Ephesians 3:1-13: "The Gospel: Bigger than You Think"
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In chapter 2, Paul very briefly explained what God has done for all people-- Jews and Gentiles-- through Jesus. God made one person, tearing down the wall separating Jew from Gentile, making it so everyone has peace with God and with each other through Jesus. Jesus is our peace.
When most of us think about "the gospel," we view it on a much smaller level. We say, the good news is about how you can have a relationship with God. Or, it's about how your sins can be forgiven. Or--and I really dislike this one-- the good news is about how you can go to heaven when you die. That's gross. Don't do that.
Paul is trying to widen their perspective on the good news, and help them to see God's cosmic plan. When you look at the world as a whole, what God wants is to create one people, one nation, one family, who will live in peace with HIM.
Passages like this make me wish I was a Charles Spurgeon or Jonathan Edwards, who could lift your eyes up to the heavens, and help you really see this. Your gospel is too small. Your understanding of God is too small. But how can I help you-- and myself-- understand this? How can Paul help the Ephesians understand this?
It's at this point in Ephesians that Paul begins to pray for the Ephesians. God can help us.
[Logos messes up the formatting/diagramming in here quite badly. Anyone wanting a much better copy can email me at: garretttyson32@yahoo.com
Verse 1:
For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner for King Jesus for you nations/Gentiles --if indeed you heard about the stewardship of the grace/ministry of God given to me for you--
This is a confusing verse by itself, because Paul begins a rabbit trail that goes all the way through verse 13. The easiest way to begin understanding what's going on in this verse is to skip down to verse 14:
"For this reason I bend my knee before the Father, from whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named."
Verse 14 is what Paul planned to write. Paul has a specific prayer for the Ephesians, and he begins chapter 3 with every intention of telling them about this prayer. What he wants to say is, "It's for this reason that I pray for you. I pray that you'd understand what God has done for us through Jesus, and what his plan is for the entire world." But instead, we read this in verse 1:
For this reason I Paul, the prisoner for King Jesus for you nations/Gentiles --if indeed you heard about the stewardship of the grace/ministry of God given to me for you--
Who is Paul? Paul describes himself as a prisoner for King Jesus for "you" Gentiles. But after Paul says this, he kind of checks himself. Paul says, "It's just barely possible that you don't really understand who I am. You know I'm an apostle; you know I'm in prison. But--maybe?-- you don't understand how God is using me."
Most people have some topic that, if you start talking about it, is like putting a quarter in them. Some people are huge Vikings fans, and if you even mention them, or talk about how Aaron Rogers is the greatest quarterback of all time--him, or Tom Brady-- you are guaranteed to get a response. It's like you put a quarter in them. Other people live for fishing, or hunting, or coffee, or video games, and they can talk to you about that for hours. Paul lives as God's servant, to tell Gentiles the good news about Jesus.
But do you Ephesians really understand what that means? Do you see the bigger picture of what God is doing in the world? Do you Ephesians understand what a responsibility and a privilege that this is for Paul? Maybe you don't. So Paul says, "On the off-chance you don't really understand all of this, let me tell you. This is the quarter in my back, and I'm happy to explain this."
Verses 2-7
Verses 2-7 are a single sentence. Some translations break it up, to try to make it easier to follow, but I'm going to try to read it as a whole.
By revelation the mystery was made known to me,
just as I wrote above briefly,
about which you are able, (when) reading, to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which in other generations was not made known to people,
as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and the prophets by the Spirit,
that the nations/Gentiles are fellow heirs
and fellow members of one body
and fellow sharers of the promise in King Jesus through the good news,
of which I became a servant
according to the gift of God's grace of God given to me,
according to the working of his power.
God had this vision for the world. He was going to make a single, united, holy family, to live in peace with him, and with each other. How could God accomplish this? This is impossible, right? The answer is found in Jesus. Paul says, when you read what I've written, you'll understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. Somehow, God was going to use Jesus to make peace between himself and all of creation. No one knew what God was planning. No one knew that the Gentile nations would be fellow heirs of God's kingdom, fellow members of one body, and fellow sharers of the promise in King Jesus through the good news. No one understood that God would do this by abolishing the Mosaic covenant, and offering peace through Jesus the Messiah.
This is something that God has only NOW revealed to Paul, and to the other apostles and prophets.
God made Paul a servant to the good news. This is Paul's responsibility, and it's his privilege. Getting to tell Gentiles about what God has done through Jesus is a gift. And God empowers Paul to do this.
