“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles… I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory” (Ephesians 3:1 and 13, NIV).
I enjoyed some time this week looking up the story behind the gospel coming to Ephesus. I’m not sure I have the whole story, but in Acts 18 and 19, I read about how Paul arrived in Ephesus and began teaching in the synagogue there. I read about the first believers and how they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit and His ministry. I read about amazing miracles performed, demons cast out, and lives changed. I read about believers who drastically changed their lifestyle in response to the message they heard, including how they burned their idolatrous books and studied the Old Testament scriptures fervently. The book of Revelation commends the Ephesians for their obedient behavior when they first believed.
I also read hints of persecution that took place there. Paul repeatedly mentions the things which he suffered, usually at the hands of the Jews. As our passage in Ephesians 3 tells us, Paul was preaching a gospel that included the Gentiles, saying that “the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
The Jews in Ephesus would have had two problems with this gospel:
- It required that they believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Jewish believers who trusted in Yeshua (Jesus) were called members of a sect known as “The Way” (see Acts 9:19, 23).
- It required that they believe that the Gentiles could “approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12).
Paul says that he was given grace “to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).
In effect, Paul had been given a treasure when he trusted in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins. God intended this treasure to be given to all the world, not just the Jewish people. But what would have happened if Paul had not obeyed? What would have happened if he had not endured persecution for our sakes? (1 Corinthians 15:32 even says that Paul fought with beasts in Ephesus, probably in the Roman colloseum!)
Well, I would never have heard the gospel. I would never have been given the “gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power” (Ephesians 3:7).
Yet, in spite of tremendous sacrifice, Paul “became a servant of this gospel” (Ephesians 3:7). A servant, Paul tells us elsewhere, is one who does “nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,” and is pictured best of all in the sacrifice of Jesus. A servant should look not only on his own interests, but also on the interests of others (see Philippians 2:1-11).
Paul was also humble. He wrote, “Although I am less that the least of all God’s people…,” yet we know that he was a “Pharisee of the Pharisee” and remained obedient to God’s laws throughout his lifetime (see Acts 18:18, 20:16, 24:14, and 25:8, for example). Yet he was willing to be a missionary to lawless Gentiles, “strengthening all the disciples” (Acts 18:23) by carefully explaining to them the Scriptures week after week, year after year. I don’t know about you, but I’m always in a big rush for immature believers to grow up and start doing what they know is right! Come on, already! I’m not very patient and humble. Paul, however, reminds us to restore others gently, carrying each other’s burdens, not thinking we are something when we are nothing (Galatians 6:1-3).
Finally, Paul was willing to suffer so that others would hear the good news, even if it meant suffering to the point of death. His farewell speech to the dear brothers in Ephesus makes me want to cry:
“You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:18-24, NIV).
My husband preaches so often, yet his wife constantly fails to listen, that we are here on this earth for only one reason — “the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Just as in Ephesus, we are surrounded by cranky believers in stuffy churches who don’t want to share the riches of God’s grace. Outside our church walls, we see a world of lawless unbelievers who have no idea who God is or how to approach Him.
To take the gospel to the lost, we must become the humble servants of all, both those inside and outside the church walls. We must also remember that we have no higher calling, no greater mission, and no deeper urgency — even to the point of giving our lives.
Sometimes I think that because I have school-aged children and toddlers running around, plus a new little baby growing within, that I’m somehow off the hook. It’s at times like these that I start to become a “stinky Christian,” lording it over others and becoming filled with pride. (My friend Stephanie says that we get stinky like a sponge when we’re always taking in and never squeezing out for others. How true!)
I encourage you to hop over to “The Center for Church Music” to listen to the mp3 of “May the Mind of Christ My Savior.” (Lyrics available here.) What a beautiful song! May it be stuck in all our heads throughout the coming week! 
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