Ephesians 3.7c-Paul Entered into the Service of the Gospel According to the Activity of God's Power
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday April 27, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:7c-Paul Entered into the Service of the Gospel According to the Activity of God’s Power
Lesson # 151
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).
It expresses the idea that Paul receiving the gift of being a servant of the gospel at the moment of justification was “according to” or “corresponding to” or is “in agreement with” the activity produced by the exercise of the Father’s divine omnipotence.
In this second prepositional phrase, the noun energeia (ἐνέργεια) refers to the Father’s activity on behalf of the apostle Paul the moment He imputed His Son’s righteousness to him and declared him justified.
Therefore, this word speaks of the “activity” on behalf of Paul at justification, which was produced by the Father’s omnipotence.
In context, this activity was that of the Father entering Paul into the state of serving the gospel the moment He declared him justified through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, the Lord Jesus Christ authorized the Holy Spirit to bestow Paul with the spiritual gift of apostleship, thus giving him the gift of communicating the gospel.
The articular construction of this word is monadic which means that this particular activity of the Father in giving Paul the spiritual gift of apostleship the moment He declared him justified through faith in His Son is “unique” to the Father and in particular His divine omnipotence.
The noun dunamis (δύναμις) contains the figure of metonymy which means that the Father’s omnipotence is put for the exercise of His omnipotence.
Specifically, it refers to the omnipotence of God the Father which He exercised on behalf of the apostle Paul at his justification by giving him the gift of being a servant of the gospel, i.e., the spiritual gift of apostleship.
The noun dunamis (δύναμις) functions as a genitive of production, which indicates that the activity which Paul was the beneficiary of at the moment of his justification, which resulted in him receiving the gift of being a servant of the gospel, was “produced by” the exercise of the Father’s omnipotence.
Divine omnipotence is one of the characteristics of the divine essence (Father: Mark 14:36 and Luke 1:37; Son: Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3; Spirit: Rom. 15:13).
God has limitless and infinite ability to do something (Gen. 18:14a; Ps. 147:5a; Isa. 40:26; Lk. 1:37). There is power in the Word of God (Ps. 33:6a; Heb. 1:3a; 4:12a; 11:3a; 2 Co. 6:7; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 3:5).
The cross of Christ is the power of God, which delivers the believer from the sin nature, the cosmic system of Satan and Satan himself (1 Corinthians 1:18).
The Gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).
All three members of the Trinity are omnipotent since they are co-equal, co-infinite and co-eternal: (1) God the Father is omnipotent (Eph. 1:17; 2 Pet. 1:2-3). (2) Holy Spirit is omnipotent (Acts 1:8; Rm. 15:13, 19; Eph. 3:16; 1 Th. 1:5). (3) God the Son is omnipotent (John 1:3, 101; 5:21; 1 Cor. 1:23-24; Phil. 3:21; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 1:8).
The church age believer is the beneficiary of three categories of divine omnipotence in positional sanctification: (1) The omnipotence of God the Father in eternity past as related to the divine decree, eternal inheritance, election and predestination (Rom. 9:22; Eph. 1:3-14; 2 Pet. 1:3). (2) The omnipotence of God the Son created the cosmos through His Word in order that the Father’s eternal purpose through the divine decree, the eternal inheritance, election and predestination might be carried out in time (Heb. 1:3; 4:12) and also the omnipotence of God the Son in the form of the Word of God, i.e., the Gospel provided the means of salvation (Rm. 1:16). (3) The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit places the believer in union with Christ at the moment of salvation, thus providing in time the principle of achieving that which the Father had purposed in eternity past (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28).
The church age believer is the beneficiary of three categories of divine omnipotence in experiential sanctification: (1) The omnipotence of God the Father as related to the principles of election and predestination (Eph. 1:3-14). (2) The omnipotence of God the Son as related to the perpetuation and preservation of human history (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3) and the Word of God for the execution of the plan of God for the church age (1 Co. 1:18; 2 Co. 6:7; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 3:5). (3) The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit as related to the filling of the Spirit for the execution of the plan of God for the church age (Rm. 6:4-11; 15:13; 2 Co. 6:7; 12:9; Eph. 1:19; 3:20; Col. 1:11; 2 Pet. 1:3).
The church age believer is the beneficiary of three categories of divine omnipotence in perfective sanctification: (1) Omnipotence of God the Father in relation to the believer’s human spirit being placed back in the resurrection body (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21). (2) Omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit in relation to the believer’s soul being placed back in the resurrection body (Rom. 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). (3) Omnipotence of God the Son in relation to the believer’s resurrection body being created (John 5:21; 6:39-40, 54; 10:17-18; 11:25).
Church age believers have been given divine power and made partakers in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:3-4).
It is the power of God that works within believers who apply the Word of God (Eph. 3:20).
Church age believers have been given divine omnipotence to execute the plan of God (Col. 1:11).
They have been created a new spiritual species, i.e., Christ-nature at the moment of salvation so that you can use God’s divine omnipotence (2 Cor. 5:17).
The Christ-nature enables the believer to have a lifestyle of power which is patterned after that which the humanity of Christ demonstrated during His First Advent (2 Ti. 1:7).
The same power that enabled the humanity of Christ to execute the Father’s plan for the incarnation and that raised Him from the dead is available to every church age believer as a result of the baptism of the Spirit.
The believer’s sole ambition in life must be to become like Christ in His death in order to grow to spiritual maturity.
In Philippians 3:10-11, Paul informs the Philippian church that his sole ambition in life was to become like Christ by experiencing identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
Philippians 3:10 that I come to know Him experientially and the power from His resurrection and the participation in His sufferings by my becoming like Him with respect to His death. 11 If somehow (by becoming like Him with respect to His death), I may attain to the exit-resurrection, namely, the one out from the (spiritually) dead ones. (Lecturer’s translation)
Now, Paul’s statement here in Ephesians 3:7 is very similar to his assertion in Ephesians 3:2.
The difference between the two is that in Ephesians 3:2, he describes his relationship to the gospel as a stewardship whereas in Ephesians 3:7, he describes this relationship as a service.
Thus, here in Ephesians 3:7, Paul is restating his special and unique relationship to the gospel.
However, in both verses, he asserts that the grace of God is responsible for both his stewardship and his service on behalf of the gospel.
This repetition of God’s grace serves as an inclusio and thus serves to bracket Ephesians 3:2-7.
This also serves to emphasize the fact that the content of the mystery that Gentile church age 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, which Paul received, was based upon God’s grace policy.
In other words, he didn’t earn or deserve this revelation from God.