Monday, Mar 18 | Ephesians 3:1-13 | Mary Splawn
This portion of Scripture begins and end with a recognition that Paul is in jail. One of the silver lining benefits of being in jail is that there is lots of time to write. And, thankfully Paul had the supplies he needed to write letters to churches and individuals, which by the sovereign power of God have been preserved for instruction in the church for two millennium.
It is very ironic that Paul is in jail for the sake of the gospel because we read in Acts 8 that approximately 25 years earlier, Saul (also known as Paul) is a Christian-persecuting Jew who threw Christians into prison. Yet, Acts 9 recounts Paul’s dramatic conversion. The passage says that Paul is blinded and questioned by Jesus on the way to Damascus. Next, a man named Ananias is instructed by the Lord to go to Paul and to place his hands on him so Paul will regain his sight! The Lord tells Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15).
Now in this letter to Gentiles, Paul encourages the Ephesians not to be distracted or discouraged by his sufferings because he was chosen to suffer much for their sake! In Ephesians 3:13, Paul says that his imprisonment is actually their glory! Elsewhere in letters written by Paul while he was in prison, he clarifies this idea. In Philippians 1:12-13, Paul says that his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel because those with political power have heard the good news and other Christians have become bolder in their witness to Jesus. In 2 Timothy 2:9, Paul emphatically reminds Timothy that while he is bound in chains like a criminal, the word of God can not be bound! In other words, the word about Christ is going forth in spite of Paul’s chains or, dare I say, because of them.
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