Imagine getting to tell people about how God has made peace with them through Jesus. Imagine being able to tell people, "God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, so that he could make peace with the world through Jesus. God is making one people, one family, for himself. If you give your allegiance to Jesus, placing your faith in him, God will forgive your sins, and you become part of God's family."
Paul has the privilege of revealing God's plan to the Gentiles, telling them what God has done for them through Jesus. How great would it be to have God working through you to offer his grace to people?
Paul says, "No one knew about this. And now God has revealed this mystery to me, along with the other apostles and prophets, so that we can tell Gentiles about Jesus."
Verse 8:
To me, to the least of the least of all the holy ones-- this grace was given--
to proclaim the good news to the nations of the fathomless riches of Christ,
and to enlighten everyone as to what is the stewardship of the mystery hidden from the ages by God-- by the One who created all things--
Paul had the greatest job of all time. He got to tell the nations how GOOD God had been to them in King Jesus, when they pledged their allegiance to him. People like good news. The story of what God has done for us through Jesus is the BEST NEWS. Paul gets to tell people about the fathomless riches of Christ, to show everyone what God has done for us.
The astonishing thing about this, from Paul's perspective, is that God's grace was given TO HIM. I've bolded and underlined the first part of verse 8, because Paul is giving emphasis to this. "It was to me, to the super-least of all the holy ones, that this grace was given.
Paul isn't proud; Paul doesn't think he's something special. He actually makes up a word to describe himself here. If Paul said he's the least of the apostles, you'd all understand that if there was a list of apostles, Paul's name is way at the bottom. But this isn't enough. He says something like, "I'm the super-least of them all."
Paul knows he began all of this by persecuting the church, trying to destroy it. He is the least-deserving of them all, and he will never forget this. Despite this, God chose Paul to be his servant, to share God's grace with you Gentiles. More than anyone else, Paul knows that God is good-- God has been good to him, and God is good to you Gentiles.
So now I'm going to start reading again in verse 7, and this time push through to verse 12.
To me, to the least of the least of all the holy ones-- this grace was given--
to proclaim the good news to the nations of the fathomless riches of Christ,
and to enlighten everyone as to what is the stewardship of the mystery hidden from the ages by God-- by the One who created all things--
in order that the many-sided wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavens through the church
according to the purpose of the ages,
which he did in/by King Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have the boldness and access in confidence through allegiance/faithfulness toward him.
When Paul tells Gentiles the good news about God has done for us in Jesus, and people come to faith in Jesus, what is the result? It's the church. It's us as a body. And we are quite the mix of people. There are Jews and Gentiles. Slaves and free. Men and women. People of every race. Americans and Russians. Westerners and Easterners. But all of us are one in Christ. Why did God do this? Well, one reason at least is given in verse 10:
"in order that the many-sided wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavens through the church."
Who are the rulers and authorities in the heavens? What does this mean? We maybe want to say, "It's angels," but it's a little more complicated than that.
Let's turn first to Deuteronomy 32:8-9. It's important that you read it in the ESV though :
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders[a] of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.[b]
9 But the LORD's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
The idea in Deuteronomy is that God picked out Israel as his special portion-- as his own people. And all the other people in the world got put under the authority of divine beings called "sons of God." These "sons of God" aren't simply angels. We should think of them as powerful, top-tier (except not God's tier-- is that unclear?) divine beings. These "sons of God" ruled over the nations, but they weren't content with what they were given. They constantly battled God and God's people, and disobeyed God. The classic text talking about this is Psalm 82.
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I say, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, you shall die like men,
and fall like any prince.”[a]
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for to thee belong all the nations!
The "sons of God" were given the responsibility of judging the nations, but they did a rotten job. As a result, in verse 6, God promises them that even though they are divine beings, and should live forever, God will kill them. They'll die like people die. Then, in verse 8, the psalmist asks God to judge the earth, because the nations rightfully belong to God.
Two other passages that talk about "sons of God" are Genesis 6:1 and Job 1:6.
Gen 6:1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
Job 1:6: "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan[b] also came among them (ESV).
So now let's turn back to Ephesians, because Paul talks about these powers a few times in this letter.
Eph. 1:20-21. "When God raised Jesus from the dead, he seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" (ESV).
Eph 2:2:
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— (ESV).
Eph. 6:10-12: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
And now we are going to cheat a little and leave Ephesians for Col. 2:13-15.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities[b] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him (ESV).
We as Westerners tend to look around the world, and assume that basically, the only things that are real are we can see. Except we believe in God, and maybe Satan. But it's more complicated than this. God has been fighting a cosmic battle with these "sons of God" for centuries. God gave the "sons of God" authority over the nations, but they misused it, they defied God, and tried to create rival kingdoms.
