Mystery
a Study of Ephesians three
This was originally posted on November 1, 2020.
Now more than ever, we must be reminded of the beautiful mystery of the Father’s love for us.
Mystery (Hidden Things) x VOUS Worship
PRAYER:
“Heavenly Father, I thank You for another day and another opportunity to study Your word. I crave to learn more and more about You as well as my identity in You. May You speak in ways that transcend my human understanding. Grant me the capacity to take in everything You have in store for me here in this moment with You. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.”
“When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles─ assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.
And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
Eph. 3:1
“When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles─”
The first sentence of this chapter is the beginning of a prayer that Paul will return to in verse 14. Paul begins his prayer by relaying the fact that he is under Roman imprisonment while writing this letter to the church of Ephesus. He also acknowledges that the reason behind his imprisonment was his calling to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. He doesn’t bring up his circumstances to shift the focus on himself but to illustrate the greater purpose behind his sufferings. This speaks to the power of perspective. Paul was in prison for something he should’ve had the human right to do: preach. It wasn’t fair. But he knew he wasn’t exempt from injustice and suffering just because he was an apostle of Christ. He maintained a Kingdom perspective. Never once do we hear him complain of his conditions nor do we see him beg for sympathy. He always maintains that this imprisonment, along with multiple others, is the cost of the purpose God Himself has laid out. This serves as an amazing example for us all. Ephesians is a book in the Bible that many Christians turn to when they need reassurance of their identity in Christ and that's because Paul didn’t let his situation define him or deter him from purpose. Paul was rooted in the Kingdom and who he had become because Christ is.
Eph. 3:2
“─assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.”
I’m sure people were doubting Paul’s divine assignment because of his Roman imprisonment. Verse 2 shows Paul recognized their possible reservations about his teachings since he diverted from his prayer to address them. Paul was also taking into account that many Ephesians may have heard of his callous past before the encounter at Damascus. Even if some were not aware, this letter was being distributed to other churches around Ephesus so Paul still had to cover his bases and address why he, out of all people, was teaching them. The beginning of his tangent emphasizes the fact that it was God who qualified him. It was God who put upon him the burden of teaching grace. Paul himself was an example of grace and was now given significant responsibility in the execution of God’s great plan; not only for the Gentiles but for all following generations.
Eph. 3:3-5
“As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.”
In verse 3, Paul mentions the mysteriousness of God. But to fully understand why he’s described God this way, we must first define the word itself. Paul is credited for using the word “mystery” 21 times out of the 27 total times it’s said in the New Testament so he drew on the concept of God’s mysteriousness quite often in comparison to other NT writers. The word refers to, in most of the contexts that it is used in the Bible, a revelation from God of something that was formally hidden or disclosed. Revelation can only be brought through God’s spirit, it’s not attainable through human reason alone. Therefore, mysterious. If we go back to chapter one of Ephesians where Paul first uses the word (1:9), he is referring to the eternal plan manifested through Christ. So when Paul says here in verse 3 “as I briefly wrote earlier,” he is referring to chapter 1 verse 9. This mysterious plan has now been made known to us as the unity of Jew and Gentile and the reconciliation of all of us to Christ. However, as Paul states in verse 5, this plan was not made known to the generations before us. Before Christ, Gentiles were still blessed but only through the Jews. Both physical and spiritual barriers existed between Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles were never granted direct access to God because they were not considered direct descendants of Abraham’s covenant. But now, Jews and Gentiles have become equals in the body of Christ. They both have an equal opportunity to partake in the blessing of Christ and they also have equal access to God. But because it's a mystery, if you still don’t understand the totality of the Gospel message, there’s no way you’ll be able to use your human knowledge to work at an explanation. Such things are only revealed through the Spirit.
Paul mentions in verse 5 that this revelation was not only made known to him but to other prophets and apostles— which is proved true throughout the Bible. God’s plan of eternal unity is consistently prophesied in the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah 49:6 (NLT) says,
“He says, ‘You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Peter is also given the same revelation which he speaks about in Acts 11:1-18 (NLT). Peter fully explains how the revelation was brought to him in this passage but let’s look specifically at verses 15-18:
“‘As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?’
