Mystery - Ephesians 3

3:1-5 - It is for the purpose of bringing the Jewish and Gentile converts together that Paul, “the prisoner of Jesus Christ,” writes this message to the Ephesians. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.org notes that Paul probably uses the word “prisoner” here because he this epistle was almost certainly written while he was in prison. Paul continues that by “revelation (God) made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.” The IM comments, “Here mystery refers to a sacred truth made known by revelation.” The article notes, “Paul employs the term mystery twenty times in his letters in discussing Christ, the gospel, the resurrection, Israel, the Gentiles, speaking in tongues, iniquity, and godliness.” Paul makes sure to teach that this doctrine is new, meaning that “in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men,” and that it was “revealed unto his hold apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” This is important because the gentiles who accepted the gospel can be assured that this is policy throughout the whole church. If Paul had been the only one to institute this policy, then any gentile’s association with the gospel would be contingent on Paul personally and not recognized as legitimate by any other member or leadership. Plus, it’s important to know that God is the one who decreed this mystery, not just Paul trying to manipulate them. 3:6-11 - We’ve discussed previously what the “mystery” is that Paul is talking about, but he spells it out again here, saying, “that the gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” The IM says, “The mystery Paul wrote about it that both Jews and Gentiles can become heirs of the gospel covenant through Christ. This was a doctrine that ‘in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men.’ Paul taught that all those who follow Christ take upon themselves His name and become His seed and ‘heirs of the kingdom of God,’ just as the Book of Mormon teaches.” The article expands on this, saying, “For the first time since the flood, the non-Israelitish nations (Gentiles) were to be given the opportunity to receive the gospel and be adopted into immortal Israel.” This is kind of a big deal, opening up the gospel to the gentiles for the first time in thousands of years, and Paul recognizes that that he is “less than the least of all saints.” The only reason that he is able to accomplish this task is because of “the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.” He’s given the power of God to “preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” 3:12-14 - He promises that through the gospel, “we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. The IM teaches, “The word ‘boldness’ can be understood as confidence in the presence of God. Because of the Savior, in this life we freely approach God the Father through prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the next life we can enter God’s presences with confidence.” So basically, the gentiles have the opportunity, through the atonement of Jesus Christ to go from a people “having no hope, and without God in the world” to having “boldness and access with confidence by the faith of (God).” This is the mystery, it’s new information that hasn’t been available for thousands of years, this is a pretty big deal. Paul asks them to “faint not at my tribulations for you,” so they must have known what kind of misfortune has befallen him because of his desire to take the gospel to the gentiles, in fact, he did just note that he was in prison. It’s kind of like he’s saying, “it’s my pleasure to suffer to bring you the gospel.” That’s a pretty powerful perspective to have. 3:15-21 - Paul prays for them that God “would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.” The article gives one explanation by quoting James R. Faust, saying, “We seek to build inner moral strength and character in the members of the Church in complete harmony with the statement of President Heber J. Grant, in the early days of the welfare program: ‘The primary purpose is to establish independence, industry, thrift and self-respect… Thus rescuing all that is finest down deep inside of them and bring to flower and fruitage, the latent richness of the spirit, which, after all, is the mission, purpose and reason for the being of the Church.” The whole point of the gospel is to meet people where they are and give them an opportunity to grow into happier, healthier people because there’s always room for improvement in this life, no matter how advanced someone might be, the gospel can always take them further on that path. The article also quotes James E. Faust as teaching, “If we are to be strengthened in the inner person, the inner self must be purged and cleansed of transgression… An important part of the spiritual being of all of us is the quiet and sacred part of each from which we may feel a sanctification in our lives… It is that part of us wherein no other soul intrudes… This portion of our beings is reserved only for ourselves and our Creator. It is here that we retreat and mediate.” I think this is the part of our being where we think, where we wish, where we hope, where we dream, where we stew in anger, etc. We know that Satan can give us thoughts but that he can’t access them, he can’t read our minds, despite what he’s tried to tell us. So truly, this is a sacred spot within ourselves that’s only available to us and the Spirit. And listen to the benefits are of having the Spirit in our “inner man,” we are promised “riches,” being “strengthened,” “rooted and grounded in love,” being able to “comprehend,” and “to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God,” and “glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.” I think one part that is important to keep in mind is that this the process of perfecting our “inner man” started in the pre-mortal world and will not end until long into the post-mortal world. That begs the question, will all our rewards be withheld until we reach perfection at the end? If that were the case, it would still be worth it, but the motivation might wax and wane as time goes on. But the amazing part is that the answer is “no,” we don’t have to wait until we are perfect to have any rewards. That’s the beauty of the plan of salvation, we are rewarded the whole time. Our rewards might not seem as grand as everything in the universe that comes at the end, but we will have peace in our hearts regardless of what goes on around us and that is an incredible gift that people dedicate their lives to, that can be ours if we do what we can to become more Christlike. We can be happy in our adversities, we can be blessed and highly favored, we can have the Spirit with us at all times. These things and so much more can be ours when we put in some effort to grow spiritually.