Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 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. 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. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 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, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. Ephesians 3:2-9 (MSG)
When my son and I sit and watch a mystery movie together within 5 mins we have figured out who is the culprit. It has gotten to the point that many don't want to watch movies with us, as we unwittingly give the ending away. In a way I actually like doing this as I can then focus on the way in which we get to the culprit. I tend to find that I see more, then if I waited till the end of the movie to see. Strange I know.
The only mystery that I can't solve before the ending, is the mystery of God. Even as I shared this at Prayer, I still didn't get what Paul was speaking about in the letter to the Ephesians. I was redirected and had to go back and re-read and re-process to get the "easter eggs" that Paul had laid out for us. 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. The prophets and leaders of the OT would be like us, wondering what mystery of God was, only they would have to wait until they had descended to Heaven before finding out, while we had Paul to speak the words of God. Paul also told us that it was by grace given to us an instruction to preach to the Gentiles the riches that we receive from God. He made it clear that God no longer wants to be a mystery. He also makes known that this is not just left to the pastors, priest, or reverends, but that we are all called to do this.
Why wouldn't you want to help those who are confused about who God is?, What does he do in your life? How can you have faith in something or someone that you can't see? Paul says that we are to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. We don't want to leave them to wait until the end of the movie to discover the mystery, but to be one who figures it out at the beginning and can then enjoy riches, that we already know are there.
Yours in Christ
Heather
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