Monthly Archives: November 2020

Ephesians 3:7

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Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

In verse 6, Paul had said that Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. How is that possible? Through the gospel.

Now in verse 7, Paul says that he was made a minister of that gospel. That means he is a steward or caretaker of it. His life is involved with serving the cause of the gospel.

How did he come to this position? He tells us that it came as a result of the gift of God’s grace. In other words, he was given this service through no merit if his own, but only because God decided to give it to him.

But, this isn’t an easy thing to be taken for granted. It was given by the working (energizing) of God’s power.

So let’s make sure we have the picture. Paul was a Jewish leader, stridently against the teachings of Christians. God met him on the road to Damascus and turned his life around. Then out of sheer grace and with the almighty power of the spirit of God, God handed him this work of service of the gospel. This message essentially told Gentiles they were in. Believe the gospel and you’re in.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:40 AM November 24, 2020.

Ephesians 3:6

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This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

So what is the mystery we have been talking about? Paul explains it in verse 6. The mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

In the Old Testament, God had made unconditional promises to Abraham and his seed. And, as we learn in other places in Paul’s writings, Christ is that seed, and those who trust Christ are heirs together of the promise. (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7-9; Galatians 3:29) That is what Paul is alluding to here in verse 6.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:27 AM November 24, 2020.

Ephesians 3:4-5

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When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

Paul has been writing about the mystery that was given to him by revelation. In verse 4 he tells his readers that they will understand the insight he has into this mystery as they read his letter to them.

This mystery had not been revealed to any of the previous generations of people, but God had chosen to reveal it to the generation during and shortly after the life of Christ.

The revelation of the mystery was given specifically to the apostles and prophets. These are men who were specifically selected by God to be the recipients of this mystery. The revelation came through the work of the Holy Spirit.

It’s important to note that Paul had formerly opposed any teaching related to the gospel of Christ. He had tortured, imprisoned, and killed many of Jesus’ followers. And yet, here he is, sticking his neck out, so to speak, in order to claim that he was one of those who was the recipient of this message. That is an amazing conversion!

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:21 AM November 24, 2020.

Ephesians 3:1-3

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For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

Chapter 3 begins with “For this reason….” To find the reason, we go back to the previous chapter. He has just been discussing the fact that Jew and Gentile have been brought together into one body which is growing into a holy temple, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Paul goes on to say that he is a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles. God had given him this ministry. Paul was a Jew, but his ministry was to the Gentiles. This was actually a difficult assignment.

He then goes on in verse 2 to say that a stewardship of God’s grace had been given to him. A stewardship is a responsibility. A steward managed the affairs of the master’s house. Paul had been given the truth about the grace of God that had been hidden, but was now being revealed. He was to guard and manage this truth of the grace of God so that it was transmitted completely and carefully to the Gentiles.

He explains in verse 3 how this mystery was made known to him by revelation. Paul writes in Galatians 1:11, 12: “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” He presumably received this revelation in Arabia, according to Galatians 1:17.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:18 AM November 24, 2020.

Ephesians 2:20-22

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built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

In verse 20, Paul continues from verse 19 where he had said Gentiles are now fellow citizens and members of the household of God.

This household, of which we are a part, has been built on a foundation. What is that foundation? The apostles and prophets. They came before us and laid the foundation for us. And more than that, the cornerstone, or capstone, is none other than Jesus Christ.

With Christ the center-supporting piece of the foundation, the whole superstructure is built up in Him.

And has the structure is built piece by piece, member by member, it is joined together. (Colossians 2:19 speaks of it being knit together.) The whole body of Christ is knit, joined, united together and what? It grows. God is building His church. It is growing as new people believe and are joined to the body.

And what is it becoming? It is becoming a holy temple in the Lord. What is a temple. It is the place where God Himself lives and is worshipped.

Verse 22 continues the thought. This is not just theoretical about hypothetical people being joined to the body. Verse 22 says, “In him you also….”

You. Yes, you! If you are a believer, you have been knit into the body that is a dwelling place for God by the Spirit! Think about that. A dwelling place of God.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:44 AM November 17, 2020.

