Ephesians 3:1-7 meaning

In Ephesians 3:1-7, Paul introduces the mystery of Christ, not previously known, that the gospel includes Gentiles as fellow partakers with Jews in the promises related to the Jewish Messiah. We can take note of who wrote the passage and why the passage was produced. For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles (v. 1).

The phrase I, Paul repeats what is stated in Ephesians 1:1(a), “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.” There is consistent authorship throughout the letter, but it seems the primary rationale for Paul restating his name is to emphasize his appointment to minister to the Ephesians, who are Gentiles, meaning non-Jews. Paul was the most Jewish of Jews. He lists his Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:5, that he is “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee.”

The fact that he, Paul, is a prisoner for the sake of all who are Gentiles is an apt introduction to the claim he will soon make, that the gospel of Christ includes a great mystery. That mystery is that Gentiles will be partakers in the promises of the Jewish Messiah (Ephesians 3:6).

Paul makes it a point in Ephesians 3:1(b) to have a claim as being a prisoner of Christ Jesus. The irony of this statement is that Paul was under house arrest in Rome; he was a prisoner of the Roman Empire. Paul asserts that his real condition is as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Nothing happens apart from God’s allowance. So, Paul considers himself to be imprisoned for the sake of the gospel; this is where Jesus has him for the moment, so he will be faithful in the circumstances in which he finds himself.

This is also consistent with Paul’s assertion in Romans 13:1-2 that believers should submit to human authorities. Paul was not paralyzed with a sense of victimhood because he was a target of injustice. Rather, he considered his current status to just be where God placed him, and was endeavoring to be as faithful as possible, functioning as a good steward of his unjust circumstances. We see this attitude in Philippians 1:12-13 where Paul expresses gratitude that his imprisonment has led to some of the palace guard becoming believers.

Ephesians 3:2 starts with the conditional word if. Paul tells the church of Ephesus, if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you (v. 2). This Greek application of if carries the sense of “If, and it is true.” Paul is reiterating the wondrous gifting of grace he was given to be appointed as an apostle to the Gentiles from his miraculous encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9).

The Greek word “charis” translated here as grace means “favor,” with context determining who is favoring whom and for what reason. We can see this in Luke 2:52 where Jesus increased in “favor” (“charis”) with both God and men. God favored Jesus because He followed in His commands, and men favored Jesus because he showed wisdom beyond his years. The favor God granted Paul was to bring him to faith in Christ, and also to call him to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Paul considers this appointment to be a stewardship of God’s grace.

Through becoming Jesus’s prisoner, Paul is exercising his stewardship of God’s favor (grace) upon him in appointing him as an apostle to the Gentiles. As Paul stated in the previous chapter, every believer has a similar stewardship. All believers are appointed to do good works that God prepared for them (Ephesians 2:10). Each of us should approach this amazing favor, or grace, of appointment to work for Him in the same way as Paul and approach our assignment as a stewardship of God’s grace.

Scripture next shows a mystery that has been revealed; something previously unknown. Paul speaks in past tense when he tells the church of Ephesus that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery (v. 3). We will be told in Ephesians 3:6 that the mystery is that “Gentiles” (like the Ephesians) are “fellow heirs” and “fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.”

The word “Christ” is “christos” in Greek and means “anointed.” This is the same meaning as the Hebrew word “masiah” which is translated to English as “anointed” as well as “messiah” depending on the context. Paul may say Christ Jesus instead of “Jesus Christ” to emphasize the great mystery that Gentiles have been appointed as both “heirs” and “partakers in the promise” of the Messiah, the Christ, who is Jesus, the God-man.

When we consider the context of Paul’s assertion we can appreciate how profound is this mystery. Gentile Rome dominates the world. Paul is its prisoner. Its governor found Jesus innocent but crucified Him anyway out of political expediency. And despite all this opposition, God has granted that these Roman Gentiles will participate as heirs, those who inherit, with the very Christ they crucified. Paul adds that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief (v.3).

Paul had previously written to the Ephesians about this mystery, as he adds in verse 3 as I wrote before in brief (v. 3). He notes, By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (v. 4).

The this in verse 4 refers to the earlier brief letter he sent where he discussed the mystery of Gentiles sharing in the promise as heirs, which he received by revelation. This insight was revealed to him by God, and he is being a faithful steward of that message by spreading it throughout the world.

Paul says the Ephesian believers can understand my insight into the grand mystery by referring to this letter he had written before. This letter is lost to us, so we do not know the specifics of the insight contained therein. But we do know other places where Paul speaks of believers, including Gentile believers, as “heirs” and “partakers in the promise” of the Messiah of the Bible, as described in Ephesians 3:6.

One instance is Romans 8:17, where Paul says that all believers have God as their unconditional inheritance. Believers are “in Christ,” having been made new creations in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). Since believers are in Christ, for God to reject a believer would be for Him to reject Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

Believers can also be joint heirs with Christ, sharing His reign with Him as the ruling Messiah, but that reward is conditional on suffering as He suffered (Romans 8:17b). As Jesus promises believers in Revelation 3:21, those who overcome as He overcame will share His rein as a reward, even as He was rewarded by His Father.

