For many frequent flyers, the term steward may bring to mind the nice gentleman who helps them board their plane and brings them peanuts while they’re seated uncomfortably between a couple of shady characters. But in ancient times, it signified something more, mainly a place of honour. The apostle Paul was one of those given the title of steward. His focus in Ephesians chapter 3 is upon his responsibility as a steward to the Gentile believers and as the revelatory tool of the mystery of Christ to them.
The Text
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory. (Ephesians 3:1-13)
As we previously mentioned, this epistle was written during Paul’s imprisonment. While his incarceration at the hands of the roman government involved the local magistrates, the real reason for that imprisonment was to glorify God. He wasn’t a political detainee of Nero so much as a prisoner of Christ. His time in prison had a purpose and it was brought by the sovereign Christ with the resolve to bring Him glory and secondly to the benefit of the Gentiles.
The tribulations which he was suffering are on behalf of Gentiles (Ephesians 3:13; Colossians 1:24). But in what way did Paul’s time in prison have any value to them? If anything, it would have seemed like a defeat. His incarceration demonstrates to them the significance of this undertaking in that he would see that ministry fulfilled even if it meant prison or death. This gospel proclamation is what landed him in the slammer in Jerusalem, Caesarea and even Rome (Acts 21:15-34).
Paul was a steward to them regardless of his circumstances. This stewardship can be defined in two ways, either as the office of a steward or the work of the steward. In this case, as in Colossians 1:25, Paul is implying both, but we may be splitting hairs when it’s not required. The office of the steward is expected to complete the actions of a steward. The work of Paul as steward was to proclaim the grace of God to the Gentiles through the gospel at whatever cost.
A Divine Appointment
Part of this stewardship was that he would grant to them a revelation. The Stewardship came with a message, and it wasn’t man-made (Galatians 1:12)[1].
The revelation was meant to communicate and reveal a mystery. Throughout the epistle, he speaks of the revelation of mysteries (6:18) and will spend a good portion of this chapter explaining the content of this divine Mysterion. The explanation of this mystery is known as the mystery of Christ. In stating in v.4 that “when you read you can understand my insight” he really wants them to get a clear picture of it. There’s no room for a half understanding because this is the essence of his entire ministry. If this is lost and he goes to be with the Lord, then his stewardship has failed.
Timing is Everything
Paul then focuses on the timing of this revelation in v.5 and defines what he means by the term “mystery of Christ”. The reveal was made in their generation through the apostles and prophets. With the coming of the Spirit, this mystery was revealed to Paul and others. This was an incredible privilege since it was something that in past generations was not known. All those great men of old, while having a type or shadow of what was to come, didn’t understand the fullness of the mystery. They weren’t privileged with what exactly the Messiah’s coming would accomplish. The believers in Ephesus received a greater revelation than that of the fathers and prophets of old and it was so precious to Paul that he’d lie in prison and die for it.
But when Paul says, “not made known”, is he speaking of something completely unknown whereas there was absolutely no knowledge of this mystery or is he arguing that past generations didn’t have access to the full orbed understanding of this mystery? Is Paul stating that the mystery didn’t exist in past generations or that it existed, but those in ancient times had only a blurred comprehension of it? It seems to me that Paul is referring to the latter. He is posting the idea much like in Romans that this mystery was kept secret for long ages past (Romans 16:25).
The Mystery of the Messiah
What is this mystery of Christ that lead to his imprisonment and for which he desperately wants them to clearly grasp? In v.6, Paul explicitly explains the mystery to his readers. While the Old Testament Jews knew that the Gentiles would be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3), and that would come through the descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18), they didn’t really have the full picture of who that descendant was (Galatians 3:7-8; 16) or exactly how the nations would be blessed. But what was truly mysterious was that these Gentiles would have an equal part in the blessings of God. They would be united together to make one people on equal terms. They lacked the full revelation of the fact that these other ethnic people would be fellow-heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise. The heirship of physical descendants of Abraham was well-known under the Old Testament, but those whom God would bless through Abraham’s seed have now been revealed to be Abraham’s seed by faith (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:15). Not only would there be equality in inheritable title but also that these two ethnic groups would become one body. They would share as fellow partakers in the promise in Christ. This is the same promise that was described as covenants of promise to which these Gentiles were formerly excluded but at the coming of Christ were grafted into. This included the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:6-29). What we shouldn’t miss is that their unity, purpose and promises are now in the church because they’ve become one (Ephesians 2:11-22). This is all rooted in the coming of Jesus Christ and the gospel. Christ is the One in whom these blessings are granted to both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 1:3-14) through the proclamation and reception of the message of the good news. This is the mystery of Christ that through the glorious proclamation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to the nations that men and women from every tribe, tongue, people and nation who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, would become a child of God and an heir according to the promise. This is the true promise, and those former Old Testament promises culminated and were expanded in Christ.
