Saturday after Ad te levavi, The First Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 7, 2019 by under
Scripture: Ephesian 3:1-12 (NKJV)
3:1 For 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, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Devotion
God’s eternal purpose was that man be blessed. After man fell into sin and rebellion, His purpose did not change; it was focused on blessing us with salvation through the Virgin’s Son.
As He spoke through promises and prophecies in former generations, especially to His people of Israel, His purpose did not change. His lessons, illustrations, and messengers changed, but His purpose did not. It all pointed forward to Jesus Christ and the power of His Gospel.
His purpose continues to be the same. He continues to give us His Word, His signs, His wonders, and His blessings, which all point toward man’s salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. If Paul sincerely declares his lowliness compared to the saints before him, who are we to think we are greater than him by changing or ignoring the very Word and Gospel that he preached and taught? Whether it is St. Paul or us, our accomplishments are not the focus, nor are they an excuse to compromise God’s Word and purpose. The Lord’s will is to be done. Like Paul, we are to repent of our sins against Christ’s kingdom and simply be the servants and fellow heirs that He calls each of us to be according to His own divine purpose, to the glory and proclamation of Christ crucified for our life and forgiveness.
We pray: Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
