Ephesians Chapter 3

Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

"For this cause" has to do with the fact that Paul is literally a prisoner, in prison in Rome. He says that he is the prisoner of Jesus Christ for YOU Gentiles. That statement is very specific. It is not the same as saying "THE Gentiles." Paul is the only man in the bible who is THE apostle of THE Gentiles. Notice in Romans:

Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

You see that he is speaking to "you Gentiles," in other words, those to whom the Roman epistle was written. BUT..."you Gentiles" in the Roman letter are somewhat different that "you Gentiles" in the Ephesian letter. The difference between those in the Roman letter and the ones we are reading about here in the Ephesian letter is that those Romans were not "aliens from Israel" and neither were they "strangers from the promises." In fact, the opposite is true of the Romans. They were very much aligned with Israel, they were IN the promises, and they even called Abraham "father."

In fact Paul said in Romans 4:16 that Abraham is "the father of us all." He certainly didn't say that about these Ephesians. Abraham's name is never mentioned in the Ephesian letter, nor in any other of Paul's later epistles, commonly called the "prison epistles." In other words, those written after the time of the book of Acts period of time. The reason for that is the condition he sets out in Ephesians 2:11-12.

So when he says "For this cause..." it relates back to the truth of the last verse of chapter two where Paul refers to "ye also."

Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

If you trace back from Ephesians 2:22 and note the times that Paul refers to "you, ye, your, etc." you find that you go all the way back to Ephesians 1:13 where you find a SECOND group of people who are distinct from those of Ephesians 1:12. In verse 12 there are those who FIRST trusted in Christ and then in verse 13 you find these who are called YE ALSO who trusted in Christ. That's two groups of people.

Then from Ephesians 1:13 on down to this point you see numerous references to you, ye, your, and so on which is distinct from the WE of verse 12. So Paul says that it is FOR THIS CAUSE that he is the prisoner of Jesus Christ for YOU Gentiles. That is a specific group of people. That would match the people of today.

This all relates back to what Paul disclosed in Acts 22 which caused such an uproar among the Jews that Paul was almost pulled apart by the mob. This is what he said:

Acts 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

Acts 22:22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

From that time, Paul was a prisoner. He remained in prison for over two years in Jerusalem and Caesarea and then was taken to Rome. He is literally in prison in Rome as he writes the Ephesian letter to YOU Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Ephesians 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Paul has never written to the Ephesians before, that is, in another letter. So when he says that he wrote afore in few words it refers back to what we have just discussed in Ephesians chapter one and two. It has to do with these alien Gentiles, not previously aligned with Israel. He says that Christ made this known unto him by revelation. That is most likely a reference to the temple vision he told the Jews in Jerusalem about in Acts 22. That vision occurred during one of Paul's trips to Jerusalem during the time of the book of Acts, most likely the one Luke writes about in Acts 18:22.

Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

NOW revealed is reference to the time of the Ephesian letter and to those he writes about in the letter. The book of Ephesians, most likely, is the second to last letter Paul wrote, the final one being 2 Timothy. Tychicus was the letter carrier of both letters as you see in Ephesians 6:21-22 compared with 2 Timothy 4:12.

When he says that it is "now revealed to his holy apostles," does that include Peter or is it just a reference to the new group of apostles who were associated with Paul? It seems that Peter knows something about what Paul preaches because he refers to Paul's epistles in 2 Peter, where he says:

2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

So Peter says that the things Paul writes are "hard to be understood." The context of 2 Peter chapter three is the seeming delay in the Lord's return to restore the Kingdom to Israel. Peter says that the Lord "is not slack concerning his promises" but is longsuffering. He also says that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. So it could very well be that Peter knows something of this mystery Paul is writing about. However his letter is addressed to the same people 1 Peter was addressed to and it is obviously not Gentiles.

So Paul is speaking of a mystery which is NOW made known. Once again, the "now" is the time of the writing of the Ephesian letter which is after the close of the book of Acts period. This is the mystery:

Ephesians 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

You have to ask "What same body?" The answer to that is the SAME and the one and only church, the body of Christ, that Paul spoke of in Chapter one, verse 22 and 23. It is the same body that the Romans became members of:

Romans 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

It is the same body as this one:

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The same as this one:

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And it is the same as this one:

Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

But the church, the body of Christ is separate and distinct and different than these people:

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

While Peter writes to people who are in a HOLY NATION Paul writes about a joint body of beleivers called the church, which is Christ's BODY in which there is no nationality. These Ephesians have become members of THAT SAME BODY. Now, the question is how did they get there?

It was not because they were privileged to hear Paul preach in the synagogues of the Jews from Acts chapter nine all the way up to Acts chapter nineteen, because these people in the Ephesian letter never attended the synagogues of the Jews. These people didn't fear the God of Abraham nor had they sought the blessings of the God of Abraham. They formerly were idol worshippers and had their own gods and goddesses.

So they were never partakers of the promises that those Romans, Corinthians, Galatians and Thessalonians were. These people have come to God and trusted Jesus Christ as their Saviour because at this time somebody, not Paul, has preached to them THE GOSPEL. Notice that Ephesians 3:6 says that they are now partakers of God's promise in Christ. How? BY THE GOSPEL. Not by being aligned with Israel because they were not. Not because they were the "god-fearing" Gentiles like those Paul had previously preached to...but simply BY THE GOSPEL.

