Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 1 Holy Bible

Ephesians 3 : 1 Bible Verse Songs

• The Cause of Christ by West Coast Baptist College
• Prisoner Of Christ by Deon Kipping

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 1-13. - DIGRESSION ON THE ADMISSION OF THE GENTILES TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Verse 1. - For this cause. The reference is not merely to the last statement or illustration, but to the whole view of the purpose of God toward the Gentiles unfolded in Ephesians it. The apodosis does not come in till ver. 14, at the beginning of which this conjunctive clause is repeated. I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. He introduces himself in order to make known the feelings which were roused in his soul towards them by the consideration of the privileges just enlarged on - especially to acquaint them with the prayers he offered for them (see vers. 14-19), and apparently with the indirect object of getting them to offer similar prayers for themselves. To justify this introduction of himself, he delicately introduces the fact of his being a prisoner on their behalf. What had brought him to Rome, what had made him appeal to Caesar, was his preaching the gospel to the Gentiles; indeed, the immediate occasion of his arrest at Jerusalem was the suspicion that he had taken Trophimus, an Ephesian, one of themselves, into the temple (Acts 21:29). By this allusion to the condition into which his regard for them had brought him, be conciliates sympathetic consideration of what is to follow.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers-1Ephesians 3:1-13 contain two subjects closely blended together. The first (carrying on what is implied in the contrast drawn out in Ephesians 2) is the absolute newness of this dispensation to the Gentiles--a mystery hidden from the beginning in God, but now at last revealed. The second, an emphatic claim for St. Paul himself, "less than the least" although he is, of a special apostleship to the Gentiles, proclaiming this mystery by word and deed.(1) For this cause . . .--After much discussion of the construction of this verse, there seems little doubt that the nominative, "I, Paul," must be carried on beyond the digression upon the mystery of the gospel, and his part in ministering it, which follows. The only question which can well be raised is whether the resumption takes place at Ephesians 3:13, "I desire that ye faint not;" or at Ephesians 3:14, "I bow my knees;" and this seems decided for the latter alternative, both by the emphatic repetition of "for this cause," and by the far greater weight and finality of the latter sentence.The prisoner of Jesus Christ.--The phrase (repeated in Ephesians 4:1; Philemon 1:9; 2Timothy 1:8) is dwelt upon with an emphasis, explained by St. Paul's conviction that "his bonds" tended to "the furtherance of the gospel"--not merely by exciting a sympathy which might open the heart to his words, but even more (see Philippians 1:13-14) by showing the victorious power of God's word and grace--which "is not bound"--to triumph over captivity and the danger of death. The expression itself is notable. When St. Paul calls himself the "prisoner of Jesus Christ," he represents our Lord's own will, as ordaining his captivity for His own transcendent purposes of good, making him an "ambassador in chains" (Ephesians 6:20), and these "the bonds of the gospel." (See Philemon 1:13; and Acts 28:20, "For the hope of Israel I am bound in this chain.") Hence in this passage St. Paul seems to speak of his captivity as a special proof of the reality of his mission, and a new step in its progress; and appeals to it accordingly, just as in the final salutation of the Colossian Epistle, "Remember my bonds." The whole idea is a striking instance of the spiritual alchemy of faith, turning all things to good--not unlike the magnificent passage (in 2Corinthians 11:23-30) of his "glorying in his infirmities." . . .