This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of the Series Ephesians: Becoming Who You Are (CLICK HERE)
Are you a person who likes a good mystery novel? Or a good mystery movie?
Perhaps I’m dating myself, but I loved watching Scooby Doo…in fact one of my grade school lunch boxes (yes one of those metal ones with a thermos in it) was with Scooby Doo and the Mystery Machine. For the half hour cartoon, the Velma, Fred, Shaggy and Daphne along with Scooby Doo would investigate a strange occurrence. By time the show was over, they would solve the mystery and reveal the person behind the criminal activity. Of course, once you knew who it was and how they did it, the clues were obvious and you thought, “Why did that take them or me that long to figure it out?” The clues seemed numerous and the solution to the mystery obvious.
While I will not equate the work of Christ to the same plain as the work of Scooby Doo, it’s great when God gives us an insight into his heart, mind and will.
The mystery that was made known to Paul maybe seems pretty obvious to us today. We are not living in the middle of the mystery, but rather look back on it with all the clues put together and the answer revealed. If I were to put the mystery of which Paul speaks into my own words, I would say, “How are non-Jews included in God’s family when they are not descendents of Abraham?”
The prevailing thought for Paul and many other God-fearing Jews of his time was that the favor of the Lord rested on the people of Israel and their descendents. To be sure the people of Israel was a work of God to protect a people for his purpose, namely bringing Jesus into the world.
The answer to the mystery was revealed by God to Paul:
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Through the Gospel, non-Jews are heirs together with Israel, members of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. While Paul was at first Saul and a true antagonist against all things Christian, God revealed to him that the very one he persecuted, Jesus Christ, was the very answer to the mystery: Through Jesus all can be included in God’s family of grace. It is not dependent on genetic code or a perfect adherence to the law of God, but rather as a gift of God’s grace.
What makes this such a mystery is it goes against all that we would naturally assume. We would naturally assume that the Gentiles or non-Jews would have to earn their way into God’s family. We would assume that one would have to be of the right blood line.
But we would be wrong…just as Paul was.
Its the power of the Gospel and the work of Jesus that brings people from every nation, tribe and race to faith in Jesus and into the promises of God himself.
The same is true for you!
Apply: Why is it hard to understand how any of us is included in grace?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for revealing your mystery to us that we might, as non-Jews, turn to you in faith. AMEN