Every Thursday night there is a student leadership meeting. The student leadership team is composed of the young adults and interns who help lead the student ministry. During our meeting we discuss the past week of youth ministry and then we open up Scripture together. This past Thursday the meeting was at my house (I live with the youth pastor). After putting down some awesome lasagna, salad, and breadsticks, we transitioned to Ephesians 1.
Ephesians 2 is the oft-quoted chapter which details how God's election and the reconciliation work He completed in Christ. What I never realized is that Ephesians 1 lays the groundwork for Ephesians 2. I was going to quote from it, but it is much more beneficial for you to read the entire passage.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Note the beautiful unity of the Trinity in our salvation. The Father elects, the Son redeems, the Spirit seals. God is the one who does the work of salvation. Praise God for his 'lavish' grace! Also note that the phrase "to the praise of his glory" is repeated three times and the phrase "according to the riches of his grace" is also used. God does not save us for any merit that we might have. Rather, salvation is done for His glory and His glory alone.
As a leadership team we discussed the connection between this passage and our ministry. As we labor to embody the gospel to the students we are comforted knowing that it is not our work to accomplish. It is God's. Any conversation we have, any devotional we lead, any activity we organize, all of it has an impact on the students only according to God's plan. There is no greater comfort in ministry than to know that God saves. There is also no greater discomfort. I want to be in control. As an American, I think that if I just work hard enough and do my job well enough, then I should see results and be 'successful'. If God is in control, I am not in control, and that just doesn't sit well with me. May God continue to impress upon me that He alone is sovereign and that my ministry is actually a gracious invitation from Him to join on His mission. Hopefully one day I will be able to proclaim with Job "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:2)
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