The Prisoner of Christ for You

The Prisoner

(Ephesians 3:1)

Although Paul was confined in a Roman prison, he introduced himself not as a prisoner of the Jews or the Roman Emperor, but as the prisoner of Christ Jesus. He believed God placed him under Christ’s control to fulfill His purpose.

1. Because of Christ
If Paul had not acknowledged God’s providence that had confined him, he might have resented that his life was full of hardships and tried human methods to escape the situation. However, he knew he was suffering for God’s work and rejoiced that what he was going through was advancing the Gospel. Though his life was thoroughly deprived of the happiness one can have as a human, he was grateful that God’s dispensation was being achieved through God’s providence on him.

2. For the Sake of the Church
But there were those who had little regard for Paul, though they were indebted to him. “Paul is just doing what he has to do. That is his job. What he does isn’t actually for us, so why should we be thankful to him?” Despite talking about the Lord’s grace, they turned away from Paul, who was holding on to the Lord and sacrificing his life for them.

3. Key Players in God’s Providence
While we may not always realize, the reason we came this far in the grace of God was because there were those who helped us according to God’s will. They were imprisoned by God’s will and sacrificed their lives. Now it is time for each of us to bear the providence given by God. Whoever is a member of the church is a key player in God’s providence. Let’s joyfully obey the Lord, who guides each of us. Let’s serve the church and endure hardships. Since the Lord seeks to fulfill the Father’s will, let’s completely surrender ourselves to His hands.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim