Minister to the Gentiles

Text: Ephesians 3:1–9

Central Verse: “ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. ” [Ephesians 3:8]

As fellow believers, we should be able to celebrate in all of Paul’s testimonies because they glorify God. But, if there ever was a testimony of Paul’s we had a particular reason to magnify, it would be the one in this passage. The Lord’s use of him as a vessel to bring the gospel to the Gentiles directly benefited us! Any believer who is not in the racial lineage of the Jews had a vested interest in his transformation into an ambassador of Christ to the nations!

How radical a transformation it was must not be minimized. Saul of Tarsus was a Jewish jingoist, by his own admission. His confidence lay in the earthy tokens of his election as one of the “ chosen people ”: circumcision, bloodline, religious training, righteousness by keeping the Mosaic law [see Phil. 3:5,6]. He was convinced, as a consequence, that the Gentile races were alienated from the True and Living God, and therefore unfit for dealing with. God had to change his whole way of thinking, which He did by revealing a hitherto secret plan [“ a mystery, ” Eph. 3:3] to unite the human family—Jew and Gentile—in Christ. God gave Paul the grace to accept this truth, and then the strength to proclaim it despite the opposition that it would foment.

From Paul’s first missionary journey he began to announce to the Gentiles how the gospel was intended for them too. In Perga of Pamphylia he introduced this teaching that would scandalize him in Jewish circles for the rest of his life. And for the first of many times his missionary entourage was chased out of town. It was never easy to promote the notion that the Messiah had been ordained to be “ a light of the Gentiles ” and to spread salvation “ unto the ends of the earth ” [Acts 13:50,51]. But Our Heavenly Father spurred him on, through Asia Minor and then Europe, turning the world upside-down with this provocative message.

Paul’s example is one of submission to God, rejection of all prejudices, and commitment to the full dissemination of the gospel. It stands as a model for us even today, because still we encounter similar drawbacks and hindrances. We must combat within ourselves any disinclination to witness to those outside our own communities. And, as we commit ourselves to a wider view of evangelizing, we must anticipate resistance and opposition from some of our less-enlightened brethren… and persevere in spite of it. That is the debt we owe one courageous Jew who did the same for all the Gentiles.

Essential Thought: If you are willing to surrender all of your prejudices and preconceptions, God can use you mightily to reach new communities.

Questions:

Why might it have been particularly surprising that Saul of Tarsus became a “ minister to the Gentiles ”?
From the beginning, what did a commitment to evangelize people other than Jews cost the apostle?
What are some challenges for a local congregation that broadens its outreach to include other nationalities and ethnicities?

0 members like this