Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 26

Paul declares to the Ephesian Believers the Purpose of God’s Mystery Revealed Part 2

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: KJV

As we discovered in the last study, the first purpose was that Paul preach Christ everywhere in the known world at that time. Now we find Paul declaring to these Ephesians that God’s purpose was for him (by his preaching Christ) “to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery” (Ephesians 3:9). The English phrase “to make all men see” Paul uses here is translated by one Greek word photizo which means to shine or make manifest, especially by rays; to enlighten or illuminate. In other words, Paul wanted his preaching of Christ and His Gospel of Grace to be brightly shining in the hearts or inner man or inner woman of every Gentile person in the known world at that time. Paul also wanted that each person would have a complete understanding of all that was theirs “in Christ” by faith as he already prayed for these Ephesian believers earlier in this letter using this very same word photizo, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened (photizo); that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). The tense in which Paul uses this verb photizo expresses action and in this case the past action of what God the Father has done for these Ephesians and every one of us who have truly been redeemed by Christ Blood.

It was the mystery of these Gentile Ephesians and all Gentiles being admitted into covenant relationship with God’s chosen people the Jews that Paul wants everyone everywhere to have clear spiritual insight and understanding about. Paul expresses this truth by the use of the English word fellowship which is translated by the Greek word koinonia which means partnership, that is, participation or social intercourse or communion. It was the eternal truth that God the Father through our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ by the Power of the Holy Spirit was currently through Paul’s and the other Apostle’s preaching of the Gospel gathering together into one Body all people to Himself and in so doing every true believer is the benefactor of all the spiritual blessing that are due to this reality of being “in Christ.” Dr. John Gill has this to say of the fellowship of the mystery, “The mystery is the Gospel; the fellowship of it is the communication of grace by it, a participation of the truths and doctrines of it, communion with Father, Son, and Spirit, which the Gospel calls and leads unto, and that equal concern and interest which both Jews and Gentiles have in the privileges of it. Now men are naturally in the dark about these things, and the ministry of the word is the means of enlightening them, and is indeed the grand design of it; and the ministers of the Gospel do instrumentally enlighten persons, though it is God only that does it efficiently; and for this, gifts of grace were bestowed upon the Apostle, even for the enlightening of all men, not every individual person in the world, but some of all sorts, particularly Gentiles, as well as Jews.”

Paul now declares to these Ephesian believers again that this mystery of the Gospel of Grace through faith in Jesus Christ “from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” (Ephesians 3:9). When Paul writes from the beginning of the world, he means primarily the period of time when man was first created, but he also means from the period of time when all other things in God’s vast and many universes were created by Him including the intelligent beings we know as angels or as Paul refers to them as principalities and powers as we will see in the next study. The English phrase “hath been hid” Paul uses here is translated by one Greek word apokrupto which means to conceal away completely; to keep secret or to hide. Paul has already given these Ephesian believers earlier in this letter a glimpse of the fact that God the Father kept the mystery of Christ and the complete purpose of his birth, death, and resurrection to Himself (Ephesians 1:9 & Colossians 1:26-27). Paul now discloses the entire purpose of God the Father to hide away in His own counsel (even from His chosen people Israel) that He would indeed gather to Himself people of every tribe, tongue, and nation of His created world as Paul wrote in this manner in closing his letter to the believers in Rome, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment of the Eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only Wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:25-27).

Paul closes his revelations in this verse of Scripture to these Ephesian believers by declaring to them that God the Father “created all things by Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9). This means all the things that we listed above were made manifest by our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ as the Apostle declares it with these marvelous, magnificent, and mighty words, “IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made {and} came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3) and also the writer of Hebrews speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ in this manner, “IN MANY separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in {and} by the Prophets, [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir {and} lawful Owner of all things, also by {and} through Whom He created the worlds {and} the reaches of space {and} the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order].” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

My own Personal Note: John 5:24 (AMP): “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the person whose ears are open to My words [who listens to My message] and believes, trusts in, clings to and relies on Him who sent Me has (possesses now) eternal life. In addition, he does not come into judgment [does not incur sentence of judgment, will not come under condemnation], but he has already passed over out of death into life.” The Lord Jesus Christ is saying that to truly hear (the Gospel) means more than the outward act of hearing. It means to receive in a proper manner and to suffer it to make its proper impression on our minds and to obey. Many people outwardly hear the Gospel without either understanding or obeying it. Trusting Christ is the opposite of being dead in sins and under Satan’s authority and control. It is eternal life begun right now in this dispensation. Think about it this way. Those who are dead regard nothing. They are unaffected by the cares, pleasures, and amusements of the world. They hear neither the voice of happiness nor any of the “living” going on over or around their graves. That is how it was with me while I was under Satan’s authority. I was unmoved with the things of Christ. I could not hear the voice of God, nor did I see His majesty, splendor, and loveliness. I was unmoved and unconcerned by His threatening. Nevertheless, Christ is “life.” I now live my life with God. I feel and act as if God is all that matters (which, of course is true). The happiness of Heaven is living for God, being sensible of His presence, glory, and power, and rejoicing in that. My conduct and behavior now gives me the life and happiness that shall be everlasting. It is life begun, expanded, ripening toward Heaven! I have already entered into my inheritance, that inheritance that is everlasting. God destroyed Satan’s authority in my life. Excerpt from my Book entitled, “Silent Assassins of the Soul: Finding Freedom from Sexual Impurity through the Lord Jesus Christ, A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs”

“No wonder that He saves the Gentiles as well as the Jews; for He is the common Creator of them both: and we may conclude that He is able to perform the work of their redemption, seeing He was able to accomplish the great work of creation. It is true that both the first creation, when God made all things out of nothing, and the new creation, whereby sinners are made new creatures by converting grace, are of God by Jesus Christ.” Matthew Henry

“Dr. Whately (Errors of Romanism, chapter ii. section 1) renders it, the common participation of the mystery; that is, of truths formerly unknown, and which could not be known by man’s unaided powers, but which were now laid open by the gracious dispensation of Divine Providence; no longer concealed, or confined to a few, but to be partaken of by all. The allusion, according to him, is to the mysteries of the ancient pagan religions; and he supposes that the Apostle designs to contrast those ‘mysteries’ with Christianity. In those ‘mysteries’ there was a distinction between the initiated and uninitiated. There was a revelation to some of the worshippers, of certain holy secrets from which others were excluded. There were in some of the mysteries, as the Elensinian, ‘great and lesser’ doctrines in which different persons were initiated. In strong contrast with these, the ‘great mystery’ in Christianity was made known to all. It was concealed from none and there was no distinction made among those who were initiated. No truths which God had revealed were held back from any part, but there was a common participation by all. Christianity has no hidden truths for a part only of its friends; it has no ‘reserved’ doctrines; it has no truths to be entrusted only to a sacred priesthood. Its doctrines are to be published to the wide world, and every follower of Christ is to be a partaker of all the benefits of the truths which Christ has revealed.” Albert Barnes

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…