God had entrusted to the apostle Paul a very special ministry: to show the believers who Christ is in heaven and how He is linked to them on earth. Called His saints, the believers—mainly taken from among the Gentiles, but also from among the Jews—now are brought together in one body. Thus they form a company of people that have been called, saved, and set apart for God in this world. It is to them that God makes known the riches of Christ’s glory, as He is now in heaven.

Through His Spirit, Christ now dwells in the believers on earth: “Christ in you.” There is also the future aspect, “the hope of glory,” when Christ will be displayed to this world, in and through us, and we with Him. This is the wondrous Person presented by Paul in the message of the gospel. Such a message could not be given before Christ’s coming into this world and before His accomplished work, resurrection, and exaltation. Now Paul had been called by Christ in heaven to proclaim the good news: not a new philosophy or a new doctrine, but a Person.

All others have been set aside by God, who no longer expects anything from man, as was the case under the Law. He does, however, expect a response to the preaching, as the Person presented by Paul has come into the lives of those who believe. Furthermore, Paul admonished all to walk in the right path, with the right mind-set. This ministry is something all believers need in order to conform us in practice to that which we are positionally in Christ.