Theological Commentary: Click Here
We continue
to experience Paul’s greater theme for this book. That theme is the salvation of the Gentiles. God wants anyone to be able to come to Him,
not just the Hebrew people. This is what
Paul continues to call the mystery of Christ.
We are saved by grace, not by our works or by our pedigree.
What’s neat
about this chapter is that Paul demonstrates several effects of this
reality. One such effect is that Christ
may dwell in our hearts. We can know
what it is like to dwell with Christ here and now. We can have the strength of God’s Spirit
within us. This is a great effect of His
mystery.
This gives
us another effect. Through His Spirit,
we can grow in our wisdom and understanding.
We can live in a love that surpasses knowledge and understanding,
reflecting the very love that God gives to us.
We can know the fullness of the measure of God. These are all a part of the mystery of God.
There is
external effect, too. Through the
mystery of Christ, God can establish His people. Through His people, God can make His wisdom
known to the world. God can make His
wisdom known to the heavens. Through His
mystery, God reveals Himself to all of creation around us. God is working not just for our sake, but for
all of creation.
In the end,
this is a wonderful cycle of God’s grace.
He is gracious to us, inviting us to become the next level of
demonstration of His grace to others. God
cares deeply about us, but He cares just as deeply about those who do not yet know
Him and who need an opportunity to do so.
It comes around full circle to relationship with God. That is indeed a mystery. God desires to be in relationship with
us. He desires to dwell with us.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment