Witnessing to Jesus (based on Ephesians 3:1-13)

Paul is here described as a “prisoner” for Christ Jesus (v.1). This could simply relate to Paul’s actual imprisonment, that his activity for the gospel had landed him in jail. But this could also more broadly refer to his personal thinking about his missional call, and his feeling of compulsion to follow through!

We know that this former persecutor of Jesus followers was personally met by Jesus on the road to Damascus and there and then called into mission to the Gentiles. Paul felt compelled to follow this path, because he was so grateful that the truth had been revealed to him in such an awesome way, but also because he now understood the ‘lostness’ of the world around him. The people of Israel were largely lost in the outward pretence of religion, whilst the Gentiles had been disconnected with their creator God and desperately needed a fresh opportunity to find real faith. In short, Paul knew that he had been called to present a living and faithful witness to the saving presence of Jesus that he himself had encountered. With his background he was well-placed to go the Gentiles with the gospel, hoping that in time (and through the ministry of others like Peter and James) the Jewish people would also accept the good news of Jesus.

But Paul’s first and foremost connection was not so much to the task, but to the person who impelled the task – ie. Jesus. In those brief moments following his personal encounter with Jesus, he had decided to invest everything of himself into following Jesus into the needs of the world. How could Paul cope with all the complexities and difficulties and hardships and opposition (and even the actual physical imprisonment)? Because he lived in deep communion with Jesus, and therefore would grow through any of the circumstances that were thrown at him over time! For Paul his life was more about ‘being’ than ‘doing’; the ‘doing’ of the task of mission was purely an outcome of the person he had ‘become’ since meeting Jesus.

Paul could do no other than serve Jesus, as Jesus had first served him. Thus, we should not read this description of being a “prisoner” negatively … as Paul being trapped and restricted; Paul did not think this way. Rather this was a blessed calling – bringing significant purpose to his life – that was not only compelling but also exciting. Paul could not escape this calling, but neither did he want to! This mission to the Gentiles was the air that fuelled his lungs, and the blood that circulated his body. This mission was who Paul was now!!

We can see that in verse 13, people within the early churches may have looked at Paul’s suffering for the gospel of Jesus, and shook their heads – first in sympathy for what Paul had had to endure, and second … thinking that there was no way that they could get involved in such missionary enterprise. Paul replies to this that indeed he has necessarily suffered as a trailblazer in a challenging environment, yet this has been in the service of all who will follow – that they may too experience the living company of Jesus in a daily walk of service (Paul’s sufferings are transformed in the hands of God into our blessings – just as Christ’s sufferings were transformed into our salvation).

So, now that Paul is a “prisoner” of Christ Jesus, he is wholly a “servant” of the gospel (v.7). So, now that we are “followers” (and I’ll use the more pleasant sounding word – although maybe it’s not that much more comforting, as Jesus’ path led to a cross) “followers” of Jesus, we too are servants of the gospel and witnesses to Jesus. We’ll now have a look at verses 8-10, to see if there’s anything there to inform us regarding our witness to Jesus. What do you see here?

(1) “Although I am the very least of all the saints…” – humility > we should witness to Jesus, not out of a pretence of what we should be like, but rather from the base of what we actually are. In this way we don’t pretend we’re something, only to let people down later (when the reality is revealed). And so we don’t need so much to seek to build strength before we witness, we rather become prepared to witness in our weakness – allowing others to experience our real humanity … our vulnerable, sometimes doubting, sometimes chaotic, yet hopeful and faithful reality. We would also not want to witness out of any dogmatic superiority or forceful impatience (or even intellectual depth), but rather as co-travellers in the journey of life. When we are doing well and feel confident and together, we must remember that this is so purely through the grace of God, and nothing we have been able to achieve on our own.

(2) “…to bring…the news of the boundless riches of Christ” – revelation > this would include sharing with people (as we have the opportunity) about the ethical teaching of Jesus, the transformational healing of Jesus, how Jesus is the chosen revealer of the nature of God, the sacrifice of Jesus on behalf of us, the resurrection of Jesus, his sending of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus’ personal availability as friend, saviour and guide.

(3) “…to make everyone see what is the plan…” – salvation > the plan tied up in the mystery of God is that all humankind have the opportunity of regaining a relationship with their Creator, which not only opens up a much better option for eternity, but also makes sense of everyday life. God loves all people so much, and identified so closely with their need, that He sent Jesus (his beloved Son) into the world, in a vulnerable human body, in the midst of difficult political times, for the express purpose of reconnecting with human lives. Whatever a person’s need is – God can touch this need through Jesus!

So there is a helpful pattern here, which describes the witnessing process – God using us to bring others to Him. We sincerely live out our lives in the presence of our families, friends and neighbours, thus earning the right to speak about Jesus as given the opportunity, and thereby allow people to connect their own sense of need with the very available answer. We are in a good position to carry this out, because like all those who live around us, we are human, and are dramatically impacted with environmental concerns like: illness, financial pressures, work conflicts, loneliness, relationship concerns, fears, and the list goes on and on.

(4) “so that through the church the wisdom of God…might now be made known…” – impact > such witness will not only result in personal change, but also have much broader impact in the community and society in which we collectively live. The gathering of followers of Jesus into churches, and the seeking out together of God’s solutions for various societal problems (from the “wisdom of God”), and the application of such solutions, will have a tremendous influence for good in the community – and the community leaders will take notice (as the integrity of our practical worship spreads abroad into the heavens). The church must ‘be’ (must provide) a notable display of God’s wisdom. And this “wisdom of God” is described as having “rich variety”, which suggests to me that the wisdom of God (if we can just get a hold of it) is all encompassing, there’s no human problem that the “wisdom of God” can’t address. Whereas there mightn’t be a ‘black and white’ answer available in the bible (chapter and verse), but a prayerful concentration on the balance of scripture and particularly Jesus’ life might just give it to us!!

To be a witness to Jesus is to live out a life that shows very obviously a faith and a hope that has its source beyond human capacity. When stuff happens, our response, under the gaze of our neighbours, is very different to the person without such faith and hope. There is an element here in verse 13, whereby as we emulate Paul in his service (even under difficulty), our own sufferings build our reputation in the sight of the world and thus become our “glory”; and such “glory” as this leads to an appreciation of the greater “glory” of God.

To be a witness to Jesus is also to have positive attitudes towards other people – to understand that the more difficult of people may have lived through complex difficulties, and to see them as Jesus does. We should attempt to like people and connect positively with them. For introverts like me, this takes tremendous energy, yet we are “prisoners” for Christ Jesus, so what else would we do!