Paul begins this chapter with a prayer for Gentile believers in verse 1, but immediately follows the opening with a twelve verse parentheses explaining his ministry by describing himself as the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.

Most of us think of prison as a negative experience, but as we will see, Paul sees prison as a gift from God. The story is told of a minister who was called as a character witness in a child-custody court case. The lawyer for the mother began by asking, "Reverend, do you think a man who has been in prison is fit to raise a child?" Now the attorney was looking for a simple "Yes" or "No" answer, so you can imagine his frustration as he heard the pastor’s response. "Well," the minister began, stalling for time, "I suppose it depends upon the man. Some men who have been in prison have made a very positive contribution to our society as a result of their experience…John Bunyan and the Apostle Paul come to my mind immediately."

Let’s look at the first 13 verses of chapter 3:

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory. (Ephesians 3:1-13 NASB95)

Have you noticed the "roughness" of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians? It’s one of the greatest evidences that these words were written, probably not only to the Ephesians, but all the churches of that region and during the time of Paul’s imprisonment, probably in hast, since he was not sure he’d even be around the next day, rather than, as some higher critics try to assert, a theological treatise prepared by some later author who wanted to give their theology more authority by attributing it to Paul.

In verse 1, Paul starts a prayer and it’s almost like the words prisoner and Gentiles trigger a thought in his mind and he takes off for twelve verses explaining his ministry by describing what he calls the mystery. In the New Testament, a mystery is not something eerie or inscrutable, but rather "a truth that was hidden by God in times past and is now revealed to those who are in His family." A mystery is a "sacred secret" that is unknown to unbelievers, but understood and treasured by the people of God. In verse 3, Paul refers to the mystery and then adds, as I wrote before in brief…some commentators think this refers to an earlier letter, but I agree with those who believe that it’s referring to his earlier references, though somewhat veiled, in chapter 1:10, 2:11-22. Paul shows us that this mystery is important to four different groups of people:

The mystery is important to Paul (vv. 1-5)

From his Damascus-Road experience until his death, this mystery dominated Paul’s life. In this passage, he describes himself two ways: a prisoner (v. 1) and a minister (v. 7).

If you look back in the Book of Acts, you will see that Paul was a significant leader in the Jewish community…a member of the Sanhedrin and an outspoken zealot for destroying the early Christian believers who threatened the "status quo". He was commissioned by the High Priest to travel even to other cities to find and kill these "heretics". After Paul’s conversion, he was active in the church at Antioch where both Jewish and Gentile converts worshiped together. When the status of Gentile believers came under question, it was Paul who went to Jerusalem to defend their rightful place in the church because of the grace of God. And even though he went to great lengths to demonstrate his loyalty as a Jew by performing the cleansing vows prescribed, Paul was arrested by the Romans because of the uproar caused by some Jews who had accused Paul of defiling the Temple by bringing in his Gentile friend Trophimus. In Acts 22, Paul is being taken into the prison building, he asks and is given permission to speak to the mob. He begins to explain the situation and they are listening very quietly as he describes how, as a Pharisee, he persecuted the Christians and how he was struck down on the road to Damascus. His defense seems to be going well until he begins to tell of his vision in the synagogue in Jerusalem where Jesus warned him that the Jews would not believe his testimony about Jesus and Paul is told, "Go! For I will send you far away ^to the Gentiles." When they heard that Paul believed that the Gentiles were included in God’s blessing, they screamed for his death. Only his appeal as a Roman citizen spared his life for a time. Paul was in prison because he understood that God’s great gift of salvation was not only for the Jews, but for the whole world.

In verse 2, Paul assumes that those who will read this letter have heard about his ministry, but just in case they haven’t, he goes on to explain the special calling of God to him. In verse 3, he makes it clear that this mystery was made known to him by revelation in implied contrast to having learned about it by studying the Scriptures or being told about it by another human. Throughout Paul’s writings, he repeatedly stresses that his message of God’s grace to the Gentiles was given directly to him by Jesus Christ

The mystery is important to the Gentiles (vv. 6-8)

The mystery revealed that Gentiles are invited to share with Jews all the richness of God’s blessings through His covenant with Abraham. Now, being a Jew or a Gentile is neither an asset nor a liability for "in Christ" they share equally in His riches! Now, all the promises God made to Abraham are available to anyone who will receive. But there’s more…not only do Gentiles have a new relationship with God, they have supernatural power to follow the calling of God in their lives. This is demonstrated in the life of Paul, who was called to deliver The Good News to the Gentiles and was empowered by God to accomplish this incredible mission. Yet Paul refers to himself as the very least of all saints. He understood clearly, it wasn’t him, but Christ living in him. With Christ living inside Paul, there was no opposition that could stand against him…not even prison and death.

The mystery is important to the Angels (vv.9-10)

These verses support my belief that our world is part of a great cosmic demonstration that will vindicate God. Why does God need to be vindicated? Humans, egocentric as we are, always think it’s all about us, but these verses make it clear that the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places are involved as well. These created heavenly beings, both good and evil, are not omniscient and can see only what God reveals. Paul says that God kept this mystery hidden from them until now…the church is being used by God to educate the angels! They were forced to make a decision when Satan accused God of being unfair…accused Him of not acting in the best interest of His creation. A third decided to believe Lucifer…two thirds decided to believe God…now all of them are seeing the evidence…all of them are learning more about God and more about Satan. They are discovering, more than ever before, the manifold wisdom of God and the manifold foolishness of Satan.

In order for this demonstration that is playing out in our world to work, it seems to me that God has to "cover all the bases"…every possible scenario must run its course. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, but He does not always use the same methods when dealing with human beings. His heart is the same…His purpose is the same, but His methods are widely varied. He dealt with Adam and Eve differently before they sinned than afterward…He dealt with Abraham differently than with Job…He dealt with David differently than with Paul and He deals with the church today differently than with Israel.

When Israel obeyed, God blessed them materially, nationally and physically…when they disobeyed, He withdrew His blessing. Today, God’s blessings are more of a spiritual nature and when we receive Christ as our life, we receive everything God has to give (Ephesians 1:3)…the blessings are in Christ and are never received apart from Him. Unfortunately, many Christians today still think God blesses only those who do the right things…that blessings are tied to obedience…they still have a Jewish way of looking at God. The mystery makes it clear that God does not relate to us as Jews or Gentiles, but as those who are either in Christ or in Adam. Viewing God from an Old Covenant perspective is like using a road map that’s not current…you’ll never find the Interstate that was built after the map was printed!!!

The Old Covenant was a part of the demonstration that showed clearly that humans can never meet the requirements of God using their own best efforts…the only Person who can live the Christian life is the only One who ever did…Christ Jesus! If He is not living His life in and through you, you are not in Christ, and no matter how good you can look on the outside, you are not a Christian. Christianity is not a life style, it’s a life Source!!

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