Ephesians 3:1-13 The Great Mystery February 2, 2025

Lesson 5

The Immeasurable Love of Christ Class Presentation Notes AAAAA

Background Scriptures:

• 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 (NASB95)

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.

9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Main Idea:

• Suffering can bring glory to God, and it can work out for our good.

Study Aim:

• To understand that in suffering, and through Jesus, we can approach God with freedom and confidence.

Create Interest:

• Paul is about to move into the practical section (our walk with Christ), but first he pauses to pray. He begins his prayer in v. 1, but does not continue until he gets to v. 14! The intervening verses form a long parenthesis, but they are important, because they explain Paul’s special ministry to the church body and to the Gentiles

Lesson in Historical Context:

• After discussing God’s work of reconciliation (2:1–22), Paul now explains his role within the mystery of the gospel (vv. 2–12).

• Paul has said that Jesus brings together all believers and fits them into a holy temple but now makes the discussion more personal by explaining that the Ephesians (plural “you”) were likewise being built into the dwelling of God.

• Paul has shown that though the Gentiles were formerly outside God’s household, they are now one “new man” with Jewish believers. This new entity is like a temple that is structured on the apostles and prophets, with Christ being the chief Cornerstone; it is indwelt by God through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

• In our focus today we find a personal application of the teachings he has been giving. He has established that Jewish and gentile Christians are united in Jesus (2:11–22); he now discusses his testimony of recognizing and accepting the revelation that gentiles are fellow heirs of the gospel message (3:1–7). He goes on to describe his calling to the gentiles and how his declaration of the gospel to all corresponds to God’s wisdom and purpose (3:8–13). Based on this, Paul asks the Ephesians not to worry about him and his struggles, for his works are done on their behalf and for their benefit.

Bible Study:

Ephesians 3:1 (NASB95)

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

• Paul was about to offer a prayer on behalf of these believers. But he stopped right in the middle of a sentence (at the end of Eph. 3:1) and digressed on the subject of the mystery of Christ.

o He explained this mystery and his responsibility to dispense it. Then he resumed his prayer, starting with verse 14.

• Vs. 3:1. The words for this reason (also used in v. 14) specifically point back to 2:11–22, which dealt with the Jewish and Gentile believers being raised to a new plane.

o But they also more generally refer back to all the first part of the epistle in which Paul discussed God’s grace to the Gentiles. The words I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, refer to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome because of his service for Christ (cf. 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:8; Phile. 1, 9), and more particularly because of his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles. (2 Tim. 1:11-12)

o 2 Timothy 1:11–12 (NASB95)

11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

• Because of his faithfulness to the stewardship God had given him among the Gentiles (Eph. 3:2) bitter Jewish opposition arose against him. This resulted in his being attacked in Jerusalem and put on trial in Caesarea and Rome.

Why did Paul go to prison? (3:1)

Ephesians 3:2–7 (NASB95)

2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.

4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

• Vs. 2. God had a purpose for Paul. He gave to him a dispensation of the grace of God. What’s that? The word “dispensation” is from the word oikonomia {oy-kon-om-eeʹ-ah}. It is formed from two Greek words: oikos, meaning “house” and nomos, meaning “law.” Our English word “economy” is derived directly from oikonomia, “the law of the house,” or “a stewardship, a management.”

• Vs. 3. Paul was a steward of God’s grace to the Gentiles. He was entrusted with the message that Gentiles could be saved through faith in Christ, making those who were believing-Jews and Gentiles united and equal in Jesus. Both of these groups would receive the promises and blessings of God. He was to reveal this message to the world.

• This truth was a mystery in the Old Testament that had been revealed to Paul, the apostles, and prophets by the Holy Spirit in New Testament times. What does he mean by the word mystery?

• This word “mystery” is from the word musterion {moos-tayʹ-ree-on}. It does not mean something that is spooky or scary.

o Instead, a mystery was something that was concealed by the Lord in the past and is now revealed to those who are followers of the Lord

o It is a secret of the Lord that is not known or understood by unbelievers, but is known and understood by God’s people.

 Paul spoke about this inability of unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB95)

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

• The message of the gospel and the grace of God has been passed down for two thousand years.

o It is our responsibility as Christians today to share this message with the world of our day.

If you found buried treasure in your backyard, what would be your first course of action?

To what mystery did Paul refer? (3:2–3)

• Vs. 4-6. The best way to grasp the importance of “the mystery” in Paul’s life is to focus on the two descriptions he gives of himself in this section. He begins by calling himself “a prisoner” (Eph. 3:1), and then he calls himself “a minister” (Eph. 3:7). Paul was a prisoner because he believed in God’s new program of uniting believing Jews and Gentiles into one body, the church. The orthodox Jews in Paul’s day considered the Gentiles “dogs,” but some of the Christian Jews did not have a much better attitude toward the Gentiles.

o Paul knew from the very beginning of his Christian life that God had called him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 26:13–18), and he was not disobedient to that call. Wherever Paul ministered, he founded local churches composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, all “one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

o Because Paul was the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13; 15:15–16; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 2:7), he was accused of being prejudiced against the Jews, particularly the Jewish believers in Jerusalem and Judea. The Book of Acts explains how Paul got from Jerusalem to Rome, “a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1). Had Paul compromised his message and encouraged the selfish prejudices of the Jews he probably would have been released.