When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, ’We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.’”
Jesus Himself also speaks to the inclusivity of the Gospel message when talking to His disciples before His ascension. In Acts 1:8 (NLT), He says:
“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere— in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”
As you can see, this revelation was indeed made known to more of God’s prophets and apostles. However, based on Paul’s letters, it seems that God decided to use Paul to deepen our understanding of this mystery. Paul was not only commissioned to write about what had been revealed to him but also how God planned to execute it.
Eph. 3:7-9
“Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.”
In verse 7, Paul once again refers to his past— acknowledging that if his qualifications were based on the things he had done, he wouldn’t be deserving of the responsibility placed before him. Matter of fact, he would be the least deserving out of all of God’s people. However, God still showed Paul grace. Now, he’s preaching about unity among Jews and Gentiles, as a man who hated and killed Gentiles. This speaks to the incredible transformative power of God. God transformed Paul from the heart, replacing his hatred with love. This is what God continues to do in our lives today. For me, He’s in the process of replacing unforgiveness with Christ-like forgiveness. My conversion story is not as intense as Paul’s, and yours may not be either. But don’t be afraid to let God in so He can begin the same work He’s done in Paul, in you.
Let's go back to Paul referring to himself as the "least deserving." This belief of inadequacy is most definitely rooted in the flesh. As humans, we will never have the full capacity to see potential the way God sees potential, especially in our own lives. As someone who suffers from comparison, I struggle with the reality that there's no one better for my calling than me. I always find myself second-guessing God's point of view which causes me to yield my responsibilities to whom I've deemed "more qualified." But God's standards are not our own. When God decides to qualify you, there is nothing that can be said against it. Neither past nor present mistakes can disqualify you and everything you think you're lacking will be provided by God IF He thinks you need any more than what you already have to achieve your calling ("all you have is all you need"). That may be confusing to anyone on the outside looking in. As I said, it still confuses me! But that’s just part of the mysteriousness of God.
In verse 8, Paul refers to his purpose as a privilege, which again is proof of God’s transformative power. I’m sure Saul (pre-Damascus Paul) would’ve never wanted to become a preacher to the Gentiles. However, in Christ, Paul develops a love for the Gentiles and great gratitude for the Good News. This message which he has the privilege to preach has an unfathomable price as it is a boundless treasure. It may not be known completely but what has been revealed, Paul is joyful to share!
Moving to verse 9, Paul reiterates that he was “chosen” to preach the Good News. But he continues to say he must preach it to everyone. He does not want to keep anyone from the treasures found in Christ now that it has been revealed to him. As mentioned earlier as well, this revelation was not always made known. It’s this same fervency that we as Christians should have when it comes to evangelizing. When you come to understand the weight of the Gospel message, it becomes impossible to not talk about it. There are people out there who still don’t know! Some spiritual leaders usually compare the need for evangelizing to knowing the cure for a grave and ruthless disease. For example, if you knew the perfect cure to COVID-19 in our current pandemic, would you keep it to yourself? Of course not! That would be considered selfish and evil. Especially after all of these lives have been lost. The same can be said about the Gospel. It's the gateway out of eternal death and provides access to peace and joy that surpasses all understanding. It's the cure for humanity. Why are we keeping such a great gift and immeasurable treasure to ourselves? Especially since so many lives are currently destined to be eternally lost!
Eph. 3:10-11
“God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Because God has reconciled Jews and Gentiles— which was seemingly impossible as Paul goes into detail about in chapter two— the unified church would be the perfect place to demonstrate His work. It is the church that will serve as God’s means of bringing about the final reconciliation when Christ returns. When Paul speaks of the church in Ephesians, he is more specifically speaking of the lowercase “c” and universal church, you and I. However, like with verse 10, it can be read both ways. God wants us to make Christ our cornerstone so that we can bring people to Him with our own lives; people of all different nations and tongues. God also wants the same from the capital “C” church— the organization. Paul will expand on this in chapter 4, but unity is a gift of God. Therefore, we, as the church of Christ, cannot create it but have been called to maintain what God has created.
