Friday 28/04/2023
Ephesians 3
Today’s reading is like a ‘long aside’ in Paul’s train of thought. “For this reason” is interrupted by this aside and he picks up his train of thought again at v14. It is as if he is asking his readers “Can I just check, you have got it clear, haven’t you, that Jesus is as much for the Gentiles as he is for the Jews?” In yesterday’s reading, v15, Paul boldly stated that God’s purpose was to create ‘one new man’ out of the two, Gentile and Jew. It was not that Gentiles had to become Jews, nor that Jews had to become Gentiles, but that being a ‘new disciple’ was the aim for both. Paul refers to this as ‘the mystery’, which is not something ‘mysterious’, but a truth that God was holding until the right time came for it to be revealed. That glorious truth is that through faith in Jesus we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Is one of those approaches particularly special for you today? And that’s just an aside!
The Revd. David Hildred
