with God, Amen!
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Heavenhigh 