Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (St. John 7:24)

          To the untrained eye (such as mine!), the work of the Mexican painter Diego Rivera is, well, nice – but not captivating. At least initially.

          But when you examine his paintings from different perspectives, you begin to realize Rivera’s genius as an artist. Your understanding of a Rivera painting is transformed merely by stepping a couple of feet to the right or to the left. What you thought you had “figured out” suddenly contained more questions and possibilities – all because you changed your perspective on the painting.

          In our text this morning (Ephesians 3:7-13), the Apostle Paul emphasizes the same point to you and me: what appears on the surface to be devastating for the church actually is a cause for triumph. St. Paul, you see, was in prison in Rome for preaching the Gospel to Gentiles. At first glance, it might have seemed the church’s hopes were crushed by his imprisonment.

          It’s all a matter of the proper perspective, Paul says.

          The Ephesians needed to bear in mind three things: that God miraculously had redeemed a Christ-hater named Saul; that God used this redeemed sinner (named Paul) to reveal His glorious wisdom to mankind; and that Christians may rely on this same all-powerful, all-wise God as we boldly do His will.

          If you and I will remember the power of God in Christ already displayed in our lives, we’ll see this world filled not with obstacles but with opportunities to glorify Christ.

          First, this text encourages you to remember that almighty God redeemed a Christ-hater named Saul and made him a slave of Christ named Paul.

          Last week we considered the wonder of Paul’s conversion and how it magnified God, and our passage again this week emphasizes the awesomeness of Paul’s conversion to Christ. It is important to note in verses 7 and 8 that Paul uses the passive tense in describing his conversion: these things “were done” to him by the Lord God. He was made a servant of the Gospel. God graciously gave him the gift of salvation and, subsequently, of his apostleship; and all this was according to the effectual working of God’s power.

          It had to be the Lord’s doing, because Paul could not have saved himself!

          “Grace,” in Scripture, may be defined as God’s dealing kindly with you and me in Christ when we actually deserved His eternal wrath for our sin against Him. Grace is God doing for you in Christ what you never could accomplish on your own. In fact, you and I – like Saul before his conversion – were on our merry way to Hell, not caring about the will or the worship of the one, true God but instead focused on worshipping ourselves. But the Lord in His grace intervened, awakened you and me to our sinfulness and gave us faith in the Savior, Jesus. Salvation – for Paul, for you – is a miraculous work of God.

          Observe also that Jesus always saves the elect. Paul was redeemed and made an apostle by the “effectual working of God’s power.” The Lord, you understand, never fails to save those whom He has purposed from all eternity to save. If it were left to you and to me, we would fail! We would go to Hell. God, however, never fails to bring the dead to life, to save His church.

          Paul understood that his salvation and apostleship were the work of God, and he did not deserve either gift. Perhaps he was remembering his life as self-righteous Saul, in which he persecuted the church of Christ and murdered followers of Jesus, when he said he was (literally) the “leastest” of the saints (to coin a phrase). Paul’s was no false humility. He realized what he deserved – and what God had given him in Christ.

          Still, though, Paul was a saint: a holy one of the Lord, declared righteous by the holiness of Jesus credited to him. Christ’s blood was more powerful than the stain of his sin and washed him clean. Christ’s righteousness imputed to Paul stood the test of God’s perfect judgment. Weak and undeserving though he was, Paul still was a saint – and a redeemed servant of Jesus.

          You and I today overlook and fail to trust in the power of Almighty God, primarily because we’re so infatuated with ourselves. Think about it: there are plenty of “stars” in the church today, even in the PCA. We strut about with the latest and greatest ideas, full of ourselves, confident in our own abilities. No wonder our churches fail to see conversions and renewal.

          You need to remember your own deadness in sin. You need to remember that your status as a child of God owes totally to the work of God, even to convict you of sin and to give you faith in the Redeemer. You need to remember that you are a walking miracle of God, just as was Paul – and that you have been redeemed by God’s power for God’s good purposes, as was Paul.

          Second, this passage teaches that God, through Paul and the church, revealed His glorious wisdom for men and angels to behold.

          In Greene County, many professing churches emphasize the “conversion experience;” but once folks waddle down the aisle and say a quick prayer, they often wander into the world, never to be heard from again. Not Paul. He was redeemed and transformed by God for the purpose of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles.

