THE KING’S BUSINESS
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o f the words, “gift,” and “grace,” and “given,” and “according to the working of His power,” Paul emphasizes the abounding grace of God in calling him to the ministry, and his own unworthiness o f such a call. This may seem to us very humble on Paul’s part, but it was thé exact truth. Men talk- today as if they -were conferring a favor upon God by entering the ministry. Paul felt that God was conferring a great favor upon him by permitting him to enter the ministry, and especially, as we shall see in the next verse, the foreign work of the ministry. Paul was right. The “ free gift of grace” consisted in the opportunity to preach, the commission to preach, and the wisdom and power to do it effectively. Fur thermore, Paul was a minister “according to the working o f His" (i. e., God’s) power” (cf. 1:19; Phil. 3:21; Col.'1:29). The word translated “working” means literally, “in working” and is the word from which we derive our English word “energy.” This shows the only way in which one can be an effective minister o f the gospel, by the inworking o f God, by the energy o f God. Unless God’s power works in us we cannot work effectively in others (cf, 1 Cor. 2:3, 4 ;T Thess, 1 :5; Acts 1 : 8 ). Paul took great delight in the thought that all the power o f his ministry (and life) was from God.' He refers to it time and again in his epistles (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 3 :5 ; 4 :7 ; 12:9, 10; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 4:13; Col. 1:11). Paul, as he reflects upon the greatness o f the honor bestowed upon him in making him a minister o f the gospel, feels more and more his utter unworthiness o f it, and cries out, “ Unto me, who am less than the least o f all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearch able riches o f Christ.” Paul in his way o f putting this uses a very peculiar word for “less, than the least.” It is all in one word in the Greek. The word is a compound word, compounded o f a comparative and a superlative. A literal translation would be, “more least;” ordinary grammar will not convey the whole intensity o f Paul’s feel ing. Paul emphasizes the fact that ther greatness o f the grace is shown, not only
in that he was commissioned to preach the gospel, but to preach the gospel “unto the Gentiles,” or, as we would say today, “unto tlje heathen.” In the Greek words “the Gentiles” is very emphatic because o f its position in the clause, Would that Chris tians today would feel as Paul did the superabounding grace o f God in being called to preach the gospel in foreign mis sionary lands. Some may think that Paul was using hyperbole in thus accentuating his being less than the least o f all saints, but any one who studies Paul's epistles care fully and long will know that Paul felt all that he said about his own nothingness (cf. 1 Cor. 15:9; 1 Tim. 1:15,. 16). When any one attacked Paul’s apostolic authority he could defend it for the truth’s sake, but when he viewed himself in the light o f God’s marvelous grace that made him what he was, he was overwhelmed with the thought o f his own unworthiness, and so must every man be who has anything like an adequate conception o f God’s grace and anything like a true conception o f himself as he really is, But note well and ponder long that phrase that has a world o f mean ing in it, “the unsearchable riches o f Christ.” The word translated “unsearchable” means “untraceable.” It is the same word that is used in Romans 11:33 in the last clause, not the word that is translated “unsearchable” in next to the last clause, but the word that is translated “past finding out” in the Authorized Version, and “past tracing out” in the Revised Version. This means more than unsearchable. The thought is, Follow on as far as you may in exploring the riches that are in Christ and you will never get to the end. Yet as unexplorable as these riches are, they may be preached, and may be.preached to Gentiles (to the heathen). What work can compare with that, with the work o f proclaiming the unexplorable riches o f Christ, even to the heathen. Saturday, July 13 . Eph. 3 : 9 . God had bestowed upon Paul not only the favor o f preaching “the unsearchable riches o f Christ;” but also o f “making all men see (more literally, giving all meh light
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