Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3 opens with Paul reflecting on his calling as "the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles" - not in shame, but in stewardship. He then unveils the mystery: what was hidden "from the beginning of the world" is now revealed. Gentiles and Jews share one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith. They are not secondary or marginal. They are co-heirs.
The chapter concludes with one of the Bible's most stretching prayers. Paul prays that you would be strengthened to comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of Christ's love - a love that surpasses knowing. He prays that you would be filled with all the fullness of God. Not as isolated individuals, but as a community rooted and grounded in love, indwelt by Christ through faith.
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Ephesians 3:1The Prisoner of Jesus Christ for You Gentiles
1For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
Paul is literally imprisoned in Rome when he writes this. Yet he does not call himself "a prisoner of Rome" or "a prisoner of circumstance." He calls himself "the prisoner of Jesus Christ." His confinement has been reframed. It is no longer a diminishment - it is a stewardship. Every constraint he faces is in service to the gospel reaching Gentiles. This is how faith rewrites a story.
Ephesians 3:2-3How the Mystery Was Made Known
2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Paul did not learn the mystery through study of the Old Testament or instruction from other apostles. He says explicitly: "by revelation he made known unto me the mystery." God revealed it to Paul directly. The risen Christ disclosed what had been hidden - not because it contradicts the Old Testament, but because its time had come.
A "dispensation" here means a stewardship or commission - a specific season and task assigned by God. Paul has been given a stewardship: to make the mystery known to the Gentiles. He is not inventing this; he is transmitting what he received.
Ephesians 3:4-6Gentiles as Fellowheirs
4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel;
The revelation is not given to Paul alone in isolation. It is given "unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." The mystery is disclosed through the apostolic company, through the gift of prophecy, through the work of the Spirit. It is a corporate revelation, not a private one.
To "make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery" means to bring all people into understanding of the mystery's content and reality. The fellowship is not primarily a social relationship, but a shared participation in the revealed truth: that Gentiles and Jews are one body in Christ.
The mystery is fundamentally about Christ. It is not a riddle or a puzzle. It is the revealed truth that Christ's work has broken down the barrier between Jew and Gentile, creating one new body. The mystery is who Christ is and what He has accomplished.
"Fellowheirs" - equal partners in inheritance. "Of the same body" - one organism, not two. "Partakers of his promise" - sharers in the covenant. Three times Paul names it: not addition, not conversion to Judaism, not secondary status. Equality. Inclusion. Oneness.
Ephesians 3:7-8"Less Than the Least of All Saints"
7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Paul calls himself "less than the least of all saints." He is not performing humility. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 15:9, he called himself "the least of the apostles… not meet to be called an apostle," remembering that he had persecuted the church before his conversion. Here, years later, he is still marked by that memory. He has never recovered from the grace that arrested him.
Despite calling himself "less than the least," Paul speaks of "the unsearchable riches of Christ." The Greek word is anexichniastos - literally "unable to be traced out." These riches are not hidden because they cannot be known, but because they are inexhaustible. No matter how deep you dig, there is always more. A lifetime of searching will not reach the bottom.
Paul attributes his ministry not to his own ability or worthiness, but to "the effectual working of his power." The power is not Paul's; it belongs to God. Paul is simply the vessel through which it flows. This is why he can be "less than the least" and still do the work of an apostle. His sufficiency is not in himself.
Ephesians 3:9-10The Manifold Wisdom of God to Principalities
9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God;
The Greek word is polypoikilos - literally "many-colored" or "many-variegated." The wisdom of God is not uniform or simple. It has many hues, many facets, many colors. The inclusion of Gentiles as fellowheirs is one brilliant color in that many-colored wisdom. Every time a Jew and Gentile kneel together in prayer, they are displaying God's wisdom.
Paul speaks of revealing God's wisdom "unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places." These are not demons but divine intelligences - the angels and powers that inhabit the heavenly realm. The very structures of creation are watching to see how the church reveals God's wisdom. Your life in community displays something to the cosmos.
The mystery was "from the beginning of the world hid in God." It was not unknown to God; it was hidden in Him, waiting for its revelation. God has never been surprised. He always knew the end from the beginning. This mystery has been in His heart from eternity.
