Ephesians begins with Paul qualifying himself as an Apostle. God chose him and he had a personal encounter with Jesus on the road toDamascus. The other Apostles knew Jesus before he died, but Paul did not. God had a special purpose for Paul and He has a special purpose for us. We all have had our road to Damascus.
The Message Bible states “by the divine will—the purpose and the choice of God”. That goes for us too. Jesus told us that no one can come to Him unless the Father calls him. The Father called me and you. Whether or not we respond to Him is on us.
There is a job for each of us to do. We were called according to His purpose and set on a path to bring others into the kingdom. We are given specific spiritual gifts to enable us to do the work set before us. We were not saved to just go to heaven.
Just as Paul was chosen to serve the risen Christ, so are we. We are called “saints”, set apart ones. We are called to be “faithful, loyal and steadfast” in Christ (Message Bible).
Nothing should be more important than our call and no purpose should be higher than God’s purpose for us. If we keep the Kingdom first, all the rest is gravy.
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