if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, (3) how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,…….(5) which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets; (6) that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul who was imprisoned at the time for his spread of the gospel. Verse 2 was ironic as his audience consisted of the faithful and he is reminding them that he, Paul, is writing with divine authority, just as he preached the gospel to the Ephesians as the chosen vessel of God. Everywhere Paul went he was followed by false teachers (judaizers) who argued that Gentiles needed to convert to Jews – with the outward sign of circumcision – and to follow the law of Moses and observe ceremonial rites and rituals in order to be saved. In another words, Jesus was not enough. The Judaizers taught Christ AND the law. The gospel Paul preached was that nothing man can ever do is good enough to earn salvation. Eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus is a free gift of God.
Our verses today tell the reader that the specific gift of God through Jesus is the reconciliation of the Jews and the Gentiles and this union with each other is accomplished through union of both in Christ. The word mystery means this is something revealed by God that could never be known through human reason The Old Testament spoke of God’s blessing in Gentiles through the Jews but now there is revealed a new truth and that is God’s blessing in Gentiles in Christ Jesus – they are fellow partakers and co-heirs with Christ.
None of the Old Testament prophets, patriarchs or leaders knew when or how the Jews and Gentiles would accomplish this fellowship but divine revelation of the centrality of Christ has been made known by Paul and this mystery of the gift of grace to the Gentiles has been communicated by God.