Ephesians 3. Mystery Revealed
When you hear the word “mystery”, what comes to mind? Most people probably think of a murder mystery novel, a crime series, a riddle, a locked-room puzzle, or the missing ice cream from the freezer. As for me, I think of the episode of The Office where Michael Scott runs a murder mystery game. In Savannah.
In the Bible, the word “mystery” means something different. It means a secret that once was hidden but has now been revealed.
In Ephesians 3, God’s big mystery is revealed. It shapes Paul’s mission, shows us God’s plan for the world, and leads to big, dangerous prayers.
1. God’s Big Mystery: Include the Nations (3:1-6)
What is God’s big mystery? God’s big mystery is that the Gentiles are now included in God’s promises. In the Old Testament, the nations were excluded from God’s people. Now they have been included, as we discovered in the previous chapter of Ephesians. Now, we read in verse 6:
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
This truth is a big deal for Paul and has shaped his life. It’s even why he’s currently in prison (verse 1). Paul found out about this mystery “by revelation”. He began to receive the gospel by revelation from Jesus at his conversion (Acts 9) and probably received more detailed instruction and understanding during his time in Arabia and Damascus (Galatians 1:17) in the three years before he met the other apostles.
This truth was hidden in previous generations, but has now been revealed through the apostles and (New Testament) prophets, by the Spirit (verse 5).
2. Paul’s Mission: Make Jesus Known (3:7-9)
What’s Paul’s role? Back in verse 2, Paul talked about “the administration of God’s grace that was given to me”. There, he was basically saying that God gave him a job—by his grace—to manage and carry out his plan of bringing the gospel to the Gentiles.
Paul zooms in on this a bit more in verses 7-9. Paul is a “servant of the gospel” by grace and now has the task of preaching to the Gentiles about the boundless riches of Christ and to reveal God’s mystery: that they are now included among God’s people.
How can we be involved in this work? Obviously, we are not Paul. For most of us, Jesus hasn’t revealed himself in a blinding light on a road to Damascus (Acts 9:3). But, through people like Paul, we have heard the great news of the gospel of Jesus. If it’s true, it makes sense that we adopt the same mission as Paul: make Jesus known.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to become an overseas missionary, planting churches all over Europe and Asia (although it might mean that). But it might mean sharing what we know about Jesus with the people we encounter every day. Or it might mean inviting them along to church or youth group or an event where they can hear about Jesus. Or it might mean praying for and financially partnering with overseas missionaries.
3. God’s Intention: Show His Wisdom Through the Church (3:10-13)
What’s God’s intention in making Jesus known? In verse 10, Paul tells us. God’s intention is that through the church, “his manifold wisdom” (that is, his massive amount of wisdom) would be made known, “even to the heavenly realms” (that is, demons and angels and other heavenly beings)! The church is the stage where God’s plan to unite and redeem the world is put on display. This was his plan from eternity!
So all of this is true. And yet Paul is still suffering in prison. He’s concerned that the Ephesians might be feeling discouraged. You might know that feeling too. You have this amazing message about Jesus, but you—and others you know—are finding it difficult to share it with people. There are things getting in your way, and you feel discouraged.
Why shouldn’t we be discouraged? In verse 13, Paul goes on to explain that his sufferings are part of God’s plan for their “glory”. In other words, the bad stuff is part of the journey that is going to lead to some really good stuff.
The suffering is an indication that the gospel is advancing. God is very, very powerful and is able to work even through hardship. So, we shouldn’t be discouraged.
4. Paul’s Prayer: Power (3:14-21)
What is Paul praying for? These realities of the gospel lead Paul to prayer. Paul prays for believers to receive two kinds of power from God:
i) Inner Power. Paul prays that the Father would strengthen us with power in our inner being through the Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. The "inner man" or "heart" refers to our non-physical, spiritual core. Though there’s a sense in which Christ enters our hearts when we first believe, Paul prays that our hearts might become a suitable home for Christ. Somewhere, I recall Don Carson discussing the idea of a couple slowly renovating an old house into their dream home. That’s like what Christ is doing: renovating our hearts to make them a place fitting for his dwelling.
ii) Knowledge Power. Paul prays that we would have the power to grasp the dimensions of Christ’s love, its width, length, height, and depth. John Stott writes that “wide enough to encompass all humanity (especially Jews and Gentiles, the theme of these chapters), long enough to last for eternity, deep enough to reach the most damaged sinner, and high enough to exalt us to heaven.”[1] Paul wants us to understand this. This knowledge isn’t merely intellectual. It’s transformative. It changes us. Knowing Christ’s love results in us being “filled with all the fullness of God”, i.e., maturing into Christlikeness, thus becoming a place where it is fit for Christ to dwell.
Paul is confident that God will answer his prayer and fulfil his request.
Why is he so confident? How can he be so sure? Well, as we read in verse 20, God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”. Paul knows that God won’t catch him out on the technicality of his prayers. He’s not going to do the bare minimum as he answers the prayers. He will do the bare maximum! When you’re praying to a God like this—a God who is able to do more than you can imagine—you can be confident that he is able to answer your prayers!
What does Paul’s confidence in his prayer mean for our confidence when we pray? This means we can be confident when we pray as well. Not because we have heaps good praying skills, or amazing Bible phrases we can sneak into our prayers. Rather, as we were just reminded, God isn’t a God who aims for the bare minimum. He’s able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. So we should just keep asking!
How does Paul’s prayer compare with the kinds of things you usually pray for? I reckon that most people probably ask God for way less than he’s willing to do. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of asking for small stuff—help with tasks, finding that car park, being able to have a good night’s sleep. God cares about those things. But he’s able to do so much more. It’d be crazy not to ask.
Discussion Questions
Pray and Get Going
1. When you hear the word “mystery”, what comes to mind?
Read Ephesians 3:1–21
2. What is God’s big mystery? (3:1-6)
3. What is Paul’s role in 3:7-9? How can we be involved in this work?
4. What’s God’s intention in making Jesus known? (3:10-11)
5. According to verses 12-13, why shouldn’t we be discouraged?
6. What is Paul praying for, and why is he so confident? (3:14-21)
7. What does Paul’s confidence in his prayer mean for our confidence when we pray?
8. How does Paul’s prayer compare with the kinds of things we usually pray for?
Pray and Give Thanks
Other Posts in this Series
Ephesians 1:1-14 (marticles.net/eph1a)
Ephesians 1:15-23 (marticles.net/eph1b)
Ephesians 2:1-10 (marticles.net/eph2a)
Ephesians 2:11-22 (marticles.net/eph2b)
Ephesians 3 (marticles.net/eph3)
Ephesians 4:1-16 (marticles.net/eph4a)
Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (marticles.net/eph4b)
Ephesians 5:22-6:9 (marticles.net/eph5b)
Ephesians 6:10-24 (marticles.net/eph6)
If a link doesn’t work, either the article hasn’t been written, or I’m bad at coding.
Notes
[1] Stott, John. The Message of Ephesians: God’s New Society. The Bible Speaks Today. London: IVP, 1979.
