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Ephesians
3:8-12
(Mystery
of The Gospel Revealed)
(Paul’s
Apostolic Commission)
(From The Orthodox Study Bible):
8 To me, who am less than the
least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, (1)
9 and to make all see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been
hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
10 to the intent that now the
manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities
and powers in the heavenly places, (2)
11 according to the eternal
purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and
access with confidence through faith in Him. (3)
***Verse-by-Verse
Study Notes Provided in This Bible***
(1) Verse
8: Why did God choose a Jew to preach to the Gentiles? Because if
God can redeem Saul, the persecutor of the Church and hater of Gentiles, then
God can certainly redeem the Gentiles through Saul.
(2) Verse 10: Not only did men not
know of God’s mystery, neither did the angels. They hear of it from men. How
can this be? Because the church affects all elements of creation, from
the material to the immaterial. The united, renewed humanity made possible by
Christ is the basis of the reconciliation of the heavens and the earth.
Therefore, the Church ascends above the angels, the principalities and
powers. The basis of such an astounding work by men is Christ’s
Resurrection and exaltation.
(3) Verse 12: The wonder of the
mystery of God, surprising even to angels, is that mere humans, earthly
creatures, can have boldness and confident access to God the
Father.
(From The New Analytical King James Study Bible):
8 Unto me, who am 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 [dispensation] of the mystery, which from the beginning(1)
of the world [all ages] hath been hid in God, who created(2) 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 [in] confidence by the [through our] faith of him.
***Footnotes***
(1) In this sentence, the term “beginning” comes
from the original ancient Greek word “anothen” (Strong’s G509).
Its ancient script, spelling, pronunciation, and definitions include: ἄνωθεν ánōthen, an'-o-then;
from G507; from above; by analogy, from the first; by
implication, anew:—from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.
(2) In this sentence, the
term “created” comes from the original ancient Greek word “ktizo”
(Strong’s G2936). Its ancient script, spelling, pronunciation, and definitions
include: κτίζω ktízō, ktid'-zo;
probably akin to G2932 (through the idea of proprietorship of
the manufacturer); to fabricate, i.e. found (form originally):—create, Creator, make.
(From The Amplified Holy Bible):
8 To me, [though I am] the very
least of all the saints (God’s people), this grace [which is undeserved] was
graciously given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the
incomprehensible riches of Christ [that spiritual wealth which no one can fully
understand],
9 and to make plain [to
everyone] the plan of the mystery [regarding the uniting of believing Jews and
Gentiles into one body] which [until now] was kept hidden through the ages in
[the mind of] God who created all things.
10 So now through the church the
multifaceted wisdom of God [in all its countless aspects] might now be made
known [revealing the mystery] to the [angelic] rulers and authorities in the
heavenly places.
11 This is in accordance with
[the terms of] 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 [that is, our faith gives us sufficient
courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ].
(From The Complete Jewish Study Bible):
8 To me, the least important of
all God’s holy people, was given this privilege of announcing to the Gentiles
the Good News of the Messiah’s unfathomable riches,
9 and of letting everyone see
how this secret plan is going to work out. This plan, kept hidden for ages by
God, the Creator of everything, (2)
10 is for the rulers and
authorities in heaven to learn, through the existence of the Messianic
Community, how many-sided God’s wisdom is.
11 This accords with God’s
age-old purpose, accomplished in the Messiah Yeshua(1), our Lord.
12 In union with him, through
his faithfulness, we have boldness and confidence when we approach God.
***Footnotes***
(1) In the Jewish language, the name “Yeshua” refers to
“Jesus.”
***Study Note Provided in This Bible***
(2) Verses 3-10:
It was by a revelation that this secret plan was made known to me:
Regarding God’s “secret plan,” Sha’ul [Saul] combines the imagery of the
traditional Jewish wedding ceremony (Ephesians 1:9). The bride is veiled, just
prior to the recitation of vows beneath the huppah (wedding canopy). As
seen in rabbinical literature, this practice dates back to Genesis 29 with
Jacob, who did not check carefully under the veil of his bride and was forced
to first marry Leah, and not his desired wife, Rachel. Since that time, all
Jewish weddings enact this tradition, as the groom checks his bride’s identity!
(From
The New American Standard Bible):
8 To me, the very least of all
saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches
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.
(From The Knox Bible – The Latin Vulgate):
8 With what grace God gives me
(and he gives it in all the effectiveness of his power), I am a minister of
that gospel; on me, least as I am of all the saints, he has bestowed this
privilege, of making known to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 of publishing to the world
the plan of this mystery, kept hidden from the beginning of time in the
all-creating mind of God.
10 The principalities and powers
of heaven are to see, now, made manifest in the Church, the subtlety of God’s
wisdom;
11 such is his eternal purpose,
centred in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 who gives us all our
confidence, bids us come forward, emboldened by our faith in him.