Galatians and Ephesians

Written to the churches in the cities of Galatia and Ephesus respectively, Galatians and Ephesians covers range of issues presented to early Christian believers. Galatians mostly covers the issues of converts from Judaism and how much of the Old Testament law to follow. In his letter, Paul reminds the Galatian church that they need not impress the law of Moses on Gentile converts because all have come under the law of grace. Ephesians presses the importance of being unified. From men and women to slaves and masters, Paul urges all to work together for Christ’s glorification.

At the beginning his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds them that it is through Christ that they are reconciled to God. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,” (Ephesians 2:7-9). Because of Christ’s shed blood, all people can be forgiven of their sins through his grace to mankind. But what caught my attention was the part just after where it says that he “made known to us the mystery of his will” and “the dispensation of the fullness of all things in Christ”. I have heard a lot of pastors preach on what God’s will is and what it means to follow His will. There are some who have said that it is the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel, making new disciples and baptizing them; others have said that it’s more specific and specialized to each person depending on their gifts and talents. But according to Paul, the mystery surround God’s will has already been revealed to us. If this is so, why are there so many different opinions then?