Letters from Paul

A taste of the study room coming with Paul — pull open whatever you'd like to sit with.

The reading — Ephesians 3:1-13

¹For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, ²if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you; ³how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, ⁴by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; ⁵which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; ⁶that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News, ⁷of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. ⁸To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ; ¹⁰to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, ¹¹according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; ¹²in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. ¹³Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.

World English Bible

The words behind the words

When I say mystery (Ephesians 3:3), do not hear a riddle or a secret withheld to torment you. The word carries a thing once hidden and now flung open — a plan God kept close in his own heart through the ages and has now spoken aloud in Christ. And when I call myself a steward of grace (Ephesians 3:2), the word is that of a household manager: I own nothing here; I only hand out what the Master has entrusted to me for his people. The riches are his; my hands merely distribute.

Where else you say this

I take up this same mystery — the Gentiles made fellow heirs, no longer strangers — where I write that in Christ "there is neither Jew nor Greek" (Galatians 3:28). I speak of the hidden plan now revealed when I bless "him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel... according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages" (Romans 16:25). And of my stewardship of grace to those far off, I wrote that I was "to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles" (Romans 15:16).

The situation

I write these lines a prisoner (Ephesians 3:1) — not Rome's prisoner first, but Christ's, held in chains even as I dictate this. The believers who first heard it were largely Gentiles, once outside the covenants, taught by some that they stood on the edge of God's people, second to the Jew. I write to tell them they are not on the edge at all but fellow heirs, fellow members, fellow partakers (Ephesians 3:6). And I tell them not to lose heart over my sufferings (Ephesians 3:13) — for my chains are their glory, proof the door has truly been opened to them.

The hard question

A thoughtful reader may ask: if this plan brings such glory, why does its herald sit in chains — and how is that their glory and not their shame? I do not smooth it. My imprisonment is exactly where the mystery costs something, and I count it worth the price. Read again: I do not say my suffering is glorious in itself, but that it is "for you" and therefore "your glory" (Ephesians 3:13). The gospel that reaches the outsider will cost its messengers; that it costs me is the seal that God meant every word of it for you.

This is a small window into what a study room with Paul will hold — word by word, letter by letter, and the maps and journeys behind them. Get notified when it opens →

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