Ephesians, Part 5 | Ephesians 3:1–13 (NLT)
Every time our kids have a break from school, our family pulls out a giant puzzle and sets a goal to finish it before the break ends. It's fun to watch—but it's also revealing. The kids grab a piece, then another, and start jamming them together as fast as they can, hoping something clicks. They get lucky here and there, but mostly they just get frustrated. Nothing lines up. And the whole time, there's a thousand-piece picture sitting right there on top of the box that they've never bothered to look at.
That's a picture of a lot of our lives, isn't it? We stare at the chaos on the table—one piece in hand, no idea where it goes—and we wonder what God is doing. We go job to job, church to church, paycheck to paycheck, relationship to relationship, hoping the pieces will finally fit. And when they don't, it can feel like the whole thing has been a waste of time.
In Ephesians 3:1–13, the Apostle Paul picks up the box, sets it in front of us, and says: You need to see this. You need to see what God is really doing so your life can finally make sense.
You are a single puzzle piece God refuses to finish the picture without.
The Top of the Box: God Has a Plan
Paul was writing from a prison cell in Rome, chained to a Roman guard, yet his mind wasn't on his chains—it was on the big picture. Across the first two chapters of Ephesians, he's been building toward something: we were spiritually dead in our sin, but God, out of sheer love, rescued us through Jesus and made us part of one family. Now in chapter 3, Paul names the plan outright.
"And this is God's plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus." — Ephesians 3:6 (NLT)
There it is—the top of the box. God's plan is to bring everyone who believes, from every background, into one family and to share His eternal blessings with them through Jesus. It's not complicated, but it changes everything. His plan was never about our personal gain, our career, or our comfort. His plan is to rescue us from sin and bring us home.
And this wasn't a backup plan. It's been the plan from the very beginning. God promised Abraham that "all the families on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3)—not just one nation, but every family, every people group. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah saw it coming: God would send someone to be "a light to the Gentiles" who would carry salvation "to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). God was never building a holy huddle of people who all look, act, and vote the same. He's rescuing a hurting world and bringing unity through diversity.
Here's the part Paul calls a mystery. The Jewish people knew God's plan included other nations being saved. What they didn't see was that Gentiles wouldn't just be welcomed in around the edges—they would share equally in the inheritance, the promises, and the purposes of God. One family. One body. One shared inheritance. That's the secret God revealed to Paul, and it's still good news today: it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done—God wants you in His family.
The Puzzle Pieces: God's Plan Revealed Through His Church
So if the top of the box is God's plan for the world, what are the puzzle pieces? They're the Church—and not the building or the organization, but the people. The living, breathing, beautifully diverse family God has brought together through Jesus.
"God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." — Ephesians 3:10 (NLT)
Sit with that for a second. God holds the stars and the planets in place. He commands the angels. He does things we'll never fully understand. He could have chosen anything to put His plan on display—and He chose us. The Church is His plan A, and there is no plan B.
Which means that everything we do together as a church carries heavenly significance. When we serve our city, feed the hungry, build homes for families in need, and welcome the outsider, the unseen powers of heaven are watching God's wisdom on display through ordinary people. A serve day. A backpack drive. A weekend spent getting dirty in another country to build a family a home. None of it is small. All of it is the picture coming together.
The Single Piece: God Has a Purpose-Filled Plan for You
Now zoom in. Each individual puzzle piece matters, and you are one of them. Without your piece, the picture is incomplete.
You were put on this planet for a reason—to help bring God's plan to life right where you are: your family, your street, your school, your job, your city. The question isn't whether God has a part for you to play. The question is whether you'll believe it and live it.
Paul's part was settled before he ever met Jesus. "Saul is my chosen instrument," God said, "to take my message to the Gentiles... And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake" (Acts 9:15–16). Notice that calling and cost came together. Paul could have described himself as a victim of Rome. Instead he wrote, "I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus." The soldier held the chain, but Paul knew whose he really was—and he kept sharing Jesus from a cell. You have to wonder how many of those guards walked away changed.
That's the invitation for us, too. Suffering, sacrifice, and pain don't cancel your calling—they refine it. God's purposes often advance through our weakness, not in spite of it.
So how do you discover your piece? Start with how God has gifted you. The point of your spiritual gifts isn't self-discovery for its own sake—it's to build up the Church. The Church isn't carried by a few people with a lot of gifts; it's built when everyone brings the gift they have. And from there, the calling is simple enough for anyone.
Share Jesus as you go, and share Jesus as you grow.
You don't need a seminary degree or the book of Romans memorized. You just share what Jesus has done in your life, and as you grow closer to Him, you have more to share. Jesus said it plainly: "Go and make disciples of all the nations... And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19–20).
It really is that accessible. Not long ago, a mom texted our student team: her son had a friend sleep over, shared the gospel, and led his friend to the Lord. He wanted to give him a Bible at school the next day. That student doesn't have a theology degree. He hasn't been to Bible college. He's not even an adult. He simply shared Jesus where he was. If we all do that—right in our everyday circles, the coffee shops and the soccer games and the break rooms—the puzzle comes together.
When the Picture Comes Into View
When people get saved, discipled, and sent out to serve, we aren't just watching church happen—we're watching God's plan on display. Paul says the unity of such different people, gathered into one family, is a public demonstration of God's eternal purpose. And because of Christ, every one of us "can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence" (Ephesians 3:12).
So don't lose heart in your present circumstances, whatever they are. Look up at the top of the box. Ask God to show you the bigger picture of what He's doing, and to reveal the specific part He's given you to play.
When each of us finds our place and lives it out, the picture finally starts to look like what was on the box all along. And that's exactly how God designed it to be.
What are you going to do about it?
Read Ephesians 3:1–13 slowly this week — once a day if you can. Each time, notice how Paul sees his life through God's bigger plan, even from a prison cell. Then ask yourself two questions: What is one everyday place — my job, my street, my school, a coffee shop, a kid's game — where God has already placed me as a single puzzle piece? And, what would it look like this week to simply share Jesus there as I go? You don't need all the answers or a theology degree. You just need to bring your one piece — because without it, the picture stays incomplete.
About the Ephesians Series
God has always had a plan. The book of Ephesians reveals the incredible story of God’s plan to bring salvation to all people through Jesus Christ and unite them into one family. In this 13-week series, we’ll discover what it means to live with purpose as people who have been chosen, redeemed, and called by God. Along the way, we’ll explore how the Holy Spirit transforms our everyday relationships—with family, friends, the Church, and the world around us. Ephesians is an invitation to step into God’s greater story and live the kind of life we were created for.