Ephesians 3:1-13

1. Title Layout

2. The Mystery, the Ministry,
and Me
EPHESIANS 3:1-13

3. Paul’s Stewardship
•The Word is inspired, but chapter breaks are not–
thus, this awkward one between 2 & 3
•Both cover similar stuff
•In 2, Paul explains his excitement over the
opportunity of reconciliation for the Gentile, but
he’s wise enough to know we wouldn’t completely
understand it
•So in 3, he comes at it from a different angle so we
can firmly grasp it

4. Mystery…
•Word pops up 6x in this book, 3x this chapter
•When we hear it, we think of movies or the
Twilight Zone, but Webster’s dictionary says:
•“a religious truth that one can know only by
revelation and cannot fully understand”
•But in the N.T., a mystery is a “sacred secret ”
that is unknown to unbelievers, but
understood and treasured by Christians

5. Paul explains the Mystery…
•Gentile believers are now united to the Jewish
believers in one body, the church
•He also elaborates how the tremendous
impact of this “sacred secret” had so
possessed his own life, his ministry and us
•Thus today’s title:
“The Mystery, the Ministry and Me”

6. “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of
Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if
indeed you have heard of the stewardship of
God’s grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation there was made known to
me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By
referring to this, when you read you can
understand my insight into the mystery of
Christ, 5 which in other generations was not
made known to the sons of men, as it has now

7. been revealed to His holy apostles and
prophets in the Spirit; 6 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, 7 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. 8 To me, the very
least of all saints, this grace was given, to
preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches

8. of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the
administration of the mystery which for ages
has been hidden in God who created all things;
10 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. 11 This was in accordance with the
eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ
Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness
and confident access through faith in Him.

9. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my
tribulations on your behalf, for they are your
glory.”
Ephesians 2:17-22,NASB

10. A. Paul, the Prisoner of Christ
•V 1, If my resume’ looked like
his, I’d be tempted to spew it–
nothing like that here
•Instead he notes his prisoner
status and draws our attention
the most important thing: God’s
Grace
•Most stay silent for popularity or
acceptance; O to be like Paul

11. B. The Revelation of the Mystery
•Vv 2-6, Greek word for ‘dispensation’
is ‘oikonomia’, from 2 words ‘oikos’
or house, and ‘nomos’; law
•Our English word “economy” is
derived directly from the Greek
“oikonomia” – “the law of the house,”
or “a stewardship, a management,
oversight, administration, of other ’s
property.”

12. B. The Revelation of the Mystery
•Paul is saying is that God entrusted
him with the message of His grace,
which he was to make known to
the Gentiles
•So how does Paul know God’s Plan?
•Jesus revealed the mystery of God’s
Grace thru His death & resurrection by
illumination of the Holy Spirit to Paul

13. B. The Revelation of the Mystery
•n English a “mystery” is something
dark, obscure, secret, or puzzling
•The Greek word “mysterion”; different
•Although still a “secret,” no longer
closely guarded but open
•The Christian “mysteries” are truths
which, although beyond human dis-
covery, have been revealed by God and so
now belong openly to the whole church

14. What was the mystery about?
It was the “mystery of Jesus the Messiah, of which
Paul and the other apostles and prophets were given
insight from God”. Previous generations had been
told of a coming Messiah, but they had assumed He
would be a Messiah for the Jews only. Another
mindboggling surprise, much to Jewish dismay, this
mystery of God’s grace unfolds as a Jew-Gentile
union. Human birth may bring racial distinctions,
but supernatural birth erases them. What a
wondrous grace of God!

15. C. Declaration of the Mystery
•Vv 7-8, “The mystery” not only gives believing
Gentiles a new relationship with God, it also
reveals a new power available to them,
illustrated in Paul’s life
•God saved him by grace, gave him
a stewardship– the special ministry
to Gentiles, but also the power to
accomplish it

16. C. Declaration of the Mystery
•The Greek word is ‘energeia’, from which we
get the word energy
•Like the drinks I use to stay awake on the road
•The power behind his ministry
wasn’t his O.T. knowlege, but the
Same ‘energeia’ that raised Jesus
from the dead!
•Yet Paul still remembers his sin…

17. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not
worthy to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the
grace of God I am what I am, and His grace
toward me was not in vain; but I labored more
abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10, NASB

18. D. The Fellowship of the Mystery
•Vv 9-10, just as God sent Paul to
administer His Grace, the Church
is charged with accepting and
continuing our unity in Christ
•Paul’s purpose, that the church
should become the tool by which
God’s wisdom is shown to the lost
world and to the Angels

19. D. The Fellowship of the Mystery
•In the NT, when “the principalities
and powers in the heavenly places”
appears, Scripture is usually
describing the demonic angels
•Not this time
•These ‘principalities and powers’
are both good and bad angels
according to the context

20. E. Encouragement for the Minister to Me
• Vv 11-13, Though in shackles, Paul understood he was
freer than any can imagine– because he has the
understanding of
freedom in Christ!
• When God saved Paul, He
deposited with him the pre-
cious treasures of Gospel truth
• Paul in turn committed these truths
to others, exhorting them to
commit the truths to faithful
men who would guard them
and share them

21. Take Home…
•Conclusion:
•By grace, Paul made known
God’s grace to the Gentiles;
by grace, Christ made Jew and
Gentile one in His church; and
by grace, we, Christ’s church,
proclaim the riches of God’s grace to
each new generation