Ephesians 3
The chapter in full, then what it says, what the Greek or Hebrew decides, and where readers have disagreed.
Ephesians 3 WEB
- 1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
- 2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you,
- 3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,
- 4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
- 5 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,
- 6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,
- 7 of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.
- 8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- 9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ,
- 10 to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,
- 11 according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 12 In him we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.
- 13 Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
- 14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
- 16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,
- 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- 18 may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,
- 19 and to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
- 20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
- 21 to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3
What is happening
Paul is writing to a mixed congregation — largely Gentile, in a city (Ephesus) known for its temple to Artemis and its trade in magic — about what it now means for non-Jews to belong to the God of Israel. Chapter 2 has just argued that Gentiles, "far off," have been brought near through Christ's blood and are being built with Jewish believers into "one new man," a single household of God. Chapter 3 begins Paul's prayer report on that fact — "For this cause, I... bow my knees" (3:14) — but the prayer gets interrupted almost as soon as it starts. Verse 1 opens "For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles," and then the sentence stalls: instead of finishing it, Paul spends verses 2–13 explaining why his imprisonment matters, what the "mystery" is that he's been given to steward, and why the Gentiles' inclusion is such an enormous thing. Only at verse 14 does he pick the sentence back up — "For this cause, I bow my knees" — essentially restarting where he left off eleven verses earlier. The chapter is therefore two halves of one thought, split by a long, necessary digression, followed by one of the most soaring doxologies in the New Testament.
The passage, walked through
The mystery revealed (3:1–6). Paul identifies himself as "the prisoner of Christ Jesus" — not of Rome, though Rome held the keys. His imprisonment is for the sake of the Gentiles' inclusion (3:1), the very cause he's about to explain. That cause is a "mystery" (Greek mystērion, 3:3–4), a word Paul uses in a specific sense: not a puzzle to be solved by cleverness, but a plan of God kept hidden until the appointed moment of disclosure. What was hidden "in other generations... to the children of men" has "now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit" (3:5). The content of the mystery is stated plainly in 3:6: Gentiles are "fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News." Three Greek compounds carry the weight — synklēronoma (joint-heirs), syssōma (joint-body-members), symmetocha (joint-partakers) — each built on syn, "together." The point is not merely that Gentiles are welcome; it's that they hold exactly the same standing as Jewish believers, with nothing subordinate about the arrangement.
Paul's commission (3:7–9). Paul was made "a servant" (diakonos) of this gospel "according to the gift of that grace of God... according to the working of his power" — the grace is given, the power does the work; Paul is instrument, not source. He calls himself "the very least of all saints" (3:8), a comparative Greek form (elachistoterō) that intensifies "least" into something like "less than the least" — coined language, apparently, because ordinary superlatives weren't humble enough for what he wanted to say about a man who once persecuted the church he now serves. His task: to preach "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (anexichniaston, literally "untrackable," riches with no footprints to follow to their end) and to make known the "administration" (oikonomia, a household-management term — God's ordering of his own house) of a mystery hidden "for ages... in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ."
Cosmic scope (3:10–13). The purpose of this reaches beyond the church's own benefit: "that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places" (3:10). The church itself — Jew and Gentile reconciled in one body — is the exhibit by which spiritual authorities learn something about God they didn't know before. This was "the eternal purpose" (3:11), and it grounds present confidence: "In him we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him" (3:12). Paul's sufferings, far from undermining this, are "your glory" (3:13) — evidence that the mystery is worth being imprisoned for.
The prayer resumed (3:14–19). Paul bows his knees "to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named" (3:14–15) — a wordplay in the Greek between Patēr (Father) and patria (family/lineage): all fatherhood derives its name from this Father. He asks for three things, in escalating intensity: that they be "strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person" (3:16); that "Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith," rooted and grounded in love (3:17); and that they be able "to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth" (3:18) — dimensions of what, the text never says; the immensity is the point, not the shape — "and to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge" (3:19), a love too large for the very faculty (gnōsis) Paul is using to try to describe it. The goal: "that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
The doxology (3:20–21). Paul closes with praise to the God "who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" — the Greek stacks intensifiers (hyper, "above," plus ekperissou, "超-abundantly") almost past translation — "according to the power that works in us." Glory belongs to him "in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever."
