8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
Dig Deeper
The first time I visited the Milwaukee Church of Christ, I was, I admit, rather skeptical of church. I wasn’t even all that sure that I was going to believe in God anymore, even though deep down I had no doubt that He existed. My point is, I didn’t have a very high view of God or His church at that moment. What I saw, though, was rather revelatory for me. I saw people that had their flaws, but genuinely seemed to love one another and God. They shared a joy, and enthusiasm, and a sincerity that I had not rally encountered before in the world. On top of that, I saw an incredible array of people of all different backgrounds, races, ages, and socio-economic backgrounds. For me, the church was like a revelation of this incredible treasure that God had planted on earth. It was like an incredible announcement directly from God to all who would listen that there was a different reality available than the one that we all thought we knew in this present age. It was a multi-faceted jewel shining bright in a sea of uniformity.
Paul is talking here about this same kind of treasure. What God has done in Christ has served as a kind of announcement of the glorious riches and plan of God. Thus, the church of God is not just a repository for His people. It also serves as a picture of sorts, declaring the wisdom and glory of God for all to see.
Paul is certainly grateful that the amazing task of announcing the mystery of Christ to the Gentiles has been given to him, but he is always sure to make the point that he has no visions or delusions of grandeur. He considers himself less than the least of all God’s people, meaning that he is no more deserving than anyone else to share in this privileged work. Just as he wanted the Christians to whom he was writing to remember that their status in Christ was due solely to God’s grace and not anything of value in themselves, so is his status as apostle to the Gentiles and the revealer of God’s mystery of the life in Christ to the world. Paul was chosen solely as a result of God’s grace, not because he was of any special status.
The revelation of this mystery through the work of Paul and the church is now made plain to everyone. Up to this point, God’s incredible plan of having a people in Christ had not yet been fully revealed and manifested but that has all changed. Notice the progression that Paul has made in the sequence of the revelation of God’s great plan. In 3:3, the plan was revealed to Paul, the willing messenger. Then in 3:5, he says that it was made known to the apostles and the prophets. In 3:9, it was "made plain to everyone." That doesn’t quite finish it, though. Paul goes on in verse 10 to say that this mystery has also been made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
Paul has much to say about the church, but nowhere does he make a loftier statement about the purpose of the church than he does in verse 10. God’s plan all throughout history has led up to the Messiah, and His desire to make known his multi-faceted or many-sided wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. We should take a moment to consider that manifold or many-sided wisdom. Paul’s image here is that God’s wisdom made known in the church is something like a kaleidoscope. This is a wonderful reminder that the church should always be a rich array of people different in race, gender, background, social status, and every other way. This rich variety is very rarely displayed in the world and is a powerful statement of the unifying power and wisdom of God made to both the earthly authorities and their heavenly counterparts that so often lurk in the shadows. It is these rulers and authorities that tend to keep things uniform, separate, flat and divided, and who tend to marginalize those who don’t fit their very narrow vision. God’s church should stand in stark contrast as a place that is open to and celebrates all types of people who are willing to lay down their lives and enter into the life of the Messiah, allowing His wisdom and glory to be made known through the unique character of each Christian.
As we have said already, this was God’s plan all along. He has predestined a people that would be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ is the agent through whom all this blessing has come upon those who enter into his life. Paul uses three specific titles for the Messiah here, each of which tell us a little something different. First, he is the Christ, the Messiah, the very one for whom the Jews hoped. Second, he is Jesus, the one that the early Christians knew and believed had entered into history by taking on the flesh of a man. Third, he is the Lord. The one who died, was resurrected, and exalted into God’s presence at the right hand of the Father.
In Christ, we have full access to God not just in some future age but also in the present age. The NIV translation of verse 12 misses the point a bit. A more literal translation offered up by New Testament scholar Klyne Snodgrass gives a better understanding of what Paul was saying: "In whom we have boldness and access in confidence through his faithfulness." This translation helps us to see that the boldness to approach God and the access we have to Him come through Christ, not as a result of our faith in Christ as the NIV seems to indicate, but as a result of Christ’s faithfulness. In other words, Christ is the fulfillment of all of the promises that God has given. We can have confidence in our access to God and boldness to approach Him because through Christ God is faithful. The focus, then, is not on human faith, but on Christ’s faithfulness.
This more literal translation also makes verse 13 a little more understandable. Because they can be free and confident in approaching the Father based on His faithfulness that has been demonstrated in Christ, they didn’t need to be discouraged about the fact that Paul was suffering for them. He was in prison as a direct result of his faithfully administering the plan of God. Therefore, there was no need for them to be discouraged. In fact, this should be one more reason for them to celebrate. Paul’s imprisonment on their behalf was for them, in fact, part of the glorious riches made available in Christ. Paul sees his suffering in order to bring them the gospel as part of their riches and, amazingly, sees his ability to suffer on behalf of the Messiah as part of his privileges in serving the Messiah. Paul wants them to understand this so that they can continue to mine the unsearchable riches of Christ. That is the way it is with the riches of Christ. Every time we think we have discovered their fullness, a whole new never-ending room of richness and wealth opens up.
Devotional Thought
Paul believed that the church of Christ posed a serious challenge and served as a powerful statement to the rulers and authorities that hold sway over the world. Are you an integral part of a church that poses the same kind of challenge to the power of evil? What is keeping you and your church from posing this same kind of threat?
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