Ephesians Lesson 21 of 39 part 6

Ephesians 3:7a
"Whereof * I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God..."
*to be the Apostle of the Gentiles
Remember what we said earlier,  that through human history God had reason enough to just wipe out the lot of the human race. Over and over He could have done that. We’ve been reading a book lately, a biography of a little girl who came out of the Ukraine during the communist rule of Russia, and the torment that people went through. First by the communists, and then along comes the Nazi army, and being taken back to Germany to become prisoners and slaves. She begins her story when she’s just an infant, and by the time that WW II is at it’s height she was 4 or 5 years old. She told of the horrors of all of that period of history, and all because of evil men. The shear wickedness of mans heart and fallen nature will amaze us especially during the great tribulation period that some say is near. Where as Jesus said that everyone will turn on his brother, I mean see can see small bits of it now happening in Europe and the Middle East. Where people are rioting in the streets and where there are wars and rumor of wars women and children are the weak mans favor targets as they are to most defenseless of victims.


Why didn’t God just zap them then or even now? He doesn’t because of His Grace. Even a man like Hitler, as evil and wicked as he was, did God love Him enough to save him? Sure He did. Had Hitler recognized his shortcomings, God would have saved him. For Redemption was already his. Now that’s beyond our comprehension, but He would have. Most people, like the animals just look at things from the moment, they don't look  from that point of view, "Why didn’t God zap them, because that’s what they deserved." But, oh, for the Grace of God, that the ungodly knows nothing of. Though their consciousness may make them aware of it they don't know much more than that, if they know that much. Now when we are listening and in training under God by the Holy Spirit, He reveals that all which the Hebrews have passed through and was prophesied about them. And is due them because of their disobedience and hardness of heart. And that there is much more ahead for them of the same type of things. How does Paul put it in Romans chapter 5?

Romans 5:20b
"...But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”
Looking at verse 7 again in Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3:7a
"Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto me ..."
Paul’s not writing from an egotistical standpoint, but rather he’s writing through the power and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God Himself. Completing verse 7 we find the following.

Ephesians 3:7b
"... by the effectual working of his power."
The power was of God. Paul was just simply the clay, the conduit, he was just the instrument that God was using. It was God’s power that turned the Roman empire inside out, Paul was just the instrument. But again, had Paul not been willing to suffer for the sake of this Gospel, could God have used him? Of course not! And it’s the same way with anyone of us. God can’t use us unless we’re willing and pliable, and will let Him do what needs to be done. The power of course is epitomized, it is released in the resurrection. At His resurrection or restoring within us, the power of God becomes our all sufficiency to fight all the powers of the Satanic forces, death and everything that comes with it. Especially when we have received the revelation of all that we partake of in the Lord's Supper (His table and alter) on through our being in Him in His ascension to the Fathers right hand. From that stand point, No weapon formed against us can prosper and we can take all thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. We may not over come them all but we release them to His charge, each time the voice of the flesh raises to distract us in some way.

I had a fellow tell me sometime ago, while waiting for the food pantry to open, say, "For 20 years I was going down the wrong road, and it was so hard to admit that I had been wrong, and that I had been led wrong. But as you've shared, the Word is what convinced me, as you showed me what the Book said as well as what it didn’t say." Now this was over a period of several months, as we'd meet waiting for the food pantry doors to open, and as the Lord would led. I'd just speak what was given and then shut my mouth, which at times was a hard thing to do.
So we’re just going to keep on opening up and sharing the book and hope others also can come out of their works religion, or the feelgood, name it and claim it gospel or the I'm now a Jewish believer and come into the knowledge and freedom of God’s wonderful GRACE! We're not putting any one down, we just want people to stop, think and ask God the hard questions and then be patient enough to wait on Him to give them His answer. He's looking for a desirous, seeking heart and a ready mind, not a made up mind and an unteachable heart. In verse 8, we find Paul telling us Gentiles about God’s Grace.