Ephesians 3

21 verses

This chapter unpacks the central mystery (mysterion) hidden for ages in God but now revealed: the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus—a revelation so cosmic in scope that it reorders salvation history itself. Paul identifies himself as a prisoner, the least of all the saints (an ironic self-designation emphasizing grace), entrusted with the stewardship (oikonomia) of grace to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ hidden from the ages in God who created all things. The mystery's revelation serves a cosmic purpose: through the church, God's manifold wisdom (sophia) is made known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places—the principalities and powers who now witness the wisdom of God displayed through the reconciled, multi-ethnic body of Christ. Paul's prayer ascends again, this time petitioning that the Ephesians be strengthened with power through the Spirit in their inner being so that Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they may be rooted and grounded in love, comprehending with all the saints the vast four-dimensional scope of Christ's love (breadth, length, height, depth) that exceeds all knowing—filling them with all God's fullness. The chapter ends with a doxology celebrating God's power at work within us, capable of doing abundantly beyond all we ask or imagine, to whom belongs glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations—a triumphant affirmation that the mystery's revelation issues in the church's eternal glorification.

VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS