As we saw in our last section, people who were in bondage to the occult are freed and made whole. They leave these practices and idolatry to follow the living God. The Gospel transforms the way we live and those things that we thought were worthwhile become meaningless in light of the cross. When this transformation happens, it changes our culture and challenges the culture around us. It often goes head-to-head with the world’s culture. This is exactly what happens here. The Gospel has brought change to many people in Ephesus. But this is creating social change that is met with opposition. This passage helps us understand how God’s mission goes on regardless of opposition. We can learn from Paul’s resolution to carry it on but also in how he encourages believers to do the same. God’s mission of sharing the Good News is not just for Paul and the believers then, it is for us here now.

Here we see Paul used by the Lord in various ways. These serve as an example for us today. How can we who are also called servants of God serve Him? We may not do exactly like Paul did but we all can learn from him to do in our own context. These relate more with spiritual tasks than tangible ones.