Here is my commentary on Ephesians 3:7. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 3:7

“Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me by the working of his power.”

The gospel is the amazingly good news that God is saving, or at least wants to save, every person whether Jew or gentile through the promise in Christ Jesus; God’s grace is available to all.

Paul was made a minister of this gospel. He was moulded into the ministry by God, who took all of Paul’s learning and knowledge of scripture, and turned him into a powerful apostle, teacher, and evangelist.

The word for minister here means a servant, not a slave. The word is diakonos from which we get the word deacon. It can mean and attendant or minister. Paul here is saying that his calling is to serve the gospel. The gospel is like a master, a force that directs his life .

In other places, Paul describes himself as a slave to Christ. A slave suggest someone who is owned, generally for any purpose the owner might desire. The implication of the word diakonos, though, is that there is a specific purpose, a calling that is on Paul’s life. He could not be used for any other purpose then to preach the gospel, because that is his life’s sole reason for existence.

Paul was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace.

The grace of God is a many-faceted thing. We most often think of God’s grace in the context of salvation. We are not saved by anything that we can do, nor by good deeds, nor by animal sacrifices, nor by acts of heroism. It is only because God, in his love for us, gives us the gift of forgiveness that we are saved.

God’s grace is experienced in other ways also. The gift of life itself comes from God. The provision of our daily food, shelter, and clothing is by grace, even when we have a job that provides these things .

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are graces that enable us to serve God and his people. The word for gift in the various New Testament passages that describe spiritual gifts is itself derived from the word grace. This is why John Wimber preferred the word gracelet to the word gift – it places the attention on the giver not the receiver of the gift.

The grace of God was responsible for the gift which was given to Paul. Paul is at pains to express a sense here that whatever he might do as the minister of the gospel, it is all through the gift of God. It is not his innate talent. He might be the smartest person in the room, but it is God who has done this, not Paul.

All of this was given by the working of God’s power.

God’s power (dunamis) is the same power that created the universe in six days, which raised Christ from the dead, and which turned Paul from persecutor of Christ’s followers into an apostle of Christ .

God’s power brings the non-existent into existence. He spoke and it happened.

God’s power restored life – resurrection life- into Christ’s body. This same power will raise all of his followers from death also. God’s power is life giving power.

The same power took hold of a violent and zealous man, and transformed him into a tireless minister of grace. Under the law, Paul sought to bring death, but under God’s grace he seeks to bring life.

This power of God is restless, hovering over all of creation. The wind is often used as an analogy for God’s power. It is always moving. It brings movement and excitement. It cannot always be recognised, but its effects are plain.

The working of God’s power produced the gift of God’s grace in Paul. The word for working is the word from which we get energy. God’s energising power was poured into Paul to enable him to fulfil this ministry to which he was called .

God’s power is not a self-referring thing like a bright light. God’s power brings change by working in people’s lives. This energy fills us, changes us, enables us, transforms us. It is like a flow of electricity through a person’s spirit .

Key points in this verse:

• Paul was made a minister of the gospel
• The gospel is about God’s grace
• Paul had a specific calling or a role to be filled.
• God’s grace is experienced in many different ways
• Paul’s gift or calling was given by the working of God’s power

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 3:6. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 3:6

… that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

In the previous verses, Paul has spoken about the mystery that was previously hidden, but has now been revealed. now he talks about the content of the revelation.

The revelation is this: the Gentiles, who were previously excluded from the promises of God, now included in the promises, specifically the promise of eternal life. Those who were once far off, indeed considered unclean or impure by Jewish people, are now in the centre of God’s plan for a kingdom of priests .

In fact, Paul argues that Gentiles are not just grafted into an existing structure, remaining separate. No, under the new covenant initiated by Christ, there is a new structure, a new household, a new temple in which there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles. The divisions of the old covenant are now obsolete because Christ has destroyed the distinctives.

Gentiles are now fellow heirs. Paul doesn’t say here who we are fellow heirs with. We would assume that the Gentiles fare fellow heirs with the Jews. In Romans 8:17 he makes the astonishing claim that we heirs of God the Father, joint heirs with Christ.

The promises of God do not flow to the Jews because they are God’s chosen people. The promises of God flow to all believers, to all who are in Christ, because of God’s grace to Christ.

God made promises to the Jews because they were the heirs of Abraham, the descendants of whom God had promised they would be as many as the stars in the sky, and through them the world would be blessed. Now, we who are Gentiles share in that promise because of Christ.