Paul attributes the creation of all things to Jesus Christ. John opens his Gospel the same way: "In the beginning was the Word… all things were made by him." Christ is not a late addition to God's plan. He is the one through whom the world was made, the one in whom the mystery was hidden, the one through whom it is revealed.
Ephesians 3:14-15"I Bow My Knees" unto the Father
14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Paul is literally in prison. He cannot fall to his knees without pain and chains. Yet it is precisely because he has grasped the mystery - that Gentiles and Jews are one body, that the church displays God's wisdom to the heavens - that he bows. His posture is prayer. Prayer is not an escape from his captivity; it is his engagement with what is most real.
Paul speaks of one family "in heaven and earth." There is a family above - the angels, the powers, the host of heaven. There is a family on earth - believers across every tribe and tongue. It is one family, named by one Father, belonging to one household. Paul kneels with the full weight of that vision.
Ephesians 3:16-17Strengthened by His Spirit in the Inner Man
16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Paul prays for strength "in the inner man" - not physical power, but spiritual resilience. This is the strength to endure, to resist, to stand firm in conviction. It is given by the Spirit, not earned by effort. And it is given "according to the riches of his glory" - abundant, inexhaustible, matched to God's infinite resources.
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Not as a guest, not as a visitation, but as a resident. He takes up permanent residence. And this happens through faith - trust, reliance, the willingness to let Him occupy the center of your being. The more you trust, the more fully He dwells.
"Rooted and grounded in love."1 A tree is rooted in the soil; a building is grounded in the foundation. Your life is rooted and grounded in love - not your love for God, but His love for you. That is the soil from which everything grows. That is the bedrock on which everything stands.
Ephesians 3:18-19The Dimensions of Christ's Love
18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
The breadth: how wide is the circle of His love?2 It reaches to the uttermost parts of the earth. The length: how long does it last? From before the foundation of the world to eternity. The depth: how profound is His commitment? Down to the cross, down into death, down into hell itself for your sake. The height: how high does it lift you? To the throne of God, to the right hand of Christ, to a seat in the heavens. These four dimensions can only be comprehended "with all saints" - not in isolation, but in community.
Paul says this love "passeth knowledge." In other words, it exceeds understanding. Yet he also says "to know the love of Christ." How can something surpass knowledge and yet be known? The answer is that the love of Christ is not a proposition to be understood but a reality to be experienced. You don't primarily think about it; you live inside it. You discover it by trusting it.
The final destination of this prayer is that you would be "filled with all the fulness of God."3 The Greek word is pleroma - the fullness, the completion, the overflow. Paul is praying that you would be so indwelt by God that you lack nothing, that you are complete, that you overflow.
Ephesians 3:20-21The Doxology: Glory to Him
20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Paul closes his prayer with an affirmation of God's power. He can do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Not just abundantly. Not just above what we ask. But exceeding abundantly above what we ask or think. God's capacity exceeds our requests, our imagination, our dreams. He is bigger than our biggest prayer.
This power "worketh in us." It is not remote or distant. It is actively working in you right now - transforming, strengthening, filling, completing. The power that spoke worlds into being, that raised Christ from the dead, that reconciled Jew and Gentile - that same power is at work inside you.
The entire prayer and all of its content - the mystery revealed, Christ dwelling, comprehending His love, being filled with God's fullness - all of it exists for one purpose: that glory might come to God. Not self-fulfillment, not personal achievement, not comfort. Glory to Him. And this glory happens "in the church by Christ Jesus." The church is the vehicle through which the glory of God is released into the cosmos.
Further study
- The foundation narrative where God grounds humanity in His love before any commandment or law, establishing love as the bedrock of relationship.
- The Dimensions of Divine LoveIntertextual BibleExplores how Ephesians 3:18 draws on Old Testament imagery of God's vast, dimensional presence and love reaching across creation.
- Plērōma (πλήρωμα) - FullnessPerseus ScaifeThe complete fullness and power of God indwelling believers, not as partial gift but as total, overflowing presence and transformation.