Ephesians 3:9-10 9and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Paul’s mission of grace from v. 8 included bringing the good news of Jesus out into the open for all to see. The good news of Jesus is often compared to light in the New Testament. The light is the source of life, direction, and meaning, and points the way to God’s love, holiness, and righteousness. The world of unbelievers, among whom we all once walked (2:1; 5:8), was in the dark. Darkness represents the ignorance (4:17-18) and disobedience (2:1) that unbelievers have. But the gospel can overcome these because it provides light, which represents life, new understanding, and new opportunity for growth.
God’s plan is for everyone in the world to know about His love shown through Jesus Christ. The mission of the church is to participate with God in this plan. Paul describes this again as a mystery because it was hidden for ages, which represents a long period of time, from creation until the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Paul uses again the word for “stewardship” (oikonomia; see v. 2) to emphasize his part in revealing this mystery. This stewardship can be interpreted here as the plan for which Paul was responsible to make known to the Gentiles. He may have included the last phrase, who created all things, to emphasize also that the gospel has been part of God’s plan since creation. God as creator spoke light into existence (Genesis 1:3) and can also bring light into the darkness of everyone’s lives. The potential is there if people will only turn in faith to Jesus.
Verse 10 gives the purpose for this revelation of light. The focus of this purpose is on people knowing the wisdom of God. God’s wisdom is described by a unique word translated as manifold (polupoikilos) or many sided and very diverse. God’s wisdom cannot be fathomed by humans. We only get glimpses of this wisdom as God chooses to reveal it. The greatest revelation of this wisdom in on the cross (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). God has chosen to make this wisdom known through the church. This will require the obedience of faith of believers who must share in the same stewardship that Paul had. Like Paul, we are stewards of the divine mysteries (1 Corinthians 4:1), in particular, by letting the world know the truth that is found in Jesus (Ephesians 4:20).
One phrase is difficult to interpret in this verse: the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Paul could mean spiritual beings or heavenly places (see Ephesians 1:20). He could be setting up the huge contrast between earthly and heavenly existence, thereby showing the awesome reach of God’s wisdom of the message about Jesus. Paul has already setup this unfathomable reach of God’s grace in the earlier part of the letter and now adds this phrase to show that not even the heavenly places, which are beyond human comprehension, are outside of the reach of this gospel.
For older posts, click here.