Variety

I hope you had a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend. Today, Paul reveals an important aspect of God’s plan.

Ephesians 3

1 When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . .

2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.

3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.

4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.

5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

13 So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

Variety. You’ve probably heard it said that “Variety is the spice of life.” Apparently, variety is also supposed to be a way of life in the church. Unfortunately, the church has come to demonstrate more of the division than the unity of that variety. We need to ask God “boldly and confidently” how we, as a church, can help eliminate some of that division and restore some of that unity within God’s variety.