Paul, Minister of the Mystery; Access With Boldness (Ephesians 3:6–12)

Eph. 3:6. That the Gentiles should be co-heirs and of the same body and co-partakers of His promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

“What then is this mystery which was not made known to former generations as it is now? — That of which the following speaks: ‘that they should be…’” (Jerome). “This is that mystery (of which he has mentioned so many times above)—that the Gentiles together with Israel should be co-heirs and co-partakers of the promise” (Theophylact). “That the Gentiles would be called—this the prophets knew; but that they would be co-heirs and co-partakers—this they did not know” (Oecumenius). “The Israelites became partakers of the promise as a holy people; but the Gentiles, who had until then been unclean, became co-partakers of it together with them. The Apostle was not content to say that they also became co-heirs and co-partakers, but, wishing to show their even greater closeness and union, said ‘of the same body.’ For the Gentiles together with holy Israel became one body, ordered and held together by one head—Christ” (Theophylact).

One may not seek to determine what in particular each of these words signifies—“co-heirs, of the same body, co-partakers.” They all mean the same thing—the utmost closeness of Jews and Gentiles in the Kingdom of Christ, where every difference between them disappears. And whichever aspect of the privilege of the Jews, set forth previously, one might take, every one of them now belongs to the Gentiles as well—not received separately, but together with the Jews. Blessed Theodoret explains why certain of these expressions are used: “Since he has called the faithful one body, he says that the Gentiles have become ‘of the same body.’ And since the inheritance was considered to belong to the Jews, he further calls the Gentiles co-heirs. And since the Jews thought that the promises were given to them alone—as the Apostle also says in the Epistle to the Romans: ‘whose are… the promises’ (Rom. 9:4)—he also calls the Gentiles ‘co-partakers of the promise.’”

Holy Chrysostom does not explain why one or another expression is used, but gives them all a single meaning—the designation of the close union between Jews and Gentiles. “What does it mean to be co-heirs, co-partakers of the promise, and of the same body? — The meaning of these words is lofty: they signify that the Gentiles and Jews are united into one body, they signify the close bond between them. That the Gentiles would be called was known even before; but to what exactly they would be called, no one knew until then. This is why the Apostle calls it ‘the mystery of the promise of God.’ The Israelites were formerly partakers of the promise; now the Gentiles have also been made co-partakers of this promise.”

But one may also see in each of these words certain distinct aspects. Thus one may think that the word “co-heirs” signifies the reception of what was of old promised to Israel as an inheritance; the word “of the same body” signifies what has been newly received in the gracious Kingdom of Christ; and the words “co-partakers of the promise” signify what all are yet to receive in the future. A ladder of blessings flowing from the person of Jesus Christ upon our race is here depicted.

The blessings of the Old Testament—both those received by the people of that time and those promised to future generations—form the first step; the blessings received from the Lord after His Incarnation, in His holy Church, in the present period of existence until the Second Coming, form the second step; and what is promised in the age to come and will be received after the renewal of all things—this is the third step, unspeakable. The Apostle wishes to say to the Gentiles: you have been excluded from nothing; what was promised to Israel you have received together with him; what was given beyond that promise to faith is bestowed upon you through faith; and what is prepared in the future shall be yours. All of this is the wondrous mystery which no one could have grasped, and which could barely be contained in the minds of the chosen Apostles—even then only through a special external action and inward working of the All-Holy Spirit. See what you have been deemed worthy of! Remember, then!

“In Christ Jesus through the gospel.” To such a height have you been raised, to such blessings have you been found worthy, so closely have you been united with Israel—“in Christ Jesus” through faith in Him and through the grace of the Holy Spirit received by faith, which, recreating all, makes all alike. And you were drawn to participation in this through the gospel, for faith comes by hearing. “The Gentiles became co-partakers of the promise through the fact that preachers were sent to them and they believed. They did not simply become co-partakers of the promise, but through the gospel” (Chrysostom). “Through faith in Christ they became co-partakers, but faith came to them through the gospel” (Theophylact).

But the entire impulse toward: “Remember,” “then!” For the gospel would not have come of itself. It was necessary to choose and train preachers, and, equipping them with every power, to send them forth to preach, guiding and assisting them in every way in this proclamation. The Israelites had all of this close at hand in their own home; but to you it was necessary to send a special messenger from so great a distance. Hinting at this, the Apostle now says:

Eph. 3:7. Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me according to the working of His power.

