Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3:1

F. A Parenthesis on the Mystery (3:1-13) 3:1 Paul begins a statement in verse 1 that is interrupted in verse 2 and not resumed till verse 14. The intervening verses form a parenthesis, the theme of which is the mysteryChrist and the church. What makes this of special interest is that this present Church Age is itself a parenthesis in God’s dealings. This can be explained as follows: During most of the period of history recorded in the OT, God was dealing primarily with the Jewish people. In fact, from Genesis 12 through Malachi 4 the narrative centers almost exclusively on Abraham and his descendants. When the Lord Jesus came to earth, He was rejected by Israel. As a result, God set aside that nation temporarily as His chosen, earthly people. We are now living in the Church Age, when Jews and Gentiles are on the same level before God.

After the church has been completed and is taken home to heaven, God will resume His program with Israel nationally. The hands on the prophetic clock will begin to move once more. So the present age is sort of a parenthesis between God’s past and future dealings with Israel. It is a new administration in the divine programunique and separate from anything before or after it. In verses 2-13 Paul gives a fairly detailed explanation of this parenthesis. Is it an undesigned coincidence that in doing so he uses a literary parenthesis to explain a dispensational parenthesis? The apostle opens the section, For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. The phrase, For this reason, looks back to what he had just been saying about the place of privilege into which believing Gentiles are brought as a result of their union with Christ. It is generally believed that this Letter was written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. But he does not speak of himself as a prisoner of Rome. That might have indicated a sense of defeat, a feeling of self-pity, or a craving for sympathy. Paul calls himself the prisoner of Christ Jesus; this speaks of acceptance and dignity and triumph. Ruth Paxson puts it well: There is no smell of prison in Ephesians, for Paul is not bound in spirit. He is there as the prisoner of Rome, but this he will not admit, and claims to be the prisoner of Jesus Christ. What is the secret of such victorious other-worldliness? Paul’s spirit is with Christ in the heavenlies, though his body languishes in prison. His imprisonment was definitely on behalf of the Gentiles. Throughout his ministry he ran into bitter opposition for teaching that believing Gentiles now enjoyed equal rights and privileges with believing Jews in the Christian church. What finally triggered his arrest and trial before Caesar was a false charge that he had taken Trophimus, an Ephesian, into the temple area that was out of bounds for Gentiles (Act_21:29). But behind the charge was the already fierce hostility of the religious leaders. 3:2 Now Paul breaks his train of thought and launches into a discourse on the mystery, in what we have already referred to as a literary parenthesis dealing with a dispensational parenthesis. The if in verse 2 might create the impression that the apostle’s readers did not know of his special mission to the Gentiles. In fact, this verse is sometimes used to prove that Paul did not know the persons to whom he wrote and that therefore the Letter could not have been written to the beloved Ephesians. But if often carries the meaning of since. Thus Phillips paraphrases it, For you must have heard … They had surely known that this special ministry had been committed to him. He describes that ministry as a dispensation of the grace of God.

Here dispensation refers to a stewardship. A steward is one who is appointed to administer the affairs of someone else. Paul was God’s steward, charged with setting forth the great truth regarding the NT church. It was a stewardship of God’s grace in at least three senses:

