The Mystery Hidden From the Ages, Now Revealed (Ephesians 2:22–3:5)

Eph. 2:22. In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

“Earlier he spoke of the building of the whole—universal—Church; now he speaks of the building of the Church in Ephesus” (Oecumenius). Just as the universal Church is being built in the Lord into a temple to God, so every particular Church is being built into a dwelling place of God—the same as a temple to God—all in that same Lord. The relationship of particular Churches to the universal Church is expressed by the word συνοικοδομεισθε — you are being built together. The universal Church is being built as a single whole, a distinct entity; while particular Churches are not being built separately but in connection with the universal Church. The universal Church is being built, and they are being built along with it, being so deeply and essentially united with it that they cannot be built separately, in isolation. Particular Churches live the common life of the whole Church, just as in the body each function seems to operate on its own—breathing, circulation, nourishment—yet in reality it operates only because it is connected to the whole body; cut it off and it immediately ceases, just as any external limb withers when severed from the body, or any branch when cut from the tree.

In other places the Apostle says that each believer individually is a temple of God and a dwelling of God; and here, though he does not say so explicitly, one can arrive at that conclusion by inference while reading this passage—as St. Chrysostom does, saying: “This temple in which God dwells, as in a body, is each one of you and all of you together.” Every member in the body contains all that is in the body: in it there is blood, muscle, nerve, and other fluids—it is an epitome of the whole body. In a tree this is still clearer: every branch is the same as the whole tree with its root, trunk, and leaves, and every leaf is the same as the whole branch. So too every believer possesses everything that the Church has: the truth of the word, the grace of the sacraments, and communion with God in Christ Jesus. He is a miniature church. But he is such only because he is united with the whole Church. The forces and life of the Church flow into him and he lives by the life of the Church. Separatism is utterly contrary to the spirit of Christianity.

This building up into a temple and dwelling place of God—of each believer, of particular Churches, and of the whole Church—is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Both each person individually and entire peoples are in themselves unfit to be a dwelling of God. The grace of the Spirit, through faith, enters the soul through the sacraments, transforms it, spiritualizes it, and makes it fit for God to dwell in. If God is in each believer by grace, then by that same grace He is in the souls of an entire community of believers, and then in all believers—that is, in the whole Church.

You, he says, are a dwelling of God—in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Spirit. In you are all the persons of the Most Holy Trinity—the undivided Godhead itself. To what nearness has the Apostle raised them! From afar, through citizenship and kinship, he has led them to this. God is in them and they, in turn, are in God—for He encompasses all. Beyond this there is nowhere further to go to indicate still greater nearness. It was therefore fitting for the Apostle to cry out at the beginning: remember, Ephesians, how far off you once were and how near you have now become.

But let us draw for ourselves a few lessons from this passage.

Everything that the Creed teaches us to believe about the Church is stated here: that she is one—having been founded on the one cornerstone (vv. 14, 16, 17, 20); that she is holy—being built by the Holy Spirit into a holy temple (vv. 21, 22); that she is universal—embracing all times and peoples (vv. 14, 20); and apostolic—built upon the foundation of the Apostles (v. 20).

The holy Church is the city of God, the house of God, the living temple, the living dwelling of the living God. The most intelligible image for us is that of a temple and a dwelling. The cornerstone of the building is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Church stands firm, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. On the cornerstone lie first the Apostles and prophets, upon whom then the whole building is raised. From them comes the word of truth; from them also comes the grace of the Spirit, which is imparted through the sacraments they instituted and kept alive through all the other ranks and orders of the Church. Nothing here may be touched with any intention of altering or abolishing it—otherwise you will destroy the Church. The apostolic teaching and the apostolic institutions are inviolable. The body of the building is composed of all believers, of every sex, age, and condition. They are dressed, like stones, and made fit for laying in the building by the Holy Spirit, from whom the love that pours out joins them all together as with cement, merging them, as it were, into one. “For what purpose is such a building raised? So that God Himself might dwell in it, as in a temple” (St. Chrysostom). Holy is this temple, majestic and worthy of veneration.

