Riches of Gods Grace - I am Paul 1 of 3 - Paul the Prisoner

Ephesians 3:1 3 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) PAUL THE PRISONERIntro: Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church is a blessing. For it is in this letter that we learn about who we are and all that we have as a result of God’s grace. We have discovered the truth that grace is the reason we are saved in the first place. We have learned about how lost we really were before the Lord came to us and delivered us from the bondage and deadness of our sins. We have learned that, in Jesus, we are brought near to God. We have learned that through Jesus, we are in His kingdom. We are members of his family. We are stones in the living temple of God. For me, the journey to this place in this book has been a joy, a challenge and a blessing As Paul opens this chapter, he begins with the intention of praying for the Ephesian church. He makes the opening statement we have here in verse 1, then for the next thirteen verses Paul delays his prayer as he continues to talk about the divine mystery of the body of Christ. He doesn’t begin his prayer until verse 14. We will look at the teaching in these verses over the next few weeks.