1. As to the one chosen. It was undeserved favor to Paul that selected him for such a high privilege.
2. As to the contents of the message. It was the message of God’s free and unmerited kindness.
3. As to its recipients. The Gentiles were quite unworthy people to be so favored. Yet this stewardship of grace was given to Paul in order that he in turn might impart it to the Gentiles. 3:3 He had not learned the mystery from anyone else, nor had he discovered it through his own intelligence. It was made known to him by direct revelation from God. We are not told where this happened, or how; all we know is that in some miraculous way God showed Paul His plan for a church composed of converted Jews and converted Gentiles. We have already mentioned that a mystery is a sacred secret hitherto unknown, humanly unknowable, and now divinely revealed. The apostle had alluded to the mystery briefly in 1:9-14, 22, 23; 2:11-22. 3:4 What he had already written on the subject was sufficient to demonstrate to his readers that he had a God-given insight into the mystery of the Christ. Blaikie paraphrases this passage as follows: With reference to which, i.e., to what I wrote afore: to make that more intelligible I write on the subject more fully now, so that you shall see that your instructor is thoroughly informed in this matter of the mystery. . . . Darby’s translation, the mystery of the Christ, suggests that it is the mystical Christ that is in view here, that is, the Head and the Body. (For another instance of the name Christ including both the Lord Jesus and His people, see 1Co_12:12.) 3:5 Verses 5 and 6 give us the most complete definition we have of the mystery. Paul explains what a mystery is, then he explains what the mystery of the Christ is. First, it is a truth which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men. This means it is futile to look for it in the OT. There may be types and pictures of it there, but the truth itself was unknown at that time. Second, it is a truth which has now been revealed by the Holy Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. God was the Revealer; the apostles and prophets were the ones set apart to receive the revelation; the Holy Spirit was the channel through whom the revelation came to them. Unless we see that the apostles and prophets were those of the NT, not the OT period, this verse is contradictory. The first part says this truth was not revealed in other ages; therefore it was unknown to the OT prophets. How then could it be made known in Paul’s day by men who had been dead for centuries? The obvious meaning is that the great truth of Christ and the church was made known to men of the Church Age like Paul who were specially commissioned by the risen Lord to serve as His spokesmen or mouthpieces. (Paul does not claim to be the only one to whom this sacred secret was disclosed; he was one among many, though he was the foremost in transmitting the truth to Gentiles of his day, and to succeeding generations through his Epistles.) It is only fair to mention that many Christians take quite a different view from that given above. They say the church actually did exist in the OT; that Israel was then the church; but that the truth of the church has now been more fully revealed. They say, The mystery was not known in other ages as it is now revealed. It was known but not to the same extent as now. We have a fuller revelation, but we are still the Israel of God, that is, a continuation of God’s people. To support their argument, they point to Act_7:38 in the 1611 KJV, where the nation of Israel is called the church (NKJV, NASB,: congregation) in the wilderness.

It is true that God’s chosen people are spoken of as the congregation in the wilderness, but this does not mean they have any connection with the Christian church. After all, the Greek word ekklesia is a general term which can mean any assembly, congregation, or called-out group. It is not only applied to Israel in Act_7:38; the same word, translated assembly, is used in Act_19:32, Act_19:41 of a heathen mob. We have to determine from the context which church or assembly is meant. But what about the argument that verse 5 means the church existed in the OT though it was not as fully revealed then as now? This is answered in Col_1:26, which states flatly that the mystery was hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. It is not a question of the degree of revelation but of the fact of it. 3:6 Now we come to the central truth of the mystery, namely, that in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members, and fellow partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. In other words, converted Gentiles now enjoy equal title and privileges with converted Jews. First, they are fellow heirs. As far as the inheritance is concerned, they share equally with saved Jews. They are heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and fellow heirs with all the redeemed. Then they are fellow members of the same body. They are at no distance or disadvantage now, but share a position of equality with saved Jews in the church. Finally, they are fellow partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel. The promise here may mean the Holy Spirit (Act_15:8; Gal_3:14), or it may take in all that is promised in the gospel to those who are in Christ Jesus. Gentiles are copartners with Jews in all of this. None of this was true in the OT dispensation, nor will it be true in the coming kingdom of Christ. In the OT, Israel held a distinct place of privilege before God. A Jew would have laughed at any suggestion that a Gentile held an equal share with him in the promises of God. It simply was not true. The prophets of Israel did predict the call of the Gentiles (Isa_49:6; Isa_56:6-7), but they nowhere hinted that Gentiles would be fellow members of a body in which Jews did not have any priority. In the coming kingdom of our Lord, Israel will be the head of the nations (Isa_60:12); Gentiles will be blessed, but it will be through Israel (Isa_60:3; Isa_61:6; Zec_8:23). The calling of Israel was primarily, though not exclusively, to temporal blessings in earthly places (Deut. 28; Amo_9:13-15). The calling of the church is primarily to spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph_1:3). Israel was called to be God’s chosen earthly people. The church is called to be the heavenly Bride of Christ (Rev_21:2, Rev_21:9). Israel will be blessed under the rule of Christ in the Millennium (Hos_3:5); the church will reign with Him over the entire universe, sharing His glory (Eph_1:22-23). Therefore it should be clear that the church is not the same as Israel or the kingdom. It is a new society, a unique fellowship, and the most privileged body of believers we read about in the Bible. The church came into being after Christ ascended and the Holy Spirit was given (Acts 2). It was formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1Co_12:13). And it will be completed at the Rapture, when all who belong to Christ will be taken home to heaven (1Th_4:13-18; 1Co_15:23, 1Co_15:51-58. 3:7 Having emphasized the equal partnership of Gentiles and Jews in the church, Paul now moves on to discuss his own ministry in connection with it (vv. 7-9). First, he became a minister of the gospel. Wuest writes, The word minister is misleading, since it is the technical word used today to designate the pastor of a church. It never means that in the NT. The basic meaning of the word is servant; Paul simply meant he served the Lord in connection with the mystery. The ministry was in the nature of an undeserved gift: according to the gift of the grace of God given to me. And it was not only a display of grace; it also demonstrated God’s power in effectually reaching the proud, self-righteous Pharisee, saving his soul, commissioning him as an apostle, empowering him to receive revelations, and strengthening him for the work. So Paul says the gift was given to him by the effective working of His power.3:8 The apostle speaks of himself as less than the least of all the saints. This might seem like mock humility to some. Actually it is the true self-estimate of one who is filled by the Holy Spirit. Anyone who sees Christ in His glory realizes his own sinfulness and uselessness.