So we are at a time when Paul's ministry is no longer to the Jew FIRST. We are at a time when the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL MEN and a time when God would have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. (As in Titus 2:11 and 1 Timothy 2:4)

Notice also that the verse does not say that these people are now "partakers with Israel" nor does it say that they now have come "into the promises" that God made to Israel and those aligned with Israrel. It says they are partakers of God's PROMISE in Christ. What is that promise? It is eternal life. Notice:

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

That's why Paul says that these people ARE saved, not working on it, not enduring to the end for salvation, but ARE SAVED.

Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Paul is made a minister of the gospel he referred to in verse 6 and it concerns those who in time past were without Christ, apart from Israel, apart from the promises, and without God and without hope in the world.

So Paul was given the gift of the grace of God, the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) in the dispensation of the grace of God. A "dispensation of THE gospel" in 1 Corinthians 9:17 is not synonymous with THE dispensation of the grace of God. The dispensation of the gospel began with Paul on the road to Damascus and runs to the Rapture of the church. But within that time frame there is THIS mystery of Ephesians chapter three:

Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Notice specifically that THIS grace was given to Paul. Reason? That he should preach among the Gentiles things that were UNSEARCHABLE. They were past finding out. They were untraceable. The mystery pertaining to the salvation of SOME of the people who became members of the church, the body of Christ, was hidden in the scriptures. Paul quotes dozens of old testament scriptures in the epistles he writes during the time of the book of Acts and makes application of them to the people he writes to.

In other words, what WILL be true of Israel after the tribulation and at the second coming of Christ, Paul says is now true for the body of Christ. But this mystery here cannot be traced out in the old testament scriptures, and here is the reason why:

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Notice that this mystery was not hid in the old testament scriptures. It was HID IN GOD and was only made know when THIS grace was given to the Apostle Paul. It has to do with a fellowship and pertains to "other fellows." The people of the book of Ephesians to whom the book was written. People Paul had never met but who had trusted Christ as their Saviour. They are now "fellowheirs and of the SAME body."

Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Ephesians 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

So God is showing something to somebody today. The principalities and powers in heavenly places are learning of the manifold wisdom of God through the church, the body of Christ. This was a mystery, it was unsearchable, but it was God's eternal purpose which he purposed before the foundation of the world IN Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Notice that our access and our boldness in being able to have access to God our father is by HIS faith. His faith got the job done. Jesus Christ went to the cross in absolute faith that when he died on the cross for our sins that God the father would raise him from the dead. And he did it all in our behalf.

Ephesians 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Paul suffered much tribulation in order to get the message of grace to us today. He said he "filled up" that which was behind of the afflictions of Christ, in Colossians 1:24. Paul didn't suffer for our sins. Only Christ could do that. But somebody had to suffer in order to get the message of grace to us. THIS grace was committed unto the apostle Paul. He suffered tribulation because of it, but he said that it is your glory.

Ephesians 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

God has a family. Some of the family is in the earth and will inherit the earth. Others of us, the church, the body of Christ, have an inheritance in heaven. Now Paul prays:

Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Ephesians 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Paul wants believers to know the breadth and length and depth and height. That is all of God's creation. To know the love of Christ. God loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins. Christ died for sinners. Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for the enemies of God. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.

In other words, your sins are not the issue today. The issue today is will you trust Christ as your Saviour, believing that he died for all your sins and that he was raised again for your justification.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

There is a "faith power" that works in believers today. God has not given us the spirit of fear, Paul says, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Ephesians 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The conclusion of Ephesians chapter three then is that what Paul talks about here is a FURTHER revelation. It is not the "mystery of Christ." That has already been told. The mystery of Christ is what Paul had preached all the way through the book of Acts. Paul says that he preaches MY gospel, which is the gospel of Christ, preached to the Jew first and also to the Greek, until he had "fully preached the gospel of Christ." (Romans 15:19 and 29)

The mystery that Paul preached was basically three things: Foremost is the gospel, the fact that Christ died for OUR sins, according to the scriptures, as in 1 Corinthians 15:3. The OUR is a reference to those of the "commonwealth of Israel" and included both Jews and Gentiles who are called Greeks. Paul could not very well tell the Ephesians that Christ had died for their sins "according to the scriptures" while at the same time tell them that the mystery pertaining to their salvation was "unsearchable" in the old testament scriptures because it was not there. Instead it was HID IN GOD.

So the "mystery of Christ" pertained to those to whom Paul preached what he calls "the gospel of Christ." The second thing pertaining to the mystery of Christ is that salvation comes, not through the RISE of Israel as was prophecied in the old testament scriptures, but rather through the FALL of Israel. The most notable verse would be Romans 11:11. Then the third thing pertaining to the mystery of Christ is that instead of a "holy nation" and a kingdom of priests, that God through Paul's ministry and message is forming a joint body of believers in which there is no nationality and no distinction. In other words there is NEITHER.

But the mystery of Ephesians chapter three would properly be called "the mystery OF the gospel." It is the gospel of the grace of God that Paul first announced in Acts 20:24 in the dispensation of the grace of God. Notice this verse:

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

The MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL is this mystery Paul talks about in chapter three. It has to do with the fact that these alien Gentiles, people who had never blessed Israel, were never aligned with the Jews, and were not in the covenants of promises have now become FELLOWHEIRS right along with Paul, Titus, Timothy and the Romans, the Corinthians, The Galatians and the Thessalonians. Not because they have decided to align themselves with Israel, because by this time Israel, the Israel of the bible exists no more. They have been cast away. They have become "loammi", that is to say, not God's people, as in Hosea 1:9, until a future day when God will restore Israel again.

These people have become fellowheirs and have become membres of THE SAME BODY simply BY THE GOSPEL. That is the gospel of the grace of God in the dispensation of the grace of God which was committed to Paul, the aposlte of the Gentiles.