Ephesians 2:19

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So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God

As a result of all that has been said, we Gentiles are no longer strangers and aliens.

I think part of what keeps us from grasping the immensity of this is the fact that we don’t understand how great was our distance from God. We were outside the promises. We had no hope and were without God. I’m not just speaking of the time in our life before we came to Christ. I mean in the whole history of the world prior to the coming of Christ, Gentiles were outside. There was no access to God for them. The covenants of promise said nothing to them until Christ came and the mystery of the Gospel was revealed.

So, we are no longer strangers and aliens, but 1) fellow citizens with the saints, and 2) members of the household of God. When we trust Christ by faith, we are in — we are citizens, not aliens. We are in the family!

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:38 AM November 17, 2020.

Ephesians 2:17-18

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And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Let’s take a look now at verses 17 and 18 which continue the thought from the previous verses.

And he came. Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far off. He is speaking here of Gentiles who were outside the covenants of promise and without hope. Christ has preached peace to us. He has also preached peace to those who are near. To the Jews. He is still speaking of the fact that the barrier between the two has been broken down such that there is peace with God and peace between these two groups.

Verse 18 begins with “for.” Why is there peace? Because through Christ we both have access. Both Jews and Gentiles have access to the Father. How? Through the one Spirit. There is only one Spirit (Eph 4:4). And through that one Spirit, we, who were far off, have been given access to God the Father. Amazing!

Both Jews and Gentiles are saved the same way, just as Peter states in Acts 15:11: “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [the Jews] shall be saved in the same manner as they [the Gentiles].”

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:57 AM November 16, 2020.

Ephesians 2:14-16

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For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

(We’ll include verse 15 and 16 in this post.) Jesus Christ is our peace. He is the one who is bringing Jews and Gentiles together to make one new man. Jesus has broken down the wall that separated the two.

Verse 15 says that the wall is the enmity. The wall is the thing that makes Jews and Gentiles natural enemies of one another. What is that wall? It is the law of commandments contained in ordinances. What Christ has done is to release all of us from the law so that whether Jew or Gentile, we are saved by faith in Christ the Messiah. He is creating one new man. Don’t minimize the importance of this. The one new man is the body of Christ. Each individual member, whether Jew or Gentile is baptized into that body and given gifts to function within the body of Christ and thus blessing the world and bringing glory to God.

Our passage tells us that in breaking down this barrier, Jesus is making peace.

Verse 16 goes on with this theme. By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, he created peace, but also reconciled both to God. Both of whom? Both Jew and Gentile. God has killed the hostility by bringing both Jew and Gentile together with one access to God, the access that comes from faith. The requirements of the law have been satisfied in Christ and therefore each one of us can come to God by faith in Him.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:38 PM November 10, 2020.

Ephesians 2:13

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But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

But now. It had been the case that Gentiles were excluded from the life of God. But now things are different. Those who trust Christ, who were once far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross brought Jews and Gentiles together, and, as Paul will say in verse 16, God is making one new man in place of the two.

Make this personal. It’s more than just factual information. If you are a Gentile, and most of you are, you personally have been brought near by the blood of Christ. You now have access to God through the gospel.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:26 PM November 10, 2020.

Ephesians 2:11-12

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Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Since God has prepared for the works that we should do, we are to remember something. Verse 11 begins with “therefore.”

Therefore remember. We should remember that at one time in history, before the good news came to the Gentiles, we were called uncircumcision by the Jews. In other words, we were excluded from the promises of God as he explains in verse 12. Look at the words he uses here: separated from Christ, Alienated from the people of God, strangers (excluded) from the covenants, having no hope and without God.

That is the dire situation Gentiles were in up until the time Christ came and His apostles announced that the mystery was being revealed that Gentiles were to be included in the covenants God was making with His people.

This had been an entirely hopeless situation. Without hope and without God! And remember, we are talking about the way things actually work in God’s plan. Before Christ, Gentiles all over the world were excluded, not just from attending some event. They were excluded from participating in the life of God’s people and enjoying the benefits of God’s promises, and without God. A few Gentiles became part of God’s people, but very few.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:42 AM November 9, 2020.