For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. – Ephesians 3:1-7 ESV

Because of the schedule changes in my world, I can’t guarantee there will always be a specific day for a blog. And there may occasionally be weeks when nothing is written. It’s not about me and what I think; it’s about what the Lord has given me and impacted me to share with others. Practicing obedience to the things the Lord puts into place, knowing they are for my own good, even if it creates changes.

In the last post, I shared that I was led to focus on this set of scriptures. So, I am sharing how I studied them to better understand them and how they spoke to me.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

As I said before, I love a mystery, and this mystery can be missed when casual study of the scripture happens. I have discovered so many areas I thought I understood as a young believer, and then as I matured more in my faith, more profound meanings of what ‘I knew” clearly showed me I had missed vital truths and confirmed that faith is a journey, a continual learning of all Jesus has for us through His great gifts.

Grace. A word used in many ways by believers and non-believers. As a believer, I was taught that grace is God’s unmerited favor. Providing me what I don’t deserve. What we offer others in difficult situations. But what does Paul mean here? He was made a minister according to the gift of God’s Grace. Simple enough to understand. But what about the second part of that statement?

…which was given to me by the working of his power.

This seemed a mystery to me. But thanks to Pastor Tom’s teaching last Sunday, I saw a further explanation of God’s plan for my life, which led me to more study and research because that’s what I do.

God’s power gave Paul his ministry, which was available to the Gentiles. The mystery. But it is more than that. He was given the ministry to prepare us to minister to others. Paul was a living testimony of God’s Grace and power to draw people to Christ. The mystery was revealed to God-chosen men to spread the gospel to the Gentiles.

For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

Stewardship. Given to us from God through Paul.

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A biblical definition of stewardship is found on https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/

“In biblical terms, stewardship is defined as “Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation”¹. Stewardship is how Christians are called to live as children of God, and it involves the responsibility for managing or allocating the resources that God has given us²³. Stewardship includes wise management of our treasure, time, and talents so that we can use these things in service of the Lord for the benefit of others

Also, from the same site: Stewardship is commonly defined as: The office, duties, and obligations of steward. The conducting, supervising, or managing of something. The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care (1). Simply stated, stewardship is what we do to manage something that has been placed under our responsibility.”

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Given to us through Paul by God’s Grace, it teaches me that if I say I am a believer, if I claim to walk the walk God has given me, then I need to be more aware of and perform my duties as a steward of the Grace God has awarded me—a steward of all gifts given by a loving and powerful God.

God’s richest blessings to you, my friends – Vicki