In Ephesians 3 Paul is writing to the Ephesian church and wants to encourage them in their faith:

God’s marvelous plan: Grace.

Paul at the time was a prisoner of the Roman government because the Jewish religious ruling class had accused him of inciting a rebellion and being a leader of terrorists (Acts 21:37-38). This was because Paul was teaching about Jesus, that he was the Messiah the promise of God to bring salvation to everyone, not only Jews. Paul was preaching a new message, Jewish people believed that they were the chosen people of God and that salvation and acceptance by God came only through following their law. 

Paul had confronted the Jewish ruling class by saying that a new law had been established through Jesus and that although they had killed Jesus, God raised him from the dead and the power of God that brought him back to life has brought about a new spiritual law that brings life, salvation and acceptance by God to Jews and Gentiles (everyone) who believes. 

Paul is telling the new believers, Ephesians who are not Jews that the chains that they see him in are not Roman made, he is not bound by Rome or Jewish leaders but is a “prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles” to preach this message so that they (and everyone) can know who God is (Ephesians 3:1).  

Paul says that God has held him captive to bringing a message of a revelation and a mystery that God has revealed to him: that Jesus’ sacrifice has made a way of salvation available to everyone who believes. 

Paul writes that this message of a new covenant is a mystery because it was not made known to people in other generations but now has been revealed by the Spirit of God through prisoners and servants of God like him. Paul writes that this is not his own revelation but that Jesus, through his word has revealed this to him and continues to reveal this truth to people who read his word and through it begin to know him (Ephesians 3:4-7).

Paul says that God did not choose to reveal the mystery of his marvelous plan of salvation to Paul because Paul was more righteous than his peers (Philippians 3:1-14) but that God made him a prophet of his word so that God could reveal how great his grace is. The mystery is that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, God has made everyone an heir of the “boundless riches and promises of Christ”, salvation and acceptance together with believers (Ephesians 3:6).  

Paul writes that this mystery of the greatness of God’s grace was kept hidden in God until the time of the sacrifice that Jesus made so that this truth could be established through Jesus. Paul writes that the message that the church should be sharing is the wisdom of God to make Jesus the spiritual authority over all rulers and all authorities in spiritual places (Ephesians 3:9-10). 

God’s Marvelous Plan: righteousness.  

Children of God are like children of human families and take on the reputation of their family name, by inheritance. As children of God, believers take on the reputation of God: righteousness.  

1 John 2:29 says, “if you know that he (God) is righteous” meaning if you know the reputation of God and who God is then “you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him” meaning everyone who does what is right in the eyes of God is just like God, as children are just like their parents. 

What God commands is right is to know him through accepting Jesus. Through Jesus we know that God is righteous, and that we are his children. John writes “see what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1). 

Through Jesus we know that God is love and if we walk in love toward one another, we embody the reputation of children of God. It is because of God’s love for his children that he has made a way of atonement of purification and acceptance for everyone. Jesus is this way of acceptance, “he appeared so that he might take away our sins, in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. However no one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:5-6). 

Meaning if you are a child of God, Jesus has made this identity known to you and when you accept this truth that you have a way back to the father through Jesus that way of connection makes you righteous and takes away your sin, anyone who knows Jesus knows this. Anyone who does not know Jesus does not know this, so they continue to be bound by the sin that disconnects them from this truth. 

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8) that keeps people from knowing God and knowing Jesus and coming to the knowledge that they are children of God and heirs of righteousness that allows connection and acceptance. 

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin” (1 John 3:9) or be blind to their righteousness, “they cannot go on sinning” (1 John 3:9) “because God’s seed remains in them” meaning God’s righteous identity through Jesus makes them spiritually identified as righteous because they have been spiritually born of God and are children of God, God’s children (1 John 3:9). 

Knowing God and Jesus is how we know who children of God are. Those who have accepted their inheritance to salvation through the righteous sacrifice of Jesus (1 John 3:9-10). 

Prayer:

I pray as Paul prayed for believers and for those who do not yet know their righteous inheritance through acceptance of Jesus. “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family, every father, in heaven and on earth derives its name. 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may know power together with all the Lord’s holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deeps is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21).