Our Place in Gods Eternal Purpose
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1 Por esta causa yo, Pablo, prisionero de Cristo Jesús por vosotros los gentiles… 2 Seguramente habéis oído de la administración de la gracia de Dios que me fue dada para con vosotros, 3 pues por revelación me fue declarado el misterio, como antes lo he escrito brevemente. 4 Al leerlo podéis entender cuál sea mi conocimiento en el misterio de Cristo, 5 el cual en otras generaciones no se dio a conocer a los hijos de los hombres, como ahora es revelado a sus santos apóstoles y profetas por el Espíritu: 6 que los gentiles son coherederos y miembros del mismo cuerpo, y copartícipes de la promesa en Cristo Jesús por medio del evangelio, 7 del cual yo fui hecho ministro por el don de la gracia de Dios que me ha sido dado según la acción de su poder.
8 A mí, que soy menos que el más pequeño de todos los santos, me fue dada esta gracia de anunciar entre los gentiles el evangelio de las insondables riquezas de Cristo, 9 y de aclarar a todos cuál sea el plan del misterio escondido desde los siglos en Dios, el creador de todas las cosas, 10 para que la multiforme sabiduría de Dios sea ahora dada a conocer por medio de la iglesia a los principados y potestades en los lugares celestiales, 11 conforme al propósito eterno que hizo en Cristo Jesús, nuestro Señor, 12 en quien tenemos seguridad y acceso con confianza por medio de la fe en él. 13 Por eso, pido que no desmayéis a causa de mis tribulaciones por vosotros, las cuales son vuestra gloria.
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Growing up I remember I used to say that I wanted to be a detective. I loved to watch crime shows or a good thriller that left me guessing the whole way through.
Paul uses the word mystery many times.
The word mystery means different, that we still have to figure out.
He means something that was not revealed previously but now it’s made known.
He describes in
4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
4 Al leerlo podéis entender cuál sea mi conocimiento en el misterio de Cristo, 5 el cual en otras generaciones no se dio a conocer a los hijos de los hombres, como ahora es revelado a sus santos apóstoles y profetas por el Espíritu:
This mystery was previously hidden, now its known.
The mystery is that gentiles are fellow heirs with Israel. Let’s look....
6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
6 que los gentiles son coherederos y miembros del mismo cuerpo, y copartícipes de la promesa en Cristo Jesús por medio del evangelio,
Listen to me, The old testament is all about the story of israel, Gods people. God blesses abraham and his decsendants until Malachi. All about the Jews. Even the beginning of Gospels was about Jews. His ministry was to the Jews, But Jesus was rejected and we see the story to start to be about the church being Jews and gentiles.(amalgamation)
The church is not in the OT, it is a mystery as the gentiles. We are in what we call the (Church age).
The OT prophets saw the birth of christ, ministry, crucifixion, second coming and millenial kingdom but could not see what came in between which includes the time in which God is working in the church in this time that we are living. Pauls ministry was to the gentiles given to him by God, making known the unrevealed mystery to the gentiles.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
7 del cual yo fui hecho ministro por el don de la gracia de Dios que me ha sido dado según la acción de su poder.
he was called by God and he was given the power to fulfill this ministry with Gods power.
That is why he made sure to emphasize the fact that he was a prisoner of Christ.
When God calls you he will support you with the demonstration of his power. Sometimes Church can become more political than spiritual.
Calling is not just about ministry or leaders but we must remember that a calling applies to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
1 Yo, pues, preso en el Señor, os ruego que andéis como es digno de la vocación con que fuisteis llamados:
What is our calling?
Called to live a godly life.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
3 Bendito el Dios y Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que según su gran misericordia nos hizo renacer para una esperanza viva, por la resurrección de Jesucristo de los muertos,
Called to live a victorious life. Cabeza y no cola.
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
4 porque todo lo que es nacido de Dios vence al mundo; y esta es la victoria que ha vencido al mundo, nuestra fe.
Called to be free from sin.
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
14 El pecado no se enseñoreará de vosotros, pues no estáis bajo la Ley, sino bajo la gracia.
Called to love one another.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Call = Invitation
When you are invited somewhere you have the option of not going. My grandmother has saying where she says that where she is not invited she does not go. plain and simple.