“Of which”—of this gospel—“I became”—not by my own doing, but I was made, chosen, and formed—“a minister” — διακονος. The Apostles appointed deacons in the early Church to supply each person with what was needed. Holy Paul considers himself such. He is a deacon, while the one who ministers sacramentally in the Church is the Lord Himself. Wherever He sends me, I go; whatever He commands me to say, I say. “According to the gift of grace”—I received this ministry as a gift of grace, having contributed nothing from myself that was worthy of receiving it (Oecumenius). “The Apostle refers everything to God, saying that even his Apostleship is a gift of grace, and that by the power of this gift he was deemed worthy of the honour of suffering bonds for the conversion of the Gentiles” (Chrysostom). The grace of God sought him out and called him not merely to faith, but to Apostleship. Grace converts every Christian, but it is a special gift to become a minister of the gospel. In the Apostle Paul both were combined in a single act of grace, though one may distinguish the act of conversion from the commission to preach. That I am a minister of the Gospel—this is a gift of grace, but it is not for me; it is for you. And in this lies God’s special mercy toward you—that He formed a preacher for you through a special, extraordinary working of His grace. This is what the Apostle suggests with the words: “according to the gift of grace given to me according to the working of His power.” In order to make me an Apostle for you, God employed a special power, manifesting thereby the working of His grace. “On me He showed the working of His own power, calling me—the unworthy one—and entrusting to me the instruction of the Gentiles. I am a preacher and minister of the Gospel by the unspeakable generosity of the One who called me and by His ineffable power” (Theodoret).

Blessed Theophylact understands the gift of grace according to the working of God’s power as the gift of abundant grace—such as it is fitting for the All-powerful God to pour out—the measure of grace being determined by God’s power: “The grace was given to me not simply or sparingly, but generously (in a manner befitting God), as is proper for the All-powerful God.”

Holy Chrysostom, moreover, sees here a reference to the power that customarily accompanied the Apostle’s preaching, strengthening him and confirming the gospel. “The gift would have been insufficient if the power of God had not been infused along with it, for in truth human zeal alone is not enough for preaching—a higher power is needed. The Apostle displayed in the work of his preaching three qualities: a fervent and fearless zeal, a soul ready to endure absolutely everything, and understanding and wisdom (knowledge and prudence). But natural resolve would not have been enough, a blameless life would not have been enough, had he not received the power of the Spirit.”

I was called, says the Apostle, and formed into an Apostle, and filled with every power—all so that the gospel might go forth successfully among you, and that through the gospel the door might be opened for you into the treasury of those graces of which he has spoken. But the Apostle says this not to exalt himself, but to depict the surpassing measure of God’s mercy. This is why he adds:

Eph. 3:8. To me, the least of all the saints, was this grace given—to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

“To me, the least…” He deliberately draws attention to the insignificance of the instrument, in order to show that in their calling and drawing near to salvation there is nothing human. Here God Himself was at work. Look at me, he says as it were—how insignificant I am, yet the work of God keeps growing and expanding! Who is at work here, if not the power of God? For no human power could have produced what is being accomplished; and yet all of this is being accomplished by so small a person as I. Do you not see that God has drawn near to you and chosen you?

As the Apostle Paul, so too all the Apostles and all chosen workers in the fulfilment of their calling forgot themselves and were occupied with nothing but how best to accomplish the work of God. For this reason God’s power had free scope to act in them and through them, and the fruits of their work were astonishing even to themselves. It was natural for them to see how small they were in comparison with the greatness of the work they accomplished… There is therefore no doubt that the Apostle’s words are filled with sincerity. Holy Chrysostom says: “Listen to what holy Paul says. Intending to speak of the greatness of God’s grace, he speaks thus: ‘to me, the least of all the saints, was this grace given.’ He showed much humility already by the fact that he mourned over his former sins—already corrected—always remembered them, and was so modest as to call himself a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an injurious person; but with what he now says, nothing can even be compared. Before, he says, I was such-and-such, and calls himself an abortion; but now, having fully reformed, still to humble himself and call himself the least of all—this is truly great and extraordinary modesty! ‘To me, the least of all the saints.’ He did not even say: less than the Apostles—but ‘all the saints’ (that is, all Christians). But for him to consider himself less not only than the Apostles but than all the saints—that is exceedingly great self-abasement! In one place he said: ‘I am not worthy to be called an Apostle’ (1 Cor. 15:9); but here he calls himself even the least of all the saints.”

“Grace was given—to preach the unsearchable riches.” The riches are incomprehensibly great, while their dispenser is so small. Who would not see the finger of God here?! “And it was an act of grace that the greatest truths were entrusted to the least, so that he might become their preacher” (Chrysostom).

