The Mystery – Important to the Gentiles – Eph 3:6-8

[3:6-8] that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, [7] of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. [8] To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

In Ephesians 2:11-22, we discovered that Christ’s work on the cross accomplished much more than the salvation of individual sinners. It reconciled Jews and Gentiles to each other and to God. It is this truth that Paul presented here, and you can imagine what exciting news it would be! The truth of “the mystery” reveals to believing Gentiles that they have a wonderful new relationship through Jesus Christ.

• The Gentiles became fellow heirs with the Jews

• To share in the spiritual riches God gave Abraham (Gal 3:29).

• Together in the same body “There is one body” (Eph 4:4; 1Cor 12:12-14). Christ is the Head of this body (Eph 5:22-23)

• Members share in the ministry (Eph 4:10-13)

• We all are partakers of God’s promises.

“The mystery” gives the Gentile believers more than a new relationship, it also reveals a new power available to them. We can see this power in Paul’s life. God saved him by grace and gave him a special ministry to the Gentiles. And He also gave Paul the power to accomplish this ministry. The word “effective working” here is energeia from which we get our word “energy.” The word “power” is dunamis, which gives us our words “dynamic” and “dynamite” (Eph 1:19-23; 3:20; 4:16). That same resurrection power dwells in us by His Spirit (Rom 8:11).

Finally, there is available to the Gentiles new riches: “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8). Paul called them “exceeding riches” (Eph 2:7), but here he says they are “unfathomable.” The words can also be translated “untraceable,” which means that they are so vast you cannot discover their end. (“Untraceable” tells me that “the mystery” cannot be traced back to the Old Testament.)

The word “grace” is mentioned many times in these verses and is a reference to the office of apostle in which Paul stood. He is actually introducing the next chapter where spiritual offices will be given to the body of Christ. The reason these offices are each called a “grace” (Eph 4:7), is because they are given by and energized by “the effectual working of His power.” God is the giver and sustainer of each and every gift.

When Paul considers himself to be “less than the least of all saints,” this goes back to the opening verse of the epistle where he gives his name and office. His name means “small” and his office means “one of highest rank.” The two can go together when you realize that in the natural you are nobody, but in the spirit you are somebody. Paul considers in this verse that in the natural, he is not worthy to be given the office of an apostle. Understanding the deep truths of God’s Word does not give you a big head; it gives you a humble heart.

You may have been the richest, most powerful sinner on earth, and are now the lowest member of the body of Christ, but you still took a step up. The lowest in God’s kingdom is a huge promotion from the best the devil will ever have to offer in his domain. Paul is humbled to be given by God the privilege of preaching “among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Take a lesson from Paul. If you want to be used by God, don’t try to promote yourself. If you have a choice between taking the high road or the low road, take the low road. You don’t need to promote yourself any more than David did as a shepherd. When it was time to find a king, God knew where David was, although Samuel did not. Men may not know where you are, but God does. When David humbled himself, God promoted him.

God bless you my friend,

— Dwight Hammond