Unity is a result of salvation meaning Christ died for it! For this reason, is also our responsibility, as people who are one in Christ, to continue bringing about this reconciliation He died for while we're on Earth. This will show all the principalities and rulers of the unseen world the glorious wisdom of God because, as Paul insinuates in verse 10, the church on Earth is being observed by spiritual powers. Invisible spiritual beings are surrounding us and intently watching us as God’s likeness on Earth. They see us in our sins and in our weaknesses. They know more about us than we know about them. So every time someone is brought back to Christ and unified with Him, they are bearing witness to the fulfillment of God’s beautiful and mysterious plan of reconciliation. Again, it’s a privilege that we have such a role in God’s eternal purpose. It’s a responsibility that we shouldn’t take lightly.
Eph. 3:13
“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.”
In verse 13, Paul asks the Ephesians to not be discouraged by his trials. Again, Paul doesn’t mention his imprisonment to solely bring attention to himself and his struggles. Rather, he brings up his circumstances to reassure them that despite it all, he is still an agent in God’s plan— a plan which has now also been revealed to them and includes them. Paul acknowledges that his suffering is not in vain but for a purpose that is greater than he could imagine. In the same way, God is going to have us go through suffering for a greater purpose. However, as Paul says, we must not lose heart.
Eph. 3:14-15
“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.”
Verse 14 marks the end of Paul’s tangent as well as the continuation of his prayer for the Ephesians. Paul is praying that after being revealed to God’s purpose and reassured of their identity in Christ, the Ephesians would begin to live according to these truths. This prayer will serve as the transition into part two of the letter to the Ephesians.
In verse 15, Paul refers to God as the “creator of everything in Heaven and on Earth.” Other translations say “from whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named.” Both further solidify the overarching theme of unity that Paul preaches about. God is the creator of both the Jew and the Gentile. He is the one whom the whole “family” in Heaven and on Earth has been named after. Though distinct in many different ways, we’re all still brothers and sisters in Christ.
Eph. 3:16-17
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”
In verse 16, Paul prays for "inner strength," which can also be translated to spiritual strength. Our spiritual strength is just as important as (if not more important than) our physical strength. Many of us may appear to be physically strong but our demise is our exceedingly weak spiritual strength. It is the internal that manifests itself through the external, not the other way around. Your external strength is always connected to your internal source. We should always check our Source to experience life fully and freely in Christ. However, as Paul recognizes with this prayer, this strength only comes from the Spirit of God. Therefore, we must be intentional in asking Him for it.
Paul also prays that Christ will make “His home” in the hearts of the Ephesians. Christ was already with them when they decided to believe. However, Paul is not asking that Christ come to them but that He may dwell in them; that Christ may not be a temporary visitor but a permanent resident. Paul prays for their spiritual strength first because that is what they will need before Christ can make their hearts His dwelling. There is so much opposition to the will of God around us that it’s easier for our hearts to be unfit as Christ’s home rather than the other way around. We need to be able to fight these un-Christ-like influences. Luckily for us, victory is possible. In Christ, as Paul states in Ephesians chapter one, we have access to the same power that God used to resurrect His Son from the dead. But, we still have to ask God for more power when we feel we are running low. Why? Because even though God is gracious to give from His unlimited supply, asking Him demonstrates our dependence on Him.