With the words “grace was given,” he repeats what he expressed above—that he is a minister of the gospel by the gift of grace. “To preach among the Gentiles” is the same as saying that God’s grace has chosen me as Apostle to the Gentiles.

“The unsearchable riches of Christ” is the salvation of all humanity through the sacrificial death of the God-man. God did not spare His own Son. And if only that—but He also delivered Him up to death! This is incomprehensible. Yet when it seemed as though all had been lost by this, it turned out that through this very path all were granted forgiveness of sins, the grace of regeneration, sonship to God, eternal inheritance, and co-seating at the right hand of God. Truly riches, and unsearchable riches! The Apostle wishes to say that the riches of Christ are not for the Jews alone, but for all peoples. He—the least of all—was chosen as their dispenser. What he here calls the riches of Christ, he expressed earlier with the words: that the Gentiles should be co-heirs, of the same body, and co-partakers of the promise.

Eph. 3:9. And to enlighten all as to what is the economy of the mystery hidden from ages in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.

“To preach among the Gentiles”—and “to enlighten all”—not Gentiles only, but all people, and even all created beings possessing reason and capable of receiving enlightenment through knowledge, as the following verse shows. When he was preaching, he was simultaneously enlightening, for enlightenment is the imparting of luminous understanding of all things, which constitutes the content of the Gospel. Why then does he speak separately of “enlightening?” — He wishes to say: to make all understand, to clarify and expound to all what is the economy of this mystery—the extension of the riches of Christ to the Gentiles as well, the calling of them also to participation in it, the merging of them together with the Jews into one body, whose head is Christ, sitting at the right hand of the Father, in whom all who constitute His body are also co-seated there. To make this particular aspect of the economy especially clear, while proclaiming the economy itself. This is why he says: “‘to enlighten as to what is the economy of’ this mystery.” Why was it pleasing to God to make such an arrangement regarding this—to keep it secret until now and only at this time to reveal it in all its greatness and fullness? — God wished to astonish all with the riches of His goodness, so as to bind all more powerfully to Himself and to the mystery of salvation itself. Or—“what is the economy of the mystery” means: to tell all what flows from this calling of the Gentiles to co-heirship, co-corporeity, and co-participation. What flows is the majestic and glorious body of Christ, composed of persons from every place and every age, harmoniously joined together. Herein lies the direction of the entire economy of the mystery of salvation of the Gentiles together with the Jews. This is the subject of the Apostle’s entire discourse in the epistle. But he enlightened all about this not only by word, but also by deed—by deed itself uniting all into one. And this union was everywhere the direct result of his preaching.

“This ‘mystery’ was ‘hidden from ages in God.’ No one knew of it, and no one could have guessed it. And even now, after its disclosure and manifestation in deed, it remains a mystery—all the more was it so before. — “That the Gentiles would be called was known; but that they would also be seated on the throne of God—this no one expected, no one anticipated” (holy Chrysostom). The Apostle’s thought holds to one thing throughout—the union of all in Christ as the head, whose foundation is laid in His sitting at the right hand of the Father. Holy Damascene writes: ‘The unsearchable riches’ of Christ he calls the salvation of the whole world, and ‘the economy of the mystery’—the exaltation (co-seating at the right hand) of all people in the one Christ.”

The mystery was hidden in God—it was not devised by His goodness only now; from the beginning it entered into the plans of God, and has only now been brought into effect. That this mystery is called hidden in God who created all things suggests the thought that even while the world was only being created, the mystery of salvation in the Lord of all humanity, and of the formation from all of one body in Him, was already in the mind of God—present, of course, not without influence upon the very ordering of the world. This thought is found in holy Damascene: “This mystery was not devised by God in the last times, for with Him there are no newly arising acts of will (determinations of will), but all is eternal. Together with the creation of the world, He was already laying the foundations of salvation.”

“Through Jesus Christ.” Since Jesus Christ is the Word who became flesh—that Word by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made that was made—therefore the phrase “who created all things” naturally drew with it “through Jesus Christ.” Holy Chrysostom says: “The Apostle did well to say, in recalling creation, ‘through Jesus Christ.’ For He who created all things through Him also revealed this through Him: ‘without Him,’ it is said, ‘nothing was made’ (Jn. 1:3). The hypostatic Word, the image of the hypostasis of the Father, in creating the world made man in the image of God, and the same Word through the Incarnation restores in man the image of God lost through the Fall. These truths are bound to one another by an unbreakable chain, each calling forth the other.”

Eph. 3:10. That there might be made known now to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God.

