On Display

Ephesians 3:7-13

Paul continually expresses his amazement that he was chosen by God in the first place and then called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles above that. His humility seems genuine (like I have any reason to doubt it!) but I know that if I spoke those phrases - the chief of sinners, the least of all God's people, etc. - it would not be true humility but reverse pride. I'd be looking for someone to say, "You're not so bad." When I realize how pervasive my pride is, I begin to recognize just how much of a sinner I am.
The verse that blows me away is v. 10. We, the Church, display the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms (which I think are angels and spirits). Specifically, in the context, the wisdom of God is seen in the uniting of Gentile and Jew. I think that we can take the principle and apply it to our context: we display God's wisdom to the degree that we, the Church, are spiritually united. I can't get over this: that the "show" that God decided to put on for the spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms was the church. I wonder how many standing ovations God has received based on the "show" the church puts on. I wonder how many times the spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms have wondered if God really knew what he was doing based on the behaviour of the church. But God has committed himself to this choice. He will reveal the wonders of his wisdom through the Church.
What an amazing responsibility we have! No wonder Paul prays in a different epistle that we would be worthy of the calling that we have received. This calling is not just to represent Christ to the world but to display the wisdom of God to the heavenly realms. This should make me fall to my knees and ask God to help us, his Church, to live up to this. There is no way we can do it on human effort (which is maybe why Paul immediately breaks into prayer for the Ephesian church after this section).