Great to have you
back again here at Daily Bread! Let me remind you where we were in our study
of this letter from Paul to the Ephesians and to the faithful in Christ. Our
author, the Apostle Paul, as you know, is very passionate about his
writings. Although he wrote many of his epistles from prison, from his view,
he was writing to people who were (are) imprisoned by the world. Notice in
the first line of this chapter, whose prisoner Paul chooses to be. He has
just explained to us how God, through the New Testament and the blood of
Christ, has provided all people equal hope of eternal life. In this chapter,
he refers to this as the mystery of Christ.
Paul becomes so
passionate about his writing at times, that if you don’t follow his words
extremely carefully, you can get lost and forget from the time you begin
reading a sentence until the time you finish it, what he was talking about
in the first place. Because of this, I’m going to convey this particular
chapter in stanza form to make it easier to follow.
For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for
you Gentiles,
If you have heard of the providence of the grace of God
Which is given to me toward (to help) you,
How that by revelation, He made known to me the mystery
(as I wrote before in few words, by which, when your read,
You may understand my knowledge in the secret of Christ),
Which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men,
As it is now revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets by
the Spirit,
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs
And of the same body (united with Christ)
And partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel
Of which I was made a minister,
According to the gift of the grace of God
Given to me by the actual working of His power.
What in the world
is he talking about? Well, he’s saying that God showed him the mystery, so
he could reveal it to the Gentiles, because in the past, they weren’t
included in it, but by the grace of God, He has made it available to
everyone, and Paul was appointed to bring the Good News of this gift to the
Gentiles. Let’s read on.
To me, who is less than the least of all saints is this
grace given
That I should preach among the Gentiles about the
unsearchable riches of Christ,
And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the
mystery,
Which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God,
Who created all things by Jesus Christ,
To the intent that now,
To the principalities and powers in heavenly places
Might be known by the church
The complete wisdom of God,
According to the eternal purpose which He planned in
Christ Jesus our Lord
In whom we have boldness and access
With confidence by the faith of Him.
There are a few
things to notice in this sentence. First, remember that the unreachable
riches of Christ are those spiritual gifts that Paul talked about in the
first two chapters of this letter. Next, in order for you to understand what
principalities and powers in heavenly places are, see these Daily Bread
Bible Studies ... Colossians Chapter 1 - Christ First, Colossians
Chapter 2 - False Philosophy, and Titus Chapter 3 Setting the Church in
Order.
You see, we know
about the mystery of Jesus Christ, which is everlasting life through grace
and faith, but wayyyyy back in the beginning, before the Great Flood, Jesus
was not known in the flesh yet. So Paul is saying, God has known since the
beginning, His plan, to extend His gift (the fellowship of the mystery, or
in other words, the sharing of eternal life) to those who have faith in Him.
Don’t forget, those angels (principalities and powers) were heavenly beings,
spiritual, all their needs were met, living to serve God. And they chose
evil instead of faith. Now, Jesus has been here, and has revealed the
mystery of God, and the complete (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit),
wisdom of God to the church, and we, knowing the truth, have the choice of
whether we fall like the fallen angels or choose faith in His plan.
Therefore I hope that you grow confident instead of weak
at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
To be strengthened with might
By His Spirit in the inner man,
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith,
That you, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to understand with all saints
What is the breadth and length, and depth and height
And to know the love of Christ,
Which passes all knowledge,
That you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think
According to the power (the Holy Spirit) that works in us,
To Him be glory in the church
By Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
World without end.
Amen
