The Reason

“When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Yeshua HaMashiach for the benefit of you Gentiles . . . assuming, by the way, that you know YAHVEH gave me the special responsibility of extending His grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, YAHVEH Himself revealed His mysterious plan to me. 

As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding HaMashiach. YAHVEH did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by His Spirit He has revealed it to His holy apostles and prophets. And this is YAHVEH’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by YAHVEH’s children. Both are part of the same body and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Yeshua HaMashiach.

By YAHVEH’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all YAHVEH’s people, He graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in HaMashiach. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that YAHVEH, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. YAHVEH’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. 

This was His eternal plan, which He carried out through Yeshua HaMashiach our Adonai. Because of HaMashiach and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into YAHVEH’s presence.” (Ephesians 3:1 – 12) (Also read Isaiah 60:1 – 6; Psalm 72:1 – 7, 10 – 14; Matthew 2:1 – 12) It is an intensely private matter when YAHVEH sneaks into one’s life. Add to that the moment when YAHVEH sets up shop and asks for Kingdom service as well and it is awkward, even impossible, to find the words to describe the indescribable. In part it is what Paul encountered. At a crucial juncture in his life and ministry, Paul found himself defending his ministry and mission strategy to a church whom he had never met. They certainly knew of the old apostle, but they did not know him. So he is attempting to outline for them the reasons for his calling and more important, why that calling pushed him beyond the safe borders of ministry exclusively to the Jews but to the Gentiles as well. It was risky business and Paul knew that. The risks for the old apostle are well known. He was frequently imprisoned for his work and as a result of his commitment to HaMashiach. He was imprisoned and yet remarkably free. Why endure the risk and the threats? Why continue to follow such a perilous path? Why did Paul do it? Even more perplexing: Why do we do it?

I.) It begins with the commission of grace (3:2). That grace so powerfully bestowed upon Paul was not an exclusive phenomenon, intended only for a certain kind of person. What Paul encountered was the very thing that he would later preach. The gospel is for all who are willing to follow in the path of Yeshua HaMashiach. It is an interesting phrase - “the commission of grace.” It holds a unique, almost dichotic feature. The emphasis on commission denotes one who is sent or compelled to be in service. Correspondingly, the word grace features an unusual, unmerited action of YAHVEH in our lives. It both grips and released us in one action. Nothing could better describe YAHVEH’s work in the life of Paul. Because of YAHVEH’s remarkable intervention in Paul’s life on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), the power of grace became Paul’s lifelong commission to service. His conversion is one of the most unique in scripture. His call is actually twofold in nature: he was both converted and commissioned in one fell swoop from YAHVEH. Although the moment was unique to Paul, the dynamics hold for all who call upon the Name of Adonai. When we choose to follow HaMashiach, we truly receive our commission from YAHVEH that day. We sign on to be loyal and obedient followers of HaMashiach from that moment on. It is not a temporary, knee - jerk response; it is a life - changing, destiny – defining event.

II.) Paul’s great ministry was a ministry to the masses regardless of ethnicity or nationality. The story of YAHVEH’s redemptive work is wrought with twists and turns. None is more evident than in the intriguing way YAHVEH used a hard-headed, hard-hearted, dyed-in-the-wool Hebrew named Saul to introduce the universality of the gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach (3:4 – 10). In part what unfolds in Paul’s work goes back to the previous assertions. Paul was under a great summons from YAHVEH. Indeed, he identifies himself as a “servant to the gospel” (3:7) in order to see YAHVEH’s work accomplished. His great place in history is the pivotal matter. His preaching and teaching ministry shifted the momentum of the Kingdom toward including all persons in YAHVEH’s redemptive plan. Included in Paul’s understanding of this unique inclusiveness was the manner in which he viewed himself. Paul identified himself at the lower end of the human spectrum. He calls himself “the least of the saints” (3:8). Thus Paul felt compelled to reveal the mysterious, often hidden hand of YAHVEH in drawing all persons to Yeshua HaMashiach. Frankly, Paul was needed in the Church. It is always amazing how YAHVEH draws persons at just the right moment to serve in a remarkable Kingdom capacity. Paul was such a person. He stepped into the stream of history at the very moment that the gospel reach was to extend to all people.

III.) Of course, with all of Paul’s accolades and contributions, he was but a bit player in a much larger drama. He rightly reminds the Church that at the epicentre of YAHVEH’s redemptive plan stands only one, Yeshua HaMashiach. Everything that Paul endured, be it the suffering or the imprisonment, was but a reflection of YAHVEH’s eternal purpose through His Son (3:11 – 12). The reminder is a sober one. YAHVEH’s purposes are revealed through Yeshua HaMashiach. It is a correction to many misguided theologies that assert the centrality of the human contribution to YAHVEH’s great work. Paul is purposeful in his theology that because of Yeshua HaMashiach we can be bold in our faith and have confidence in our YAHVEH. That kind of trust is like a gyroscope. It balances our lives - even in the midst of the storms - and keeps us centred appropriately in Yeshua HaMashiach. It is in Him that our questions and uncertainty find their ultimate reason. He is the reason for our life.