If such is the temple, how ought every believer who forms part of it to be! — Blessed Jerome writes: “If ‘the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,’ then, sparing no effort, one must strive to become such stones as are spoken of: ‘holy stones are strewn’ (meaning: found in abundance) ‘upon his land’ (Zech. 9:16). When we become living stones—dressed, cleaned, and polished on every side—then we shall be built into a temple and become a dwelling for God. And the ark of the covenant, the guardian of God’s Law, shall be established in us; and the Cherubim—the abundance of knowledge—and what lies within our breast shall go forth in a new word (what is in the heart shall be expressed in a new word); and we shall be called ‘Debir,’ which means an oracle, or an answer, or more precisely a speaking place—so that we can say with the Apostle: ‘or do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me’ (2 Cor. 13:3).”

V. The Apostle reinforces this distinction with the representation that it was a mystery hidden from the ages, only now revealed, of which he is the minister (Eph. 3:1–13)

In depicting that peculiarity of the economy of salvation for the Ephesians—as those who had believed from among the Gentiles—namely that they, though once far off, have been brought near through Him, the Apostle had in view to dispose them to remember this benefaction with the warmest memory. This is why at the beginning of his discourse on the subject he said: “therefore remember” (Eph. 2:11). Now, to the same end—that is, to dispose them to remember what has been done for them and to hold it dear—St. Paul sets forth yet another distinctive feature of their calling and drawing near to God’s ordering: that it had been a mystery not only for men but also for Angels. He is saying to them, as it were: God had kept this mystery to Himself until now, and has only now revealed it both to earth and to heaven; this means it is a rarity that is not always and not to everyone disclosed. How then can you fail to remember it, when it concerns you yourselves? The Angels marvel at it, yet you would remain indifferent? Even in this alone there was already much added to stir up remembrance; but the Apostle, in setting forth the manner of the revelation of this mystery, brought forward yet another distinctive feature—that the preaching of it was entrusted especially to him and is attended by suffering and bonds. From this it followed: the Lord suffered to demolish the middle wall and to draw you near; and the one who called you to share in this is in chains—yet will you remain heedless of this and fail to remember? Such is the content and significance of the first thirteen verses of chapter 3. After this, to the end of the chapter (vv. 14–21), the Apostle prays that the Ephesians, abiding in deep communion with God, might understand how great this benefaction is. He began this part of the epistle with prayer (Eph. 1:16) and closes it with prayer as well. For all things come from God—both the clear explanation of truth in words and the clear understanding of the word when heard or read.

Regarding the grammatical structure of the discourse in this chapter, the commentators have advanced many different hypotheses. The occasion for this was the apparent fact that the Apostle, having said “for this reason I, a prisoner,” did not finish the sentence and went off into a digression in order to explain how he is a prisoner for them, the Gentiles. The digression begins with verse 2, but where does it end? — Some say at verse 3, others at verse 8, others at verse 13, others at verse 14. The last is the most probable of all, and has in its favour blessed Theodoret. The flow of the discourse is as follows: “for this reason I, a prisoner—for you Gentiles…” Then, having explained how he is a prisoner for the Gentiles, he resumes the interrupted discourse: “for this reason I bow my knees…” (Eph. 3:14). But there is no extreme necessity to adopt this construction. What forces one to resort to hypotheses is the fact that the word “prisoner” in Greek stands with the article — δεσμιος — in which form it seemingly cannot serve as a predicate (giving the sense: for this reason I am a prisoner), but must be taken as the subject. Once it is taken as the subject, the predicate is lost. He said “I, the prisoner,” yet what “I, the prisoner” amounts to—is not clear. Hence the construction of hypotheses began. But other commentators find that the article before “prisoner” does not prevent one from taking this word as a predicate and reading: I am a prisoner. It is indeed not contrary to the character of the Greek language to take certain words standing with the article as predicates. One is inclined to accept this by the example of St. Chrysostom, St. Damascene, and Oecumenius with Theophylact, who of course knew the peculiar requirements of their own language.

