Ephesians 3.9b-Paul's Gave Enlightenment to the Gentile Christian Community Regarding the Mystery Plan for the Church Age
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday May 23, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9b-Paul Gave Enlightment to the Gentile Christian Community Regarding the Mystery Plan for the Church Age
Lesson # 156
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. 8 To me, the less than least of all the saints, this grace was given in order to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable wealth brought about by this justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ. 9 Specifically, in order to cause everyone to be enlightened as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which is a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of God’s will, who has caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:9 is composed of an infinitival purpose clause, which explains specifically the purpose for which the Father bestowed upon Paul the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel as an apostle to the Gentiles.
It asserts that the Father gave Paul this gift in order to enlighten everyone in the Gentile Christian community as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which was a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of the Father’s will, who caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created.
So therefore, when Paul asserts in Ephesians 3:8 that he received the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel in order to proclaim to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ, he means that the purpose of this gift was to enlighten this community.
Specifically, to enlighten them that they are now fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Thus, Ephesians 3:9 is explaining the previous purpose clause because it identifies what Paul proclaimed to the Gentile Christian community, namely, enlightenment with regards to this mystery, whose content has already been revealed in Ephesians 3:6.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:18, the verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) here in Ephesians 3:9 is used in a figurative sense of the apostle Paul through the ministry of the Holy Spirit providing the Gentile Christian community spiritual understanding or discernment concerning the mystery or secret.
Specifically, this verb is used in a figurative sense of Paul through the ministry of the Holy Spirit providing the Gentile Christian community spiritual understanding or discernment concerning the mystery or secret whose content is presented by Paul in Ephesians 3:6.
It asserts that they are now fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ with them likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise with them because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
This has resulted in these Gentile church age believers now possessing unfathomable wealth.
In other words, it refers to the Gentile Christian community receiving spiritual understanding from the Holy Spirit with regards to this mystery or divine secret from the Holy Spirit through Paul communicating this mystery to them through the contents of the Ephesian epistle.
The referent of the accusative masculine plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς) is the Gentile Christian community and expresses the idea that the Father gave Paul the unmerited blessing of enlightening “each and every one of the members of” the Gentile Christian community regarding the mystery or divine secret.
The referent has to be the Gentile Christian community because the content of this mystery, which was revealed in Ephesians 3:6, would have no meaning for the rest of unregenerate humanity who do not have the Spirit to comprehend and apply it.
The unregenerate members of the human race must first exercise faith in Jesus Christ in order to receive the gift of the Spirit to understand this revelation, which was a mystery to those who lived during the dispensations prior to the church.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:18 and 19, the interrogative pronoun tis (τις) here in Ephesians 3:9 introduces a categorical or qualitative question and the referent of this word is identified by the expression hē oikonomia tou mystēriou (ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου), “God’s secret plan.” (NET)
It is expressing the idea that each and every member of the Gentile Christian community received from Paul enlightenment “as to what constitutes” or “what is the content of” this mystery or divine secret, which reveals that the Father has provided them incomparable wealth.
Now, as was the case in Ephesians 1:10, this word oikonomia (οἰκονομία) here in Ephesians 3:9 means “dispensation, administration, plan” since in this verse the word pertains to “a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose” and the referent of this word is the Father’s plan for Gentile church age believers.
Specifically, it is the outworking of the Father’s purpose to have both Jewish and Gentile church age believers as fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus.
As was the case in Ephesians 3:3 and 4, here in Ephesians 3:9 the referent of this word mustērion (μυστήριον) is the revelation that Gentile and Jewish church age believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their faith in Jesus Christ at justification and union and identification with Him.
The noun mustērion (μυστήριον) functions here as a genitive of apposition or epexegetical genitive, which means that it describes the outworking of the Father’s plan Gentile church age believers as a mystery or divine secret.
Like the infinitive conjugation of the verb euangelizō (εὐαγγελίζω) in Ephesians 3:8, the infinitive conjugation of the verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) functions as an infinitive of purpose.
This indicates that it was “for the purpose of” enlightening the Gentile Christian community with regards to the mystery or divine secret they are now fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise with Jewish church age believers because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
The active voice of this verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) is causative, which means that Paul as the subject is not directly involved in the act of enlightening the Gentile Christian community regarding this mystery but the source behind it.
He was the ultimate source behind it or the cause behind it because he was the human instrument the Holy Spirit employed to enlighten the Gentile Christian community with regards to this mystery or secret.
The verb apokruptō (ἀποκρύπτω) is used in relation to the content of this mystery or divine secret and that it was kept secret or hidden from the human and angelic races during the dispensations prior to the church age.
The Father caused the content of this mystery or secret, which we noted is identified in Ephesians 3:6, to remain unknown to the human and angelic races during the dispensations prior to the church age.
The participle conjugation of this verb functions as a genitive of simple apposition.
This means it defines this mystery or divine secret as something that has been concealed from the human and angelic races during the dispensations prior to the church age because it was not the Father’s will for it to be revealed until the church age.
The noun aiōn (αἰών), “the ages” refers to the period of time beginning with the creation of the time, matter, space continuum and continuing throughout human history up to the church age.
This noun aiōn (αἰών) is also object of the preposition apo (ἀπό), which functions as a marker of separation indicating that human beings and angels who lived during the ages prior to the beginning of the church age were kept “from” or “barred from” knowing the Father’s plan for Gentile church age believers.
The articular dative masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός) contains the figure of metonymy which means that God the Father is put for His will.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that in Ephesians 3:8 and 9 Paul discusses the Father’s will for his life and His will with regards to the Gentile Christian community.
In these verses, he asserts that the Father chose him to communicate His purpose to the Gentile Christian community to have them be fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus.
Therefore, since Paul in these verses discusses the will of the Father for both himself and the Gentile Christian community, the will of the Father is being alluded to when Paul employs this noun theos (θεός) here in Ephesians 3:9.
The noun theos (θεός) is the object of the preposition en (ἐν) functions as a marker of cause, which indicates that the Father’s secret plan for Gentile church age believers was concealed from those who lived during the dispensations prior to the church age “because of the Father’s will.”