We are Called: Ephesians 3
Pastor Todd Blansit
New Life Church
November 26, 2023

The need for unity and equality continues to paralyze both the human family and the Church.
In Ephesians 3: 1-12, the believer is confronted by the apostle Paul’s prayer for the Church to be open to the mystery, power, and a new form of identity believers share in Christ Jesus. The prayer is oriented toward Gentiles, but in reality, it is to inform believers of the mission of God’s grace to invite both Jews and Gentiles into the Church.
As strangers and aliens to one another,
Jesus’ death and resurrection made it possible for humanity to relate to each other on the basis of Him.

Paul realized that he was part of something much bigger, part of the plan of God, who created all things. Notice the change that it made:
He calls himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ in verse 1. Not a prisoner of Caesar but a prisoner of Jesus. He could see that God, not Nero, was in control and had put him right where he wanted him.
Where you are is where God can use you!

He said on behalf of you, Gentiles. Paul had been arrested because of his association with Gentiles. He could see that his suffering had a purpose. It wasn’t just random. He was giving his life to a purpose that transcended his imprisonment.
God does not waste anything.

“There is woven inside each of us a desire for something more, a craving to be part of something bigger, greater, and more profound than our relatively meaningless day-to-day existence.”
-Paul David Tripp