In Paul’s case there was the added memory that he had persecuted the Lord Jesus (Act_9:4) by persecuting the church of God (Gal_1:13; Phi_3:6). In spite of this, the Lord had commissioned him in a special way to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Act_9:15; Act_13:47; Act_22:21; Gal_2:2, Gal_2:8). Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles as Peter was to the Jews. His ministry was twofold: it concerned the gospel, and it concerned the church. First, he told men how to be saved, then he led them on into the truth of the NT church. For him evangelism was not an end in itself but a step toward establishing and strengthening indigenous NT churches. The first function of his ministry was to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Blaikie expresses it well: Two attractive words, riches and unsearchable, conveying the idea of the things that are most precious being infinitely abundant. Usually precious things are rare; their very rarity increases their price; but here that which is most precious is also boundlessriches of compassion and love, of merit, of sanctifying, comforting and transforming power, all without limit, and capable of satisfying every want, craving, and yearning of the heart, now and evermore. When a person trusts the Lord Jesus, he immediately becomes a spiritual billionaire; in Christ he possesses inexhaustible treasures. 3:9 The second part of Paul’s ministry was to make all see what is the administration of the mystery (JND), in other words, to enlighten them as to how the mystery is being worked out in practice. God’s plan for this present age is to call out of the Gentiles a people for His name (Act_15:14), a Bride for His Son. All that is involved in this plan is the administration of the mystery. All here must mean all believers. Unsaved people could not be expected to understand the deep truths of the mystery (1Co_2:14). Paul therefore is referring to all in the sense of saved people of all kindsJews and Gentiles, slave and free. This mystery had from the beginning of the ages been hidden in God. The plan was itself in the mind of God eternally, but here the thought is that He kept it a secret throughout the ages of human history. Once again we notice the care the Holy Spirit takes to impress us with the fact that the assembly, or church universal is something new, unique, unprecedented. It was not known before to anyone but God. The secret was hidden in God who created all things. He created the material universe, He created the ages, and He created the churchbut in His wisdom He decided to withhold any knowledge of this new creation until the First Advent of Christ. 3:10 One of God’s present purposes in connection with the mystery is to reveal His manifold wisdom to the angelic hosts of heaven. Paul again uses the metaphor of a school. God is the Teacher. The universe is the classroom. Angelic dignitaries are the students. The lesson is on The multi-faceted wisdom of God.