Paul continues, praying that the Ephesians be “rooted” in God’s love. This is a powerful word choice because when a living tree is rooted, it cannot be uprooted from the ground. It’s sturdy and can withstand any storm as it continues to grow. That is Paul’s prayer for all believers; that we may be securely sourced to God and grow from His soil of love. God designed us to flourish and that is only possible in the capacity of which God intended when we remain in Christ. So, how can you root yourselves? Well, this study of Ephesians is a step! Consistently reading God's word and spending intentional time with Him is the only way you'll be able to sustain your spiritual life. We cannot try to root ourselves into other soil and expect those substitute sources to sustain us. We will become fragile and will easily be uprooted by whatever storm comes our way. Remember those affirmations we found in Ephesians chapter one? Paul purposely keeps them Christ-centered, using the words "in Christ," because they are only true of us when we are living in Him.
Eph. 3:18-19
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”
These verses are my favorite in all of Ephesians! I know it seems like I have a favorite in every chapter but these specific two have stayed with me since the first time I studied this book.
At this point in the prayer, Paul is speaking about God’s great love, which he prayed a verse earlier that we become rooted in. However, this love is one that we need God’s power to understand. Because it’s so immeasurable and beyond comprehension, it’s not an easily attainable concept for us as humans. It is something that we will continue to uncover throughout our life on Earth. But what resonates with me the most in verse 18 are the dimensions of God’s love that Paul describes. Let’s dissect them together. We know that we must first turn to God to begin to understand His love. So what is the greatest example of His love for us? The cross! God sending His one and only Son to the cross is the purest form of love. It's selfless and unconditional. Theologians refer to this type of love as agape love but that's a lesson for another day.
The cross on which Jesus was crucified is pointed in four different directions, encompassing the four dimensions Paul mentions here. This means that God’s love or the cross is:
Wide enough to include EVERYONE (Jews, Gentiles, us!)
Long enough to last forever (never runs out & encompasses all generations)
High enough to take us to Heaven & seat us beside the Father (reconciliation)
Deep enough to reach even the worst sinner (no matter what it is you've done)
How amazing! These dimensions are too great for us to ever fully grasp which is exactly what Paul says in verse 19. But once we begin to learn more about God’s love, He will continue to fill us up with His life and power. He doesn’t just fill us up to capacity, but He fills us to overflow as we continue to grow and grow in Him. All this means is that we will always have more than enough.
Though we are not capable of reaching perfection as He is perfection, being filled with life and power that comes from God equates to handing over all control to Him. His will and desires must become ours. A life of fullness in Christ is about surrender and humility, not self-fulfillment. It is in our surrender that we are made complete.
Eph. 3:20-21
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
We’ve come to the end of Paul’s prayer and the end of Ephesians 3. Paul leaves us with a beautiful doxology or final praise. There are two main points in this doxology. The first is the fact that God is omnipotent and able to do anything we could ever imagine. This is true throughout the whole Bible. We see His omnipotence in creation, His miracles, Christ’s resurrection, and through many more things. However, even after being presented with all these examples throughout the Bible or even in our own lives, it gets easy to doubt God’s power. Satan managed to trip up Eve by stirring up her pride and leading her to believe that the forbidden fruit would grant her something God couldn't. So Eve began to doubt the intention and goodness behind God's commandments. Satan still uses the same tricks on us today. He tries to convince you that God doesn't have your best interest at heart. But if God was willing to use His power to save you, what makes you think He wouldn't use the same power in the comparingly minuscule trials we face? He can provide more than what you ask for, He can do more than what you’ve experienced and He works beyond our frame of time.
The second point here is that our lives should bring glory to God for generations to come. Paul brings up the church again, meaning he is referring to us. As we saw in verse 10, our way of bringing glorification to God's name on Earth and in the spiritual realms is through unification and reconciliation. We are God's great masterpiece, displaying the marvelousness of His grace. We exist because Christ broke down the barriers that separated us. Living according to this truth of salvation is how we will continue to glorify Him and it is the only appropriate response to His work in our lives.
PRAYER:
“God, I thank You for Your word. Not only have I learned more about Your character but I’ve also learned more about Your immense love for me. I pray that you may give me the strength to stay rooted in You so that You can make my heart Your dwelling. That way, I may begin to appreciate Your immense love and overflow into the lives of others so Your name will be glorified from generation to generation. Amen.”
