Ephesians Ch3: Paul Receives Power Through Kindness

“Paul Receives Power Through Kindness”

Ephesians 3 starts from the ending of chapter 2. He begins to explain the reason and how he came to have responsibility for spreading the good news. Paul states that the mystery of the revelation of God was revealed to him through the Lord’s kindness. Not ‘good Christian’ kindness, but rather a live encounter with the Lord of hosts who peeled back the scales from his eyes. Yes. That type of kindness (Acts9). The broad stroke of this chapter stands on the fact that the non-Jewish have the same inheritance in Christ as the Jewish do.

There are two offices AND five main points of reference for Ephesians 3:

The Offices are:

1. Apostles
2. Prophets

The five main points are:

1. Responsibility of Kindness (v.2)
2. Mystery Revealed to Apostles and Prophets (v.5)
3. I Am the Least AND Most Wealthy (v.8)
4. Approach the Throne Room with Boldness (v.12)
5. Sinking Roots Down in His Love (v.17-18)

Every point has enormous weight and is quite fascinating in the grand scheme of biblical understanding. Who better to be on the delivering end of Gods kindness than Paul the apostle? The persecutor of Christians was given the blessing of being the deliverer of good news, all which is found in Christ as Lord.

1. Apostles:

The first name that comes to mind when hearing the word ‘apostle’ is Paul the Apostle. When I hear that definition, a picture comes to mind. The picture (scene) is of a garden hoe being used on cement blocks (to make way for a garden) and somehow the strength of the farmer is able to cut down deep into soil. The soil located on the other side of the cement is deep, rich, and filled with all these worms. Let’s just say it’s the perfect condition for a garden where tomatoes grow wild. Now this is what comes to mind when I think of what an Apostle is tasked with. Tasked with creating an environment where there was no environment, where it’s almost unthinkable to create one.

The formal definition of an Apostle is “one of the twelve”, “a missionary of the early church”, and “a leader of the church in a region.” Paul spoke, and wrote, and professed Christianity in two of these formal definitions. And in my picture, he broke his back hoeing the cement so that we would be able to read and soak in all that God revealed to him.

A person with an Apostolic gifting is one that can build and work with the body of Christ. One that rises to the occasion to mentor the upcomer and harness Kingdom Citizenship in its deepest value.

2. Prophets:

The first name that comes to mind when I think of a ‘prophet’ is John the Baptist. The definition of a man eating locusts, smelled funny, and wore camel clothes. JB was someone who saw something before it happened and saw it fulfilled. A picture that comes to mind is when an artist doesn’t know what to paint but starts painting, and out of that comes a masterpiece. Another scene that comes to mind is the opening credits to ‘Masterpiece Classic’ studios before the playing of Downton Abbey begins. It’s a prediction before it happens. It’s a story into someone’s life, a vision of what could happen, and a harnessing of the gifts of the spirit on hyper mode.

A person with this gifting marvel at the beauty of Jesus and are passionate enough to sporastically tell others about it. Every aspect of His character shifts the prophets heart into waves of symphony. The little details of His grace woven into creation is powerful and a prophet sees it. Each person matters.

The formal definition of a prophet is one who ‘speaks through divine inspiration.’ I would say this is accurate considering with how much passion John the Baptist spoke with. He was the first one seen in the Gospels to be baptizing people in water.

Yours Truly,

Destiny Rose Nielsen.