The Mystery of the Gospel revealed.
 

Ephesians 3
3 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

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Paul begins this chapter with the reason, he is in prison. Paul is under house arrest in Rome. House arrest means that he has a limited amount of freedom around the house during the daytime but being under the watchful eyes of soldiers. However at night he is chained to a Roman guard, obviously to prevent him from absconding, to escape his forthcoming trial.

Eph 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

Even though Paul was a prisoner of Rome, he considers himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Paul’s belief was that God is in complete control and had it not been the purpose of God, he would not have been in this situation. So he did not consider himself as a Roman prisoner but a prisoner of Christ.
There are times when God allows certain things to happen and uses them for the extension of the gospel.
We read of the account of the persecution of the early church and how the dispersion throughout the world, cause Christianity to spread.
In this case of Paul’s imprisonment we see that it was used for the advancement of the gospel.
Paul writing to the Philippians from prison says:

Php 1:12  But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 

Php 1:13  So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 

Php 1:14  And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 

Writing to Timothy:
2 Tim 2:9 for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained!

God is able to use the sufferings of Christians in the witness of the gospel.

Eph 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

Paul also reminds them the reason he is in prison. He was called to be an Apostle to the Gentiles.
Paul never neglected to preach to whoever would listen, whether Jew or Greek, Roman or Turk.
However, his main calling was to the Gentiles, which are made up of anyone who is not a Jew.

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

In other words, the dispensation of the grace of God is to be revealed to you Gentiles of which I am a minister. I am called to deliver to you Gentiles, the Mystery of the gospel in Christ Jesus.

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Paul was making clear that the message of the mystery of the gospel came to him by revelation from Christ Himself and it is through his writings and his preaching that this mystery was to be made known to them.
 

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

This is the mystery that was hidden in times past from some but is now being revealed to both Jew and Gentile alike, through the preaching of the gospel.

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 

Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 

Jesus the Messiah came unto His own and His own received Him not.

John 1:11-12 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

Now the gospel is delivered to anyone that will believe, no matter what race, colour, male or female.
 

6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Paul by the grace of God was chosen, as a vessel for the gospel by Jesus Himself on the road to Damascus.

7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Paul was well aware of who and what he was before his conversion to Christ.
One who persecuted the young church of Jesus, being a self righteous Pharisee, with zeal to destroy this new movement known as “Followers of the Way”, later to be known as Christians.

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Paul, a brilliant Rabbi of Judaism, with untold knowledge of the Old Testament. His eyes opened to the truth of the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, which was revealed to the Prophets of old and now given the commission to preach and explain that The Torah of the Jews and the writings of the Old Testament reveals that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah and that salvation is available to all who will believe.

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Pauls message was to help us to understand the purpose of God that was ordained before the world began.
To be a testimony to all the heavenly hosts, that Jesus Christ is Lord of all things both in heaven and earth.

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Handley Moule (Past Bishop of Durham) Quote:
 

“What then have they to learn from us? Ah, they have to learn something which makes them watch us with wonder and with awe. They see in us indeed all our weakness, and all our sin. But they see a nature which, wrecked by itself, was yet made in the image of their God and ours. And they see this God at work upon that wreck to produce results not only wonderful in themselves but doubly wonderful because of the conditions.”

This is why we read in scripture, where the Apostle Peter speaking of this marvellous mystery of salvation.
 

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 

1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 

1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 
 

This is the gospel of salvation that we can have confidence in, a sure knowledge, a sure hope.
That through the death and resurrection of Christ we can boldly approach, (access) the throne of God with confidence.

12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Paul wanted the Ephesian believers, not to be put off by the fact that he was imprisoned, or was suffering loss. On the contrary, he wanted them to glory in both his tribulations and any that might come upon them.

13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

The same thing, he writes to the Philippian church.
 

Philippians 1:28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God. 
29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, 
30 since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.…
 

Paul had realised that his life was in God’s hands and that whatever happened to him was his portion in Christ. He had submitted his life to Christ, with all that went with it.

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Paul knew where his strength could be found. Being strengthened in the inner man by the Holy Spirit of God.

16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
 

It is one thing to put faith in Christ for our salvation but we need to be strengthened in the inner man.
Our roots must dig deep into Christ who is the vine.

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Being rooted in Christ is essential, for outside of Him, we can do nothing.

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

We received Christ by faith and now we must continue in faith and be established in the faith.

Colossians 2: 6 Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him, 
7 rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.…
 

Spurgeon quote:

“Two expressions are used: ‘rooted,’ like a living tree which lays hold upon the soil, twists itself round the rocks, and cannot be upturned: ‘grounded,’ like a building which has been settled, as a whole, and will never show any cracks or flaws in the future through failures in the foundation.”

This is why we need good Bible teaching and good Christian fellowship. We must stand together in that faith.
Allowing no false teaching, or heresy to enter the church and to live in love with the brethren.
Growing to a knowledge and understand together, the riches of knowing Christ.

18 May be able to comprehend (know-KJV) with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Comprehend (Greek ginōskō) to know, be aware (of), feel, (have) known (-ledge), perceive, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand.

Paul commits his readers to Christ in his benediction. Reminding them of the abundance of spiritual blessings, available to us in Christ.

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

May Christ be glorified in the church.

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