The Steward of Grace
Paul was God’s instrument to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel (Acts 9:15). It was his responsibility to take that gospel outside the borders of Israel and Samaria to the nations resulting in uniting these Gentile nations to the God of Israel. God’s grace would drive this missionary effort (1 Corinthians 15:10) and God’s power would work in him to oversee this world changing ministry. We often forget that God uses means to accomplish His purposes and in this case God’s power was present in Paul’s life to grant him what he needed to achieve this task. The nations will not be baptized or discipled if we as Christians don’t make it our mission to see it through.
A Humble Grace Worker
Divinely commissioned tasks are not something that should compel us to gloat. In vs 8-9, Paul demonstrates this by example in stating that he would never have succeeded in bring this light to the gentiles if it were not for the appointed power from God. Paul expresses his unworthiness by identifying himself as the least of all saints. He saw himself as unfit of the task and emphasizes that his incredible missionary endeavour was only fulfilled through Jesus Christ and the power of God. This man who persecuted the church to stomp out the message of the gospel in its infancy (1 Corinthians 15:9) was now the driving force in carrying it to the world. Paul acknowledges (as should we) that if it were not by this amazing grace of God, nothing would have succeeded. God’s grace is what saved us from our sins, but it is also what puts us to work and sees the fulfillment of our commission. If we don’t attribute our divinely appointed works to this grace, then we are nothing more than idolaters.
Paul then moves to identify the task itself which was to become a herald to the world. The content of that preaching was mainly twofold: the unfathomable riches of Christ and the administration of the mystery. In Christ, there are unfathomable or unsearchable riches, and we were given a glimpse of them in this epistle especially in 1:3-14. These riches are established and cannot be corrupted or taken away. These are the treasures in which we should place our stakes. The duty of the steward was also to bring to light the previously mentioned mystery. He made this mystery known that had been hidden in ages past.
Glorious Dumfounded Wisdom
As we previously mentioned, this mystery of God’s manifold wisdom wasn’t intended to be kept under wraps forever. God’s wisdom is manifold in that it can’t necessarily be put in a box. In this instance, the preaching of the gospel and the bringing in of the Gentiles into the blessings of God on equal par with the descendants of Abraham was that disclosure of wisdom. That wisdom would bring the glory of a unity that would have otherwise been impossible, but God, through the gospel to the Gentile and the Jew, saw it as a true example of His wisdom to unify and reconcile these parties. This was wisdom and it was glorious! It was to be manifested for all to see through the church’s very existence. These rulers and authorities who believed they had any sort of power and wisdom were dumfounded by what true reconciliation and forgiveness looked like. The church going forward is required to share this message of reconciliation, forgiveness, and unity in Christ to a lost world.
The Enemy Obeys
What we need to remember is that this was God’s intentions and not some back-up plan that God made up on the fly when the Israelites rejected the Messiah. In eternity past, Yahweh, in all His wisdom, determined these eternal purposes. God would plan and fulfill His incredible magnum opus. The mystery itself however wasn’t simply this reconciliation between Jew and Gentile, but that it would be accomplished by Christ. We get a sense of it in Genesis when we read:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Genesis 49:10)
God revealed that a day would come when a ruler would bring about the obedience of the peoples (Gentiles) and Paul certainly believed that this was happening in his day:
who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; (Romans 1:4-6)
but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; (Romans 16:26)
The full picture of Genesis 49:10 was only revealed in its fullness when Jesus came, died and rose again and was enthroned as King ruling as the descendant of David. Those opposers of the God of Israel and His people would bring the obedience of these enemy people.
Free Speech in the Presence of the Divine
In v. 12, we have an audacious statement that would have baffled the Jews in Paul’s day. Christians of any stripe, of any tongue, of any nation, wherever they are situated, have bold access to the presence of God because of Christ’s cleansing from sin. Through the faithfulness of Christ, we may speak freely with reverence but without fear. God doesn’t attempt to muffle us when we come to Him like a fascist tyrant but invites us to Himself as a Father.
Don’t Worry
Paul spent much of his ministry in Asia Minor. When he left Ephesus, He was upfront with the elders that they keep an eye on those from within their ranks since there was a pack of wolves looking to devour the congregation (Acts 20:28-30). It is unquestionable that he cared deeply for the believers and had grown very close to them (Acts. 20:29-38). We must believe that they expressed a tremendous love for him in return. Paul was suffering in prison and death wasn’t afar off. But his exhortation to them is not to bust him out in a 1st century jailbreak but to not lose heart. His current tribulations were not in vain but had a particular purpose that would benefit them. His troubles were to their glory. While generally suffering leads to glory for the one in anguish (2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:17-18), it will be the believers, both Jew and Gentile, that will benefit. Where Christ served to bring glory to others with His death and resurrection, Paul is bringing glory as a means of filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction to further the gospel and the sanctification of the saints.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, (Colossians 1:24-25)
[1] The event itself is given in Acts 21:17-21 & 26:16-20.
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