“Let us, however, cite the words of blessed Theodoret, since, though he allows for the digression, he defines the meaning of verses 1–13 in the same way as we have set out above—namely, to set before their eyes once more “the greatness of the benefaction.” “The Apostle,” he writes, “wishes to say: having learned of this your calling, having come to know precisely who you are, how, and to what you are called, I ask and beseech the God of all to establish you in faith and to grant you the salvation flowing from faith. But he inserted a great deal into this thought, indicating once more the greatness of the benefaction.” He then recounts (in the inserted discourse) how he himself was called, how he was counted worthy of divine grace and appointed a preacher to the Gentiles, thereby making known that it is entirely fitting for him to preach, and that he is not arrogating a foreign work to himself but fulfilling what was commanded.”

Eph. 3:1. For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.

For what reason? — For the sake of all that has been said—for the sake of the fact that you who were far off have been brought near, and so very near. “Of such grace manifested upon you I am a minister and strive for it even to the point of bonds” (St. Damascene). “Previously the Apostle spoke of the great providential care of Christ; now he speaks of his own zeal, small and insignificant in comparison with the Lord’s providential care—for that of itself is sufficient to bring about salvation. ‘For this reason I,’ he says, am in bonds; for if my Lord endured crucifixion for you, so much the more ought I to endure bonds. Not only did our Saviour Himself submit to being bound, but He was pleased that His servants too should suffer bonds for you Gentiles. These words of the Apostle carry a profound meaning: not only do we not turn away from you, he says to the Gentiles, but we even endure bonds for your sake” (Chrysostom). “Therefore I am a prisoner for you” (Theophylact).

How is he a “prisoner of Jesus Christ”? — In the same way as he is an Apostle of Christ and a servant of Christ. I am in bonds for faith in Him, for the preaching of Him, for His work—the ordering of people’s salvation. These outward bonds suggest the thought of inner bonds. The Apostles said: we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard. They were therefore bound inwardly. And the Apostle Paul was compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, and though the same Spirit announced everywhere that bonds awaited the Apostle, he could not refrain from going there—to those certain bonds—because he was inwardly bound. All the Apostles were led and carried by the Spirit as if bound, as if being conducted. The Apostle implies that his bonds had a specific providential purpose on the part of the Lord Himself, who governs the preaching of the Gospel.

That St. Paul fell into these bonds on account of the Gentiles is directly indicated by the circumstances of his arrest. Those who attacked him cried out: “This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the people and the Law and this place” (Acts 21:28). The Apostle preached the pure Gospel as it is, making no mention of the Law of Moses and explaining only when necessary that its time had passed. But he treated everything of the Old Testament order with due respect and demonstrated that all of it had been necessary and had universal significance. Only now, he taught, all of that has been fulfilled. But those who did not understand the matter rose up against him as a slanderer of the Law and of the place where the legal observances were chiefly carried out. The Apostle acted as he did because he was commanded from above to do so, and from above he was so commanded because otherwise one cannot attract the Gentiles, and otherwise the faith of Christ cannot be established on earth in all its purity. Having been bound for such teaching, he was bound for the work of Jesus Christ—which is why he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ; but on this particular occasion he was placed in bonds on account of the Gentiles—which is why he was in bonds for their sake. Oecumenius writes: “It is possible to be a prisoner of Jesus Christ only—that is, to be bound and beaten for not renouncing faith in Him—but not also for the Gentiles, that is, not on account of the teaching and preaching spread among them. Thus many martyrs were tormented not for teaching the Gentiles the faith, but for not renouncing faith in Christ. Paul, however, was a prisoner both for Christ and for the Gentiles.”

Eph. 3:2. If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of God’s grace that was given to me for you.

