City Life Starter

Written by Blesson Selvanesan

The Word

₁For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— ₂ if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, ₃ how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,…

Ephesians 3:1-3 NKJV

Interpretation

Paul was imprisoned for carrying the gospel to the Gentiles. Even though the Old Testament clearly states that one day salvation will be open to all people of the world, it was restricted only to the Jews until the death and resurrection of Christ. Gentiles could not even get to worship at the Temple. However at the death of Christ, the veil at the Temple was torn and the holy of holies became accessible to all, Jews and Gentiles. This mystery was revealed to Paul and he boldly proclaimed this good news among Gentiles and many were saved.

Paul became a prisoner by proclaiming the good news to Gentiles and freely allowing all to come to the kingdom of God; not by birth or following the Law but by the Grace of God. This mystery that was hidden in plain sight was revealed to Paul and he boldly proclaimed this revelation about grace to all. This resulted in people from all walks of life, from all strata of the society to have access to God through Christ by grace. The religious people however could not fathom that salvation could come through Christ by grace alone. They could not understand the new covenant and all the prophesies that were fulfilled in Christ. They fought bitterly against Paul and put him in prison. So Paul called himself a prisoner of Christ.

Application

God’s plan for the humanity was a mystery. God dramatically terminated the Israel’s theocracy and opened the flood gates to replace it with the universal Church, the body of Christ, consisting of believers from all the nations. This universal Church united Jews, Gentiles and Christ. Through this, all of us became co-heirs in Christ to God’s kingdom. However, this revelation of grace came at a cost for Paul. He was imprisoned and ultimately executed for his faith in Christ and preaching the message of grace. Obeying the call of God is not easy, it comes with a cost, but the cost is worth bearing for Christ. Paul knew the dangers and did not shy away but boldly preached despite all the persecutions. Persecutions are part of Christian life. I hope all will bear the burden for His cause.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing yourself to Paul and to us. Thank you for rescuing us from the clutches of law and for opening the floodgates of grace. Just like Paul had to boldly stand up and advocate for this new revelation of grace despite his suffering and imprisonment, help us to proclaim your grace to all with boldness. Let our souls and spirits be captives to you. In Jesus name, amen.