[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

[Ken7]

Understanding and accepting these particular truths (calling & authority) from God can bring 'self-righteousness' with it - if we are careless. God gave us this authority so that others may know the Good News about Jesus. We are to serve God -not become God. The oldest sin is still alive and trying to deceive.

It is difficult to be His Humble Servant when we are not humble. A lesson worth learning.

[Jezemeg]

Paul is so careful to remain humble because he knew that it was nothing he had done, none of his efforts, that raised him to the position God called him to fulfil. If not for God's saving Grace, Paul would have continued his work of blaspheming the very God he was trying to serve by destroying the early Church and disciples. But God revealed the Truth to Paul through his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, and it was by God's Grace that Paul was welcomed amongst the original apostles, the men who walked by Jesus' side during His earthly ministry.

By remembering Paul's example we can be returned to knowing that nothing we have done, or studied has been the reason God called us, God called us because He had endowed us with the necessary gifts to fulfil the ministry He'd chosen us for. It doesn't matter if those in the world question our ability, all that matters is that we remain in the knowledge that God chose us.

[Stan]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

Everyone knew who Paul was and what He had been doing for Him to call them to Christ is a total turn around so He must humble him self before them to get them to hear him. He also had to be humble before God, he could not let pride enter into him or God would have stop leading him and his mission would fail.

We must always be willing to be led in our aervice to Christ or He will not help us and our service will not go any where. We must be humble because God is our provider our service does not come from us but from the Lord, He places it in our hearts and He will remove it it we are found prideful.

[pickledilly]

Paul knew painfully well what he had been before Christ redeemed him. And he was aware that everyone else knew, too. He knew that the only One who ever could have saved and changed him was Christ; he himself was totally disqualified and unable. And so he completely saw himself to be indebted as a voluntary prisoner to Christ Jesus, and the privilege was a gift.

It's so easy for us to forget who we were and where we were headed before Christ rescued us. It was God's loving mercy that saved us, and absolutely nothing else. We were unrighteous liars, thieves, murderers, coveters, idolators, and more; we have nothing to get puffed up or prideful about except His grace toward us - no cause to be self-righteous. Our gratitude for His transforming work in us should always be moving us forward. It is our privilege, and should be our pleasure, to joyfully and willingly submit to serve Him in whatever He asks us to do so that He might gain all the glory and recognition as the great God that He is.

[Helenmm]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

It is essential to remain in truth about one's personal relationship with God. Paul was rescued from his position of persecutor of the church, and was very aware of what he was saved from. He vividly remembers his call, and the awe and fear he experienced at that time. No doubt he dreaded the thought of who he had been. He also knew what was in him and what he could become if he was not right with his Saviour - the pride of his family background that had nearly destroyed him. Pride is a scary, blinding thing. He never wanted to go there again. Having met with Jesus, his whole life focus was upon the annointed Son of God, not on Paul. The truth had set him free, and free he wanted to remain!

It is very good to remember what Jesus saved us from. If we came to Jesus early in life, it is good to look around at unsaved friends and think "There but for the grace of God go I". We are a blessed people, and it is good to know exactly what that means and be constantly thankful lest we lose our our salvation, which is not impossible. We do have to finish the race, to keep ourselves on target. It's a narrow path. "Pride goes before a fall" and we want no part of that. Therefore we follow our servant-King.

[warrior]

Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

He remember who he had been and the things he had done against God and His people. He knew he was a servant of God dedicated to doing only what God commanded. What had been given him in service to the Lord was a gift he (nor us) deserve, but unmerited favor.

Not matter what status we obtain in life we are all on equal ground at foot of the cross, no little "I's" or big "U's". But for the blood that covers our sinful nature we would be as the worst of sinners that we meet everyday. We have nothing in ourselves to glory over, it is a gift that was bought with a great price, the blood of my Lord.

[janet]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

It is my understanding that the word Christian means Christ like. I think Paul is careful to be humble about his call because he recognizing what Christ has done for him and that it isn't anything good within himself.We
as Christian should always be humble people and mediatate on the love and mercy of God. If we stay focused on Christ more and what he has done for us we will always be a humble people. It is only when we take our eyes off of Christ and put it on ourselves that causes us not to be humble. Review the story of Peter bidding Christ to come when he was allowed to walk on water.

[JustJeff]

Paul acknowledged that he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious (1 Tim 1:13) to the Lord and to Christians prior to his conversion. He realized that by God's great mercy he was forgiven and saved, by His amazing grace. Paul never forgot this, nor did he forget the power that Jesus demonstrated to him on the road to Damascus, making him blind so that he could see. By always keeping God's great demonstration of His love toward us by saving us from our sin, and never forgetting where He has brought us from, we will remain humble, as was Paul.

[masika]

Paul had all the reasons to humble himself before God , because he made God in a powerful way that most of us have not experinced . So when he became a servant of the Gospel , God gave him the ability to share the Gospel of Christ effectively.
This should encourage us , that when accept Jesus as our saviour we should humble and follow God's directive .He will give us opportunity to tell others about Christ . And with the opportunity He will provide the ability , courage , and power . We have to make ourselve available to God as His servants whenever an opportunity presents itself

[sahala p.s.]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

Paul is so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship, because he understands and quite conscious that his very great and honorable call and apostleship are the gift of God, that he does not deserve it, because he has been a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, that he is just a servant that has to do the tasks given by God with power he get from God.

