Missionary to the Gentiles
September 17, 2019
Commentary
Paul begins this chapter by saying, “I am a prisoner of the Lord so that I can help you Gentiles” (vv. 1–3). It is striking that he never calls himself a prisoner of Caesar. Even while chained, Paul saw Jesus—not Rome, as the one in control. What faith he had! He understood clearly that Caesar’s pow-er was limited but Christ’s authority was eternal. He goes on to say that when his readers study this letter, they can understand his insight into the mystery of Christ (vv. 4–6).
This mystery had not been revealed to people in earlier generations but was now made known to God’s messengers and prophets by the Holy Spirit. To understand this section, we must remember that Paul, a Jew, was chosen by God to be an apostle mainly to the Gentiles. For centuries, deep hostility had divided Jews and Gentiles. Yet Paul was God’s chosen instru-ment to announce that Gentile believers were not second-class citizens in heaven but equal members of God’s family through faith in Christ.
Many Christians through history have suffered imprisonment for their faith. When Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, he was in a Roman prison, chained to a guard. He was a prisoner because he preached God’s plan to unite believing Jews and Gentiles into one body—the Church. Be-cause he was called the apostle to the Gentiles, some accused him of being against the Jews. Thousands of Jews had believed in Jesus as the Messiah, but many were still very zealous for the law, insisting on circumcision. Some of these Jews stirred up anger against Paul in Jerusalem. The crowd seized him and would have beaten him to death if Roman soldiers had not stopped to save him.
Application
When I face unfair treatment or hard situations, do I see myself as a victim or trust that God is in control? Paul trusted God even in prison and used every moment to share Christ’s love. How can I show the same attitude today? I will remember that God can use my challenges to reach others and bring Him glory.
Ephesians 3:1–6 (NET)
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. 4 When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ 5 (which was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit), 6 namely, that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
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