Ephesians 3:13

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

The apostle here takes up once more the thought of v. 2, joining it in a very skillful manner with the preceding verse: To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was given this grace, to preach to the Gentiles the incomprehensible wealth of Christ. As Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:9, calls himself the least of the apostles, and, 1 Timothy 1:15, chief of sinners, so he here, by the formation of a comparative of a superlative, tries to express his feeling of unworthiness for the glorious office of the ministry. This is by no means false modesty, as liberal critics are carpingly saying, for Paul was well able to defend his office upon occasion, but it was true humility, such as should cause every pastor and every worker in the Church to make this verse his motto. It was the thought of the supreme dignity of the office which he had received at the cost of such boundless grace which could not fail to evoke Paul's sense of his own utter unworthiness. That fact, that he was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, that he was to proclaim to them the unsearchable riches of Christ, overwhelmed him as an evidence of God's unmerited grace. Unsearchable, incomprehensible riches he calls them, such as are unfathomable, past finding out, to which no footsteps lead that might enable men to find out the fullness of the divine salvation for themselves, to understand the spiritual, heavenly blessings in Christ by their own power of comprehension.

There is also another purpose connected with the ministry: And to enlighten all men as to what is the administration of the mystery which from all ages has been hidden in God, who creates all things. All men by nature are in the dark concerning the Gospel and its wonderful message of free grace. Therefore it is necessary that they be enlightened, that they be shown, that they be turned from darkness to light, 2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Peter 1:19; Acts 26:18. They must be told that the mystery concerning the salvation of all men, including the Gentiles, is now openly proclaimed and applied to all men. This news was hidden since the world began; no man can conceive of it, can grasp it by nature. But now it has been revealed and realized in God, the Creator of all things. As such the almighty Lord creates and arranges the ages of the world; He puts into execution at His time what He has long kept hidden. Thus the Church of Christ owes her existence to the creative power of God. The Church is a new creation in that very form that it consists of Gentiles as well as Jews. So the greatness of the gift of grace entrusted to Paul, the beauty and power of the Gospel-ministry, is again brought out; for the Christian Church, which is thereby perfected, is, in its ultimate form, the spiritual part of mankind, whose principal thought is to give all honor to Him that created all things.

Since, moreover, the call of Paul made him a minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles, the aim of his work was: in order that there might be made known now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. The purpose of Paul's preaching was the gathering of the Church, which is synonymous with the revelation or administration of the mystery which had been hidden in God. Through the Church, therefore, according to God's intention, even the principalities and powers of heaven should be acquainted with the many-sided wisdom of God, with the wisdom which has so many different forms, which manifests itself in so many different ways. The angels of God, who have a decided interest in the redemption of mankind, 1 Peter 1:22, are eager to learn ever more of the wisdom of the almighty Lord, who makes use of so many different ways and means to build His Church and thus to realize the purpose of creation. Through the Church, in the Church, the interest of the angels is satisfied; they receive an insight into its workings, into the gracious purposes of God, into the splendid results which are bound to attend His efforts; and they raise their voices in songs of praise and adoration to Him whose wisdom and mercy are from everlasting.

The apostle now elaborates his thought, that he has been given this ministry for the purpose of realizing God's merciful aims among men, by adding: According to the purpose of the ages, which was made in Christ Jesus, our Lord. This eternal purpose or intention is no other than that which Paul has discussed in the first part of this letter, the purpose which resulted in the election of grace. Upon this purpose of God is based also the apostleship of Paul, since its object is to collect the chosen children of God out of all nations of the world, to bring them together into one body, under the headship of Christ. God chose His own in Jesus Christ: the knowledge of this election had to be transmitted through the Gospel; the ministry of the Gospel was entrusted to the apostle. Therefore he can say of the time in which he was writing: in whom we have our boldness and access in confidence through our faith in Him. He includes his own person with that of his readers, thus speaking for all believers. Since these facts are known to us, therefore we Christians have freedom of spirit, cheerful boldness, the courageous mood of those that are reconciled to God. For we have access to God, the way to the Throne of Grace is open, chap. 2:18. We approach, then, with confidence, not with any reliance upon our own works and merits, hut through our faith in Him, Christ being the ground of our cheerful confidence. We may now enter into the presence of God without misgivings, with all boldness and confidence, as dear children come to their dear father.

In concluding this section, Paul adds an appeal to the Ephesian Christians: Wherefore I beseech you that you do not grow faint in my tribulations in your behalf, which are your glory. There was some danger that the disciples at Ephesus, hearing of the imprisonment of Paul, might be tempted to grow weak and faint-hearted, to lose courage, to believe the cause of Christianity doomed. But Paul wants them to put thoughts of this nature far from them. Because they, the former Gentiles, had, through the labor of the apostle, received the wealth of Christ and become members of the Church of Christ, therefore they were not to permit their joy over this blessing to be embittered by the remembrance of his sufferings, not to yield to the spirit of discouragement; for these tribulations were a necessary part of his office, they belonged to the cross which the minister of Christ must expect to bear, and before God they redounded, not to their shame, but to their glory. The Ephesians knew that their leader was not despondent in the trials which he must undergo, and therefore they should profit by his example and persevere in their Christian conviction.