How did Paul receive insight into the mystery of Christ? (3:4–5)

Vs. 6. As a Minister, Look at what Paul was preaching that we are called to share with others.

• First, they are to share the inheritance. God has promised his people Israel that they will inherit the world (see Romans 4:13); when God renews the whole creation, his people will be kings and lords over it. Now Gentiles are to share in this inheritance (Romans 5:17).

• Second, they are to become fellow members of one body. Paul probably still has in mind the image of the church as the ‘body of Christ’ (Eph. 1:23). Gentile Christians aren’t simply to be second-class citizens. They are to be limbs and organs of the Messiah’s body, just as Jewish Christians are.

• Third, they are to have an equal share in the promises. All God’s promises had been made to Abraham and his family; now that family is shown to be a worldwide company.

• Vs. 7. Paul’s role as a minister (diakonos, servant) was not self-chosen, for he declares that he was made a minister. This office of servanthood was conferred upon the apostle—it was according to the gift of the grace of God.

o In no way did the former persecutor of the Christian believers deserve such a privilege. God in His sovereign, unmerited action laid His hand upon Paul for this mission to the Gentiles.

o Furthermore, the apostleship to the Gentiles was by the effectual working of his power. This ministry would have failed had it not been accompanied with divine enablement.

o This was the “dispensation”—or stewardship—that God had given him that was referred to in Vs. 1. And because Paul was a faithful steward, he was now a prisoner in Rome. Like Joseph in the Old Testament, his faithful stewardship resulted in false arrest and imprisonment. But, in the end, it brought great glory to God and salvation to Jews and Gentiles.

How was Paul enabled to be a servant? (3:7)

Ephesians 3:8–13 (NASB95)

8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

• Vs. 8: To me, the very least of all saints; not only of apostles and prophets, but even of all believers—a profound expression of humility, founded not only on his persecuting career, but on his consciousness of sin, of inborn rebellion against God’s Law, of fountains of unlawful desire in his flesh (Rom. 7:18; 1 Tim. 1:13–15), making him feel himself to be, in heart and essence, the chief of sinners.

o The sense of sin is not usually in proportion to the acts of outward transgression, but to the insight into the springs of evil in one’s heart, and the true nature of sin as direct antagonism to the holy God.

o Was this grace given. The third time in this chapter that he speaks of his office as a fruit of grace, showing that, notwithstanding his being a prisoner on account of it, and all the perils it involved (2 Cor. 11:24, 27), he was overwhelmed with God’s unmerited goodness in conferring it on him.

• Paul does not simply tell us why and to whom he ministered………..

o He tells us what he ministered---namely, “the gospel” (v. 6); and

o “the unfathomable riches of Christ” (v. 8);

 Among the unfathomable riches with which Christ has blessed us are “His kindness and forbearance and patience” (Rom. 2:4), His “wisdom and knowledge” (11:33), His mercy and great love (Eph. 2:4), “His glory” (3:16), His supplying us with “all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17), His assurance (Col. 2:2), His word (3:16), and even our being reproached for His sake (Heb. 11:26).

 Little wonder that Paul triumphantly reminds us that “in Him you have been made complete” (Col. 2:10).

o He shares the fact that we have access to God “through faith in Him” (v. 12). We have already noted this repeated emphasis on Christ in this letter. Here we see it once more.

 The centerpiece of Paul’s message was always the person of Jesus Christ.

What was Paul’s attitude to his call? (3:8)

Note to soak on here:

• Simply knowing about the riches of Christ is not enough, however. When we fall into sin and disobedience we forfeit the present blessing of those riches, just as did the fleshly, disobedient Corinthian believers. “You are already filled,” Paul told them sarcastically. “You have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and I would indeed that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you” (1 Cor. 4:8).

o Like the Laodiceans, they thought they were rich and in need of nothing, not realizing that they were really “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17).

• Only as Paul told the Gentiles about Jesus could he expect them to turn from sin, to leave behind their ignorance, and to have peace with God.

o Therefore, Paul did not mainly preach morality. Nor was his primary message the need for reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles.

 Paul preached Christ! But in preaching Christ, Paul got morality!

 In preaching Christ, there was a foundation for reconciliation in the churches.

 That is because, when Christ is preached, sinners become new men and women, with new desires and affections, which lead on to new actions.

Something to Soak on in application to what you just learned.