          Paul’s preaching glorified the Lord God, for he proclaimed the boundless riches of Jesus to the Gentiles, who had been spiritually impoverished in their sin and in their ignorance of the one, true God and His means of salvation for the lost. Consider the riches of Jesus: when writing to the Colossians, Paul said all the riches of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. You and I know him to be the eternal Lord, our exalted Redeemer, of infinite power and majesty, ever ready to help us.

          Why, then, do you and I and so many professing believers in Greene County have such a shallow faith in Christ? Why are we content to spend an hour Sunday morning doing our duty, then muddle through the rest of the week as though Jesus – by whom all things were created – were irrelevant? You know how many riches you have: you receive a bank statement every month! Even wealthy Bill Gates knows how much material wealth he possesses; his kingdom does, after all, have limits.

          Jesus has no limitations to his power, truth and goodness. You and I need to drink deeply of him every day – and to trust in his power.

          Paul manifested the power and wisdom of God not only as he preached Christ’s riches but also as he, through his preaching ministry, caused men of all types to see the glorious plan of God to unite Jew and Gentile in Christ. This, Paul says, was the mystery once hidden in God the Creator from the beginning of the world but now revealed in Paul’s preaching.

          God’s eternal plan was one day, even in our own dispensation, to bring believing Jews and Gentiles together in the Lord Jesus Christ. The church reveals the multifaceted wisdom of God to mankind, because man is too foolish to understand the power and plan of the Lord on his own. You’ll recall that from an Old Testament perspective, men assumed that the Lord only saved the Jewish people, and He only did so by means of rudimentary sacrifices and elaborate rituals. But in Jesus, who possesses boundless riches, you and I see all the Old Covenant rituals come together and find their fulfillment. And in him, Jew and Gentile – once warring parties! – are brought together as one family. Who could have imagined such a plan, with such fellowship?

          You and I this morning bear witness to God’s rich, varied wisdom. Look around you: there are those who don’t speak like you, whose ancestors fought your ancestors in a war some 150 years ago. In the church catholic, we see former druggies and divorcees, outcasts and preacher’s kids, united by the most-vital bond of all: the lifeblood of Jesus Christ. Only God could have planned to bring us together and to Himself, and only He can unite us truly in the Lord Jesus.

          We, just as the Christians of Paul’s day, are a testimony on earth and in Heaven to the eternal wisdom and power of the God who can do all things in Christ Jesus.

          This means, third, that you and I must rely on the Lord as we boldly seek His glory in daily life.

          When you look around and see obstacles to the church’s advancement – persecution of believers, “fakey” Christianity in Leakesville and beyond, lewdness that pervades entertainment – remember that you have access to God’s throne of grace through the merits of Christ. Paul says that by the faith of Jesus (his faithful obedience to the Father and, thus, his right to be in the Father’s presence) you and I have access and boldness to speak to the Father in Christ’s Name. In fact, we can be confident (the word in Greek refers to being persuaded of something) that the Father hears and accepts us because His Son has earned that privilege for us.

          This acceptance, then, is really an invitation to call on our Father as we live for Him. Jesus says our Father knows how to give us the very best spiritual gifts, yet we have not because we ask not.

          Do you pray boldly for revival in the Leakesville Presbyterian Church? Do you pray confidently for the conversion of the lost? Do you pray expectantly for God’s help in mortifying sin in your heart and life?

          You may – and you must.

          Paul ultimately requested that the Ephesian Christians not lose heart for their ministry because he was in prison for the Gospel’s sake. In fact, this too was a part of God’s eternal plan for Paul, and his suffering for Jesus – recall, he once made Christians suffer! – was proof of the transforming power of the Savior. Paul’s sufferings thus confirmed the Gospel in which the Ephesians believed, and believing on Christ as he is offered in the Gospel assured them of glory.

          It’s really a matter of perspective. On the surface, imprisoned Christians and resistance to the Gospel might cause you and me to despair of our service to Jesus. We might think: “Oh, they won’t believe. It’s no use.”

          Remember, though, that you – like Paul – are a miracle of God, revealing his power to redeem rebellious sinners. You and I together testify to the wisdom of God, who is able to build His church through the cross even when men say it is impossible. And you have recourse to this all-powerful, all-good God at all times in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Consider Whom you serve, and the obstacles fade away. All you can see are opportunities.