The letter to the church at Ephesus was written to a community of Christ followers by Paul. Paul was writing to shape their identities in the gospel. He was so excited about writing to them about Jesus that he started his letter with a single, huge, sentence that contains seven verbs: blessed,chose, destined, bestowed, lavished, made known, and gather up.
…making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ (Ephesians 1:9 ESV)
Have you felt like you were ever in the dark? As though you were on the outside looking in? Maybe it was when some friends had an inside joke and you didn’t understand the punch line. We’ve all had those experiences, where it seemed like everyone else was in the know.
When it comes to our heavenly Father, he’s let us in on the secret. The sixth “rocket verb” of the opening of Ephesians is “making known…” The Father is letting us in on the story. We’re not on the outside. The mystery of his will is set forth in Christ.
Do you want to know the will of God? Look at Christ. Read his story. Immerse yourself in it. When we do, we come to find out that we are to be people of compassion, mercy, truth, honesty, justice, righteousness, grace, and love. We are to step into the lives of those around us. We are to be present.
God making known his will in Jesus frees us from ourselves to love others well.
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