A Thankful Family: Thankful For God’s Gracious Plan

A Thankful Family:

Thankful For God’s Gracious Plan

Ephesians 3:1-11 (NLT)

1 When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . 2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. 3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. 4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. 7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

As A Thankful Family….

We can be grateful that God used Paul for , despite being in a bad situation. We can also thank God for using us in the same way, even if we don’t see the good in our .

1 “When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . “

2 Peter 3:15-16, “This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.”

We can be grateful that God chose to His gracious to us.

Ephesians 1:9 “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in Heaven and on earth.”

6-7 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

We can be grateful that God uses us despite our and our .

8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.”