May
Ephesians Chapter Three
May 1
Chapter 3, Verse 1, “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles.”
The apostle Paul was a complex, deep-thinking individual. A zealous Jew from birth and hater of all thing pertaining to Christ, he life was changed in a moment when he was confronted by the living God on a road near Damascus. From despising to loving Christ, he answered God’s call to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, the people Jews avoided. Here, in chapter 3, he begins a prayer, “For this reason” that actually does not surface until verse 14. For this reason refers back to 2:11-22 where he described the building together of all the believers, Jew and Gentile alike, into a dwelling place for God. Paul knew his place, he knew his calling, and he knew the Gentile believers who were secure in Christ needed much more spiritual instruction if they were to be able to navigate a world that would never really accept them. And so it is today. Salvation is sweet, heaven is real, and Jesus is coming again. But what do we do in the meantime? We must make our own calling sure, find our place in service to the King, and lead others to faith as we search the Scriptures daily and rely wholly on the Holy Spirit to lead us. Paul put it this way to the Roman believers, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).
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