Not only was this mystery not revealed to people (v. 5), but the Angels too did not know it. They too will come to know it afterward, from the very act of its manifestation in humanity, from the very formation of the Church. The Apostle wishes to say that this work is so majestic and wondrous that when the Church was established from Gentiles and Jews under Christ as head, even the heavenly powers were astonished, beholding in this the manifold wisdom of God—just as, according to the word of Job, when the stars were created, all the Angels of God praised God with a great voice. In another place, the same Apostle, speaking of the great mystery of godliness—that “God” “was manifested” “in the flesh”—includes among the marks of its greatness that He “was seen of angels,” and this after being preached among the Gentiles and received up in glory (1 Tim. 3:16). The Angels beheld the Head of the Church in all the glory of the God-man when He sat at the right hand of the Father and began to draw all things to Himself—both earthly and heavenly. It was then that the manifold wisdom of God was made known to them, in the ordering of the Church and the recapitulation of all things in Christ. The Apostle Peter likewise testifies that into the mystery of the salvation of all in the Lord, not only did the prophets inquire with diligent searching, wishing to understand its hidden aspects, but the Angels too desire to look into it (1 Pet. 1:12). Not everything is clearly known even to them, even after it has been brought to pass, but it only evokes their wonder at the manifold wisdom of God.

This wisdom is made known to them not through the preaching of the word among them on the part of the Church, but through the very formation of the Church itself. They behold how the Church is being ordered and how all things are being reunited in the Lord who sits at the right hand of the Father—and in this they discern the manifold wisdom of God. Theodoret writes: “The invisible powers did not know this mystery, but from the economy of the Church they came to know the unspeakable wisdom of God.” “Let us ask,” says holy Chrysostom, “‘Was this not revealed to people—but do you truly enlighten even Angels, and Archangels, and Principalities, and Powers?’ — ‘I do enlighten them,’ he says. For in God this wisdom was hidden—‘in’ ‘God,’ ‘who created all things through Jesus Christ.’ — ‘And you dare to say this?!’ — ‘Yes, I dare,’ he says. But how did this become known to the Angels? — Through the Church. And moreover, he did not simply say that the various wisdom of God would be made known, but ‘the manifold wisdom.’ — So then, did the Angels truly not know it? — Yes! For if the Principalities did not know it, still less was it known to the Angels. And the Archangels did not know it? — They too did not know it. How could they have come to know it? Who could have revealed it to them? When we came to know it, then they too came to know it through us.”

So then, the knowledge of the Angels increases, and they take this increment from the earth, from the Church?! But surely they came to know about the redemption and salvation of all not from the Church—since in both the Old and New Testaments they were servants of this mystery? — The answer to this is suggested in the words: “the manifold wisdom of God.” The Angels, dwelling in blessed contemplation of the Godhead, know many of the mysteries of God’s wisdom—but not all; only those that are revealed to them. The plans of God’s wisdom in the governance of the world and in redemption are hidden in God and are revealed to the Angels as much as is necessary for the fulfilment of the commands given to them. Much of this, however—especially the hidden causes, the further purposes, and how things will be once the plans are fulfilled—remains hidden from them. They come to know this from events themselves. Events reveal to them also the mysteries lying at their foundation. In confirmation of this, holy Chrysostom cites the example of how the guardian angel of Persia opposed the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, not knowing what pertained to the return of the Israelites (Dan. 10:13). And he then concludes: “If they did not know this and things like it, what is surprising in their not knowing the riches of Christ’s love as it was revealed through the Gospel.”

Of course, the Angels knew of God’s counsel to save the human race through the Incarnation of the Only-begotten Son of God and His death on the cross. But in the manner of its fulfilment in the person of the Lord and further in the Holy Church, much remained unknown to them and was learned by them for the first time from events themselves. Such was also the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles into fellowship with the Son of God and the recapitulation of all things in His person. Holy Chrysostom says: “The Angels knew only that ‘the Lord’s portion is His people’ (Deut. 32:9). And what does the Angel say to Joseph? ‘And you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’ (Matt. 1:21). His people—that is, Israel. Here nothing is said of the Gentiles; the Holy Spirit reveals this separately.”

This passage is one of the most significant in the New Testament. It shows that the earth with man, and especially the Church of God, is the chief scene of God’s great and wondrous works—the spiritual center of the universe. In her events all orders of beings participate—Angels participate as well, both in sympathetic contemplation and in action at the direction of God. “We” “have been made a spectacle”—says the Apostle—“to the world, and to angels, and to men” (1 Cor. 4:9). The present epistle has this distinctive feature—that in it the Apostle does not confine the work of God in Christ Jesus to the reconciliation of God with man alone, but extends it to the harmonizing of the whole world through the abolition of the division between earthly and heavenly brought about by sin (Eph. 1:10).