“If indeed you have heard”—but you have heard. This turn of phrase is equivalent to the following: since you have heard. The particle if does not indicate doubt or ignorance, but complete certainty. You have heard that the preaching of the Gospel among you has been entrusted to me; therefore, even without special explanation, it should be clear to you why I am a prisoner “for you Gentiles.”

They heard not from anyone else, but from the Apostle himself. It is impossible to suppose that he had been silent about this, especially after writing to the Galatians. For the disturbances in the Galatian churches arose partly because there it was not fully known what St. Paul was and why he preached without being one of the Twelve.

“The dispensation of grace”—the gracious dispensation, οικονομια. Just as in a well-ordered house prudent economy assigns what each person is to do and how, so in the gracious Kingdom of Christ, according to the economy—the dispensation of salvation—everything was apportioned from the beginning: who was to take up which task and how to carry it out. To St. Paul, called directly by the Lord Himself, it was also the Lord Himself who entrusted the task of going to preach among the Gentiles: “Depart,” “for I will send you” “far away to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21). It is this gracious dispensation and arrangement of the Lord that St. Paul mentions here. You know that the preaching among you has been entrusted to me. I diligently carried out my work, but this provoked an unreasoning zeal, and now I am in bonds.

St. Chrysostom says: “Here the Apostle alludes to the prophecy announced to him through Ananias in Damascus, when the Lord said: ‘Go, for this man is a chosen vessel of Mine, to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings’ (Acts 9:15). By ‘the dispensation of grace’ he means precisely this revelation. Thus the Apostle’s words mean the following: not from a man did I learn this, nor did a man honor me with being your chief herald, but God Himself said: ‘Depart, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles’ (Acts 22:21).”

St. Paul mentions this not with dogmatic aims, as in the epistle to the Galatians, but in order to give the Ephesians yet another incentive to remember what grace has done for them. The gracious dispensation concerning him, the Apostle, was directed toward them. Having them in view, showing especial care for them, the Lord Himself directly chose and formed the Apostle for them, and told and revealed to him everything—how and why each thing is done—all for their sake. How could one fail to remember all this? On this forming of the Apostle as a special act of God’s dispensation, St. Chrysostom fixes attention: “And rightly did the Apostle call this a dispensation, for it was indeed a great dispensation, when the one who could not be persuaded by any means was called from above with the words: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ (Acts 9:4), and thereupon loses his sight from the ineffable light!”

Eph. 3:3. How the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly above.

“That”, οτι— not “because,” but “that.” He has heard of the economy, namely that “by revelation the mystery was made known to me.” “By revelation” is the same as “through revelation” (Gal. 1:12). He means to say that just as he was called to preach directly by the Lord, so also he was taught the truth directly by the same Lord. He did not devise it himself, nor did men teach him, but the Lord Himself revealed everything to me. “He shows that everything comes from God” (Chrysostom). And moreover, for them—the Gentiles. He therefore suggests: see what care the Lord has for you! “Was made known…” εγνωρισθη— the mystery was given to me to know, was instilled, was placed in my mind. Not only was it revealed, but it was revealed in such a way that I came to know it and understood it as I ought. The very One who reveals it watched over this, so that no distortion might enter my word. “The mystery” is that of which he speaks in verse 6—that the Gentiles should be co-heirs and fellow partakers of the promise. “The Apostle rightly calls this a mystery, for it is truly incomprehensible how the Gentiles were suddenly brought into a nobility greater than that of the Jews!” (Chrysostom).

