Speaking the Mystery

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

SPEAKING THE MYSTERY

Eph 6:19-24

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

NIV

One last thought about this letter as we look at the concluding statement of Paul. He is asking for prayer that whenever he opens his mouth, words may be given to him so that he will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. We need that same prayer from others so that we, who are filled with the Spirit of God, may be given the words whenever we open our mouths so that we can fearlessly declare and make known the mystery of the gospel. We do wonder if this is just when we have the opportunity to preach the word, and if so, then this only applies to those in the position of pastor/teacher. However, are we not all called to be a witness for Jesus? Then it is up to everyone to declare the mystery of the gospel fearlessly, as we should. Does that mean we cannot talk about the mundane things of life, and whenever we open our mouths, something about the mystery of the gospel should come out. Yet, at the same time, Paul was called to declare the gospel message, in some sense, as an evangelist, missionary, pastor/teacher, and perhaps a prophet. All the gifts to the church could be seen in the travels of Paul. However, we are nothing like Paul, not in the slightest bit. Yet we are still called to share our testimony, being that witness of the power of God at work in us, and in so we are declaring the mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Years ago, within one of the denominations, the youth groups were called Christ ambassadors. We all are ambassadors of our sovereign Lord, speaking with diplomatic immunity for our Sovereign. This is the task of any ambassador, not to speak his own words, but to represent his head of state of his origin country. Because we have been adopted into the kingdom of God and that is now our country, we serve at the pleasure of our sovereign and speak not from our own words, but from the words we are given by the Spirit. We wonder if Paul ever spent time talking about the mundane things of life or was, he always speaking from the inspiration of the Spirit. Have we become too much like the world, accepting the trivial matters of life as the normal conversation and rarely, if ever, bringing up the mystery of the gospel? Perhaps we need to refocus our lives on the things of God and speak about Jesus Christ as the saving grace of God, a mystery that has been revealed to us. Let us talk about this mystery.