In his inspired letter to the followers of Christ at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul writes that God has granted the non-Jewish peoples equal status with the Jews through Jesus Christ. In chapter 3 Paul goes on to say that God revealed this message to him. In verses 1 through 6 he writes, “For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you; how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,”
Paul writes that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Though from a human point of view Paul was imprisoned by the Romans, he could say that he was a prisoner of Jesus because he was in jail because of his faith in Christ and his efforts to serve Christ. There are some things worth going to jail for. Being a follower of Christ is one of them. Paul could be content in prison because he was surrendered to Christ. If Christ is our Master, then He is our Master whether we are free or in prison. But, if we must be in prison then it should only be because we are following Christ and not for any other reason. The Apostle Peter writes, “For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters. But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.” (1 Peter 4:15-16)
Paul says that he is a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles to whom he is writing. This is a reminder of something which we often forget. If we have heard about Jesus and the forgiveness of sins which is available to us through His blood, it is only because other people have suffered so that we could hear the message. We need to honor those who cared enough to tell us about Jesus, in spite of danger.
Paul calls the grace about which he writing a mystery. There are many times when we feel that God is remote. But just because we cannot see or comprehend how God is working does not mean that His grace is not upon us. The problem is not with God, but with our comprehension. Can we trust and love God even though we may not be able to discern what He is doing?
But the grace about which Paul is writing has not remained a mystery. Paul writes that it was revealed to him. This is an important point. The message Paul is writing is not something which he made up. In verse 5 he says that the message was revealed to him through the Holy Spirit. In other words, if we reject what Paul has written, we are not merely rejecting the words of a man, but a message from God.
In verse 3 Paul says that he has already written briefly to these people about the mystery. It is possible that this is a reference to the book of Colossians which many scholars feel was written shortly before this letter. It is more likely, however, that he is referring back to what he had already written in chapter 1, verse 9. There he said, “making known to us the mystery of his will [that is, God’s will], according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him [that is, Christ]”
There are two parts to verse 4 where Paul writes, “by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;” The first part is that Paul expects his readers to scrutinize and evaluate both him and his message. What he is writing now is consistent and in agreement with what he has said and taught before. This is what we would expect if a message is truly from God. Similarly, if someone has truly been sent by God, he can be totally open and transparent with those to whom is has been sent. An examination of his life and message will only demonstrate their genuineness. Secondly, God’s mystery was not only revealed to Paul, but Paul also understood what was revealed to him. Because he understood it, he was qualified to explain it as well.
God’s prophets and apostles to whom the mystery was revealed are holy. The basic meaning of the word which is used is ‘set apart for God’s use.’ This gives us a powerful means by which to evaluate someone who claims to have a message from God. If they do not live a godly life, then we should view their message with great caution. One of the things which gives us confidence in what Paul has written is that his life was consistent with the godly message he proclaimed.
Paul writes that the mystery was not made known to previous generations as it has now been revealed. We sometimes get frustrated because it seems that God is not working as quickly as we would like. But God’s timing is always perfect. He revealed the mystery when it was best to do so. As Scripture says, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son…” (Galatians 4:4) It says in another place, “…at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) Similarly, when the time was right, God revealed the mystery.
But what is this mystery that Paul is writing about? In chapter 1, verse 10 Paul explained that the mystery is that God will bring “to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;” In chapter 3, verse 6 Paul tells us one of the practical results. He writes, “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News.” Notice that it is by means of, or through, the gospel this takes place. As Scripture explains elsewhere, ‘gospel’ or ‘Good News’ is a term used for the message about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 15:1-8) This is a restatement of what Paul had already said in chapter 2. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, people who were enemies and divided from one another can now be reconciled and at peace, both with each other and with God. Now, in Christ, all people can be heirs of eternal life. God’s promises no longer apply only to certain people or to a particular race, but to all who follow Christ.