November 09 2025

Sunday November 09

“The Effective Working of His Power”

Ephesians 3:6-8

6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Today we're continuing to look at Ephesians 3:6-8. In the opening verses of this chapter, we have already seen how that Paul is revealing the mystery, the mystery of the church to the Gentiles. This was especially to let them know they're as much a part of the body of Christ as the Jews are. Both Jews now and Gentiles can be made one in Christ Jesus in His church. It doesn't matter who we are, what our background is, where we come from, what our race is, God loves us, and God has given us His church.

Jesus said, “Upon this Rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell won't prevail against it”. Satan and the demonic forces of hell cannot stand up against the church as the church moves forward in the blessings and power of God through the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit. Oh, how exciting is that? People talk about the dead church. My friend, the church is not dead. The church is the body of Christ. Christ would have to die for the church to die. But Christ will not die. He is resurrected. The church is alive and well. The problem is a bunch of us believers who do not know what our position and power is in Jesus Christ, and we're living as though we are dead. Oh my God, help us to wake up to the riches that we have in Christ Jesus that Paul's talking about here to the church at Ephesus.

As Paul has already stated, he's been given a ministry because it's been revealed to him and the apostles the power and the ministry of the church. The mystery of the church, the body of Christ that brings us together and makes us one. This mystery and ministry is not only important to Paul as an apostle, which he makes it really clear in verse 8, but it is also important to the Gentiles: "To me who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given that I should preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Paul knows he has a ministry and he has a new power, the power of the Holy Spirit, the resurrected Christ working through him to fulfill the ministry that God has given him.

He is also making it clear that we as Gentiles, are members of His church, and both Jews and Gentiles, have the same power, have the same opportunity to minister and serve. We not only have a new position, we have a new power. I love what Paul writes in verse 7, "Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power." Paul is saying that the only way we can fulfill the ministry that God has given us and exercise the gift that God's given us, is by His grace. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “Only by His grace, I am what I am." We need to remember that God’s marvelous and wonderful grace is given to us when we humble ourselves. “God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). As we've already stated in previous chats, grace is everything we need, to be all that we should be for the glory of God, and to be energized by His Holy Spirit to do His will!

Paul called it “the effective working of His power”.  The word "working" here is energeia from which we get our word "energy." People often say to me, "Pastor Mike, how do you get all that energy?" Well the truth is, I don't feel like I have any energy. I'm physically worn out, especially with my age and my health at this point in my life. But I know that I get energy as I rely upon the Holy Spirit of the living God to work through me. At the moment of my obedience to His calling and leading and to His ministry He's given us, there's an energy that comes into me that's unexplainable.

That resurrection energy is the power of God. The word "power" is dunamis, which gives us our words "dynamic" and "dynamite." Paul has already told us about this mighty power in Ephesians 1:19-23, and he will mention it again in Ephesians 3:20 and Ephesians 4:16. The mighty resurrection power of Christ is available to us for daily life and service. It is found in in “the unsearchable riches of Christ”, that Paul says he's preaching among the Gentiles. And this is also what we should be sharing with the world around us. The unfathomable riches of Jesus Christ.

Oh, we're so wealthy in Jesus. If only we would open our hearts, our minds, and our lives to this great truth and reality, we would not be dead Christians. We'd be living Christians sharing the light of the Gospel with everyone around us.

God help us today. The world needs Jesus. He is the only answer to their problems and difficulties and challenges. And they can only find Jesus through us as we share Jesus with them.

God bless!