Summary of Ephesians, Chapter 3

For the sake of this, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for them, the gentiles -- assuming that they have heard of the ministry of the grace of God given to Paul for them, namely, that by revelation the mystery was made known to him, as he wrote briefly before.

In reading it they can see his insight into the mystery of Christ that was not revealed to other generations of people as it is now revealed to his holy apostles. The mystery is this: The gentiles are fellow heirs, and form part of the same body, and are fellow participators in the promise of Christ through the Gospel, of which Paul became a minister according to the gift of God's grace given him, according to the working of God's power.

To Paul, the least of all the holy ones, was given the grace to preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to give light to all on what is the divine arrangement of the mystery hidden from the aeons, in God Who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God according to His eternal plan might be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, through the Church -- the plan which He brought to reality in Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom Paul and they can have access to God and can confidently speak freely through faith in Christ.

Paul asks them not to be disheartened over his trials, which are for their glory. Therefore he bends his knees to the Father, from Whom is named every family in the heavens and on the earth, so He may grant them, according to the riches of His glory, to be made strong with power through His Spirit, for the sake of the inner man, so Christ may live through faith in their hearts, so that they may be rooted and strengthened in love so as to be able to grasp with all the holy ones, what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, and to know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge, so they may be filled to all the fullness of God. To Him who is able to do everything more abundantly than we ask or think, according to His power at work in Paul -- to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for all generations of the ages of ages. Amen.

Comments on Chapter 3

The first few words of this chapter lead no where grammatically: "For the sake of this, I, Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus for you, the gentiles." Then he goes on to a different grammatical structure. This sort of thing is called anacolouthon, "not following." It can happen when one is in a long sentence. We have seen Paul do it several times before this.

The problem of the next words "assuming you have heard . . ." has been covered in the introduction to this Epistle.

The mystery is that gentiles now are called by God to be members of the people of God, the Church. Paul has received the special grace of preaching this, even though he is the least of all Christians. He probably means that he once persecuted the Church, out of misguided zeal, as he says in 1 Corinthians 15:9. The love shown by the Father in Christ in this is unsearchable, beyond our ability to understand. The mystery was hidden from previous times -- or, hidden from the spirit powers. Now it is made known to principalities and powers in heavenly places. These are part of the same set of names Paul used in Colossians for the spirit powers. There it finally became clear he meant evil spirits (2:15), though it is true the Jews could use such words for angels.

Now, thanks to this grace, Christians have access to God and are able to speak freely to Him.

Paul kneels to the Father from whom every family exists -- for there is a Hebraism which uses "name" to stand practically for existence.

The words "inner man" are familiar in St. Paul. They mean the whole interior life, the heart: 2 Corinthians 4:6; Romans 7:22-23.

It is not clear to what the words breadth, length, height and depth refer. Probably they refer to the immeasurable love of Christ for us, for it surpasses knowledge.

The "fullness of God" seems to be Christ, in Whom is the fullness of divinity: Colossians 1:19; 2:9. See also Ephesians 4:13 where Paul prays that they may reach the fullness of likeness to Christ. Paul prays they may grow into the fullness of spiritual growth that comes from Christ. (The Greek word is pleroma, often used by Gnostics, as we saw in Colossians).