The church is the object lesson. From heaven the angels are compelled to admire His unsearchable judgments and marvel at His ways past finding out. They see how God has triumphed over sin to His own glory. They see how He has sent heaven’s Best for earth’s worst. They see how He has redeemed His enemies at enormous cost, conquered them by love, and prepared them as a Bride for His Son. They see how He has blessed them with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies.

And they see that through the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, more glory has come to God and more blessing has come to believing Jews and Gentiles than if sin had never been allowed to enter. God has been vindicated; Christ has been exalted; Satan has been defeated; and the church has been enthroned in Christ to share His glory. 3:11 The mystery itself, its concealment, its eventual disclosure, and the manner in which it exhibits the wisdom of God are all according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Before the world was made, God knew Satan would fall and man would follow him in sin. And He had already prepared a counter-strategy, a master plan. This plan has been worked out in the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification of Christ. The whole program centered in Christ and has been realized through Him. Now God can save ungodly Jews and Gentiles, make them members of the Body of Christ, conform them to the image of His Son, and honor them in a unique way as the Bride of the Lamb throughout eternity. 3:12 As a result of Christ’s work and our union with Him, we now have the unspeakable privilege of entering into God’s presence at any time, in full confidence of being heard, and without any fear of being scolded (Jam_1:5). Our boldness is the respectful attitude and absence of fear we have as children addressing their Father. Our access is our liberty to speak to God in prayer. Our confidence is the assurance of a welcome, a hearing, and a wise and loving answer. And it is all through faith in Him, that is, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 3:13 In view of the dignity of his ministry and the wonderful results that flowed from it, Paul encouraged the saints not to be disheartened when they thought of his sufferings. He was glad to endure tribulations in carrying out his mission to the Gentiles. Rather than being discouraged by his troubles, he says, in effect, they should be proud he was counted worthy to suffer for the Lord Jesus. They should rejoice to think of the benefit of his tribulations to them and to other Gentiles. They should see his current imprisonment as glory, not disgrace.

Ephesians 3:14

G. Paul’s Prayer for the Saints (3:14-19) 3:14 Now the apostle picks up the thought he had begun in verse 1 and had interrupted with a parenthetical section on the mystery. Therefore, the words, For this reason, refer back to chapter 2 with its description of what the Gentiles had been by nature and what they had become through union with Christ. Their astonishing rise from poverty and death to riches and glory drives Paul to pray they will always live in the practical enjoyment of their exalted position. His posture in prayer is indicated: I bow my knees. This does not mean kneeling must always be the posture of the body, though it should always be the posture of the soul. We may pray as we walk, sit, or recline, but our spirits should be bowed in humility and reverence. The prayer is addressed to the Father. In a general sense, God is the Father of all mankind, meaning He is their Creator (Act_17:28-29). In a more restricted sense, He is the Father of all believers, meaning He has begotten them into His spiritual family (Gal_4:6). In a unique sense He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, meaning They are equal (Joh_5:18). 3:15 The particular role of the Father which Paul has in view is as the One from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. This may mean:

1. All the redeemed in heaven and on earth look to Him as Head of the family.
2. All created beings, angelic and human, owe their existence to Him not only as individuals but as families as well. Families in heaven include the various grades of angelic creatures. Families on earth are the different races springing from Noah and now divided into various nations.
3. All fatherhood in the universe derives its name from Him. The Fatherhood of God is the original and the ideal; it is the prototype of every other paternal relationship. Phillips translates the verse, from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name.3:16 We cannot help but be struck by the vastness of Paul’s request: That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory. He is going to ask that the saints might be spiritually strengthened. But to what extent?

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown answer: in abundance, consonant to the riches of His glory; not according to the narrowness of our hearts. Preachers often point out that there is a difference between the expressions out of the riches and according to the riches. A wealthy person might give a trifling amount; it would be out of his riches, but not in proportion to them! Paul asks that God will give strength according to the riches of His perfections. Since the Lord is infinitely rich in glory, let the saints get ready for a deluge! Why should we ask so little of so great a King?

