Paul had been given the job of telling Gentiles about Jesus. He was so excited to tell the Ephesians about it, that he interrupted his sentence to tell them about it.
Read Ephesians 3:2-7
Have you ever been interrupted by someone? It’s rather annoying, isn’t it? But have you ever heard someone interrupt himself? That’s exactly what Paul did in verses 2-13. To get an idea of what he was trying to say, skip verses 2-13 and read verse 1 and then verse 14. See what I mean? Paul was so excited about the job God had given him that he couldn’t help but interrupt himself to tell them about it. So, why did he interrupt himself? Paul wanted to explain why he was a prisoner. God had given him a stewardship for the Gentile believers. A steward is someone who manages something. It could be a house, a group of people, or a particular job. For Paul, his stewardship was to preach the good news of Jesus death and resurrection to Gentile people so that they too could believe. Even though he was beaten, put in prison, and yelled at, God gave him the grace to keep preaching. But preaching the good news to Gentiles instead of just Jewish people was strange to many people. In the Old Testament, God’s message was mostly for the Jewish people. So, it was mysterious that God would suddenly include all people in Paul’s message of salvation through Jesus. This mystery was revealed by God’s Holy Spirit to Paul. And that’s why he happily interrupted his sentence to tell them about it.
- Practice interrupting yourself. You could say something like this. Read it out loud.
“Good morning, mom. What’s for breakfast? … Did you know that Aunt Linda is coming over tomorrow? … Eggs and bacon?”
- Why do you think Paul interrupted himself?
- What is a stewardship?
- What was Paul’s stewardship?
- What was the mystery that the Holy Spirit revealed to Paul?
- The mystery is wonderful because it means that you and I can be saved by God, too. Take some time to thank God for this today.
