Ephesians: Mystery

The Great Mystery

¹ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Ephesians 3:1-13 (NIV)

This is part of a letter to the churches of Asia Minor. The churches included both Jews and Gentiles among their members. This was an unusual situation because Jews would not associate with Gentiles in this way. Paul has been telling the Gentiles that they are included as part of the family of God, an assertion that would have been unthinkable to both the Gentiles and the Jews. In this passage, Paul tells them that this was always the plan, but until now it has been held as a “mystery.” In other words, the plan was “classified” but has now been declassified by God and communicated by the Holy Spirit. Paul has been appointed by God to communicate the plan to the church, and through the church, to the world.

Unlike the biblical audience for this letter, modern hearers have always known of this plan. This is not classified or hidden in any way, so we miss the shocking nature of the revelation. We are not a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles, and in many ways that particular distinction isn’t one that is important to us.

The principle Paul is expressing here is that God’s plan has always been for all people to be included as fellow members of his family, regardless of their ancestry, nationality, appearance, occupation, or age. This message is a foundational part of the Bible’s teaching. Peter’s experience with Cornelius in Acts 10 leads him to proclaim, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.“

We live in times that seem to be becoming more divisive all the time. It’s easy to see the division between believers and non-believers, but this principle needs to be applied within the church as well. When we are inclined to exclude someone for what seems to be a good reason in the moment, we need to remember that God’s only plan for the world has always included everyone. This is not a diversity or inclusion initiative on God’s part. It is the simple fact that “everyone” means everyone. That almost certainly includes the person I am deciding to exclude because they are __________.