Ephesians 3:8

"To me, although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ."

Paul was never proud or arrogant about his position in the church. It was all given by the grace of God. He had reason to be proud. He was a very educated man in the Jewish religion and qualified in every way- the Pharisee of Pharisees, as he says elsewhere.

no, Paul is always aware of his own sinful nature. He is the least of all the saints, he says. One could interpret this as false humility. but it seems sincere in Paul. He does not use his office as an apostle to demand support from the churches or from individual christians. There is no sense of entitlement or demand for honour. Earlier on in Ephesians 2: 19- 22, he uses the analogy of people being like bricks in a temple or house that Christ is building. Paul, in that analogy, is no more important than any other part of the building.

Paul was often aware of his own failings in persecuting the church. He described himself as a late comer apostle, one whose birth was delayed. Early in his ministry, people doubted his apostleship and even his conversion. In that sense he was the least of the saints.

Paul was given a grace to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In the previous verse, he makes clear that everything he has and does is due to grace, God's gifting, given through the mighty working of God's power.

Paul’s calling was to go to the Gentiles. Although he was qualified to preach in the synagogues, his rejection by the Jews drove him to the Gentiles. He had a far greater impact amongst the Gentiles than the Jews, although in natural terms it should have been the opposite way around .

through God's grace, the least of all the saints had a great impact on the Gentiles of the ancient world, and continues to do so today.

Paul’s message was about the unsearchable riches of Christ.

the riches of Christ extend beyond forgiveness of sins. Because he has bought us redemption, Christ brings us from death to life, Hell to Heaven, a guarantee of eternal joy.

Because of Christ, we are heirs of the Father. We have been adopted into His family. The people who were once far off are now right in the centre of God's good will. As heirs, we are destined to inherit a share of all that God has, both seen and unseen. Nothing is withheld from us.

we have victory over the evil one, the Devil, who seeks to devour our souls. We have been set free from sin by Christ. This is not just freedom from the penalty of sin, but also a liberation from the grip of sin to enslave us and hold us captive. We are now free to act in accordance with God's will for us .

these are just some of the riches of Christ, and they are all given to us by his grace.

The riches are unsearchable. They are so deep and full of meaning that we might spend a lifetime, even eternity, coming to an understanding of them.

it is as if we are given a treasure chest of coins and rare gems. As we pick up one item and examine it for both beauty and value, we are amazed by it. Then we pick up other items, stones that we have never seen before. As we dig deeper, we discover that the treasure chest has no boundary - it just goes deeper and deeper for ever.

We can just see a glimmer, a dull reflection of all the treasure that God through Christ has graciously poured upon us .

Key points in this verse

• Paul saw himself as the least of all the saints.

• Paul was given grace to take to the Gentiles the message about the unsearchable riches of Christ

• the riches of Christ extend beyond just forgiveness of sins.

• we could spend eternity discovering the riches of Christ