Ephesians 3:1-13: a reflection

1For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, 2if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you, 3how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, 4by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, 5which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, 6that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News, 7of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. 8To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ, 10to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, 11according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. 13Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.

Paul describes his calling to preach to the Gentiles in words that overflow with wonder at what he had been given to proclaim: the unsearchable riches of Christ. To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, he writes, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Unsearchable: the riches of Christ are so vast, so deep, that they cannot be searched out to their end, cannot be exhausted or fully measured. Paul had been preaching them for years, and still they were unsearchable, inexhaustible, beyond his finding out. The riches we have in Christ are not a small store that can be counted and spent, but an inexhaustible treasure that can never be reached to its bottom. Christ's riches are unsearchable, deeper than we can explore, richer than we can exhaust.

Notice the word Paul chooses: unsearchable. The riches of Christ are not merely great; they are unsearchable, beyond finding out, inexhaustible. However much we explore them, however deep we go, there is always more; they cannot be reached to their end. Paul, who had preached Christ for years, still called his riches unsearchable, as fresh and inexhaustible to him as ever. We do not come to the end of Christ; his riches are deeper than any exploration, vaster than any measure. What we have in him is not a limited store to be spent, but an inexhaustible treasure that grows only richer the more we know it. The riches of Christ cannot be searched out, cannot be exhausted, cannot be fully measured; they are unsearchable.

That is worth resting in, for the riches we have in Christ are unsearchable, inexhaustible, beyond our finding out. We can treat what we have in Christ as something small and quickly grasped, a store soon counted and set aside; but Paul calls the riches of Christ unsearchable, inexhaustible, deeper than we can explore. However long we know Christ, there is always more of him to discover; his riches are never spent. Do not treat the riches of Christ as a small store soon exhausted; they are unsearchable, inexhaustible, always more than you have found. Rest in the unsearchable, inexhaustible riches of Christ, which can never be counted to their end or exhausted however long you explore them, as Paul was given to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ; for what we have in him is not a limited treasure soon spent but a depth beyond all our searching, growing richer the more we know it, so that we never come to the end of Christ.

Lord, Paul describes his calling to preach to the Gentiles in words that overflow with wonder at what he had been given to proclaim: the unsearchable riches of Christ. To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, he writes, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Unsearchable: the riches of Christ are so vast, so deep, that they cannot be searched out to their end, cannot be exhausted or fully measured. Paul had been preaching them for years, and still they were unsearchable, inexhaustible, beyond his finding out. The riches I have in Christ are not a small store that can be counted and spent, but an inexhaustible treasure. Show me the word Paul chooses: unsearchable. The riches of Christ are not merely great; they are unsearchable, beyond finding out, inexhaustible. However much I explore them, there is always more; they cannot be reached to their end. Paul, who had preached Christ for years, still called his riches unsearchable, as fresh and inexhaustible to him as ever. I do not come to the end of Christ; his riches are deeper than any exploration. Let me rest in that, for the riches I have in Christ are unsearchable, inexhaustible, beyond my finding out. I can treat what I have in Christ as something small and quickly grasped, a store soon counted and set aside; but Paul calls the riches of Christ unsearchable. However long I know Christ, there is always more of him to discover. Keep me from treating the riches of Christ as a small store soon exhausted; help me rest in their unsearchable depth, Lord, which can never be counted to their end however long I explore them, as Paul was given to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.