If you could ask your 18 year old self, would that version of you be able to know where you would be today? I actually think I may have been pretty close. But I’m positive I wouldn’t have been able to predict much of how my life turned out. And even if I made big plans to see certain things in my life, we’re often unable to bring them about.

So much of life seems like a mystery to us, doesn’t it? We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. We can make plans, and it’s good to plan for the future, but all of our plans are tentative. But God can and does accomplish all of His plans. In fact, God can accomplish everything that He desires.

Ephesians 3:1-7 says:

For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you. The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. By reading this you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, this is the definition of “free will.”

So most people think that we have a free will. And, of course, in many ways, that’s true. But the Bible seems to say that by nature, we’re slaves to sin. If you don’t believe me, answer me this: how many of us have procrastinated in the past year? We don’t have a good, free will. In fact, by nature, because of the fall, we’re inclined toward sin.

In contrast, Paul saw himself as the prisoner of Christ Jesus. (v. 1) This is ironic because we usually talk about how Jesus has set us free. And in Christ, we are free. But the point that Paul is making is that when we see how free we are in Christ, we gladly subject ourselves to Him. Galatians 5:13 says:

For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.

If we continue to sin because we convince ourselves we’re already forgiven, we haven’t yet understood our freedom from sin because of our freedom in Christ. And this is something we all continue to struggle with, isn’t it?

So Paul’s freedom in Christ caused him to have a passion to minister and preach to the Gentiles. (v. 1b-2) This was unexpected given Paul’s background. And certainly Paul continued to minister to his family, the Jews. And yet, Paul directed much of his ministry to winning the Gentiles to Christ.

How might God be calling you to minister to others, whether in familiar ways, or unfamiliar? Seeing yourself as a prisoner of Christ because of your freedom in Christ, be willing to step out in faith to do what God calls you. So what was it that convinced Paul to become the apostle to the Gentiles?

It was what Paul referred to as the mystery of Christ. (v. 3-5) So here Paul is building up the anticipation for revealing what the mystery is. He says three things:

1. The mystery was revealed to me by revelation.
2. I’m going to tell you what it is, and you’re going to understand the mystery.
3. Nobody throughout all of history has fully understood the mystery like we do today.

So as we read this passage, we should also anticipate the revealing of this mystery.

And then Paul tells us what it is. (v. 6) Gentiles are also co-heirs of all of God’s promises and members of the same body as the Jews. And we read this today and think, “Of course that’s true!” But for the Jews and even the Gentiles living in the first century, this was revolutionary! The racial and historical divide was so stark that it was unthinkable! And it just seemed like an impossible, unattainable goal.

But it’s actually the goal that God set from the beginning. Genesis 12:1-3 says:

The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

And Ephesians 1:9-10 says:

He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

But, once again, God can accomplish everything that He desires. Jeremiah 32:27 says:

Look, I am the Lord, the God over every creature. Is anything too difficult for me?

And 1 Timothy 2:4 says:

[God] wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

You see, God has a good, free will, and He’s able to bring about the mystery of His will in us. We should each be amazed that God loves us and that we can be a part of the family of God.

So Paul reflects on his own blessing in being called to serve God as a member of His family. (v. 7) As believers, it’s a blessing to be called God’s servants. It’s God’s grace that we should be able to serve God and share the gospel. And we can only do it by His power working through us.