“As I wrote before…” “As” — καθως — not about what, but how, in the manner, in the sense and meaning in which I wrote briefly earlier. “I wrote before”—“does not mean, as some have supposed, that he wrote another epistle (before this), but, he says, he wrote now (earlier in this letter), since he has been discussing this from the very beginning up to this point” (Theodoret). Earlier he does not mention how the mystery was revealed to him, but rather depicts the mystery itself—how the Son of God came, became incarnate, suffered, rose again, ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of God the Father, and in Himself co-seated all humanity, which He draws to Himself through preaching and grace, which through the Holy Spirit work in people, converting and sanctifying all without distinction, Jews and Gentiles, forming them all into the one body of the Church, a dwelling place for God through the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. He expounded all this earlier; now he says that everything written before was revealed to him, and as it was revealed, so it was written. But what has been written thus far, although it contains the whole substance of the economy, does not encompass everything revealed to him. I have written to you briefly, a little out of much, though in the little there is much. “And indeed, whoever rightly considers all that was written before will see what mysteries were revealed to him, of which he placed a small part in his preceding discourse, wishing not so much to say everything he knew as to show by this little how much he passed over in silence” (Jerome). Nevertheless, “the word is brief and the teaching condensed, but in few words I have taught you much, having only sown the seed of truth. I have written as much as you were able to understand—to understand through deep and attentive reading, not by running through what was written in passing” (holy Damascene).

Eph. 3:4. Whereby, as you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.

“Whereby” — προς ο,—judging by which, judging by what has been written, you can conclude how clearly and fully I understand the mystery of Christ. Although little has been written, it is nonetheless sufficient for you to draw such a conclusion about the depth of my knowledge of the mystery. And who among those who read would not draw such a conclusion?! But to what end is this conclusion? The Apostle did not wish to display his own wisdom, but to suggest to them: as you read what is written, you cannot but see how clear and definite it all is, and at the same time how sublime and all-encompassing. Could I have comprehended all this on my own? But if it is “by the” finger “of God,” by divine revelation that I know this: “then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). God has drawn near to you; He has shown special care for you; He has opened the treasury of His mysteries. Blessed Jerome writes: “No epistle contains as many mysteries as this one. He speaks of his own understanding in order to glorify the grace given him among the Gentiles, and to urge us to read this epistle with the utmost attention.” The mystery of the calling of the Gentiles he here calls “Christ’s,” because it was founded in Christ the Lord, and the revelation of it was given by the Lord, and it is brought into effect by the Lord Himself. It is fitting to call it Christ’s also because it stands in essential connection with the entire work of ordering the salvation of the human race accomplished by Jesus Christ the Lord, the crown of which is His sitting at the right hand of the Father, as the recapitulation of all things. Holy Chrysostom says: “You can know how I understood and comprehended either the revelation of God in general, or specifically that truth that He sits at the right hand.” Theophylact continues the same thought: “You can see how well I know the mystery of Christ—namely that He sits at the right hand of the Father, that He co-seated us there as well, that in Him both have been built into one new man, and so forth pertaining to this.”

Eph. 3:5. Which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy Apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit.

“Which”—the mystery of Christ and the economy of salvation in Christ Jesus in general, and especially its power to embrace all humanity. “The mystery of Christ encompasses the Incarnation, the cross, the Resurrection, the sitting at the right hand, the calling of the Gentiles, the Church of those saved by faith, the setting aside of the carnal Jew, the union of two peoples into the one body of Christ, the Second Coming and the rendering to each according to his merit” (Oecumenius). “In other ages,” that is, generations, which come and go, as Solomon expresses it, and thereby mark off periods of time. “Age” may be taken as equivalent to “generation.” “Other”—not those who were then on earth when the Apostle wrote this, but those who had gone before. Since “other ages” is contrasted with what is now taking place, this expression means: in the preceding centuries. “Was not made known” — ουκ εγνωρισθη— was not brought to their knowledge, was not given to be known. “To the sons of men,” that is, to people in general—neither to Jews nor to Gentiles “was it made known.” Why such a turn of phrase, when in speaking of revelation no one would have thought of the Gentiles at all, but only of the Jews? — Perhaps because the other ages—the preceding centuries—encompass all time before the coming of Christ and therefore the period when there was no division, when all were one. The division began with Abraham. In order not to exclude the generations prior to him, the Apostle said “to the sons of men it was not made known,” so as to convey—neither from Adam to Abraham nor after. Moreover, the Apostle is addressing the Gentiles here. The Gentiles did not consider themselves to be outside the providence of God, though they did not understand it as they ought, and holy Paul himself did not regard them as outside it. The Apostle’s gaze encompasses the whole human race, and he says: “God, who left not Himself ‘without witness’ in previous ages” (Acts 14:17), nevertheless was not pleased to make this mystery known to anyone. Such a thought is more intelligible to Gentiles, who did not know how or to what degree revelation had proceeded among the Jews. Furthermore: the Apostle says here not that it was entirely “not made known,” but that it was “not made known” to such a degree “as it has now been revealed.” But among the Gentiles there was their own measure of knowledge about Christ the Redeemer. After the division of the nations and the separation of the Jews, the Gentiles carried with them all the preceding revelations and held to them; yet since these remained with them without renewal or explanation, they corrupted them. The general expectation of the renewal of humanity, however, remained even among them, and became more vivid when Jews were scattered among them in the last age. Thus, intending to speak about the measure of prior revelation, the holy Apostle could not fix his attention on the Jews alone, but saw fit to encompass all people, saying: “to the sons of men it was not made known.”

