Getting Excited About the Gospel
Pastors Gathering in Chicago with partners Paul Ogalo (Mathare, Kenya) and Alexis Perez (Havana, Cuba).
A former professor of mine used to say, “Your listeners will get the most excited about the things you are most excited about, so let’s make sure we are excited about the gospel.” In Ephesians 3, I see Paul truly excited about the preaching of Christ, using superlatives and hyperbole like “least,” “unsearchable,” “manifold,” and “eternal.”
Paul is writing from prison. Yet rather than lamenting his circumstances, he marvels at a gift. What he describes here is nothing less than a full portrait of the gospel ministry he is so excited about: its means, its purpose, its result, and its plea.
The Means: God’s Grace and Power
"To me," Paul writes, "though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given." The man who once hunted Christians now carries the most extraordinary commission imaginable, not by his résumé but by the gift of God's grace working through him. In the same way, our ministry doesn't begin with our ability. It begins with what God gives.
The Purpose: Preaching the Majesty of Christ
Paul's commission was, first, to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles, and second, to bring light to everyone. The preaching of Christ brings light to the nations and reveals the mystery hidden for ages. That phrase, unsearchable riches of Christ, has stayed with me. It’s an expression of his unfathomable majesty and unsurpassing value. There is no bottom to this. No edge. The gospel is inexhaustible, and we have been made stewards of it.
The Result: The Church on Display
God chose to display his manifold wisdom, even to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, through the church. The result of faithful gospel ministry is not a platform or celebrity but the church. Paul highlights the ecclesial nature of ministry. That means every congregation faithfully planted in a global city is not a footnote in history. It is a demonstration of God's eternal wisdom.
Every congregation faithfully planted in a global city is not a footnote in history. It is a demonstration of God's eternal wisdom
The Plea: Don't Lose Heart
Paul closes with a personal appeal: don't lose heart over what I am suffering for you. His chains are not a sign that something has gone wrong. They are the cost of this mission. He calls these sufferings our glory. The hardships faced by those who carry the gospel are not detours from the mission. They are part of it. As we grow excited about the gospel, we realize that the mission is also hard. This is why what we do at Neopolis matters so deeply to me. When we partner with church planters in Paris, Nairobi, Santiago, and beyond, we share in the same grace Paul described. Nothing is more valuable than the preaching of the gospel, and the church planted in city after city remains God's chosen instrument to make his wisdom known.
We have every reason to be excited.
Felipe A. Chamy
President and Lead for Training