The Eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus
Eph 3:1-21
7-22-07
In this chapter, Paul explains to the Gentile converts in Ephesus the “eternal purpose which [God] purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Eph 3:11). That purpose was unknown to men in the Old Testament, but it was revealed to Paul and to the apostles and prophets of the New Testament by the Spirit, (Eph 3:5). Part of the purpose is that Gentiles in Christ would be in the same body as Jews in Christ, as fellow heirs and partakers of the promise in Christ (Eph 3:6), giving us boldness and access with confidence by faith (Eph 3:12). This was a mystery that was revealed to Paul (Eph 3:3-4).
God revealed seven mysteries to Paul throughout his ministry. These mysteries are:
The mystery of Godliness – 1 Tim 3:16 [God manifest in the flesh]
The mystery of Christ in us – Col 1:27 [Christ indwelling our bodies]
The mystery of the Body of Christ – Eph 5:30-32 [Saints in Christ’s body]
The mystery of the Rapture – 1 Cor 15:50-55 [our glorification in heaven]
The mystery of Iniquity – 2 Thes 2:3-4 [the antichrist]
The mystery of Babylon – Rev 17 [the antichrist’s city]
The mystery of Israel’s regeneration – Rom 11:25-26 [Israel’s salvation]
Paul, having received this revelation from the Lord, was faithful to the Gentiles to minister this truth by the grace and power of God (Eph 3:7), to preach the gospel and the unsearchable riches of Christ among them (Eph 3:6, 8), to write to them about their inclusion in Christ (Eph 3:3), to pray for their strength, faith and love (Eph 3:14-19), and to even go to jail for what he believed (Eph 3:1). And Paul did not want them to faint just because he had gotten locked up (Eph 3:13).
God wanted them to know the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph 3:8), which are:
His goodness – Rom 2:4
His forbearance – Rom 2:4
His longsuffering – Rom 2:4
His wisdom – Rom 11:33
His knowledge – Rom 11:33
His grace – Eph 1:7
His glory – Eph 1:18; 3:16
God also wanted the church to know the manifold wisdom of God, not only as it concerns things in the earth but as it also pertains unto principalities and powers in heavenly places (Eph 3:10; Eph 1:21-23).
Therefore, Paul prayed for them according to these truths. And the prayer holds true for us, that God would:
Strengthen our inner man (Eph 3:16) - because we should rely upon Jesus Christ who is in us [and now we know it]
Christ would dwell in our hearts by faith (Eph 3:17) – he is already in our souls by the new birth, so here Paul is praying for Christ to dwell in our hearts [guiding our affections, motives, desires, thoughts, etc]
That we would be rooted and grounded in love (Eph 3:17) – because different people are brought together in the body of Christ [like Jews and Gentiles] and because love is the tight bond that keeps us from having division in the church
That we would have the wisdom to comprehend things in the universe (Eph 3:10, 18) – God wants the church to have wisdom unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places (Rom 8:38-39; Eph 6:12; Col 3:2; etc) – our home is in heaven, spiritual battles are waged in high places, and yet we are conquerors
That we would know the love of Christ (Eph 3:19) – so that we can be filled with all the fullness of God [notice that this love passes knowledge and yet he wants us to know it, so this would necessitate divine knowledge]
That we would bring glory to God in the church (Eph 3:20-21) – by allowing him to do things through us that abundantly exceed all that we could ask or think by his power that is in us, God gets glory because everyone knows that we could not have done those things on our own
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