Ephesians 3.7a-Paul Became a Servant of the Gospel
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 23, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:7a-Paul Became a Servant of the Gospel
Lesson # 149
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. 4 Concerning which, that is, by each one of you making it your habit of hearing read publicly, all of you will for your own benefit become able to comprehend my insight into this incomparable mystery, which is produced by your unique union and identification with Christ. 5 This mystery was by no means made known to members of the human race in previous generations as it has now been revealed through the personal agency of His holy apostles as well as prophets by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit. 6 Namely, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body likewise fellow partakers of the promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus by means of the proclamation of the gospel. 7 I assumed the position and responsibility of serving this gospel according to the gift originating from the one and only God’s grace, which was given to me according to the activity produced by the exercise of His power. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:7 concludes Paul’s description of the content of the mystery, which began in Ephesians 3:1.
It is composed of the relative pronoun clause hou egenēthēn diakonos (οὗ ἐγενήθην διάκονος), “I assumed the position and responsibility of serving this gospel” (Lecturer’s translation).
It is modified by two prepositional phrases.
The first is kata tēn dōrean tēs charitos tou theou (κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ), “according to the gift originating from the one and only God’s grace, which was given to me” (Lecturer’s translation).
The second is kata tēn energeian tēs dynameōs autou (κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ), “according to the activity produced by the exercise of His power” (Lecturer’s translation).
Now, in this relative pronoun clause, the referent of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) is the articular genitive neuter singular form of the noun euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον), “the gospel” which appears in Ephesians 3:6.
As we noted in our study of Ephesians 3:6, the noun euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον) means “the proclamation of the gospel” since the word contains the figure of metonymy meaning that the gospel is put for the communication of the gospel message to the recipients of the Ephesian epistle when they were unregenerate sinners.
This noun pertains to communicating the good news to the unbeliever that Christ died and rose from the dead for them and that through faith in Him they could receive the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins and avoid experiencing the wrath of God.
Therefore, this is the referent and antecedent of the genitive neuter singular form of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) here in Ephesians 3:7.
The verb ginomai (γίνομαι) pertains to entering into a particular position with its accompanying responsibilities.
In other words, the word pertains to assuming a particular position and responsibility.
The referent of the first person singular form of this verb is of course the apostle Paul.
The noun diakonos (διάκονος), “a servant” identifies the position and responsibility Paul assumed at justification and is used to describe the apostle Paul as someone who serves the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is used to describe Paul’s service as an apostle who faithfully communicated the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It also describes him as someone who serves the gospel on behalf of Jesus Christ and His church.
It is used in a spiritual sense of Paul’s function as a communicator of the gospel to describe the relationship between Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This servanthood is manifested by Paul communicating to the non-Christian community and Christian community the gospel.
Therefore, this relative pronoun clause in Ephesians 3:7 expresses the idea that Paul entered into the state of assuming the position of being a servant of the gospel with its accompanying responsibilities.
He entered into this position and responsibilities which are associated with it, the moment the Father imputed His Son’s righteousness to Him when he exercised faith in His Son for eternal salvation and was declared justified by the Father.
Simultaneously, this resulted in Paul receiving the gift of apostleship and the command to publicly proclaim the gospel to every creature on earth.
The passive voice of the verb ginomai (γίνομαι) indicates that Paul as the subject received the action of being entered into the position and responsibility of serving the gospel because of the gift of God’s grace and the exercise of His omnipotence.
This again took place at the moment of justification when Paul was not only declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ but he also simultaneously received the gift of apostleship.
Therefore, this is another “divine-passive” employed by Paul in this epistle.
In Colossians 1:23, Paul employs this same term diakonos (διάκονος), “a servant,” to describe himself in relation to the gospel.
Colossians 1:23 Of course, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument each one of you continues to persevere according to the standards of the Christian faith so that each one of you is established, and thus solid individuals. In other words, so that each one of you is not moved away from the confident expectation (of blessing) produced by obedience to the gospel which each one of you has obeyed. This gospel was publicly proclaimed throughout all creation which is under the heavens, of which I myself, Paul became a servant. (Lecturer’s translation)
The apostle Paul concludes his remarks in Colossians 1:23 by asserting that he had become a servant of the gospel.
