Ephesians 3:7, commentary and pictures

Paul was made a minister not by human appointment but according to the gift of God's grace given by the effectual working of His power, which both bestows the office and qualifies and empowers for its service. The gift was divine revelation laying open the work accomplished through Christ, by which those dead in trespasses and sins and without hope obtain deliverance and are quickened through faith to reach forth unto holiness and love. His appointed ministry was to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and make known the mystery that they should be fellowheirs and of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel. Being made such a minister means more than presenting truth in words, for the life must be shaped by grace so that Christ is revealed in as well as through all who are saved. This calling is the privilege of every shepherd and minister, ordained or not, and of all who are united to Christ by faith, to labor together with God in earnest travail, self-sacrificing personal service, and holy living rather than relying on human direction.

Gift That Made Paul Minister

Paul was made a minister not by human appointment but according to the gift of the grace of God given by the effectual working of His power, which both bestows the ministry and qualifies and empowers for its service. That grace and power were to be evident in the work itself, and the same gift belongs to every minister and shepherd in every conference, whether formally ordained or not, as a call to labor together with God rather than rely on human direction. To be so made a minister means more than presenting truth in words; it means living it, making Christ known through a life shaped by grace, so that actions as well as words impress truth on hearers, with Christ revealed in and through everyone who is saved.

The gift was divine revelation that laid open before Paul the work accomplished through Christ and the plan of salvation as wrought out by Him. It showed how those in hopelessness, dead in trespasses and sins under sin and death, obtain deliverance through the gospel of Jesus Christ and are quickened through faith in Christ to reach forth with mind, heart, and soul with life and power unto holiness and love. As minister he was to show forth in every place the abundant treasures of Christ's grace and ever-flowing love and mercy and to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

That insight into the riches of grace was so marvelous and deep that it rooted and grounded Paul firmly in truth. No sufferings, no reproaches, and no false theories could move him to deny or make of none effect what was revealed. The gospel he presented remains just as powerful today, revealing the rich treasures of the grace of Christ and the abundant love of God through His Son.

The effectual working of His power is what brings God's people into the very privileged position it is their privilege to occupy, for which Christ gave His own life and made every provision as the Son of the Infinite God and the propitiation for sins to bring sinners into right relation to God. Its full meaning is to be taken in with hungering and thirsting and longing for the promised spiritual evidences, by denying self and taking up the cross and following Christ. Failing to meet the Christian standard for which such provision has been made disappoints all heaven.

In its setting the verse begins Paul's words of commendation to the church at Ephesus, for which he had labored much, declaring he was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given by the effectual working of His power. With the prayer that follows it is an outflowing of apostolic love. It is a precious, large, and full encouragement given to the Ephesians.

Mystery of Gentile Inclusion

Paul was appointed to serve the Gentiles by preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ and proclaiming the gospel according to the gift of God's grace made effective by the effectual working of His power. That appointment came through divine revelation laying open the plan of salvation wrought out by Christ, and it was given even to one who is least of all saints. The ministry was to make known the mystery that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs and of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel. The middle wall of partition is broken down, so that Gentiles share with Jews as fellow heirs and members of one body through Christ.

The solemn work of this ministry is to make all men see the fellowship of the mystery hidden from the beginning of the world in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. By the church the manifold wisdom of God according to His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus is now made known to principalities and powers in heavenly places. These revelations were given not merely to save the generation living when Christ was on earth but to be manifest in all ages, to all worlds, to all cities great and small, to towns and villages. They are opened to Jews and Gentiles so that the honest in heart might be saved from perdition, understand the Scriptures and the mission of Christ, yield former opinions, and receive the gospel in its fulness.

Those converted under this preaching become children of heavenly birth, again grafted into the living vine stock. They have peace with God and a sanctified conscience, dwelling in peace, love, and unity through oneness with Christ. They are transformed in character and renewed in love to God, bearing fruit in good works as partakers of the divine nature in disposition, words, and works.

Ministry and Life Today

To be made a minister according to the gift of God's grace by the effectual working of His power is more than being appointed to speak truth in words, for the gift both grants the office and qualifies and empowers for service, shaping the life by grace so that Christ is made known and revealed in and through the one saved, and actions as well as words impress truth on hearers. The chapter therefore teaches that the work of ministers and others in responsible positions must be accompanied by lives showing God's principles, and it holds a lesson for all teachers, gospel ministers, and all occupying positions of responsibility in God's work. When imperfections of character are manifest in those who should be ensamples to the flock, and character or conduct gives a wrong example in school, in church, or in the world wherever they may be, conversion is needed before being trusted with responsibility, and such should be advised to take up some other work where they will not lead others in a wrong direction.

Being made a minister in this way is the privilege of every shepherd of the flock and every minister in every conference, whether formally ordained to the work or not, calling for labor together with God rather than reliance on human direction. It means not casual interest in souls but earnest travail for souls, earnest heart-searching and prayerful seeking to know God and the power of His grace, with religious experience not tame and commonplace but marked by grace and the decided working of God's power together with human effort. That calling is not fulfilled by preaching alone while leaving personal ministering to others, but requires choosing self-sacrificing service, well-directed personal labor for souls for whom Christ died, willingness to be a servant of the people, and falling on the Rock and being broken so God can put His mark on the worker and fashion him as a vessel unto honor, laboring together with God for the saving of souls in all countries. Applied together with the rest of Ephesians 3 and Ephesians 4, the verse belongs to words to be read to hearers, impressed upon minds, and read most solemnly because the instruction means much, calling for a great reformation from hard-spiritedness as strangers to the working of the Holy Spirit, in words and works and spiritual understanding, to daily breathe the atmosphere of heaven and catch the inspiration of angels in the heavenly courts.

The ministerial burden thus received is the message believers must now carry because the end is near, a world-wide work to be done in earnest in a short time to proclaim the truth, the last message of warning, with aroused understanding of true position in the face of swift coming judgments, taking up God's work intelligently and unitedly with one voice in warning and salvation, and turning fully to the Lord while it is called today to receive mercy and abundant pardon, for there will be no second probation. The work spoken of in the chapter is not for ministers alone, for all who are united to Christ by faith and embrace the truth are members of God's family and are to carry out the gospel work of magnifying truth through its sanctifying, cleansing, and refining influence, taking the commission personally and proclaiming it while setting aside divisions and selfish interests that obstruct its work. Ephesians 3 gives instruction to be practiced by grasping rich blessings by faith, having courage in the Lord and talking courage and strength and faith because divine strength is available, and bearing a living testimony for God under all circumstances. As part of Ephesians 2 and 3, the verse holds a lesson for all to study: to look to God and seek wisdom from Him in most earnest prayer, to learn the way of the Lord as no human voice or human counsel can teach, to see that transgression of the law required the price of the blood of the Son of the infinite God to redeem, to hate the sins that wounded Jesus, and to keep a contrite heart while viewing Jesus as a compassionate, tender High Priest.