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Ephesians 3
Eph 3:1 For this
cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
The cause is the glorious work of the cross in
making peace and bringing the gentiles neigh which has been previously
explained in 2:14-22.
Ephesians 2:14-22
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and
hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man,
so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one
body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached
peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through
him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye
are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.
I Paul, the verb of which I Paul is the subject is
not given until verse 14. Therefore all the intervening verses are all
parenthetic. At verse 14 Paul repeats the clause: For this cause and gives
the verb. Paul is writing this as a prisoner in Rome because of the hatred
of the Jews against him and the gospel cf: Acts 21:27-22:23. Note Paul calls
himself the prisoner of Jesus Christ not of Caesar, the Roman government or
the Jews. It is all a matter of attitude and perspective. Paul sees himself
not just a prisoner with a chain but as Christ special apostle and very
first missionary to the entire Gentile world.
Act 22:17-23 And it came to pass, that, when
I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in
a trance;
And saw him saying
unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will
not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that
I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: And
when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and
consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. And
he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their
voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is
not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and cast off their
clothes, and threw dust into the air,
Eph 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the
grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
The dispensation or office of Paul apostleship cf:
Act 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will
send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto
me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Paul will again declare the mystery in V: 6 but he
had previously told them of this mystery in this epistle in chapter 1 & 2:
Eph 1:9-10
Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good
pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of
the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in
him:
Eph 2:12-13 That
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far
off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
The mystery he will declare in v:6 About the
revelation he says:
Gal 1:12 For I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
Eph 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
By what he had wrote in chapters 1 & 2 and by what
he is writing now they can perceive his knowledge of this mystery.
Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known
unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and
prophets by the Spirit;
The Old Testament Hebrew prophets had a glimpse of
the Gentiles receiving salvation but they did not understand their own
language as we do in light of the gospel of the glorious gospel of Christ.
But God had always desired the gentiles to be saved and He often gave a
glimpse of the idea of gentile salvation in the gospel:
Gen 22:15-18 And the angel of the LORD called
unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I
sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless
thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the
heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Gen 26:3-4 Sojourn in this land, and I will be
with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will
give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto
Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of
heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Gen 28:12-14 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder
set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the
angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood
above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and
the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and
to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou
shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to
the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth
be blessed.
Isa 42:6-7 I the
LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will
keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the
Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the
prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house .
Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs,
and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel:
The old wall is broken down both Jew and Gentile
are heirs alike of the gospel. Both are fellow members and fellow partakers
of the Church of Christ.
Gal 3:14 That
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Act 13:46-48
Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the
word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it
from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn
to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have
set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for
salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were
ordained to eternal life believed.
Eph 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according
to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of
his power.
A minister to make known this mystery of God’s
gracious plan and purpose for the Gentiles. The gift being the office of
apostle with all of it’s accompanying signs and wonders of apostleship. Paul
had the ability to give the supernatural gifts of the spirit cf: I
Corinthians 12 & Acts 19:1 ff which were only conferred by the laying on of
the apostles hands his hands cf: Acts 8:17-18 ff.
Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of
all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ;
A great trust was granted unto one so unworthy as
he deems himself. Paul was always humbled by remembering that he had once
been a persecutor of the Church cf:
I Corinthians 15:9
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Philippians 3:6
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which
is in the law, blameless.
I Timothy 1:13
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I
obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
This grace so glorious and so full of blessedness
to the world was the apostleship to the gentiles cf:
Gal 2:7-8 But
contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the un-circumcision was
committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was
unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship
of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath
been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
All men see Jew as well as Gentile are to have
fellowship in one body which is the Church of Christ. From before the
beginning this was God’s concept Who created all things by Christ the Word
cf: Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by
whom also he made the worlds;
Cf: John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not
any thing made that was made .
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God,
To the intent – this mystery was hidden through all
the ages but is now revealed in order that the manifold over and over wisdom
of God is made known by both preaching and announcing the gospel to all V:9
Jews, Gentiles and angelic beings both good and bad.