His example can help us remain as humble servants by always remembering and undertanding whatever are our calls those are the gifts of God, that we do not deserve those because we were us or we had been, that we are only his servant to do task given by God

[Lisa Rupert]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?
Paul knew who he was before he met Jesus, he was one of the worst types of sinners. He persecuted the church, he was an enemy of the church, he hunted Christians for slaughter, he believed he was "less than the least of them". But God gave him Grace and he knew that he didn't deserve it, but he knew it was an honor to receive such a gift. He always remembers who he was, but he swallowed his pride and continued on the works of the Lord. Not by his effort, he was made a servant by the gift of God's grace and he felt blessed to have such an honor, but he knew he would have to work hard to prove himself to the people because of who he was before he was saved. He could no longer be arrogant instead he became a humble servant and witness of Christ.
We should all remember who we were before we were saved, this helps us to remember those who are just like we were who suffered through that same faith we were suffering, the less than the least, and humble ourselves to the will of God's people and to God's service as true Christians.

[Commissioned]

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship?
Paul is careful to be humble about his call and apostleship because God appointed him to be a servant, and as a servant he only has the power of the one whom he serves, Our Father and God. Of himself, Paul knew that he was nothing.

How can his example help us remain as humble servants?
We would do well to remember, as Paul, that we are servants, call by God to complete a task and we should carry out that task with all humility and thankfulness.

[heavenlymann]

Paul is humble about his apostleship because he always remembered where he came from. In his religious zeal he began actively persecuting the church. When the Lord appeared to him he suddenly and completely realized how much of a rebel he had been toward God in his zeal.
We can learn from Paul by remembering we, too, in our natural conduct were rebels toward God. And like Paul we also deserve to spend eternity in hell. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us..." Eph. 2:4 Praise to His Holy Name!

[charisbarak]

Paul was careful to be humble because he was God's spokesperson to the gentile believers. We all have to work at being humble by keeping our eyes on Jesus. God provided a way for us to be saved. God, by his love & grace, accepted us as fellow-heirs with & in Christ. God gives us all a job--a calling--and it He who provides us with the means. Basically, we all need to remember we were nothing without God and it is only because of Him we are anything at all.

[June]

Paul was a servant and knew it was a gift from God. He knew that by lack of faith it could all be taken away . He knew God's power. Paul was given special dispensation for their benefit. God revealed things to Paul that no one else knew about. Faith in knowing the the wise plan of God and knowing that our lives were predestined for God's glory. God is ever with us. To accomplish God's will through the Holy Spirit. God's Grace can be resisted so Paul is careful to keep himself in line with the Holy Spirit and communing often and being filled with Him....

[PCHRIS]

Paul remebers what he used to do, persecute Christians. he also remebers how he was once a Pharisee, one who was trained in the temple, learnt the Torah backwards and forwards but until that encounter with God on the road to Damascus he depended on his own strength.
Now he depends on God's strenght in his ministry. By the grace of God he was called and received as a servant of the gospel, and by the power of God did all that was effective in that service.

His example helps us to be the same as the example Jesus set to serve and not to be served. We have a commission to do and with God's strenght we can accomplish that.

[steve.c]

(Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

Paul was humbled by the commission he was given for several reasons. He knew it was a vital commission: the spread of Christianity to the Gentiles was dependent on it. He was humbled because of his zealous persecution of Christians before his conversion. He was also humble so that he did not get in the way or obstruct his message of salvation. The Gospel was not about him, it is about coming to a life in Christ. Nothing should deflect from the message. Particularly as we witness we can adopt a superior, even sanctimonious, attitude. It is something that unbelievers hate about religious people and rightly so. To be an effective servant of Jesus we should curb any tendancy to pride, aggression or self-satisfaction. Faith is God-given. Our salvation is through God's boundless grace. We are thankful, not proud. We are to be loving. Humility allows us to take willingly second place to those around us. We are in our words and in our actions a much more effective witness as a result.

[Eudora]

Right off the bat, I am reminded that this letter is coming from Paul who is in prison. With the feverish pace that Paul went around here and there, teaching this revelation to the Jews and Gentile, God in all His infinite wisdom, knew that he had to place Paul into prison to write these letters because would that man ever have slowed down long enough to write all the letters that he did write from prison? Just a thought in question to myself.

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship?

I think it was because Paul had his anointing from Jesus Christ. It’s like the three boys in the furnace who saw the Fourth Man. Once a person comes in contact with Jesus Christ, they begin to see the awesome power and understand the word, fear. The fear of The Lord is to be in awe of all that power.

I know that His power is great and can suck the life right out of me if He chose to do so. He could stop my heart from beating any time He chose to do so. God could kick the world out from under His feet if He ever got angry enough at the human race, but thank God, His love is greater than His own wrath. That humbles me.

How can his example help us remain as humble servants?

Paul knew of the awesome power of The Lord Jesus Christ. After all, Paul’s eyes became blinded from being in the presence of His Glory. Paul also knew of the revelation which he was shown and that revelation was that God’s love was for all mankind. I believe that awesome power of love, moved Paul in such a way that he couldn’t shut up. He had met the man that loved the world so much that He gave His life for all the man kind that Paul was going to take this message too. It doesn't matter who we are or what we have done, if we are Jew or Gentile, black or white or red. God loves all that He created and His desire is that we all know of His love and love Him and through Him, love all people. His love in it's expanse , humbles me.