God makes an invitation, he makes a call and it is up to us to answer. Most times we may not answer because of how we feel about ourselves. And we may not feel qualified.
The power does not come from us.
It is not up to us to do it by ourself.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
20 Y a Aquel que es poderoso para hacer todas las cosas mucho más abundantemente de lo que pedimos o entendemos, según el poder que actúa en nosotros,
It is His power in us that moves us to accomplish what he has set for our life. For us to be more than what we can imagine requires a power that goes beyond what we can imagine and that is found in God.
But we have to decide to walk in it on a daily basis.
*****When we understand our call and when we understand where this power comes from then we can delight in being part of Gods eternal plan.
And who can be called?
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
8 A mí, que soy menos que el más pequeño de todos los santos, me fue dada esta gracia de anunciar entre los gentiles el evangelio de las insondables riquezas de Cristo, 9 y de aclarar a todos cuál sea el plan del misterio escondido desde los siglos en Dios, el creador de todas las cosas,
God calls the least, there is no way God can use me in His kingdom.
I am too weak.
If you are here thinking you are the least of who God will call then you are who God is calling.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
9 Y me ha dicho: «Bástate mi gracia, porque mi poder se perfecciona en la debilidad». Por tanto, de buena gana me gloriaré más bien en mis debilidades, para que repose sobre mí el poder de Cristo.
You know why God calls the least or the unprepared?
When he starts to fill those people then there is nothing in the way for Him to flow through them.
God glorifies himself in your weakness because you cannot take the credit for the power he can exhibit through you.
In the verses right before this Paul talks about a thorn in his flesh which God denied removing from him at that moment so that Paul may remain humble and God can do more than Paul can do on his own.
Immeasurably more. (Inconmensurablemente mas)
There are things we pray to God for that he may withhold in order to keep you humble, so that his power may perfect itself.
****His help can come in the form of discipline and trials, but His purpose is always to strengthen us and conform us into the image of Christ.
(SHOUT) THERE IS A THORN IN MY FLESH. MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT.
So if I accept the call (invitation), the power we need to carry out that call is available. Where do we get it?
Let’s keep reading..
11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
11 conforme al propósito eterno que hizo en Cristo Jesús, nuestro Señor, 12 en quien tenemos seguridad y acceso con confianza por medio de la fe en él.
This is very similar to what we read in Hebrews...
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
16 Acerquémonos, pues, confiadamente al trono de la gracia, para alcanzar misericordia y hallar gracia para el oportuno socorro.
When we are lacking, when we are in need we have access to the throne of grace which gives us what we need.
The veil was torn.
We are called to be part of Gods eternal plan. In that plan we are called to live a life separated for Him, to obey Him. That includes a call to love and serve those around you and to share the Gospel.
We are called, we are empowered and can find access to that power at the throne of grace.
Through prayer and seeking Him. Draw near and he will draw near to you.
We are to come near in confidence that we will find what we need when we draw near to Him.
I would like to end where we started.
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
When St. Paul calls himself the “prisoner of Jesus Christ,” he represents our Lord’s own will, as ordaining his captivity for His own transcendent purposes of good, making him an “ambassador in chains”. Paul wrote many of his epistles to the churches while locked up in a cramped prison cell, yet he never spoke of being a prisoner of his circumstances; instead, he called himself “a prisoner of Christ”. He was in prison for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, so he calls himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles. He was the prisoner of Christ, and Christ was with him in his bondage.
Although he was literally in prison, it was not because of anything unethical but because of his obedience to the call of God He went to prison a total of three times, over the course of about 6 years.
He remained faithful to the call. But he could not do it without the power and without access to God through prayer as needed.
And why did He remain faithful, because he knew God had a plan.
God’s plan is greater than anything we can fully fathom because it is all designed to bring him the maximum honor and glory. God’s sovereignty, knowledge, wisdom, love, and justice (to name a few) are all displayed in his plan of salvation. The more we grasp this, the better we understand our own finitude and reliance on God.
