Ephesians 3:7-13

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. ¹³ Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Into: Paul is writing his third chapter to the Ephesians about Christian doctrine and theology.

Through: Verse 7 starts midsentence, with Paul describing himself as a minister of God's "promise in Christ through the gospel" (v.6). He goes on to descrive this job as a gift of God's grace, able to be given to him because God effectively worked in Him (v.7).
In the following verse, Paul mentions why this gift of the gospel was given to him, "the least of the saints." He says that it is in order for him to preach to the Gentiles, those that do not know about the true God. "The unsearchable riches of Christ" that he talks about are everything that God has to offer including His blessings, truths, and a relationship with Him. In verse 9 Paul gives another reason: to be an example to others, showing them what it means to be a part of this gospel. He again refers to the gospel as a mystery, explaining that until now, God had not revealed it to anyone. He also says something especially profound - that God created everything through Jesus Christ, implying that Christ had existed since before he was even incarnated. The next verse says that through Gods work in His church (i.e. the body of believers), God has shown His glory to the saints (v.10), which was His purpose from the beginning and was accomplished through Jesus Christ (v.11). Then Paul mentions that we can come before God boldly and confidently when we put our faith in Christ (v.12). Paul ends this section by comforting them and encouraging them not to lose heart because of the persecutions he faces, which are for the glory of God and, therefore, them.

Beyond:

Verse 7
Just the first verse of this section was so powerful to me. Basically, it highlights everything God has to do with blessing me and drowns out everything I have to do with it. Paul says being a minister is 1) a gift of grace - that is to say that I did not merit it in any fashion, but God gave it to me simply because He wanted to, and that it is 2) "by the effective working of God's power;" God is the one who worked in Paul to become holy and hodly. I also want to emphasize the fact that Paul descrives God's work as effective. God will finish what He starts, and I can take comfort in that fact - that I will continue to be sanctified and restored and God's power is able to do it.

Verse 8
In verse 8, Paul, as he does in other passages, lowers himself to the lowest position among the saints. He knew he was a wretched sinner, and if Paul the apostle was such a wretched sinner, I'm sure I have a place there there with him. I'm no apostle, but in light of God's holiness and righteousness, we're all about as low as we can get. It's humbling. "The unsearchable riches" that Paul talks about at the end of the verse give me two views on Christ's blessings. They are 1) infinite and 2) revealed. There are so many blessings that I'd never be able to find what I was looking for if I went through a list or something. I do not get to decide which I receive, but Christ is always going to be generous.

Verse 9
The part in verse 9 that hit me the most was this idea that God created all things through Jesus Christ. That is to say that jesus Christ has always existed just like God, or better yet, because He is God. Some texts do not have these words, but I have no problem accepting the implications as true, because Christ himself said, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58), a claim to divinity.

Verse 10
In verse 10, Paul says that the purpose of God's work in the church is to glorify himself to the angles, holy and unholy (i.e. angels and demons). When I submit to God in obedience, that glorifies Him, and I would imagine that the heavenly angels have a good time at the occurrence of such an event - as I'm sure they do when anyone is obedient (especially in the case of conversion). Jesus Himself testifies to this in Luke 15: "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (v.7) and again: "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (v.10).

Verse 11
Verse 11 is great because it lets me rest in the fact that God's ultimate will has been accomplished. His idea before all of time (if such a thing can be said) was accomplished in Christ. And Christ is our Lord! We don't live in an age of Lords and servants and what not, but I think what this implies is that we are subject to Him and obligated to serve Him. He owns us. "You are not your own" (1 Corinthians 6:19b). Luckily for me, my master is my friend and Redeemer, making it easy to submit, because I am confident that He will be amazingly good to me.

Verse 12
I must say that I thought the next verse to be the most profound out of them all. Through faith in Christ, I as a Christian have unlimited access to God. I can gain His ear at any time, and perhaps He is listening for me even when I'm not talking to Him. The idea that I have access to the highest King is so amazing, and on top of that I can come with boldness and confidence before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16)! I don't even begin to pretend to know how to describe this incredble privilege. I just imagine what it would look like, and then I realize that even my loftiest picture of God's throne room doesn't even come close to doing it justice - another quite humbling thought.

Verse 13
The last verse was meant to be a comfort to the Ephesians, and I absolutely love how it ties in with what the rest of the Bible teaches. "Do not lose heart" because of what the world is doing. Christ teaches that to us - He has overcome the world (John 16:33). The same victory is promised to us as individuals: "for everyone born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). The other thing is that tribulations are a good thing - James tells us to rejoice when we are tried (James 1:2). Paul understood this, and he encouraged the Ephesians to do the same. I can rejoice when I am persecuted - and I have been persecuted, and I have rejoiced, and it was so good. God's goodness is amazing.

Hope you were encouraged.