What is needed for us to be effective servants of God? Clearly education and intellect isn’t what is most important otherwise the highly educated Paul would have been sent to the Jews instead of the uneducated Peter. Instead, Paul was sent to the Gentiles, and while God certainly used his considerable intellect, it was not what was most relevant to the task of proclaiming the message. To understand why, consider who Paul saw as being the real audience of this proclamation. According to 3:10 it is “the principalities and powers in the heavenly realms,” that is, the demonic overlords of enslaved humanity. These demonic powers pay no heed to argument. They bind the hearts of those they enslave, and no amount of rational debate will set people free. The only thing that these demonic principalities and powers must heed is legitimate authority. Peter was far less educated than Paul but both Peter and Paul alike had what it took to outrank Satan. They were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In other words, Jesus dwelt in their hearts and therefore their words did not just communicate abstract ideas. Their words brought life just as the Word of God brought life in the beginning. Peter and Paul sounded an effectual call that no demonic power could block and every person whom God chose to reveal himself to came alive through them. You, too, have the same Spirit in you as Peter and Paul. There are people out there that God wants to reach, and he wants to use you to bring life with your simple testimony.
Pray the prayer of Paul in verses 16-21.
Read Ephesians 3:14-21