• Remember Paul’s strategy as you think about the darkest segments of your city and the darkest practices of your culture. Surely there is an appropriate place for Christian political involvement and for various programs of social uplift. These things are not wrong, in and of themselves. They may even be quite helpful at times. But the Gentiles of this age will not finally be made moral and godly people simply on the strength of social programs and moral education—even when Christians present the programs and provide the education. The Gentiles of this era will be changed in the same way as the Gentiles of first-century Asia Minor—only when someone like Paul begins to proclaim to them “the unfathomable riches of Christ” (v. 8).

o What made these pagan, occultist Ephesians able to grow into “a holy temple” where God’s Spirit might happily dwell (2:21–22)?

 It was “the working of [God’s] power” in the apostle Paul’s ministry of preaching (v. 7).

 And what did he preach? “The gospel” (v. 6); “the unfathomable riches of Christ” (v. 8). May we be ever eager to get out into the darkest corners of our cities and towns to do the same!

• Vs. 9: Paul also had received grace in order to explain the global nature of God’s plan of salvation. He was sent to “shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.” Paul has the responsibility of helping those who receive the message of salvation to understand God’s truth. Earlier he prayed for illumination (1:18), and now he uses the same word to describe his role in illuminating God’s plan to converts (Arnold, Ephesians, 195).

• What is this plan? It goes back to Ephesians 3:2–6—how the Jew and Gentile are one in Christ. Paul is commissioned to explain this glorious reality (cf. 2:11–22). Paul emphasizes the sovereignty of God in all of this, referring to Him as “God who created all things.”

o This plan was not an afterthought, but part of the Sovereign Lord’s eternal purposes.

• As we look back over these verses, we are struck by the centrality of Christ and the global nature of Christianity. Both are revealed in Scripture. If someone asks you, “Where did you get your passion for missions?” a proper response is “from the Bible.” From cover to cover, there is a missions thrust in the Bible because there is a messianic thrust in the Bible.

• We have a global God, and we proclaim the only King of the nations. Let us remember that every tribe and tongue need to hear of the incalculable riches of Christ. If you are preaching in New York or in a leper colony in Nigeria, or in your own backyard with people you think you know, remember that everyone needs Jesus. Proclaim Him to everyone; then shed additional light concerning the wonderful plan of God revealed in the Bible for everyone.

What was Paul called to disclose? (3:9)

• Vs. 10-12. God’s glorious purpose in salvation and in the church is to show His love and wisdom to the whole universe—to stir every creature in heaven to stand in stark amazement at what He is doing. Note that the heavenly beings see what is happening right now.

• Paul draws on the message of 1:9–10 as he declares that the mystery of Jew and gentile is in Christ, his body. By this point the reader knows that this mystery includes:

o The unity of Jew and gentile in the body of Christ, leading to the unity of all things in the cosmos under Christ,

o The revelation of God’s plan,

o The demonstration of God’s superabundant grace in Christ and unsearchable wisdom that redeems his people.

 We will find that Paul uses “mystery” with a similar emphasis on unity, but this time expressing the union of husband and wife (5:31–32). Paul cites Gen 2:24, that the “two become one flesh,” and continues that this union is a great mystery.

Romans 11:33 (NASB95)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

• Vs. 13. Paul is, therefore, willing to suffer for the church. The glory of all that lies ahead for the believer is so glorious that any suffering is worth the reward.

o Therefore, no believer should ever faint in suffering or in seeing other believers suffer. It is all worth the price of whatever suffering we are called to bear, even martyrdom.

A little history to encourage and strengthen you.

• “My tribulations on your behalf”: Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians from prison, and it is useful to remember why Paul was in prison. On a strategic visit to Jerusalem he had the opportunity to preach to a vast crowd on or near the temple mount (Acts 21:39–22:22), but the opportunity ended in disaster because the Jewish crowd could not stand the idea of the good news of the Messiah being extended to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21–22). The ensuing riot put Paul in a legal dilemma, from which he used his right as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar. Now Paul was imprisoned in Rome, waiting for his trial before Caesar. He was there because he knew God wanted Gentiles to share in the good news of the Messiah, and he wasn’t afraid to preach that truth.

Closing thoughts to soak on:

• Which is your glory: Paul was being used, and probably in a greater way than he ever imagined. This Roman imprisonment produced the letters of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. They all certainly have a place in God’s eternal plan.

o In the same manner, each of us has a place in the service of God’s eternal plan. Knowing this and working towards it is a great guard against losing heart in the midst of tribulation.

• Paul’s life was not controlled by Rome, the Jews, or by Caesar; his life was under the direct, sovereign control of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is important information! If you become a prisoner of the circumstances and situations of your life, you are going to be miserable. If you allow the actions of people to imprison your heart and mind, you are going to have a hard time enjoying your life. However, if you ever come to the place where you fully understand that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the controller of your life and destiny, you can face any trial, any situation, any person, and any problem with confidence, knowing the Lord is in control. That is where Paul was and that is where we need to strive to be as well.

Through what medium was God’s wisdom communicated? (3:10)

In light of God’s work, how may believers approach Him? (3:11–12)

Why were Paul’s sufferings the glory of the Ephesians? (3:13)