The eternal perspective

Ephesians 3:1-13 ESV

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.   Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

This passage is Paul's digression from his prayer for them. He talks about God's work in the context of his imprisonment.

The gospel is the surprise that keeps on  surprising.

God takes on flesh to save humanity. He takes on flesh, dies the death of a criminal, and lives the life we cannot live. The gospel is a mystery. It is not a message that is not immediately obvious.  Jesus defeats evil, sin, and death by dying. This is counter-intuitive. Dying on the cross is how God triumphs? This is not what we expect. Ask your average person, how do you get right with God? Do good, they would say. But that is not what the gospel tells us, it tells us that it comes by grace through faith. That is how salvation comes. God has to open the door. Not only is the gospel generally a mystery, but there are mysteries within portions of the gospel. God chooses the Jews and yet also chooses the gentiles... Jews are the chosen people of God, but the gentiles are also welcomed into the family of God. That somehow both Gentile and Jew are the same family. This was very difficult for the Jews to accept. It is another mystery.

The church is God's masterpiece.

God uses the church to display His manifold wisdom and power. God points to the church as a group consisting of people from various tribes, tongues, cultures, economic status, shapes, and sizes... as his masterpiece. And he will receive praise for this... not only from humans, but heavenly beings... angels and, perhaps, even demons. When the angels look at the church, it brings into light God's wisdom... it illuminates his power. The church often seems unimpressive to us. So is God wrong about the church? Probably not. It is our perspective that is off. We're looking at the back of a tapestry. Or we're zoomed in on an impressionist painting. It looks like a jumbled mess from here, but on the other side of eternity, we will be awed alongside the angels.

How does this comfort the Ephesians?

Paul tells them of these things so the Ephesian church would not worry about him. He is in jail by choice. He is not imprisoned by the Romans but rather by the grace of God. He is willing to give up everything for his witness because of what God had already done for him.

Paul knows that even when he loses, he will win. Suffering for Christ is okay because God will complete the work. God's plan will come to fruition regardless of setbacks, trials, and tribulation. Suffering brings God glory... and not only that, but it brings us glory. Imprisonment, suffering, and cancer will bring about good. The worst things in our lives will be used for good. They will be redeemed. And no matter what happens, the best is yet to come.