Ephesians 3.3a-Paul Identifies His Stewardship as a Mystery
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 26, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:3a-Paul Identifies His Stewardship as a Mystery
Lesson # 137
Ephesians 3:1 For this reason, I myself, Paul, the prisoner owned by and under the authority of the one and only Christ who is Jesus for the benefit of each and every one of you as a corporate unit, who are Gentiles—2 if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you as a corporate unit have surely heard about the stewardship, which is unique to the grace, which originates from the one and only God, which was given to me for the benefit of all of you as a corporate unit without exception. (Of course, every one of you have in fact heard about it.) 3 Namely that, the mystery was made known for the benefit of myself as revelation as I wrote beforehand in a concise manner. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:3 is composed of the following: (1) hoti (ὅτι) epexegetical clause hoti kata apokalypsin egnōristhē moi to mystērion (ὅτι κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνωρίσθη μοι τὸ μυστήριον), “Namely that, the mystery was made known for the benefit of myself as revelation” (Author’s translation) (2) comparative clause proegrapsa en oligō (προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ), “as I wrote beforehand in a concise manner.” (Author’s translation)
The hoti (ὅτι) epexegetical clause explains the noun oikonomia (οἰκονομία), “the stewardship” and specifically, it explains the nature of this stewardship, namely it is being a steward of the mystery or the divine secret that was made known to Paul by revelation from the Holy Spirit.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:9, the noun mustērion (μυστήριον) here in Ephesians 3:3, the word means “mystery, divine secret” since the word pertains to the content of that which has not been known before but which has been revealed to an in-group or restricted constituency.
It pertains to a secret whose concerned party is a deity alone and those to whom he chooses to share the information; especially concerning the method and history of God’s redemption or other supernatural information.
In Ephesians 1:9 and 3:3, the noun mustērion (μυστήριον), “mystery” speaks of a truth which was not known to Old Testament saints but has now been revealed by the Father through the Spirit during the church age to the apostles who communicated it to the church.
In Ephesians 1:9, this word refers to the divine secret or mystery of the Father’s will for church age believers.
In Ephesians 1:9, the noun mustērion (μυστήριον), “mystery” speaks of a truth which was not known to Old Testament saints but has now been revealed by the Father through the Spirit during the church age to the apostles who communicated it to the church.
This mystery is identified by the word’s genitive adjunct which is tou thelēmatos autou (τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ), “of His will.”
This mystery of the Father’s will is identified in Ephesians 1:3-4 as the Father electing church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose because of His love through Jesus Christ.
Thus, it was according to His will to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose alone because of His love through Jesus Christ.
This mystery is developed further in Ephesians 3:5-6 in that it asserts that the Gentile believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus with Jewish Christians.
Both groups compose those who have been elected by the Father which was accomplished by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the development of this mystery in Ephesians 3:5-6 is that these verses are identifying that not only Jewish Christians are elected and predestinated and in union with Christ and identified with Him but also Gentile Christians.
This development was necessary since the promise of the Holy Spirit was originally given to His apostles and disciples who were all Jewish since this promise was given to the Jewish people under the New Covenant (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:27) and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle were Gentile Christians.
So therefore, in Ephesians 3:3, the referent the noun mustērion (μυστήριον), “mystery” is that Gentile and Jewish church age believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the promise because of their faith in Christ Jesus at justification and union and identification with Him as a result of their obedience to the gospel.
Ephesians 3:3 expands or explains in greater detail or provides more information about the Father’s will for the church age believer in Ephesians 1:9.
Namely, that it also involves Gentile and Jewish church age believers being fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the promise because of their faith in Christ Jesus at justification and union and identification with Him as a result of their obedience to the gospel.
Therefore, in each instance, the word has the same referent because the Father’s will for the church age believer, which was not known to the Old Testament prophets, is that Gentile and Jewish church age believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the promise because of their faith in Christ Jesus at justification and union and identification with Him.
Ephesians 3:1-13 teaches that it was a mystery that the Gentiles through faith in Christ would become fellow heirs with Jewish believers, fellow members of the body of Christ and fellow partakers of the four unconditional covenants of promise to Israel.
The mystery is not that the Gentiles would be saved since this was prophesied in the Old Testament (Isa. 11:10; 60:3).
Rather, the mystery concerning the Gentiles is that they would become fellow heirs with Jewish believers, fellow members with Jewish believers in the body of Christ and fellow partakers of the covenant promises to Israel.
The content of this mystery is three-fold:
(1) The Gentile believers are fellow heirs with Jewish believers in the sense that they share in the spiritual riches God gave them because of His covenant with Abraham (Gal. 3:26-28).
(2) Gentile believers in Christ are fellow members of the body of Christ with Jewish believers. There is one body, the body of Christ (Eph. 4:4), which has no racial distinctions (1 Cor. 12:13) and has the Lord Jesus Christ as its head (Eph. 5:23). Each individual member of the body of Christ shares in the ministry (Eph. 4:15-16).
(3) Gentile believers in Christ are fellow partakers of the four unconditional covenants of promise to Israel.
The four great unconditional covenants to Israel will be fulfilled:
(a) Abrahamic deals with the race of Israel (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:16; 22:15-18).
(b) Palestinian is the promise of land to Israel (Gen. 13:15; Num. 34:1-12).
(c) Davidic deals with the aristocracy of Israel (2 Sam. 7:8-17)
(d) New deals with the future restoration of Israel during the millennium (Jer. 31:31-34).
This mystery about Jewish and Gentile church age believers is not only alluded to in Ephesians 1:3-14 and Ephesians 3:2-13 but is also alluded to in Ephesians 2:11-22 because the latter develops the idea of these Gentile Christians being elected by being predestinated in eternity past to adoption as son of the Father, which is taught in Ephesians 1:3-14.
Ephesians 2:11-22 teaches that Gentile church age believers are united with Jewish Gentile believers because of their faith in Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
Thus, the election and predestination of church age believers to adoption as sons of the Father taught by Paul in Ephesians1:3-14 also involves Jewish and Gentile church age believers being united together to form the new humanity who along with Jesus Christ dispossess Satan and his fellow evil spirits as rulers over God’s creation in order to rule over the works of God’s hands during Jesus Christ’s millennial reign.
Some commentators argue that this comparative clause alludes to Colossians 1:25-27.
However, this very unlikely since Tychicus not only delivered Ephesians to the Christian community in the Roman province of Asia but also Colossians (Col.4:7).
He also delivered what we know as “Philemon” to Philemon since it can be inferred that Philemon lived in Colossae because the Onesimus mentioned in Philemon 10 is Philemon’s slave is the same Onesimus who appears in Colossians 4;9.