“As it has now been revealed.” The Gentiles had but a dim surmise; to the Jews the mystery of Christ was given to be known more specifically—both concerning the person of Christ the Saviour and concerning His work in ordering salvation, and concerning those saved by Him, even regarding the fact that the Gentiles too would be called; but all of this is insignificant in comparison with the present revelation, says the Apostle. Already by this very fact is it so—that to perceive something by the spirit, and to see that same thing accomplished in actual deed, produces a great difference in the definiteness of knowledge. This is why many prophets and kings desired to see what pertained to the Lord and did not see it (Lk. 10:24). Why is John the Forerunner greater than the other prophets? — Because he touched salvation with his own hands, which the others only beheld from afar (blessed Jerome). So it is in general regarding the economy of salvation. But with respect to the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles, this is most evident of all. The prophets foresaw that the Gentiles also would come to know the True God—as, for example, Isaiah says: “The nations ‘that knew You not shall call upon You’ (Isa. 55:5). But that they would be called to equal participation with the Jews in the Kingdom of Christ—this was not only unknown to those of the Old Testament, but was not immediately understood even by those of the New Testament. “Despite the fact that the prophets had spoken of the calling of the Gentiles, this remained a mystery. Hence, those who were with Peter (at Cornelius’s house) were astonished. And Peter himself came to know through a revelation of the Spirit that God had also accepted the Gentiles. Until then the words of the prophets still lay in obscurity, seemed enigmatic, and awaited clarification from the very fulfilment of events” (holy Damascene).”

“Now revealed to His holy Apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit.” By “prophets” he means here not Old Testament prophets, for together with the Apostles he contrasts them with the latter; rather, he means New Testament prophets. “For in the time of the Apostles many possessed the prophetic grace” (Theodoret). In saying that the Holy Spirit has now revealed this more clearly, the Apostle means either the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in general, as their final and ultimate guide in the understanding of the work of salvation and its establishment on earth, or more specifically that indication which was given from on high to the Apostle Peter—to receive the Gentiles without hesitation into the fellowship of grace. Holy Chrysostom says: “Peter would not have gone to the Gentiles except at the direction of the Holy Spirit. For listen to what he says: ‘they (the Gentiles) received the Holy Spirit even as we did’ (Acts 10:47). The word of the Apostle Paul, ‘by the Holy Spirit,’ means that God through the Holy Spirit deemed them worthy of participation in such grace. The prophets had spoken of this, but people would never have come to know it with such clarity as they came to know through hearing the Apostles, who surpassed every human mind and common expectation when they said: ‘that the Gentiles should be co-heirs,’ and so forth.”

The Apostle’s purpose in saying all this is to heighten their attention to the divine benefaction shown them, through the very extraordinariness of the mystery now fulfilled among the Gentiles, and thereby to reinforce his charge: “Remember,” “then!”