Ephesians 3:8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.
Paul was now considering himself at the bottom of the Christians' role, even though he was an apostle of Christ Jesus. His declaration was not self-criticism but showed an awareness of his unfitness to speak for God on earth. This most likely was because he had persecuted and killed many Christians before becoming a believer (1 Corinthians 15:9,10; 1 Timothy 1:12-13, 15). Paul sees himself as less than the other apostles and less than Christians without office. Even though he saw himself in such a low state, Paul did recognize that it was only through God's grace that he was allowed to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Any call we might have in
the ministry is a blessing given to us by the grace of God. Not one among us
deserves the calling to serve Christ Jesus, and it is astounding that God would
choose to allow us to be part of his ministry. God owes us nothing, and we owe a debt to God that we can never repay. Only those with a clear assessment of
how they stand in God's eyes are of any use to God. The only way we can live in
true humility is when we fully comprehend the depth of God's righteousness and
our unworthiness to serve him. Some come to God with insincere humility or
false modesty and are proud of their humility, which is the epitome of an
oxymoron. The genuinely humble ones will always view themselves as to how God
views them. Every one of us will always fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Charles Surgeon once said:
But while Paul was thus thankful for his office, his success greatly humbled
him. The fuller a vessel becomes, the deeper it sinks in the water. A plenitude
of grace is a cure for pride."
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