Ephesians 3

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Ephesians 3 is Paul's explanation of his own calling and his prayer for the church. He interrupts his own prayer to explain the "mystery" entrusted to him: that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of one body, and sharers in the promise in Christ. The church exists, he says, so that the manifold wisdom of God may be displayed to the rulers in the heavenly realms. Then he kneels and prays that his readers be strengthened in their inner being, that Christ dwell in their hearts, and that, rooted in love, they grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love. A doxology closes it: to him who is able to do far more than we ask or imagine.

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Ephesians 3 starts a sentence it does not finish for thirteen verses. "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles," Paul writes, and then the word Gentiles stops him, because it is the word his whole life has been about. So he explains. God gave him a secret to steward, one hidden for ages and now announced: that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members of the same body, sharers in the same promise. Not guests, not second class, not converts on probation. He knows how strange this sounds from a former Pharisee, which is why he calls himself less than the least of all the saints, and he knows how large it is, which is why he says the church exists to show God's many-colored wisdom to the powers in the heavens themselves. Then, having explained the reason, he picks the sentence up again. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father. What follows is one of the great prayers of the Bible, and it asks for nothing visible. Strength in the inner being. Christ at home in the heart. Roots and foundations in love. The power to take in, together with all the saints, how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is, a love that is bigger than knowing, and to be filled up to the fullness of God. Paul ends by admitting that even that prayer is too small: God is able to do far beyond anything we ask or imagine, and the glory is his, in the church and in Christ, forever.

Ключові місця

Ephesians 3:1-6 Ephesians 3:8-12 Ephesians 3:14-19 Ephesians 3:20-21 Ephesians 2:11-22 Colossians 1:25-27

Historical and literary context

Ephesians was written from prison, traditionally Rome around AD 60 to 62, and was probably a circular letter to churches in the province of Asia; the words "in Ephesus" are missing from the earliest manuscripts. Its central concern, Jew and Gentile united in one body, was the great controversy of Paul's career, settled in principle at the Jerusalem council of Acts 15 and still raw in practice. The word "mystery" was used by Greek religious cults for secrets revealed to initiates; Paul uses it for a secret God has now announced to everyone. Kneeling to pray in verse 14 was unusual, since Jews normally stood; it signals intensity. Some scholars think a disciple of Paul wrote the letter in his name, a debate that does not change how the chapter reads.

How the chapter unfolds

Verse 1 begins a prayer that breaks off after "for the sake of you Gentiles." Verses 2 to 13 are the digression: the stewardship of grace given to Paul, the mystery revealed by the Spirit and defined in verse 6, Paul's unworthiness and commission in verses 7 to 9, the church as God's display to the heavenly powers in verses 10 to 12, and the plea not to be discouraged by his sufferings in verse 13. Verse 14 resumes the prayer with "for this reason." Verses 16 to 19 ask for inner strength, Christ's indwelling, rootedness in love, comprehension of the four dimensions of Christ's love, and fullness. Verses 20 and 21 are the doxology.

Why this chapter matters

The prayer of verses 14 to 21 is among the most prayed passages in the New Testament and has shaped Christian language for the interior life: "strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being," "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith," "rooted and grounded in love." The four dimensions of Christ's love have been preached for two millennia. The doxology, "to Him who is able to do so much more than all we ask or imagine," closes services around the world. Verse 10 gives the church a cosmic purpose, to show God's wisdom to unseen powers, and verse 6 is the New Testament's most compact statement that Gentiles belong on equal terms.

Interpretive tension to watch

Paul says the mystery "was not made known to men in other generations," yet the Old Testament repeatedly promised blessing to the nations; his qualification, "as it has now been revealed," suggests the novelty lies in the equality and the one body rather than in the inclusion itself. "Every family" in verse 15 translates a word that can also mean "all fatherhood," and translators divide. The prayer asks that believers be filled with "all the fullness of God," a request so large that readers have wondered whether it can be meant literally. And the digression itself, an unfinished sentence resumed thirteen verses later, has led some to ask whether verses 2 to 13 were an insertion.

Запитання до цього розділу

Paul calls the equal inclusion of Gentiles a "mystery" now revealed. Who are the people your community would find hardest to call fellow heirs?
The prayer asks for strength in the inner being before anything visible. Why does Paul start there?
Paul prays that we grasp a love that "surpasses knowledge." How can something be known and beyond knowing at once?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

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1 因此，我—保罗为你们外邦人作了基督耶稣被囚的，[替你们祈祷]。 2 谅必你们曾听见　神赐恩给我，将关切你们的职分托付我， 3 用启示使我知道[福音的]奥秘，正如我以前略略写过的。 4 你们念了，就能晓得我深知基督的奥秘。 5 这奥秘在以前的世代没有叫人知道，像如今借着圣灵启示他的圣使徒和先知一样。 6 [这奥秘]就是外邦人在基督耶稣里，借着福音，得以同为后嗣，同为一体，同蒙应许。 7 我作了这福音的执事，是照　神的恩赐，这恩赐是照他运行的大能赐给我的。 8 我本来比众圣徒中最小的还小，然而他还赐我这恩典，叫我把基督那测不透的丰富传给外邦人， 9 又使众人都明白，这历代以来隐藏在创造万物之　神里的奥秘是如何安排的， 10 为要借着教会使天上执政的、掌权的，现在得知　神百般的智慧。 11 这是照　神从万世以前，在我们主基督耶稣里所定的旨意。 12 我们因信耶稣，就在他里面放胆无惧，笃信不疑地来到　神面前。 13 所以，我求你们不要因我为你们所受的患难丧胆，这原是你们的荣耀。 14 因此，我在父面前屈膝，（ 15 天上地上的各家，都是从他得名。） 16 求他按着他丰盛的荣耀，借着他的灵，叫你们心里的力量刚强起来， 17 使基督因你们的信，住在你们心里，叫你们的爱心有根有基， 18 能以和众圣徒一同明白基督的爱是何等长阔高深， 19 并知道这爱是过于人所能测度的，便叫　神一切所充满的，充满了你们。 20 神能照着运行在我们心里的大力充充足足地成就一切，超过我们所求所想的。 21 但愿他在教会中，并在基督耶稣里，得着荣耀，直到世世代代，永永远远。阿们！