But there is much more. As the heir to God the Father, Christ gets everything that is God’s- that is the is the whole of creation, whether we see it or not, the things in the heavens and on the earth, the spiritual realm as well as the physical realm. The whole of creation is ours because we are joint Heirs with Christ.

We are members of the same body. All who believe in Christ are members of His body. We belong together, placed organically where we can be most effective in the body.

There is just one body of Christ. There is not a Jewish body and a Gentile body. There is not a Catholic body, and an Anglican body, a Pentecostal body, and so on. There is just one body

All who follow Christ are in the one body. We get the same benefits, the same honour, the same destination. We are all part of the one church, the Body of Christ.

As Paul says elsewhere, this means that if one part of the church is hurting, then we all hurt. It makes no sense then to act or even speak against other believers. That is like my finger choosing to poke my eyes.

Believing Jews and believing Gentiles are the same body. Jews will not be saved by obeying the law of Moses, while Gentles take a different route. We are in the one body, following one path to salvation.

We Gentiles are partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

What is this promise? Believe in the Lord and turn from your sins and you will be saved.

The gospel is a very simple message. Our sins have separated us from God, and He will judge us. But he loves us and has provided the sacrifice of Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. Jesus is the way of salvation. If we believe in him and turn away from our sins, then God will forgive us and give us life forever.

That is the promise, and God has given us grace to partake in it, that is to participate in it.

The word partake suggests something active. This promise of eternity is not a thing that you sign up for and then put in a drawer. The promise is active- we participate In God’s Kingdom now, by serving his purposes, living his ways, communicating to others the power of the gospel .

This revelation that Paul was given is about the fact that God’s salvation is now available to every single person who will receive it.

Key points in this verse:

• The Gentiles are now included in God’s plan for humanity
• We are fellow heirs – not just with the Jews but with Christ himself
• Our inheritance is a share in the whole of creation
• We are part of a whole new structure not just bolted on to the old structure
• We are members of one body
• We share in an awesome promise in Christ through the gospel

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 3:4-5. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 3:4-5

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it is now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

In writing to the Ephesians, Paul is sharing the revelation of the mystery of Christ of which previous generations knew nothing, because it was a mystery ( i.e. a hidden thing). So now they can perceive the reality of the depth of his insight.

Paul had a revelation of this mystery, a sudden understanding given by God of how Christ came to fulfil the law of Moses and all the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Nobody saw this in previous generations as clearly as the apostles did in the time since Christ’s death and resurrection.

Where Paul excelled was the depth of his insight into the revelation. Many people receive revelation about salvation, but a proportion of them don’t move into insight. They stay with the revelation, “Jesus died for my sins so now I am forgiven.” The insight comes when we realise that, because off this my whole life must be lived for him. It is that insight that propels us from forgiveness to sanctification.

Paul wants the Ephesians to perceive his insight, that is to move forwards in their understanding of how much God loves them, the spiritual authority that they now have, and the implications of all this in their personal discipleship, in their relationships, and in their service of the Lord.

Paul says that the mystery of Christ has been revealed to the apostles and prophets. I made some mention of these gifts in 2:20 where Paul says the church is like a building built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as the cornerstone.

The apostles and prophets were godly men and women given the task leading the church into deeper insight off the revelation of Christ. One of the tasks of the church is to discern whether those who claim to be apostles and prophets are true servants of the Lord Jesus. As was stated earlier, this is by testing their teaching and revelation against scripture and against the character of Christ.

When any person- apostle, prophet, standard untitled Christian- receives a revelation or even a doctrine or Bible verse, we must test whether what they are saying against the revelation we already have. It is possible that we have the truth and they are deceived. It is possible that what they say jars because we have an inadequate understanding. Most often, the truth lies in between these two extremes .

Apostles and prophets were the ones who unveiled the mystery, who gave clarity and insight into what had previously been hidden, namely the grace of God in sending his one and only Son for us. They still have this role now- to reveal the centre of our faith, the person of Christ.

Key points in these verses

• The person of Christ was a mystery until the apostles and prophets gained revelation that unveiled what was hidden.
• Paul had a special measure of insight, particularly in respect of the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s Kingdom .
• Paul wanted to share that insight so that others could grow in their understanding and relationship with Christ.
• Apostles and prophets still share this ministry of unveiling Christ.