I Peter 1:12
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did
minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have
preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;
which things the angels desire to look into.
Eph 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which
he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
The one and only purpose that God in all ages and
through all time purposed within Himself to save all by Jesus Christ our
Lord.
I Timothy 1:9
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Titus 1:2 In
hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began;
I Peter 1:20 Who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you,
Eph. 1:4-5
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph. 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with
confidence by the faith of him.
Both Jew and Gentile can come boldly to God. Notice
the definite article the before faith it means the gospel the faith or the
way the pure religion established by Jesus Christ. With out the revelation
of Christ we would not know of God’s love.
Eph 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at
my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Seeing that I Paul have revealed this mystery unto
you, do not become discouraged at his suffering as a prisoner on account of
the Gentiles. The plural tribulations shows that many tribulations came in
his work as the apostle to the Gentiles. All the apostles suffered, the
early Church suffered and you suffer; hence you are suffering in a work
which makes you the special heirs of eternal glory.
Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
God is the fountain of all mercy and blessings.
Paul now resumes his thought and gives the verb of V:1 by repeating the
clause For this cause and giving the verb cf:
Eph 3:1 For this
cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles
Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and
earth is named,
The idea is the Father is the Father of all
families of His children, whether Jew or Gentile on earth or in heaven. He
is the Father in heaven to every believer of every race in the world and the
world to come. All as far as creation is concerned derive their being from
Him. Just like children from a parent all the saved are His spiritual
children.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in
the inner man;
Paul now states the things he prays for the
brethren at Ephesus. According to the riches of his glory is in a degree
which would correspond to His glory. Strengthened – that is that their
spirits might be strengthened by God’s Spirit and that they might be endowed
with the might of spiritual gifts.
Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
This is the 2nd Petition: That they may
lay hold of Christ by faith in the faith or gospel so that He will always be
a present salvation in their hearts filled with love cf: I Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these
is charity .
Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all
saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Unless they were rooted and grounded in love and
the love of God was shed abroad in their hearts it would be impossible for
them to comprehend the exceeding riches of the love of Christ. This is the
climax of the prayer the part that the other Petitions lead. Indeed from the
beginning of the letter he had been declaring what love Christ has shown the
Gentile world.
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
One of Paul’s paradoxes they could know something
of the love of Christ but we can never fully comprehend the infinite cf:
1Tim. 5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us,
Can’t you just see Paul dictating to his scribe
and saying:
Now to him that is able ... no that just does not
explain it ...
Now to him that is able to do ... no that not
enough ...
Now to him that is able to do exceeding ... no
...
Now to him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly ... no ...
Now to him that is able to do exceedingly
abundantly
Above all that we ask ... no ... more still ...
Now to him that is able to do exceedingly
abundantly
Above all that we ask or think ...
According to the power (kratos) that worketh
(Greek energo ie: energize me Scottie) in us. (By the power of God’s Son
who sets at God’s own right hand energizing us by His Spirit.
The Ephesians knew something of the mighty working
of the Spirit of God and therefore His Divine power, but he wants them to
understand God is able to do above all we can conceive.
Philippians 4:13 I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
We really can!
Remember
when there was 40 of us when I began?
Remember
when we were feeding 20 seventeen years ago?
Now over
2,000 meals a week are fed to the poor and homeless.
Remember
when we leaped in faith to get an hour on the radio?
Now we
have 3 hours each Sunday with 7 million souls in our broadcast area.
Remember
when we started the inter net ministry Dec. 2006
We had 695 hits and thought we were setting the
world on fire?
Now we
have 80-100 thousand hits a month and we broke a Million hits for the year
this month.
Remember
Last year we had a half a million hits to 36 countries.
Now this Year
we had over a Million Hits to 57 countries all over God’s earth.
With the Main Street Church of
Christ we continue to
fulfill the words of the Psalmist:
Psalm 19:2-5 Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor
language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out
through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them
hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a
race.
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Literally in the Greek: Unto all the generations of
the age of ages.
Through out all the endless succession of ages,
through out all time.
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