Revealed Revelation
When we lived in Houston, TX for those five years, we had some friends down there that loved Jesus, homeschooled, and enjoyed some of the same pastimes so we would on occasion hang out together.
One evening we were over for dinner and the husbands were chatting theology. Our friend made some comment of a derogatory nature about a doctrine that we hold. You know the kind of comment that you make when you think that the other person believes the same way you do?
Jeremy said something along the lines of “well, actually, we do believe that.” The details aren’t vital to the story, but there was genuine incredulity on the part of this couple that we could believe such a thing. How had they made the error of becoming friends with people who believed such a thing?
Eventually, Jeremy said that it doesn’t matter to us what they believe on this point of doctrine. We are both believers and we can go on believing either direction and still be in fellowship. However, debate with others about this topic has occurred before and Jeremy has a paper he’s written explaining and supporting with scripture what we believe. It didn’t help in these other conversations, but if they were interested, Jeremy could email it to them.
Oh the couple read it. The wife read it and immediately said, “Oh. I’ve believed this all along but didn’t know what to call it.” The husband took a little more time of study before he came to the conclusion that what we believe is what scripture says. And then he reported later that he found the doctrine everywhere in scripture.
The Result?
In his enthusiasm, he started telling everyone he knew about this revelation in his journey with Christ. Everyone. With this new understanding of who God is, he couldn’t stop talking. He saw reason to share his insight with anyone who would listen.
As we come to this passage, does the theme of this story sound at all familiar? Let’s read Ephesians 3:1-13.
Our Passage
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.1
Just a Thought Before We Go Further
My objective in our meeting together is so that you might have both confidence to study and have tools to do it to the best of your ability. This article doesn’t have a lot of laid out steps to study because it is largely an effort to read and understand what is present in the words of the passage. My hope is that you will join me in my journey of study and be able to not only see what I’ve drawn from the text, but also be able to see my process as I go along.
If you ever have questions, please ask! Jeremy and I have been discussing lately the concept of humility. A humble person recognizes they don’t know everything so they ask questions and try to learn. Knowing that I don’t know everything, I ask those that know more than me so we can learn together.
Synonyms in the Passage
I think we need to start here and at least begin to understand all the different words and phrases Paul used to identify the same thing.
What is Paul’s main topic throughout the passage? The gospel, right? Did you notice how many synonyms he used to identify his subject? Look over your structural diagram and see what you notice. Make your own list or color and then continue reading. We’ll discuss what we found when you’re done.
The Gospel
- (Gift of) God’s grace (stewardship) Eph 3:2, 7, 8
- Mystery Eph 3:3, 4, 6, 9
- Gospel (duh) Eph 3:6, 7
- Unsearchable riches of Christ Eph 3:9
- Plan (of the mystery) Eph 3:9
If you look closely at my sticky, I have tick marks next to most of the phrases. Not only does Paul talk about it at length, he repeats the different ways he describes the gospel.
Now that we see the synonyms a little more clearly, let’s consider Paul’s reason for writing this passage.
Why Did Paul Write this Passage?
This was where I actually started in my study. I jotted notes here on this sticky as I considered.
God-appointed Objective
- With regard to the Gentiles, they had heard of Paul’s stewardship. (Eph 3:2)
- The mystery was made known to Paul Eph 3:3
- The mystery not made to other generations Eph 3:5
- Mystery is: gospel Eph 3:6
- With regard to Paul, he has responsibility
- To preach Eph 3:9
- To bring to light Eph 3:9
- Why is Paul to act? God’s wisdom must be made known Eph 3:10
God-revealed Truth
If we practice the skill of putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes, can you imagine being Paul? Consider his testimony like you’re hearing it for the first time.
Paul thought he had access to God. He was the Super Jew. You had questions? He had answers.
BAM!
He actually did learn the path to have access to God. Not from people did he learn, like he describes in other letters. From Christ himself, even while Paul was persecuting him. And here in Ephesians 3 he declares to his readers, “No one else has this information. Just me. For generations, this information was hidden and now I get to tell you.”
…how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.2
Sounds like a goofy cult, huh?
Well, yes, it kind of does. Except for history. There were people who were there when Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Even secular historians wrote of the subject matter. Paul is filling in the gaps of the why of the events.
If you had life-giving information that no one else knew about, what would you do? Keep quiet? Or would you tell anyone, using whatever means available, to tell the world? I guess it would depend on whether or not you believe the information, wouldn’t it?
Revelation Not About this World
Did you notice that? God’s actions and Paul’s assignment weren’t exclusively about this world, but were about the heavenly realm. Of which, by the way, we have next to no real information.
…so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord…3
Paul’s assignment to bring the good news to the Gentiles was so that together, Jews and Gentiles could create the church universal and explain to those in the heavenly places God’s character and nature. And this was all according to God’s plan from the beginning. Together, with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the privilege of demonstrating who God is to those we don’t understand just by being part of the body of Christ.
Reflection
Why did Paul write this passage?
There was a mysterious plan that had been concealed for ages that was now revealed. What was the mystery? That everyone, through Christ, has the privilege of belonging to the family of God. Everyone.
Having good news to share with everyone? Wouldn’t that cause excitement over the revealed mystery? Of all the folks in the world at the time or any time, he was selected by God to make known to Gentiles their potential in the kingdom. Though he was an enemy of God previously, not only was he himself also welcomed into the family, he was given the gift of being able to bring light to the darkness for people without hope and without God in the world.
Finally, the words “so that” show us some of his reason as well. The eternal purpose was so that God’s character and nature would be made known not only to those who were welcomed into the promises, but also to those who were not. We know from elsewhere in scripture that angels and heavenly being long to understand the gospel. They are not part of our body. Not partakers of promises. No shot at redemption.
What Significance Do I See?
As we consider why Paul wrote, shall we stand in his sandals for a moment? What if we had the mystery of the gospel revealed to us?
Oh, wait. We have.
As a fellow heir, member of the same body, partaker of the promise, I have the good news. What am I doing with it? Am I treating the revelation at all in the same way that Paul did? Do I recognize the value of the gift like Paul? In the death and decay of our world in our current circumstances, what relevance does the revealed mystery have?
I would like to be like our friend in Houston who could not keep his newfound understanding of scripture to himself. On a side note, in our church at the time, he told the people there, so much that the leadership got annoyed with Jeremy and me for telling this family about how we understand scripture. Just like Paul, the authorities of established religion got annoyed. Which is pretty cool.
Wrap Up
Our Bible Study Bite for today was to exercise our question-asking muscles and then answer. If we can have some idea for the reason behind writing the text, we will have a better chance for success to interpret what the author meant.
Why did Paul write? Because a mystery was revealed, he was excited about the revelation, and that God would be made famous in the heavens because of it.
Recognizing these points, we can move forward in the process of interpretation understanding through the filter of Paul’s purpose.
