The Bible Says Commentary on Ephesians 3

Paul describes himself as a prisoner of Jesus to serve the benefit of the Gentiles, since God appointed him as a steward of God’s favor which has been extended to the whole world through Jesus. Paul’s sole purpose in life is to teach “the mystery of Christ,” which humans in the past did not know about. The mystery has been revealed through living prophets and messengers of God that Gentiles are invited to share in salvation as well as Jews. Jesus paid the price for sin for all, and both Jews and Gentiles can find forgiveness and reconciliation to God through faith in Jesus. The Ephesian readers knew this well, as many of them were Gentiles.

Paul notes that he is the least of God’s holy people, probably due to his past as a persecutor of believers. But Paul, least deserving, was given the task by God to preach to Gentiles about Jesus. There is spiritual wealth that can be found in Jesus that we cannot comprehend, and it is offered to the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

That God would offer salvation to the whole world was not expected up until now; it is a mystery God has now revealed to the world. The church of believers in Jesus are showing God’s wisdom even to angels, who know God by sight and not faith, yet our faith instructs them on a deeper level about God and His character. Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s plans to redeem humankind, giving us free and welcomed access to God, to whom we have been reconciled.

Paul urges the Ephesians not to feel discouraged because of his imprisonment, because it is all for the sake of bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. His imprisonment is a good thing; Paul is fulfilling his appointment to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to all, and continues to do so.

He tells the Ephesians he is praying to God, who created everything, to strengthen them in their faith. That He would send, through the Holy Spirit, power into the hearts of the Ephesians, that Jesus would abide in their hearts as they live lives of faithful obedience. Through God’s love, the Ephesians can know, just as all believers can, that this love is beyond anything we can understand, and can fill our lives in an overflow.

God can do more than anything we can think to ask of Him, and that power of God is in the hearts of believers as well, so that we can live faithful lives that impact others with God’s goodness and love. Paul praises God; all goodness is from Him, and can be experienced among the believers when we follow Jesus faithfully, for the present church and all future believers.