ACC ~ Ephesians 3 v1 - 6

OVERVIEW:

Paul is now a prisoner, which has become his permanent condition. We must look for order in Paul’s meaning rather than in his words, which skip around and leave the reader in suspense (JEROME). He alludes to the charge that he received at Damascus (AMBROSIASTER) and notes that he has expounded the mystery of the gospel discreetly (THEODORET, AMBROSIASTER). We, however, cannot expect to receive it by a similar revelation (MARIUS VICTORINUS). The old prophets had partial revelation (CHRYSOSTOM). Paul and the apostles share an identical revelation (MARIUS VICTORINUS) and pass it on to new proclaimers (THEODORET). The Gentiles are fellow heirs of Israel and Christ, cemented in one body by mutual love (JEROME).

3:1a | I, Paul

HE ESTABLISHES HIS OWN AUTHORITY TO SPEAK. MARIUS VICTORINUS: It remains, after he has stated the truth that all their hope is in Christ and thus they are all being built up together in the Spirit to be the dwelling place of God—it remains, I say, that he should teach them who he himself is and whether he himself is contributing to building them up together through the gospel and can give a reason for his own authority so that they may believe him. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.1-2.

THE DISJOINTED SENTENCE HAS A SIMPLE MEANING. JEROME: After a diligent search I have found nothing that answers to his prior clause. … For he does not say, “For this reason I, Paul, have done this or that or have taught this or that.” Instead, leaving the thought in suspense, he goes on to other matters. Perhaps we ought to pardon him for what he himself has admitted when he said, “if unschooled in speech, at least not in knowledge,” and look for order in his meaning rather than in his words. This can be rendered as follows: “I, Paul, in the chains of Jesus Christ and in chains for you Gentiles, have learned the mystery so that I may hand it on to you.” EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.3.1.

3:1b | A Prisoner for Christ Jesus

THE SOUL CONFINED IN THE BODY AS A PRISON: TWO POSSIBLE READINGS. JEROME: We often read that the body is called the prison of the soul. The soul is confined as if in a cage. Paul, for example, was constrained by the ties of the body and did not return to be with Christ so that the preaching to the Gentiles might be perfectly accomplished through him. But I grant that there are some who introduce another meaning here: Paul before his birth was predestined and sanctified from his mother’s womb for the purpose of preaching to the Gentiles. For this vocation he took on the bonds of flesh. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.3.1.

IMPRISONED FOR YOU GENTILES. CHRYSOSTOM: This is a very emphatic statement: Not only do we not hate you. We are even imprisoned on your account! HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 6.3.1-2.

3:2 | The Stewardship of God’s Grace

HIS STEWARDSHIP OF GRACE. CHRYSOSTOM: He is hinting at what was said about him in Damascus to Ananias, when the Lord said, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.” By “dispensation of grace” he means the revelation made to him. It is as if he were saying: “I did not learn it from any human. God chose to reveal it to me for your benefit, though I am only an individual.” OMILY ON EPHESIANS 6.3.1-2.

3:3 | The Mystery Made Known by Revelation

HIS REVELATION UNIQUE. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Paul indicates that this mystery was made known to him through revelation. From this passage it is evident that a Christian, and a very excellent Christian at that, can be brought into being solely by grace. … Nevertheless, the power of God dispenses grace in many ways. Others come to faith by teaching, wherein by a legitimate training process and through the commandments of the Savior a person is reborn through the Spirit and water, so as to receive the spirit of Christ, in a teaching process that is mediated from human beings and through human beings. But what happened to Paul came to him by the grace of God through revelation. Although he, in my judgment, was the only one who received this particular revelation, God is able to reveal himself in this form or in other ways to others. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.1-2.

WHY BRIEFLY? AMBROSIASTER: He indicates that he has been shown the revelation of the mystery of God, about which he says that he has written briefly, that is, precisely, according to their capacity to comprehend the wisdom of the apostle in the mystery of Christ. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.4.

HAS PAUL WRITTEN OF THIS BEFORE? THEODORET: The words I wrote a little before do not mean, as some think, that he has written another letter. For it is not with respect to himself that he says “I have written” but with respect to the mystery. For he is referring to “the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I wrote to you a little while ago,” yet it is this “about which I have just now written.” For this has been his subject from the outset right up to this passage. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.1-4.

3:5 | Not Made Known in Other Generations

THE HARMONY BETWEEN PAUL’S REVELATION AND THE APOSTLES’. MARIUS VICTORINUS: He teaches that there is a perfect harmony—a complete unity and identity—between the revelations given to him and those given to the apostles. His purpose is to avoid discord and any appearance of having received by revelation something that was not given to the apostles by the living Christ. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.3.5.

THE PROPHETS GRASPED THE REVELATION IN PART. CHRYSOSTOM: Tell me then, what part did the prophets not fully grasp? How can Christ say later that Moses and the prophets wrote “these things about me”? … What he is saying is that the expectation of Christ was not revealed to everyone. It “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.” Peter, if he had not been guided by the Spirit, would never have gone to the Gentiles. … The prophets therefore spoke but did not have complete knowledge at the time. They did not even have complete knowledge after they heard the gospel, which far exceeds human reason and common expectations. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 6.3.3-6.

NOT MADE KNOWN TO OTHER GENERATIONS. THEODORET: It was made known incrementally to the prophets of old, but not fully then as it is now. For they did not see the whole picture but wrote down words about aspects of it. … Remember that in the apostles’ day there were many who had the gift of prophecy. It is in this order that he mentions that the revelation was known to the apostles and then to the prophets. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.

3:6 | The Gentiles Are Fellow Heirs

FELLOW HEIRS WITH CHRIST. JEROME: The Gentiles are fellow heirs with Israel. Put more precisely, they are fellow heirs with Christ. … It is not that some possession is divided among us but that God himself in his fullness is our inheritance and possession. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.3.5 SEQ.

MEMBERS OF THE SAME BODY. JEROME: Now the meaning of fellow heirs is this: Just as there are many members in one body … and these, though in one body, have their differences and feel their own joy and grief in turn, so those who have believed in Christ, even if they have different gifts, are bonded together in the one body of Christ. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 2.3.5 SEQ.