Where readers have disagreed
The chief crux is 3:10 — what exactly the "principalities and powers" learn, and how. Some read it as angelic beings (fallen or unfallen) genuinely instructed by observing the reconciled church; others take it more broadly as cosmic authorities generally, human or spiritual, put on notice that their divisions have been overruled. The text doesn't resolve which; it does insist the church's unity has an audience beyond itself.
A second point of discussion is 3:1's broken sentence. Some commentators see it as evidence of careful architecture — Paul builds a parenthesis to justify his authority before praying — while others see simply the unpolished movement of a real letter, dictated, interrupted by its own logic. Neither reading changes the content; both agree the digression is deliberate enough to matter.
What it asks of a reader
The chapter presses the claim that the unity of very different peoples under one gospel is not incidental to Christianity but near its center — enough to be called a "mystery" hidden since before creation and finally disclosed in Christ. It asks whether a reader will regard the "unsearchable riches of Christ" as worth Paul's chains, and whether the love "which surpasses knowledge" is something to be merely admired at a distance or actually sought — Paul's own posture is on his knees, asking for it. Irenaeus's axiom, "The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God" (Against Heresies, IV.20.7), names what the chapter's final prayer is reaching for: not information about God but a filling — "with all the fullness of God" — that changes what a person is.
The verses this turns on
For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσμιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν—
- Τούτου οὗτος demonstrative pronoun · genitive singular neuter G3778
- χάριν χάριν preposition G5484
- ἐγὼ ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- Παῦλος Παῦλος noun · nominative singular masculine G3972
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- δέσμιος δέσμιος noun · nominative singular masculine G1198
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- Χριστοῦ Χριστός noun · genitive singular masculine G5547
- Ἰησοῦ Ἰησοῦς noun · genitive singular masculine G2424
- ὑπὲρ ὑπέρ preposition G5228
- ὑμῶν σύ personal pronoun G4771
- τῶν ὁ article · genitive plural neuter G3588
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the assembly,
- Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
- 2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,
- Ephesians 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
- Philippians 1:13 so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ,
how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ὅτι κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνωρίσθη μοι τὸ μυστήριον, καθὼς προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ,
- ὅτι ὅτι conjunction G3754
- κατὰ κατά preposition G2596
- ἀποκάλυψιν ἀποκάλυψις noun · accusative singular feminine G602
- ἐγνωρίσθη γνωρίζω verb · aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular G1107
- μοι ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- τὸ ὁ article · nominative singular neuter G3588
- μυστήριον, μυστήριον noun · nominative singular neuter G3466
- καθὼς καθώς adverb G2531
- προέγραψα προγράφω verb · aorist active indicative, 1st person singular G4270
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- ὀλίγῳ, ὀλίγος adjective · dative singular neuter G3641
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Galatians 1:12 For I didn't receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
- Ephesians 3:9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ,
- Ephesians 3:4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
- Acts 22:17 "When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance
which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ὃ ἑτέραις γενεαῖς οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὡς νῦν ἀπεκαλύφθη τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις ἐν Πνεύματι,
- ὃ ὅς relative pronoun · nominative singular neuter G3739
- ἑτέραις ἕτερος adjective · dative plural feminine G2087
- γενεαῖς γενεά noun · dative plural feminine G1074
- οὐκ οὐ particle · nominative G3756
- ἐγνωρίσθη γνωρίζω verb · aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular G1107
- τοῖς ὁ article · dative plural masculine G3588
- υἱοῖς υἱός noun · dative plural masculine G5207
- τῶν ὁ article · genitive plural masculine G3588
- ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος noun · genitive plural masculine G444
- ὡς ὡς adverb G5613
- νῦν νῦν adverb G3568
- ἀπεκαλύφθη ἀποκαλύπτω verb · aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular G601
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- 1 Peter 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently. They prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
- 2 Peter 3:2 that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
- Jude 1:17 But you, beloved, remember the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
- Ephesians 3:9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ,
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
εἶναι τὰ ἔθνη συνκληρονόμα καὶ σύνσωμα καὶ συνμέτοχα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,
- εἶναι εἰμί verb · present active infinitive G1510
- τὰ ὁ article · accusative plural neuter G3588
- ἔθνη ἔθνος noun · accusative plural neuter G1484
- συνκληρονόμα συγκληρονόμος adjective · accusative plural neuter G4789
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- σύνσωμα σύσσωμος adjective · accusative plural neuter G4954
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- συνμέτοχα συμμέτοχος adjective · accusative plural neuter G4830
- τῆς ὁ article · genitive singular feminine G3588
- ἐπαγγελίας ἐπαγγελία noun · genitive singular feminine G1860
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- Χριστῷ Χριστός noun · dative singular masculine G5547
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Galatians 3:26 For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Galatians 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- Romans 8:15 For you didn't receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
- 1 John 2:25 This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
- 1 John 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
οὗ ἐγενήθην διάκονος κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ.
