“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles - 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.” Ephesians 3:1-3 (NIV)
These verses have been hard for me this week. It’s not that the verses are hard to understand – in a sense they’re pretty simple. But when I do these daily devotionals one of my goals is always to leave you with something that you can apply in your lives and for some reason, I’ve had a hard time doing that with this passage. It’s not that there aren’t some important principles here. In fact, as I’ve discovered, there are some really crucial lessons for us to learn. One of the big ones is that we must always be paying it forward in our lives.
The grace that God has given to us is not just for our own benefit. Although we need to make sure we don’t carry the analogy too far, there is certainly a sense in which God bestows His grace on us so that we can “pay it forward.” So how do you "Pay it Forward?"
By now, we should realize that this first half of Ephesians is clearly focused on God’s actions – what he has done for us. And Paul continues that approach here in chapter 3. Once again the verbs are all passive verbs that make it clear that it is God and not Paul’s readers who are doing the action. It is God who has given His grace. And it is God who has made known the mystery. But those actions of God do require us to respond.
God Reveals so I can Respond
This is the second time that Paul has used the word “mystery” in his letter. I’m a big fan of mysteries. When I was a kid I loved to read Agatha Christie stories. And I still enjoy watching movies and TV shows that require the viewer to try to figure out a mystery. But when Paul uses the word “mystery” in his writings, it has a different meaning. The way Paul uses “mystery” here in Ephesians, it refers to something that God has revealed in the past in part, but which has now been more fully revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Specifically, Paul is referring to the idea that Jews and Gentiles have been made one in the church through Jesus Christ. But that revelation of the church and Jesus, was not just for Paul’s benefit alone. Along with that revelation came the responsibility for Paul to pass that revelation on to others – in effect, to pay it forward. In fact, God called Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles and to focus his ministry on sharing the revelation he had received with those he had previously persecuted.
But Paul is not the only one to whom revelation has been given and he is not the only one who therefore has a responsibility to respond to that revelation by sharing that revelation with others.
When we realize what God has done and the impact it has on my life, it leads me to want to pay it forward so others can enjoy the benefits of His grace, mercy, and love. You are loved!
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