In the last message we saw the believer’s standard. In this message we shall consider the way to reach this standard.
Ephesians 3:1 says, “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you, the nations.” This verse is not a complete sentence; it contains a subject but not a predicate. All the verses from 3:2 through 3:21 are a parenthesis, and Darby places them within parentheses in his translation. This means that 4:1 continues Paul’s thought in 3:1. As Paul was writing this Epistle, a burden rose up in him in 3:2 to utter a parenthetical word. Then he continued in 4:1, “I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called.” Here Paul completed the thought he began to express in 3:1. Thus, by putting 3:1 and 4:1 together we have a complete thought.
The lengthy parenthesis between 3:1 and 4:1 is an extremely crucial section of Ephesians. In this portion Paul indicated that he longed for all the believers to be the same as he was. As those who would walk worthily of God’s calling, we must take Paul as our standard. In order that we might do this, Paul presented himself as an example. In chapter three Paul did not speak on the basis of being an apostle called by God, but he spoke on the basis of being a prisoner of the Lord. As such a prisoner, he was the standard model of one who walked worthily of God’s calling. In chapter three of Ephesians Paul presented not only the standard, but also the way to reach this standard. Let us consider the various aspects of this way in some detail.
Firstly, we must all be stewards, just as Paul was (3:2). The stewardship is not limited to the leading apostles. Rather, it is universal; that is, it is for all the Lord’s disciples. For example, the parable of the steward in Luke 16 was spoken to the disciples. This indicates that every believer, including all of us, must be a steward. I believe that, when Paul spoke of the stewardship in 3:2, he realized within him that the stewardship is for all believers.
In Ephesians 3 Paul develops a concept presented by the Lord Jesus in the four Gospels. The Gospels reveal that all the believers are both stewards and slaves (Matt. 25:14-30). According to the Gospels, a slave is not different from a servant, a steward. The concept in Ephesians 3 is that not only the apostles are stewards and servants, but that all the believers are stewards and servants.
Because of the influence of their religious background and environment, not many Christians regard themselves as stewards. Do you realize that you are not simply a believer, one who trusts in the Lord for salvation? Moreover, have you seen that you are not just a disciple, one who is disciplined and trained? Have you seen that you are a steward, one who serves others with the riches of Christ? We all need to regard ourselves as stewards. If we have this concept, our whole Christian life will be changed. We are all stewards; even we could be called waiters, those imparting Christ’s riches to others as nourishing food. The “kitchen” in which all this food is prepared is the church. If you do not have anything with which to serve others, you may come to this “kitchen” and receive the supply.
Because our stewardship is the stewardship of the grace of God, we need to receive grace, even the abundance of grace. Yes, we all can be God’s sent ones and God’s spokesmen, but in order to fulfill such a function, we must have grace. John 1:16 says, “For of His fullness we all received, and grace upon grace.”
We have pointed out that all the believers are stewards. Furthermore, we as the stewards have the supply that comes from an excellent “kitchen.” But when we contact the “customers,” what shall we serve them? We need to serve them the very grace we have received.
Perhaps you are wondering how you can receive grace in a practical way. For this, we must get into the Word and pray with the Word. To get into the Word is to receive grace, and to pray with the Word is to touch reality. After getting into the Word and praying with the Word, we need to walk in spirit according to the Word. If we do these three things daily, we shall receive a continual supply of grace. With this grace, we shall be enlightened and shall experience the reality of God as grace. This grace spontaneously connects us to the church, giving us a vital link to the “kitchen.” In this way we become proper stewards.
If we say that we are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, but we do not get into the Word, pray, and walk in the spirit according to the Word, then what we have is just an empty title. We have no reality, and we have no way to reach the standard set by Paul.
In our prayer we should not be concerned about trivial matters. For example, do not pray about a minor problem with your health or about your temper. The more you pray about your temper, the more you will be troubled by it. Pray with the Word, especially with chapters like Ephesians 3. We should pray with the Word until it gets into us and fills us. When the Word gets into us and the Spirit fills our spirit, spontaneously our daily walk becomes worthy of God’s calling. We shall then walk in spirit according to the Word, and we shall receive grace and experience grace. By receiving grace in this way, we are brought on to the standard established by Paul.