The Angels too are now being brought into the living union that is being restored, and this union is for them the most sublime and sweet object of contemplation—one they are experiencing and beholding for the first time. Herein lies the end of the redemptive works of the God-man. In it the mystery of God’s governance of the world is resolved; in it the purpose of the creation of the world is attained.

Eph. 3:11. According to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“According to the purpose” — προθεσιν— the intention, the predetermination, preserved in the divine omniscience and hidden within it. “Eternal…” — from ages, of the ages, of ages, pre-eternal. From eternity God predetermined all things as they were to be; now in Christ Jesus this has been brought to fulfilment. “God purposed this before the ages, and accomplished it through the economy of the Master Christ” (Theodoret). “Now it has come to pass, but it was not determined now—it was predetermined from of old. ‘According to the eternal purpose,’ that is, according to the foreknowledge of the ages—foreseeing the future, He determined it thus” (Chrysostom).

“Which”—in Greek ην — may refer either to the purpose of the ages — προθεσιν — or to the wisdom — σοφια. This makes no difference in meaning. In the divine predetermination of all that was accomplished by the Lord, the manifold wisdom was contained; and the Lord, in fulfilling this predetermination, revealed nothing other than the manifold wisdom. He Himself testified of Himself that whatever He says, He says as He has heard from the Father, and whatever He does, He does as He sees the Father doing (Jn. 5:19). There, in the eternal council, He too presided as God; and what all the persons of the Most Holy Trinity then determined with one accord—all of this was fulfilled in the Incarnation by the Only-begotten Son of God, God the Word, according to that eternal determination.

The thought of this verse completes what was said above—the whole discourse begun from verse 8. God has laid upon me, says the Apostle, a special ministry: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make known to all the economy of this mystery, which God from eternity hid within Himself in order now at last to reveal it—even to the Angels through the Church—all in accordance with the eternal purpose now accomplished by Jesus Christ. — See how great is what has been done for you, O Gentiles. — Heaven and earth have been set in motion; the minds of Angels are being enlightened, gladdened, and filled with wonder at the contemplation of this. Remember, then.

Or—“according to the eternal purpose”—the pre-eternal determination—expresses especially that aspect of the matter concerning how it has been revealed to the Angels. Having said that through the Church—through all that is accomplished in her, what has been entrusted to her and what she attains—the manifold wisdom of God is made known to the Angels, he now indicates as it were a programme for the making known of this wisdom: what plan this making-known follows, what its subject concerns. As if to say: the wisdom is made known to the Angels through the Church, in accordance with the subject of the eternal purpose accomplished by the Lord—or in relation to this. With this the subsequent words are in complete agreement.

Eph. 3:12. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

The meaning of the verse is clear. It is the same as above in Eph. 2:18: “for through Him we both have access in one” “Spirit” “to the Father.” Through the Lord we have boldness; without Him, like the publican, we dare not lift our eyes to heaven. Through Him we also have access to the Father, from whom our sins separate us—sins which the Lord removes. The Lord takes away our sins, and we receive the boldness and confidence to draw near to the Heavenly Father. “With confidence” — πεποιθησει — meaning conviction and assurance. It expresses that disposition by which one who is weak says to one who is strong: I trust in you, I know you will not abandon me. We receive such assurance in God through the Lord Jesus Christ; having believed in the Lord, we receive certainty that God receives us into fellowship, and, having received us, will never abandon us and will never leave us in any need. For if “He did not spare His own Son, how will He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). — Such a blessed disposition flows directly from faith in the Lord, is inseparably joined to it, and serves as its testimony. The Apostle says that it comes “through faith” in the Lord — δια της πιστεως.

“Holy Chrysostom says: ‘We have boldness… with confidence,’ that is, we draw near with boldness. Why is this so? — Through faith in Him.” “For,” Theophylact adds, “having dissolved our sins, it gave us boldness and assurance.”

In a few words the Apostle has sketched the entire course of our reunion with God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in the death on the cross we receive forgiveness of sins; through grace conferred in the sacraments, given by faith, we are united with the Lord, and through Him we are made God’s own. So it is for each believer individually; so it is for all believers together. All are united with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father, constituting one body under Him—the one head.

It is clear, after this, why the holy Apostle has cited these words. They explain what exactly the Lord has accomplished in the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose for our salvation, and in the contemplation of what exactly the Angels now behold, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. The Apostle’s thought holds throughout to one and the same image—the recapitulation of all things in Christ Jesus our Lord.