Ephesians 3

Let's read through a different version of Chapter 3 before digging into its details!

(1) When I think of *all this, I, Paul, a **prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you *Gentiles . . .

• Paul resumes this thought in verse 14; so, verses 2-14 are a parenthesis: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,”
  


• * "all this" refers to the previous verses especially Ephesians 2:19-22: So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
  


• **prisoner of Christ:
  
  • Acts 9:16: And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
    
    
  • Acts 24:23: He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take care of his needs.
  • Acts 25:11: If I have done something worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die. But if I am innocent, no one has a right to turn me over to these men to kill me. I appeal to Caesar!”
  • Acts 28:16,31: When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier. ... For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.
  • Ephesians 4:1: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
  • Colossians 4:10: Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way.
  • Philemon 1:1,9: This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy....But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.
  • 2 Timothy 1:8: So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.
    
  • 2 Timothy 2:8-9: "Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained."
  • 2 Timothy 4:6-8: As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
  • 2 Timothy 4:16-17: The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.
  • Paul calls himself "the prisoner of Christ Jesus," who controls every detail of every situation, directing history exactly as he has predetermined it.
  • Paul's imprisonment is neither an accident nor a victory by Satan. Rather, it is part of God's plan.
  • When Paul wrote this letter, he was in prison in Rome awaiting trial before Nero, waiting for the Jewish prosecutors to come with their false and malicious charges. In prison Paul had certain privileges, for he was allowed to stay in a house which he himself had rented and his friends were allowed access to him; but night and day he was still a prisoner chained to the wrist of the Roman soldier who was his guard and whose duty it was to see that Paul would never escape. But, many of these guards came to know Christ as Saviour.


• ***Gentiles:
  
  • Acts 9:15: But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
  • Acts 26:17-18: And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’
  • Galatians 1:16: to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles...
  • Galatians 2:7: Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.
  • Romans 11:13: I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,
  • 1 Timothy 2:7: And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
  • Isaiah 49:6: He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

(2) assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.

(3) As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself (directly) revealed his *mysterious plan to me.

• *mysterious plan - the mystery (Greek - musterion):
  
  • Galatians 1:11-12: Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
  • Colossians 1:25-27: God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, BUT NOW it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

(4) As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.

(5) God did not reveal it to previous generations, BUT NOW by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

• Why did God hide this mystery (secret) until revealed by Paul? To keep Satan from understanding His purpose! Was the secret that Gentiles would be blessed too? Of course not - Adam, Noah and even Abram were, after all, Gentiles! The mystery is that He was going to form something brand new, a heavenly people whose citizenship is in heaven not the earth, composed of Gentiles and Jews - the body of Christ! Think about this - Satan and his minions have left a great gap in the heavens and we are to fill it!

(6) 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.

• *they belong to Christ Jesus: Or "because they are united with Christ Jesus."
• This translation and others miss the Greek use of the prefix "sun" (together with, joint) here:
  
  • We are
    
    • JOINT heirs - sunkleronoma
    • of a JOINT body - sussoma and
    • JOINT partakers summetocha.
  • The
    mystery, once hidden but now revealed, is that Gentile Christians would be heirs
    together (of the same blessing), members together (of the same body) and sharers together (in the same promise) along with Jewish Christians, that
    is, "in Christ Jesus."
  • Compare to Ephesians 2:12, where the Gentiles are described as having been ‘apart…excluded…without God and without hope’.
  • The mystery concerns the manner in which Gentiles will be blessed. Before Christ came, the Jews believed that any Gentile who wanted to become part of the people of God had to become a Jew to do so. But, what happened when Christ came is that He destroyed the barrier between Jew and Gentile, and made the two into one new body, as we saw in chapter 2, verse 14. What has now been revealed is that the Gospel is the way in which Gentiles become part of God’s family. It is no longer through becoming a Jew, but by becoming a Christian. That is how Gentiles are now saved. It is how you and I are saved. We are saved by God’s grace (as Paul says in verse 2) operating through the Word of God, which is the Gospel that tells us about Jesus Christ. We must not pass over that last phrase of verse 6 “in Christ Jesus.” The Gospel joins us to Christ Jesus, when we come to faith in Him. But, let me ask you a question - how exactly is a person saved?

(7) By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

(8) Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

• 1 Corinthians 15:9: For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
• 1 Timothy 1:15: This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.

(9) I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the *Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

• *Creator: Jesus is the Creator:
  
  • John 1:1-3: In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
  • Colossians 1:16: for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
  • Hebrews 1:2: And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.

(10) 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.

• *rulers and authorities: Refers to angelic beings, including Satanic ones.
  It is through the body of believers that angels are learning more about God.
  
  • Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
  • 1 Peter 1:12: They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
  • Ephesians 6:12: For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
  • Colossians 2:14-15: He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

(11) This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

(12) Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now *come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

• Or "Because of Christ’s faithfulness."
• *come boldly: Hebrews 4:16: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

(13) So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.



(14) When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,

(15) the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

• Or "from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name."

(16) I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.

• Paul's first prayer 1:16-19 was that we might KNOW his power; here, it is that we might EXPERIENCE it in our lives!
• Charles Hadden Spurgeon: "We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mighty in rhetoric, but we can all be prevalent in prayer. I would sooner see you eloquent with God than with men."

(17) Then Christ will *make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your **roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

• *make his home: Greek - katoikeo = dwell, set up housekeeping, habitate as in 2:22.
• **roots:
  
  • Psalm 1:3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
  • Colossians 2:7: Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
  • Romans 8:10: And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.
  • This is only possible when the inner man is strengthened by might, that power which raised Christ from the dead. So, it must be by resurrection power that Christ can dwell in the believer who is a member of the Body of Christ. But, there is an enemy who desires to live in people - Satan and his emissaries. They would push Christ out of your life and take over at the slightest opportunity - but, we have to provide that opportunity. That is where we must "put on Christ", the whole armor of God. We can do anything through Him Who strengthens us because He is our strength.

(18) And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

• There is NO LIMIT to God's love to us!
  FOUR dimensions!
  
  • Romans 8:38-39: And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(19) May you *experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made **complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

• *experience: Not just to know or know about His love, but to EXPERIENCE His love in our lives!
• **complete: Colossians 2:9-10: For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
• It is a prayer for spiritual growth. Becoming a Christian is not the end, but the beginning, of a journey in grace. It is true that faith, at its commencement, may be weak and fragile. It is true also that faith meets with much opposition. But God’s intention is that our faith should grow, that it should be strong, 6:10.

(20) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

(21) Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

This concludes Paul's doctrinal half of Ephesians. Chapters 4 -6, are how to apply all this to our lives:
Ephesians 4:1: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

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NOTE: Sources and References are on line at: http://ephesians-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ephesians-study-references.html