What will God do with them?
In his wisdom, God decided to strike a crushing, crippling blow to the authorities by sending Jesus to the cross. When God this, he disarmed them, he publicly shamed them, and he triumphed over them (Col. 2:13-15).
So when we turn back to Ephesians 3:10, what do we see?
"in order that the many-sided wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavens through the church."
These rulers and authorities have been fighting God for centuries. But they were completely blindsided by God's move to send Jesus to the cross for our sins. None of them saw this coming, or had any idea that God would do this. If they had known God's plan, they never would've killed Jesus. But now, from the other side of the cross, God's wisdom is obvious. When the rulers and authorities in the heavens look at the church, what do they see? They see their defeat. They see God's wisdom. They see God freeing people from their kingdoms, making one nation, one people for himself. And, in the end, there's nothing they can do about it. All they can do is watch, and marvel at God's wisdom. God did this in order to rub their noses in it. He's saying, "this is what wisdom really looks like." Jesus is God's checkmate.
Verse 12:
And it's IN CHRIST that we have boldness and access to God in confidence through faith. How can we, as Gentiles, approach God's throne? We approach IN CHRIST, confidently, knowing we have access because of Jesus. You shouldn't worry that God hasn't accepted you, or that there's something else (like the Mosaic covenant) you need.
Verse 13:
Therefore, I ask you not to be discouraged by my sufferings for you,
which are your glory.
Paul is doing what God wants him to do. His job-- his responsibility-- is to tell Gentiles about what God has done for them through Jesus. This is why he's in chains. It would be easy for the Ephesians to think about Paul in prison, and get discouraged. How does the church lose someone like Paul to prison, and not end up worse off? How is that not depressing?
But Paul sees the much bigger picture, and this picture should leave us with a sense of awe. God is creating one nation, one person, one family in Christ. And God has given Paul an incredible honor. He gets to tell Gentiles the good news about what God has done for them in Christ. If Paul has to be imprisoned for this, so be it. He tells them, "Don't be discouraged by my sufferings for you, which are your glory."
Paul's sufferings are for their glory. What does this mean? We don't normally think of ourselves with this type of language. We have been glorified. How did God glorify us through Jesus? Weird, right? But it makes perfect sense. When we were apart from Jesus, we were dead in our wrongdoing and sins. We were without God, without hope, alienated from God's people. NOW? Now, God has so richly blessed us, making us heirs, making us part of his family. God lifted us up; he glorified us. Paul is willing to make whatever sacrifice he has to, to tell others about Jesus. Paul lives for this-- to tell the Gentiles about what God has done for them through Jesus. God is giving his grace to people through Paul, and he is glorifying people through Paul. And Paul understands that whatever suffering he has to endure as a result, is worth it. "If my suffering results in your glory, I'm more than willing to do so."
So don't feel bad for Paul. Don't be discouraged. Look at the bigger picture. See how God has revealed his wisdom to the heavenly rulers and authorities, defeating them through the cross. See how God is making one family, one people, who live at peace with him. Understand that Paul lives as a servant of this good news.
And if Paul has to suffer for you Ephesians, so that you can place your allegiance in King Jesus and join God's people, and so that you can be lifted up and glorified, then that's a great trade. It's your allegiance to Jesus, and God's worldwide plan, that are important.
What a privilege it would be, to be able to share the good news of God's plan to Gentiles. Imagine God giving someone that kind of responsibility. What an honor. Who wouldn't be willing to suffer anything for God, to make this good news known? Who wouldn't be willing to suffer so that their family, and friends, and co-workers could be glorified? Paul is truly blessed.
Translation:
For this reason I Paul, the prisoner for King Jesus for you nations/Gentiles --if indeed you heard about the stewardship of the grace/ministry of God given to me for you--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By revelation the mystery was made known to me,
just as I wrote above briefly,
about which you are able, (when) reading, to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which in other generations was not made known to people,
as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and the prophets by the Spirit,
that the nations/Gentiles are fellow heirs
and fellow members of one body
and fellow sharers of the promise in King Jesus through the good news,
of which I became a servant
according to the gift of God's grace of God given to me,
according to the working of his power.
To me, to the least of the least of all the holy ones-- this grace was given,
to proclaim the good news to the nations of the fathomless riches of Christ,
and to enlighten everyone as to what is the stewardship of the mystery hidden from the ages by God-- by the One who created all things--
in order that the many-sided wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavens through the church
according to the purpose of the ages,
which he did in/by King Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have the boldness and access in confidence through allegiance toward him.
Therefore, I ask you not to be discouraged by my sufferings for you,
which are your glory.