Useful Bible Studies > Ephesians Commentary > chapter 3
Paul did not consider himself a great man. He had carried out many evil acts before he became a Christian; however, God had shown very great kindness to him (1 Timothy 1:12-16).
It astonished Paul that God had appointed him to be an apostle, one of the first Christian leaders (1 Corinthians 15:9-10). Paul could hardly believe how successful his work for God had been. Through Paul’s work, God had changed the lives of many thousands of people; God had also established new churches in several different countries.
Paul claimed none of the honour for himself. He knew about his own weaknesses; it was Christ, and not Paul, who had achieved these wonderful things (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Christ did it because of his grace, his great kindness. Christ showed that great kindness to Paul when Paul became a Christian. Now, Christ was using Paul’s life to show that kindness to many other people too.
Without Christ, Paul could do little to help any of those people. Paul compared himself to the poor servant of a rich and generous master. It was Paul’s duty not to speak about himself, but about his master, Christ. Christ had sent Paul to declare his (Christ’s) wonderful news to people from many different nations. In his great love, Christ offers generously to forgive their evil deeds, and to give them a right relationship with God (2 Corinthians 8:9). They might be poor in this world, but God offers them true wealth in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). That was Paul’s message to the people in every nation who turn from their evil deeds to trust in Christ.
Next part: God uses his people to defeat the devil's forces (Ephesians 3:9-10)
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© 2019, Keith Simons.