Paul was one of the most prominent individuals in the church to publicly proclaim the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.
When he says that he became a servant of the gospel, he is referring to his conversion experience which resulted in him receiving the gift of apostleship and the command to publicly proclaim the gospel to every creature on earth.
This servanthood is manifested by Paul communicating to the non-Christian community and Christian community the gospel.
By stating he was a servant of the gospel, he is stating he has a stewardship related to the gospel and for which he will have to give an account to the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat.
At the same time, he is reminding these faithful Christians in Colossae that they have the same stewardship as well.
Now, the term diakonos (διάκονος), “a servant,” which Paul employs here in Ephesians 3:7 to describe himself in relation to the gospel did reflect a position of inferiority in the first century A.D.
However, in the Christian community, it was seen as a title of honor.
In fact, the following is a list of Old Testament characters who were identified as servants of God: (1) Moses (Deut. 34:5; Josh. 8:31). (2) Joshua (Josh. 24:29). (3) David (Ps. 18:1; 36:1). (4) Abel (Heb. 11:4). (5) Enoch (Heb. 11:5). (6) Noah (Heb. 11:7). (7) Abraham (Heb. 11:8). (8) Sarah (Heb. 11:11). (9) Isaac (Heb. 11:20). (10) Jacob (Heb. 11:21). (11) Joseph (Heb. 11:22). (12) Rahab (Heb. 11:31).
The Lord Jesus Christ is called the Servant of the Lord in the Old Testament as attested to by the Servant Songs in Isaiah 42-53.
He is the perfect example of servanthood that we are to imitate when serving God and each other.
All precedence for Christian service during the church age is derived from the dispensation of the hypostatic union when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ voluntarily denied Himself of the independent function of His deity in order to serve both God and man (Jn. 13:1-7).
The believer is to imitate the servanthood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 20:20-28; 23:10-12; Ephesians 4:29-5:2).
The believer must never perform any work of service for men but rather he must perform his service to men as unto the Lord (Ephesians 6:5-7; Colossians 3:17, 22-24).
Christian service demands humility, which is the antithesis to arrogance, and is viewing oneself from God’s perspective, namely sinners saved by the grace of God.
Humility is expressed by possessing a servant’s mentality.
The humble believer will imitate the Lord Jesus Christ’s servant mentality and as a result perform acts of service for both God and man (Proverbs 11:2; 15:33; 18:12; Matthew 23:10-12; Ephesians 4:1-2; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 3:12-13; James 1:9-10; 4:6, 10; 1 Peter 3:8-9; 5:5-6).
Every believer will have to give an account of himself to the Lord at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the Church (1 Cor. 3:11-15).
Old Testament Servants of God: (1) Moses (Dt. 34:5; Josh. 8:31). (2) Joshua (Josh. 24:29). (3) David (Ps. 18:1; 36:1). (4) Abel (Heb. 11:4). (5) Enoch (Heb. 11:5). (6) Noah (Heb. 11:7). (7) Abraham (Heb. 11:8). (8) Sarah (Heb. 11:11). (9) Isaac (Heb. 11:20). (10) Jacob (Heb. 11:21). (11) Joseph (Heb. 11:22). (12) Rahab (Heb. 11:31).
New Testament Servants of God: (1) Paul (Acts 27:22-24). (2) Priscilla (Rm. 16:3). (3) Aquila (Rm. 16:3). (4) Urbane (Rm. 16:9). (5) Timothy (Rm. 16:21; 1Th. 3:2). (6) Titus (2 Cor. 8:23). (7) Epaphroditus (Phlp. 2:25). (8) Euodia (Phlp. 4:3). (9) Syntyche (Phlp. 4:3) (10) Clement (Phlp. 4:3). (11) Tychicus (Col. 4:11). (12) Onesimus (Col. 4:11). (13) Aristarchus (Col. 4:11; Phlm. 24) (14) Barnabas’ cousin Mark (Col. 4:11). (15) Jesus called Justus (Col. 4:11). (16) Philemon (Phlm. 1). (17) Demas (Phlm. 24) (18) Lucas (Phlm. 24).