When someone asked a tremendous favor of Napoleon it was immediately granted because, said Napoleon, He honored me by the magnitude of his request.Thou art coming to a King, Large petitions with thee bring; For His grace and power are such, None can ever ask too much. John Newton Now we come to Paul’s specific prayer requests. Instead of a series of disconnected petitions, we should think of them as a progression in which each petition lays the groundwork for the next. Picture them as a pyramid: the first request is the bottom layer of stones. As the prayer advances, Paul builds toward a glorious climax. The first request is that they would be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. The blessing sought is spiritual power. Not the power to perform spectacular miracles, but the spiritual vigor needed to be mature, stable, intelligent Christians. The One who imparts this power is the Holy Spirit. Of course, He can give us strength only as we feed on the word of God, as we breathe the pure air of prayer, and as we get exercise in daily service for the Lord. This power is experienced in the inner man, that is, the spiritual part of our nature. It is the inner man that delights in the law of God (Rom_7:22). It is the inner man that is renewed day by day, even though the outward man is perishing (2Co_4:16). Though it is of God, our inner man needs strength, growth, and development. 3:17 The second step is that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. This is the result of the Spirit’s invigoration: we are strengthened in order that Christ may dwell in our hearts. Actually, the Lord Jesus takes up His personal residence in a believer at the time of conversion (Joh_14:23; Rev_3:20). But that is not the subject of this prayer. Here it is not a question of His being in the believer, but rather of His feeling at home there! He is a permanent Resident in every saved person, but this is a request that He might have full access to every room and closet; that He might not be grieved by sinful words, thoughts, motives, and deeds; that He might enjoy unbroken fellowship with the believer.

The Christian heart thus becomes the home of Christ, the place where He loves to belike the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. The heart, of course, means the center of the spiritual life; it controls every aspect of behavior. In effect, the apostle prays that the lordship of Christ might extend to the books we read, the work we do, the food we eat, the money we spend, the words we speakin short, the minutest details of our lives. The more we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, the more we will be like the Lord Jesus Himself. And the more we are like Him, the more He will settle down and feel completely at home in our hearts (KSW). We enter into the enjoyment of His indwelling through faith. This involves constant dependence on Him, constant surrender to Him, and constant recognition of His at home-ness. It is through faith that we practice His presence, as Brother Lawrence quaintly put it. Up to this point Paul’s prayer has involved each member of the Trinity. The Father is asked (v. 14) to strengthen the believers through His Spirit (v. 16) that Christ might be completely at home in their hearts (v. 17). One of the great privileges of prayer is that we can engage the eternal Godhead to work in behalf of others and ourselves. The result of Christ’s unrestricted access is that the Christian becomes rooted and grounded in love. Here Paul borrows words from the worlds of botany and building. The root of a plant provides nourishment and support. The groundwork of a building is the foundation on which it rests. As Scroggie says, Love is the soil in which our life must have its roots; and it is the rock upon which our faith must ever rest. To be rooted and grounded in love is to be established in love as a way of life. The life of love is a life of kindness, selflessness, brokenness, and meekness. It is the life of Christ finding expression in the believer (see 1Co_13:4-7). 3:18 The preceding requests have outlined a program of spiritual growth and development which prepares the child of God to be fully able to grasp with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height. Before we consider the dimensions themselves, let us notice the expression, with all the saints. The subject is so great that no one believer can possibly grasp more than a small fraction of it. So there is need to study, discuss, and share with others. The Holy Spirit can use the combined meditations of a group of exercised believers to throw a flood of additional light on the Scriptures. The dimensions are generally taken to refer to the love of Christ, although the text does not say this. In fact, the love of Christ is mentioned separately in the following clause. If the love of Christ is intended, then the connection might be shown as follows: Width The world (Joh_3:16) Length Forever (1Co_13:8) Depth Even the death of the cross (Phi_2:8) Height Heaven (1Jo_3:1-2) F. B. Meyer expresses it well: There will always be as much horizon before us as behind us. And when we have been gazing on the face of Jesus for millenniums, its beauty will be as fresh and fascinating and fathomless as when we first saw it from the gate of Paradise. But these dimensions may also refer to the mystery which holds such an important place in Ephesians. In fact, it is easy to find these dimensions in the text itself:

