Key Passage: Ephesians 3:1-6
Supplementary Passages: Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 3:16
Have you ever worked on a project without a plan? If you have, you know it can lead to multiple do-overs and much frustration. Knowing and following a plan puts work in context and gives direction. Thankfully, God has always had a plan, and, through the Spirit, he has let us in on it.
Before the revelation of the Messiah, the details of God's plan were a mystery. In the Old Testament, God did give his people clues. For example, Psalm 117 calls all nations, not just Israel, to praise God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. Isaiah 60:1-3 reminds the people of Israel that, though the Gentiles were in darkness, God himself would shine upon them, and they would come to his light. Though these clues pointed the way, the plan remained a mystery until the Messiah came, bringing in himself the fact of God's Kingdom and the extravagance of God's grace toward all who trust him.
After Jesus ascended to the Father, the Spirit came and fully uncovered the mystery: the people of God now included all, Jews and Gentiles, who trust Messiah Jesus. The Spirit is the one in whom we come to know Jesus and understand his plan. Through this very moment, the Spirit's work of biblical illumination helps believers understand God’s amazing grace as revealed in the Old and New Testaments. By the Spirit, those who trust Jesus can look across the whole of Scripture and see God's plan: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
What does this mean for us? It means we have some choices to make. So, let us choose to trust the Spirit. Let us choose to work with him in Jesus' Kingdom project. Let us choose to love Jesus and one another by the Spirit. Let us choose to be one in heart and mind, proclaiming to ourselves and others the one story of God, proclaiming God's grace. Let us work together in the Spirit to make God’s message clear and compelling. Let us choose to carry out our Spirit-given ministry assignments, helping one another to become more and more like Jesus. Let us choose to weave our differences into one beautiful tapestry, reflecting the one Spirit, who reveals the one story to us and through us.
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