The gift of eternal life is secure. As Paul asserted in the previous chapter, salvation from the penalty of sin is gifted to us apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9). This is true of Jew and Gentile alike. Then Paul quickly adds that Jesus created us in Him for good works, which He prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10). If we are faithful stewards of these assigned duties, God promises believers, including Gentiles, that they can partake in the immense promises of Jesus, the anointed king of all. This is indeed an incredible mystery, a mystery that is now revealed.

By this time, it was not a mystery that Jesus was the Messiah. Christ had already been born of the virgin Mary, lived to be a 33-year-old man, was crucified on the cross at Golgotha by the Romans, laid in the tomb for 72 hours, resurrected and walked out of the tomb. It was also known that afterward around 500 witnesses saw Him (1 Corinthians 15:6), and after 40 days on the earth, post-resurrection, He ascended into heaven.

Given this, the physical person of Jesus and His qualification as the Jewish Messiah was not a mystery. What was a mystery was that the Gentiles would be included as “heirs” and “partakers of the promise” in Messiah (Ephesians 3:6).

Speaking of this mystery, Paul adds 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 (v. 5). Paul says that prior generations had not had this mystery revealed to them. The phrase sons of men is used in scripture to refer to the human race. The inference here is that when God reveals things to His prophets it is intended for all humans.

In the Old Testament, God’s revelations came through His prophets. Now, in the New Testament it comes through His holy apostles as well as prophets. Paul is one of the apostles, appointed by Jesus specifically to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13, Acts 9:15). The word holy means to be set apart for a specific purpose; in this case Paul was set apart (holy) to take the good news of Jesus to Gentiles.

The grammar of the phrase has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets could mean that Paul is saying the holy apostles are also prophets. Prophets spoke on behalf of God, revealing His word to humanity, and Paul is speaking truth revealed to him by God, so this would fit. The phrase could also be understood to mean that God revealed these new mysteries in the New Testament era through both the holy apostles, such as Paul, as well as New Testament-era prophets.

It could also mean both. Jesus called John the Baptist a prophet, saying he was even more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9). Jesus referred to Himself as being a prophet (Matthew 13:57). So that is at least two New Testament-era prophets. Also, Paul says God revealed to him this mystery that Gentiles would partake in the messianic inheritance, so he was fulfilling the same function as a prophet.

Paul now continues the sentence describing the mystery that was revealed to him, saying, 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 (v. 6). This is the great mystery now being revealed, that Gentiles are fellow heirs with Jews and fellow members of the body in Christ, the Jewish messiah, as well as fellow partakers of the promise that is in Christ Jesus.

The Old Testament contained multiple prophecies indicating that Gentiles would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. This includes Genesis 12:3 which says that through Abraham “all the families of the earth will be blessed.” The Jewish messiah is predicted to be a “light to the nations” in Isaiah 42:6 and a “light of the nations” in Isaiah 49:6.

Isaiah 56:7 says God’s house will be “called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” Zechariah 2:10 says, “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people.” These are indications that God will bless the nations, meaning the Gentiles, through His promise and plan. But this now-revealed mystery is much greater.

The unveiled mystery is that the Gentiles, those of the “nations,” will actually be fellow heirs with the Jews. They have become God’s people through faith in Christ. They are fellow partakers of the promise made to God’s people. They will be full participants in God’s blessing.

That Paul includes the Gentiles as fellow partakers makes it clear that God’s promises to the Jews still stand. He has not rejected His people. In Romans 9-11, Paul makes a vehement argument that God’s promises to His people still stand. In spite of their rejection of Jesus, God has not rejected them as His people. Paul insists there is still coming a future time when “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

The word promise is singular. This indicates that Paul is not speaking here of general promises made to Israel. The specific focus is upon the promise that is in Christ Jesus. This refers to all the promises directly related to the messiah who would rule an eternal kingdom. That means the Gentiles will fully participate in that kingdom.

A single Greek word is translated as fellow members of the body. The inference appears to be that Gentiles will have equal standing with Jews. This is such a stunning new revelation that many were unable to receive it.

Paul then completes the sentence, 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 (v. 7). The phrase of which refers back to the phrase the gospel in verse 6. Paul was made a minister of the gospel. And this appointment was according to the gift of God’s grace.

Just as in verse 2, grace here translates the Greek word “charis” which means “favor,” with context determining who is favoring whom and for what reason. Paul was appointed as an apostle to share the gospel with the Gentiles, which he considers as an amazing favor bestowed upon him. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, he was not fit to be an apostle because he persecuted the church. And yet God appointed him to this great mission.

What Paul has been able to accomplish is a result of God, the working of His power acting through Paul. Paul does not take credit for results. He takes credit for being a faithful steward of his assignment and a conduit for God’s power working through him. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul recognizes that his greatest impact comes when he gets out of the way, so to speak, and allows God’s power to work through him. Or said another way, when he centers on the purpose God appointed him to.