And so this evening we'll continue
our meditation in the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, the
third chapter, and this evening we'll just consider the two verses,
number seven and eight. So the seventh and eighth verses
in the third chapter of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. And
Paul says, whereof I was made a minister. according to the
gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working
of his power. Unto me, whom less than the least
of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Well, the Apostle Paul makes
a very clear statement And very clearly he gives all the honor
and glory to God. He doesn't claim any virtue himself. He doesn't say, well, he was
worthy of any notice, but he puts all the blessing back to
God and very clearly tells us that it is because of the grace
of God, which is the free unmerited favor of God to each one of us
and especially here to the Apostle Paul in blessing him with this
wonderful favour of being called to preach the unsearchable riches
of Christ. He tells us whereof I was made
a minister and he was made a minister by God. He didn't make himself
a minister, although he was very well educated and very knowledgeable
on the things of God because he'd been brought up at the feet
of Gamaliel, but nonetheless he clearly states here that he
was made a minister. Every true servant of God who
is called to preach the gospel, all God's people are servants,
let's not forget that, but there are those who God does, in his
sovereign will and purpose, ordain to preach the unsearchable riches
of Christ. And those servants are made servants
by God. They don't produce it themselves,
They don't obtain it by their natural learning. It is the gift
of God to such. And so the apostle clearly states
this. whereof I was made a minister
according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by
the effectual working of his power." This is a glorious gift,
and a glorious gift that God does give to some to preach the
unsearchable riches of Christ. And so he tells us here that
he was given unto me by the effectual working of his power. You see,
God's power is not ineffectual. God's power is effectual. And therefore, through the preaching
of the Gospel, through those whom he has sent to preach the
Gospel, it will be an effectual word. It won't be just mere,
as it were, beating the air, just a mere historical account,
just something very interesting to our natural intellect. But
it will have the effect of the work of the Holy Spirit upon
the hearts of true believers. And how amazing this is, and
how wonderful it is, and how we recognize and prove it is
because of His grace, the effectual working of His power, and those
of us who know the effect of that power through the preaching
to our souls, have the evidence that it is not of the flesh,
it is of the blessed, wonder-working power of Almighty God. And then he, therefore, explains. He tells us what he's like. unto me. Yes, it was unto the
Apostle Paul. That man who'd been a persecutor,
that man who had opposed the things of God, he tells it unto
me. Then he ascribes himself. What a good description it is.
What a humbling description it is, and how necessary it is. that those who are called to
be ministers don't think they're great, don't think they're anybody
important, but the Apostle Paul lays it out clearly here. He
says, unto me, who am less? He doesn't say the least. He
says less than the least of all saints. He put himself right
at the bottom, below everyone else. Less than the least. That's a good position for all
of us, really, to consider ourselves less than the least, never to
think we're worthy of notice, never to think that we should
expect to be spoken well of, but to recognize that we are
less than the least, but yet wonderfully privileged to preach
the unsearchable riches of Christ. So he says, unto me who am less,
And the least of all saints is this grace given. And what a
grace it is. You see, God gives grace to all
of his people. He gives different graces. But
what a mercy it is if those who are called receive and they will
receive this blessed and wonderful grace given. And that is this
great purpose to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ. We know, of course, that Paul
was specifically sent to the Gentiles, and therefore he is
now speaking to the Gentiles, principally those at Ephesus. And he's able to speak in this
way, that I should preach how important it is that he had,
therefore, a thus saith the Lord. He could tell them that he was
sent by God. It wasn't just something he dreamt
up. He'd been sent by Almighty God, and it was through his great
and glorious grace to preach among the Gentiles this wonderful
truth, the unsearchable riches of Christ. That means The riches
contained in the Saviour are just beyond our natural ability
to search out in their depth and wonder and glory. And so
it is an amazing truth to think that Almighty God chooses unworthy
sinners to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. And just think
about the Saviour and what He did. Although He was rich, for
our sakes He became poor, that we through His riches, through
His poverty, might be rich. We receive the grace of God. We receive the truth of God. We receive the evidence that
we are amongst those for whom Christ has died. Those for whom
he has gone to prepare a place for in glory. This is the great
and glorious Saviour that the Apostle was privileged to declare.
And it's the same Saviour that all the servants of God are privileged
to declare. And we should never try to move
away from this. This is the centre of the Gospel. This is central to our religion. If it is not, then we're lacking. We're in the wrong course. But,
oh, what a blessing it is to recognize the wonder of this,
the unsearchable riches of Christ. You see, this will put Christ
so high, so lifted up, that you and I will bow down by His grace
and worship Him, that One who has done so much to redeem our
souls, that One who has not passed us by, that one who has looked
upon us, and he saw us lost and ruined in the fall, and yet loved
us, notwithstanding all the unsearchable riches of Christ." Well, it's
a tremendous subject, isn't it? We can't really enter into it
at all tonight. Time doesn't permit. But nonetheless,
let us meditate upon these two verses and realize the great
truth that it contains. and may our souls be encouraged
and blessed. The Lord bless his word. Amen.