The Mystery of Christ

The Purpose of God: Ephesians Chapter 5: The Ministry of Paul (3:1–13)

The bulk of Ephesians chapter 3 is comprised of material that one almost never hears sermons preached from in our day, except for those who are preaching through the book and cannot avoid the subject matter that is found here

The central theme of the third chapter is the importance of the role of the Gentiles in the early Christian community and is directly related to the special commission that God gave Paul in his apostolic ministry. The reason why we rarely hear sermons from the third chapter of Ephesians is that in the twentieth century it is universally taken for granted,

however If we put ourselves in the position of the original recipients of this epistle, however, we begin to get a taste of the sense of drama and stirring emotion that this chapter must have provoked in its original audience. It is possible that the people who read the original letter to the Ephesians found chapter 3 to be the most provocative section of the whole epistle.What sparked the most interest among them was Paul’s elaborate comments that are found here in the third chapter regarding the inclusion of the Gentiles in the body of Christ.

We notice that, in the first verse, Paul identifies himself by name as the author of this epistle: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles. Notice how Paul describes himself here. There’s a wonderful irony in the words that he chooses. He calls himself ‘a prisoner of Christ Jesus’. Now the irony here is that Paul is writing this epistle from a Roman prison, under the authority of the emperor of Rome whose name was Nero. But rather than identifying himself as, ‘I, Paul, a prisoner of Nero, the emperor of Rome,’ he glories in his incarceration under the lordship of Christ. He sees himself not as being held and bound by the fetters of Rome, but rather as being held and mastered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sproul, R. C. (1994). The Purpose of God: Ephesians (p. 73). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.

Sproul, R. C. (1994). The Purpose of God: Ephesians (p. 73). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.

Sproul, R. C. (1994). The Purpose of God: Ephesians (p. 74). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.

Ephesians 3:2 ESV

assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 1356 διάκονος

διάκονος

τὰ

that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow sharers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I became a servant, according to the gift of God’s grace given to me, according to the working of his power. Lexham English Bibile

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Ephesians 3:3 ESV

how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

eph

The Purpose of God: Ephesians Chapter 5: The Ministry of Paul (3:1–13)

It has been mentioned already that the term mystery does not mean a secret which remains an enigma to us. Rather, it refers to something which was always in the plan of God but which had been obscured in the earlier chapters of redemptive history. But God revealed this mystery to Paul:

The Purpose of God: Ephesians Chapter 5: The Ministry of Paul (3:1–13)

All people, from all nations, who profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour become incorporated into his mystical body, the church, and participate in the legacy of the Saviour. All are heirs of God, together with Christ (Romans 8:17).

All people, from all nations, who profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour become incorporated into his mystical body, the church, and participate in the legacy of the Saviour. All are heirs of God, together with Christ ().