Ephesians 3:1-13 Study

Verses 1-3

The first words of chapter three form a transitional prepositional phrase, if you will. After so emphasizing the salvation of the Gentile Ephesian believers, and the abolishment of hostility between man and man and man and God, Paul is intending to go into a portion on his prayers for them again. However Paul gets quickly side-tracked.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—

Verse one is the direction Paul means to go, but he will not pick back up on that thought until verse 14 when he continues with his For this reason statement. But Paul, not due to ADHD but zeal, gets caught up on clarity. He so desires to be clear in what he is saying that he will go on major tangents just to clarify doctrine and, ultimately, glorify Christ.

Verse two shows us another transition but this one into Paul’s tangent

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

2 assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you.

See the flow of thought: Paul states his identity again, but this time emphasizing the fact that he is a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles he is writing to, but he words this by saying I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—, but he wants to clarify that this is true if the Gentile Christians he is writing to know about the administration of God’s grace.

He will continue to speak of this administration of God’s grace that [God] gave [Paul] for [the Ephesians]. But what is this? It is helpful to break down this phrase, as even when Paul speaks further of this, it is still a little vague.

administration:

can also mean stewardship; this is the action of dispensing and handing something out. There are also some connotations within this word of a responsibility of what you are handing out.

Of God’s grace

So Paul is tasked with the responsibility of handing out, or dispensing, God’s grace.

What does that even mean, though, to dispense/hand out God’s grace?

God’s grace is an available gift to everyone, however many reject it. Paul shares the Gospel in hopes that they would then receive God’s grace.

that He gave me for you.

So this grace that Paul is a steward of is one that Paul was given to hand out to the Ephesians believers, namely Gentiles.

In summary, this seems to be referring to Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles in leading them to come to know Christ, sharing in His grace.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above.

He continues speaking of his ministry to the Gentiles, but this time refers to it as a mystery… made known to [him] by revelation….

The very idea that Gentiles would be drawn near to Christ after being excluded from the covenant promises for so long is a mystery! One the Jews did not expect, but yet God brought about.

Verses 4-6

By reading this you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.

Paul did have a special knowledge and understanding into who Christ is and how He is working. This is not because Paul is just better than others. This is due to Paul position as an Apostle. He had a special authority, and therefore special insight into the mystery of Christ. And he speaks further of this in the next verse:

This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:

The ministry Paul was in of reaching the Gentiles was not very well known. In fact, it was only the Apostles (such as Paul himself) and the prophets of the OT who spoke of these things.

It is important to note that they did not speak about this by their own knowledge, but by the Spirit at work in them. The Holy Spirit was divinely revealing things to the Apostles and the prophets to make this known to them.

Now we see what it was that was not made known to anyone but the apostles and prophets by the work of the Spirit:

The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

This is the great mystery. This is the great promise that has been prophesied of for many generations: Gentiles would come to know Christ and be grafted into the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. The Gentiles would be grafted into the body of Christ, no longer far off, but in the same family and household.

Verses 7-9

Now Paul will point out how gracious God is in allowing him to be in his apostolic position that he is in.

I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power.

Paul specifies how it is he became an administrator of this grace to Gentiles: by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power.

There was nothing special about Paul. In fact, there was only bad that anyone could see. Persecutor of Christ Himself. Imprisoning and killing christians. Yet, in God’s grace, Paul was saved and made a steward of God’s grace. Who else is better to hand out God’s grace than one who knows his need for it. And speaks of this too:

This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—

Paul humbly confesses that he, despite God’s work in him, is the least of all the saints. He gives full glory to the Lord in bringing him where he is.

Paul also recognizes his purpose: to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

Paul’s purpose is two-fold:

To proclaim the Gospel to Gentiles

To inform all about the ministry to the Gentiles

Ultimately Paul’s purpose was to glorify the Lord however, as an Apostle, he had more specific purposes too. The Gentiles needed to know that they do not have to be far off from their Creator anymore. The Jews needed to know that the Gentiles needed God’s grace too.

Verses 10-13

Now he expounds on why these are his purpose:

To make known God’s multi-faceted wisdom through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.

Something fascinating that we see throughout Scripture is how humanity is able to be used by God to display His wisdom and attributes. In this case, God is using humanity to show His vast wisdom and grace by saving, not just one people group, but all types of people.

Paul calls this God’s eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This eternal purpose is the salvation and redemption Of humanity.

Verse 12 tells us that in Christ we have boldness and confident access through faith in [Christ].

Redirecting from the mystery of God’s ministry through Paul to the Gentiles to the benefits that all Christians partake in, Paul speaks of our confident access through faith in Him.

As believers who have God’s Spirit, we are able to speak directly to our God. We can stand before His throne and lift our petitions and praises straight to our Creator.

How is this so? Paul says: through faith in Him. We can only access God in such an intimate way by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. This restores a right relationship with God. This allows us to partake in the benefits of Christ’s death. Otherwise, we miss it all.

Paul concludes his tangent to clarify doctrine by bringing up something that seems unrelated.

13 So, then, I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory.

Except this takes us back to verse 1:

1 For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—

It is true that Paul is a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles. That is why he was put in prison, after all, he was evangelizing to Gentiles. However, he doesn’t want them to feel bad about this, as if he shouldn’t have done it. Rather, he calls his afflicitons their glory. Why is this so? Because Paul speaking to them about Jesus led to their salvation. Therefore, this is their glory! God was working through Paul for their salvation. They shouldn’t be discouraged, but encouraged!