In Ephesians 3:1-7, we begin to get a glimpse of the mystery. The exciting part of this mystery as opposed to the mystery stories we read is that this one leads to life, not death!

This chapter begins with the words “For this reason…” which means we need to remember what the reason is. Back in Ephesians 2, Paul explained going from death to live and then the building of God’s church, the unity for two groups of people.

Paul reminds them of his status as prisoner on the behalf of the Gentiles before he asks a question. He asks if they have heard of the administration (or dispensation or stewardship) of God’s grace to the Gentiles. I believe it is his way of reminding them that grace came to them, too. He mentions that he had briefly written of the mystery before.

At around this point in the passage, I found myself saying, “What is the mystery?” Paul is my kind of story teller. My storytelling looks something like this: https://pin.it/4y7gS6f. Can you relate?

Hang on… in verses 4-5, Paul tells the Ephesians that they will now be able to understand his knowledge of the mystery, knowledge that past generations had not known. This mystery is now revealed by the Spirit. That is exciting.

Finally, in verse 6, the mystery is known (KJV): “⁶ That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:” Oh, what a mystery! Yes, it builds on what he was saying in chapter 2. We are united with the Jews. God is not only a God to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. Did you catch the term “fellowheirs”? We are not lesser heirs, but fellow heirs. We are of the same body. We are partakers of his promise. Hallelujah! Glory!

Doesn’t that excite you? From chapter 2, we knew that God was uniting two different groups into one in His church. In chapter 3, He wants to make sure there is no question. He reiterates it again. We are fellowheirs. We are of the same body. We are partakers of the promise. God is our God. He is not just a God for the Jews, but He is the God of all. (John 3:16) Praise God!

To end this section that defines the mystery, you can almost hear the wonder in Paul’s voice as he shares how he was made a servant of the gospel by the gift of God’s grace. This grace comes not from his own power or worth, but as a gift by the working of His power. We see in this that it is a gift to serve God, a gift by His power, not our own.

Wow. Today’s passage packed a lot in. God has no “lesser” children. He loves Jews and Gentiles. Through Christ, we are all His heirs, of the same body, partakers of His promise. That is enough to make you shout Hallelujah!

Tomorrow, we will continue to look at the explanation of the mystery in verses 8-13. See you then!