- οὗ ὅς relative pronoun · genitive singular neuter G3739
- ἐγενήθην γίνομαι verb · aorist passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular G1096
- διάκονος διάκονος noun · nominative singular masculine G1249
- κατὰ κατά preposition G2596
- τὴν ὁ article · accusative singular feminine G3588
- δωρεὰν δωρεά noun · accusative singular feminine G1431
- τῆς ὁ article · genitive singular feminine G3588
- χάριτος χάρις noun · genitive singular feminine G5485
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- τῆς ὁ article · genitive singular feminine G3588
- δοθείσης δίδωμι verb · aorist passive participle, genitive singular feminine G1325
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 1:19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
- 2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
- Ephesians 3:2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you,
- Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
- Hebrews 13:21 make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
- ἐμοὶ ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- τῷ ὁ article · dative singular masculine G3588
- ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ ἐλάχιστος adjective · dative singular masculine G1647
- πάντων πᾶς adjective · genitive plural masculine G3956
- ἁγίων ἅγιος adjective · genitive plural masculine G40
- ἐδόθη δίδωμι verb · aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular G1325
- ἡ ὁ article · nominative singular feminine G3588
- χάρις χάρις noun · nominative singular feminine G5485
- αὕτη, οὗτος demonstrative pronoun · nominative singular feminine G3778
- τοῖς ὁ article · dative plural neuter G3588
- ἔθνεσιν ἔθνος noun · dative plural neuter G1484
- εὐαγγελίσασθαι εὐαγγελίζω verb · aorist middle infinitive G2097
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- 1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
- Colossians 1:27 to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
- Ephesians 3:16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,
- 1 Timothy 1:13 although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
- Ephesians 2:7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus;
to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ,
- ἵνα ἵνα conjunction G2443
- γνωρισθῇ γνωρίζω verb · aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular G1107
- νῦν νῦν adverb G3568
- ταῖς ὁ article · dative plural feminine G3588
- ἀρχαῖς ἀρχή noun · dative plural feminine G746
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ταῖς ὁ article · dative plural feminine G3588
- ἐξουσίαις ἐξουσία noun · dative plural feminine G1849
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- τοῖς ὁ article · dative plural neuter G3588
- ἐπουρανίοις ἐπουράνιος adjective · dative plural neuter G2032
- διὰ διά preposition G1223
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- 1 Peter 1:12 To them it was revealed that they served not themselves, but you, in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
- Ephesians 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,
- Romans 11:33 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
- Ephesians 1:21 far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
κατὰ πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων ἣν ἐποίησεν ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν,
- κατὰ κατά preposition G2596
- πρόθεσιν πρόθεσις noun · accusative singular feminine G4286
- τῶν ὁ article · genitive plural masculine G3588
- αἰώνων αἰών noun · genitive plural masculine G165
- ἣν ὅς relative pronoun · accusative singular feminine G3739
- ἐποίησεν ποιέω verb · aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular G4160
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- τῷ ὁ article · dative singular masculine G3588
- Χριστῷ Χριστός noun · dative singular masculine G5547
- Ἰησοῦ Ἰησοῦς noun · dative singular masculine G2424
- τῷ ὁ article · dative singular masculine G3588
- Κυρίῳ κύριος noun · dative singular masculine G2962
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- 2 Timothy 1:9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
- Ephesians 1:11 We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will,
- Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love,
- Romans 9:11 For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls,
- Isaiah 46:10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
From the interpretive tradition
The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.
We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.