Thy Strong Word — Ephesians 3: Gentiles are Fellow Heirs to the Promise

The Apostle explains the mystery of the gospel that through Christ Jesus Gentiles are fellow heirs with Jews, members of the same body, and partakers of the same promise. As a minister of this gospel by God’s grace and mighty power, Paul reveals that through the church God makes his manifold wisdom known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose carried out in Christ Jesus. Paul then prays that the Ephesians may have power through God’s Spirit to grasp the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love and to know it, though it surpasses all knowledge.

The Rev. Dr. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Ephesians 3.

Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians contain a wealth of theology and practical guidance for living out the Christian faith. Ephesians unpacks God’s overarching plan of salvation and our identity in Christ, calling us to unity and holiness in the Church. Philippians overflows with joy, encouraging us to imitate Christ’s humility and develop spiritual maturity. Colossians stresses Christ’s preeminence and sufficiency, warning against false teaching and exhorting us to set our minds on things above. Together these essential epistles provide incredible insights into doctrines like grace, reconciliation, and redemption while also equipping us to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel in our relationships, speech, work, and ministry. Get ready to deepen your faith as we explore the powerful messages in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians!

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Ephesians 3

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— ²assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. ⁴When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶This mystery is^[a] that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

⁷Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in^[b] God, who created all things, ¹⁰so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹²in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. ¹³So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family^[c] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Footnotes

Ephesians 3:6 The words This mystery is are inferred from verse 4
Ephesians 3:9 Or by
Ephesians 3:15 Or from whom all fatherhood; the Greek word patria in verse 15 is closely related to the word for Father in verse 14

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.