Understanding the Mystery of Christ: According Yourself with God's Purpose

"To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ACCORDING TO the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence THROUGH faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." (Ephesians 3:8-13)

As you know, the second word in the paragraph, me, is Paul. He revealed the mystery through his testimony: clearly portraying among the churches Jesus Christ crucified. Paul desires that the church testify in the same way: according oneself through faith in Christ.

according to- consistent with( WCD)

through- from the first to the final stage of; from beginning to end; to completion( WCD)

Paul refers to himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God"; not just IN God's will but BY God's will, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord! Prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are readied BY His will. These offices of ministry are for "the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all (according to and through) come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, MAY GROW UP IN ALL THINGS INTO HIM who is the head - Christ- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:12-16)

His Seed Remains

 "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed REMAINS in him; and He cannot sin, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:6-9)

"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:3-9)

Those in whom the seed remains had the opportunity to stand with those by the wayside, wondering and considering; they had the opportunity to wither when tribulation or persecution arose for the word's sake; they had the opportunity to be choked by worldly concerns and desires. Rather, in these, His seed was reinforced by the "breath of the Almighty (that) gives him understanding" (Job 32:8). They are birthed and made of God!

Wayside, stony, thorny ground are hearts that still receive the seed of destructive doctrines of Satan and men. Those doctrines work to deter/remove His seed from the heart of man.