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This is part 4 of my blog commentary series on the book of Ephesians. In this post, we look at Ephesians 3:1-21 verse by verse.
Ephesians 3:1 NKJV 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- 'For this reason' - Paul had just told the Ephesian believers, that they, along with the Jewish believers are God’s dwelling place and fellow citizens of Israel. Paul says, ‘For this reason’ i.e. because of the grace God has shown you, ‘For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote this. He was imprisoned because of his preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. So he called himself the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. Paul is about to say ‘For this reason I pray for you’ but he doesn’t get around to saying it until verse 14. Instead, he now goes on a little detour and tells them about his ministry... Ephesians 3:2–5 NKJV 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: Paul says that by God’s grace, he is the steward of a mystery that was not fully revealed to previous generations. He will remind us what this mystery is in a moment. But Paul is not the only steward of this mystery. He says ‘it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets’. A lot of preachers call themselves ‘apostle’ or ‘prophet’ today. But here, Paul is not talking about such people. As we saw in Ephesians 2:20 the apostles and prophets were foundational ministries that belonged to the beginning of the Church’s history: Ephesians 2:20 NKJV 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, The foundation is the first thing to be laid at the beginning of a building’s construction, and it is only laid once. As such, the offices of apostle and prophet, as Paul uses the terms here, belong to the beginning of the Church’s history and are not occupied by any minister today. There is an ongoing more junior prophetic function in the Church, but such is not to be confused with the status of the apostles and the prophets that Paul here refers to. Paul says that these true, historical apostles and prophets were the stewards of the mystery that was not fully revealed to previous generations. So what is this mystery? Paul continues... Ephesians 3:6–7 NKJV 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. The mystery is that the heavenly inheritance that God promised is not only for Jewish believers. Through the gospel, it is for Gentile believers too. In Christ, they have become one body with the believing Jews. Paul continues... Ephesians 3:7–9 NKJV 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; Paul says that by God’s grace and power, he became a minister of this gospel. He also says that this mystery that he preaches has been hidden in God since the beginning of time. He then continues... Ephesians 3:10–11 NKJV 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, So, this mystery, this wise plan of God which has been hidden since the beginning of time... God didn’t even share it with the angels. (The phrase - ‘the principalities and powers in the heavenly places’ here is a reference to the angels). Instead, God’s wise plan to include Gentiles and Jews in the same body is made known to the angels through the Church. In other words, through the Church, the angels see God’s wise plan in action. After mentioning that this eternal purpose has been accomplished in Christ, Paul continues... Ephesians 3:12 NKJV 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Through faith in Christ, we have access to God. Not only that - we can access God with boldness and confidence. Always remember that God actually wants you. He wouldn't have sent Jesus to die for your salvation if He didn’t! So whilst we are to come to God with humility and reverence, there is also a boldness that we come with because we know that God loves us and that the death of Jesus has taken away our sins. Paul continues... Ephesians 3:13 NKJV 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. Paul doesn’t want them to be disheartened that he is imprisoned, or because of the difficulties he has to go through for the sake of the gospel. Paul was willing to endure these things so that he could get the message to the Gentiles. And those who have believed will share in the glory that will be revealed when Jesus comes. Paul continues... Ephesians 3:14–15 NKJV 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, God is the Father of Jesus Christ and also of ‘whole family in heaven and earth’. There are different views as to what the family in heaven and earth refers to. Some view the family in heaven as referring to believers who have died and are now in heaven, and the family on earth as referring to believers on earth. Another view is that the family in heaven refers to angels, and the family on earth refers to believers. Another view is that Paul is simply saying that God is the creator of all creatures in heaven and on earth. Whatever the case me be, God is our Father. And Paul says that he bows his knees before the Father in prayer in prayer for his readers, In the next verse he begins to tells them what his prayer is... Ephesians 3:16 NKJV 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, God wants us to be strengthened with might, according to the riches of His glory, through the Holy Spirit in our inner being. There is more to you then what you see in the mirror. You have an inner being. God wants to make your inner being strong and powerful. The power He is ready to strengthen you with is unlimited, it is ‘according to the riches of His glory’. With that in mind, how strong a Christian is it possible for you to become? Paul continues... Ephesians 3:17 NKJV 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, God wants us to have Christ’s presence in our hearts through faith. The Bible calls faith ‘the evidence of things not seen’. Even though we cannot see Jesus, God wants us to know that He is with us, in our hearts. Furthermore, God wants us to be rooted and grounded in love. In other words, we are to be established in the fact that Jesus loves us. You can’t grow much as a Christian unless you know Jesus’ love for you. In addition to physical agony He endured on the cross, He also suffered spiritual agony. He cried out ‘My God My God Why have you forsaken Me’. Because our sin was put on Him, God His Father forsook Him. Jesus had eternal fellowship with His Father before He became a Man. But on the cross, for the first time, He no longer had the Father with Him. But Jesus was forsaken by God, so that you and I could be brought back to God. Paul continues sharing his prayer for his readers, asking that they... Ephesians 3:18–19 NKJV 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. God wants us to understand how vast Christ’s love for us is. He wants us to know Christ’s love us for us, even though it cannot be fully known - He says it ‘passes knowledge’. And then, God wants us to be filled with all the fullness of God. How can we be filled with all of God’s fullness? The fullness of God is found in Jesus: Colossians 2:9 NKJV 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; God lives in all of His fullness in Jesus, and Jesus lives in us! That’s how we can be filled with all of God’s fullness. Now, that’s quite a prayer that Paul prayed for his readers. But Paul knew that his prayer was not perfect. He knew that God could do much more than anything he could think to pray. And so he said.. Ephesians 3:20–21 NKJV 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. It is impossible for us to imagine how powerful God truly is. He is able to do, not just a little bit more than we ask or think. No. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. That’s an amazing thought. But it’s not the only thought that Paul presents here. He tells us that this amazing power that God has, is a power that is working in us. Now, that is something that is both sobering and exciting. It is sobering because God Himself is working in our lives. In Philippians, Paul puts it like this: Philippians 2:12–13 NKJV 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. God is working in us to change our desires and our actions - ‘to will and to do for His good pleasure’. Our response to this should be ‘fear and trembling’. We should have a healthy fear of God that causes us to quickly obey and cooperate with whatever God is doing in us. So, the power at work in us is a sobering reality; but it is also an exciting one because it means that no matter what obstacles we may face, no matter the battles we may have to fight, no matter the Goliaths that stand in our way...there is a greater power at work within us that will strengthen us, that will sustain us, and that will cause God’s purpose for our lives to be fulfilled. As Paul said: Philippians 4:13 NKJV 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Romans 8:31 NKJV 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:35–39 NKJV 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Brothers and sisters, let us remember today that God is able to do much more than all we can ask or think. Let us also remember that this immeasurable power is at work within us. Summary
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Stuart PatticoPastor of Joy Community Church, Milton Keynes. Archives
August 2023
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