Ephesians 3:1-6
The gospel reveals God's once-hidden mystery: Gentiles are full fellow heirs, members, and sharers in Christ.
1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you,
3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,
4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
5 which 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,
6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,
The gospel reveals God's once-hidden mystery: Gentiles are full fellow heirs, members, and sharers in Christ.
Paul begins to explain his ministry to the Gentiles by identifying himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, describing the stewardship of God's grace given to him, and declaring the revealed mystery that Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of one body, and fellow sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Ephesians 3:1-6 follows the major reconciliation section of 2:11-22. Paul has just shown that Gentiles once alienated from Israel's covenants and promises have been brought near by Christ's blood, that Christ has created one new humanity, and that believers are now fellow citizens, household members, and God's Spirit-indwelt temple. In 3:1 Paul begins to pray, but interrupts himself to explain the ministry of the mystery entrusted to him for the Gentiles. This digression runs through 3:13 before the prayer resumes in 3:14. Verses 1-6 therefore function as an apostolic explanation of Paul's role in revealing and proclaiming the mystery already described in chapter 2. The passage also connects backward to the mystery of God's will in 1:9-10 and forward to the church displaying God's manifold wisdom in 3:10.
Ephesians 3:1-6 reflects Paul's imprisonment and apostolic ministry to the Gentiles. Paul likely writes while in Roman custody, yet he describes himself not primarily as Rome's prisoner but as the prisoner of Christ Jesus. His imprisonment is connected to his Gentile mission, which had provoked controversy in Jewish contexts and eventually contributed to his arrest. In the first-century church, the inclusion of Gentiles apart from becoming Torah-bound Jews was a major theological and communal issue. Paul explains that this inclusion was not his invention but a mystery revealed by God: Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
The Mystery Revealed and the Church Strengthened in Christ’s Love
God has revealed his once-hidden mystery by making Gentiles full co-heirs in Christ, displaying his wisdom through the church and strengthening his people to know the immeasurable love of Christ.