Sunday May 17, 2026 – Ephesians 3:7-13
There is a temptation that the church faces to be discouraged because of an apparent lack of success. Paul was in prison because he preached the gospel and the Ephesian church was tempted to lose heart because of his tribulations. But Paul was not discouraged and the letter he wrote to the church at Ephesus is a declaration of his unshakeable belief in the plan of God to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and on earth. The church, as a body of Jews and Gentiles, is a testament to the cosmic plan of God in Christ to reconcile all to Himself. For God is making one new people in Christ. He is capturing citizens from Satan and his angels, who have held sway over the nations (since God divided them at Babel), by reconciling them to Himself by the blood of the cross. Therefore, we should take great confidence and rejoice in our position as the manifest wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. No longer do they have total control over the nations because Jesus has founded a new people. So take heart — all who trust in Christ and His finished work on the cross are partakers of this promise, heirs of this victory, and living proof that God’s plan cannot be stopped.