1. The width is described in Eph_2:11-18. It refers to the wideness of God’s grace in saving Jews and Gentiles, and then incorporating them into the church. The mystery embraces both these segments of humanity.
2. The length extends from eternity to eternity. As to the past, believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph_1:4). As to the future, eternity will be a perpetual unfolding of the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (Eph_2:7).
3. The depth is vividly portrayed in Eph_2:1-3. We were sunk in a pit of unspeakable sin and degradation. Christ came to this jungle of filth and corruption in order to die in our behalf.
4. The height is seen in Eph_2:6, where we have not only been raised up with Christ, but enthroned in Him in the heavenlies to share His glory. These are the dimensions, then, of immensity and, indeed, infinity. As we think of them, all we can do, Scroggie says, is to mark the order in this tumult of holy words.3:19 The apostle’s next request is that the saints might knowby experience the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ. They could never explore it fully, because it is an ocean without shores, but they could learn more and more about it from day to day. And so he prays for a deep, experimental knowledge and enjoyment of the wonderful love of our wonderful Lord. The climax in this magnificent prayer is reached when Paul prays that you may be filled with (lit. unto, Greek eis) all the fullness of God. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in the Lord Jesus (Col_2:9). The more He dwells in our hearts by faith, the more we are filled unto all the fullness of God. We could never be filled with all the fullness of God. But it is a goal toward which we move. And yet having explained this, we must say there are depths of meaning here we have not reached. As we handle the Scriptures, we are aware that we are dealing with truths that are greater than our ability to understand or explain. We can use illustrations to throw light on this verse, for example, the thimble dipped in the ocean is filled with water, but how little of the ocean is in the thimble! Yet when we have said all this, the mystery remains, and we can only stand in awe at God’s word and marvel at its infinity.

Ephesians 3:20

H. Paul’s Doxology (3:20, 21) 3:20 The prayer closes with a soul-inspiring doxology. The preceding requests have been vast, bold, and seemingly impossible. But God is able to do more in this connection than we can ask or think. The extent of His ability is seen in the manner in which Paul pyramids words to describe superabundant blessings: Able Able to do Able to do what we ask Able to do what we think Able to do what we ask or think Able to do all that we ask or think Able to do above all that we ask or think Able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think Able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think The means by which God answers prayer is given in the expression, according to the power that works in us. This refers to the Holy Spirit, who is constantly at work in our lives, seeking to produce the fruit of a Christlike character, rebuking us because of sin, guiding us in prayer, inspiring us in worship, directing us in service. The more we are yielded to Him, the greater will be His effectiveness in conforming us to Christ. 3:21 To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. God is the worthy object of eternal praise. His wisdom and power are displayed in the angelic hosts; in sun, moon, and stars; in animals, birds, and fish; in fire, hail, snow, and mist; in wind; in mountains, hills, trees; in kings and people, old men and young; in Israel and the nations. All these are intended to praise the name of the Lord (Ps. 148). But there is another group from which endless glory will be given to God, that is, the churchChrist the Head and believers, the Body. This redeemed community will be an eternal witness to His matchless, marvelous grace. Williams writes: The eternal glory of God as God and Father will be made visible throughout all ages in the Church and in Christ Jesus. Amazing statement! Christ and the Church as One Body will be the vehicle of that eternal demonstration. Even now the church should be giving glory to His name in the services of praise, in the pure lives of its members, in its world-wide proclamation of the Gospel, and in its ministries to human distress and need (Erdman). The duration of this praise is to all generations, forever and ever. As we hear Paul call for eternal praise to God in the church and in Christ Jesus, the response of our hearts is a hearty Amen!