I want to continue hearing with faith¹ the truth of the Gospel in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. A quick review follows (Ephesians 3:1-6 EXP18).

By reason of this grace I, Paul, the captive of Christ Jesus for your sake, the nations—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you (and by means of me unto you), how by revelation was made known to me the mystery, as I have written briefly, (which this you can read to perceive my insight into the mystery), which to other generations was not made known to the sons of men as now has been revealed by means of his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit—to become the nations, fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of the promise by means of Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Paul continued (Ephesians 3:7-13 ESV):

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things [Table], so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him [Table]. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory [Table].

The Greek is: οὗ, Of this gospel (literally “Of which”), ἐγενήθην διάκονος, I was made a minister. The difference here between the critical texts (NA²⁸ / NET Parallel Greek) and received texts (Stephanus Textus Receptus / Byzantine Majority Text) may be worth pausing to mention. The critical texts had ἐγενήθην, a passive form of γίνομαι, I was made (ESV), where the received texts had ἐγενόμην in the middle voice (also translated I was made in the KJV).

I found no English translations that went full middle voice (reflexive action)—“I made myself”—but several were translated I became, including the NET (which was supposedly a translation of ἐγενήθην rather than ἐγενόμην. Paul was quite specific about how he was made or became: κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ, according to the gift of God’s grace, τῆς δοθείσης μοι, which was given me, κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, by the working, τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, of his power. In other words, this was God’s doing not Paul’s, regardless how offensive that may be to the old human (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον), your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.⁴

Paul continued: Ἐμοὶ, To me, τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ, the very least (or “less than the least”), πάντων ἁγίων, of all saints, ἐδόθη, was given, ἡ χάρις αὕτη, this grace, τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, to the Gentiles, εὐαγγελίσασθαι, to preach (or “to announce good news”), τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, the unsearchable riches of Christ, καὶ φωτίσαι, and to bring to light, [πάντας], for everyone… I want to pause here to review since what follows is somewhat problematic to unravel.

“Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given me by the working of his power. To me, less than the least of all saints, was given this grace to the Gentiles to announce good news (or, to announce good news to the Gentiles): the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone” τίς ἡ οἰκονομία, what is the plan. The received texts have τίς ἡ κοινωνία here, what is the fellowship (KJV). But that’s only part of the difficulty.

If κοινωνία was not original and οἰκονομία was Paul’s and the Holy Spirit’s intent, they had already used οἰκονομίαν, a form of οἰκονομία in the accusative case, translated of the stewardship in: assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you.⁵ If Paul and the Holy Spirit actually meant plan, πρόθεσις was readily available rather than a word which hearkens back to Paul’s stewardship of God’s grace.⁶ And frankly, I would prefer a translation that doesn’t force me to choose between κοινωνία (fellowship) and οἰκονομία (stewardship). Looking ahead to what follows, why, another possible translation of τίς, seems to be the question that is answered, rather than what is.

So, “to announce good news to the Gentiles: the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone why the stewardship” or “why the fellowship” τοῦ μυστηρίου, of the mystery, τοῦ ἀποκεκρυμμένου ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων, hidden for ages (or “hidden from the ages”), ἐν τῷ θεῷ, in God (or “by means of God”), τῷ, who, τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι, created all things (or, “the whole created”), ἵνα, (e.g., this is why) so that, γνωρισθῇ νῦν, might now be made known,⁷ ταῖς ἀρχαῖς, to the rulers, καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις, and authorities, ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις, in the heavenly places, διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, through the church, ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ, the manifold wisdom of God.

The truth to be hearing with faith⁸ so far is (Ephesians 3:7-10 EXP19):

Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given me by the working of his power. To me, less than the least of all saints, was given this grace to announce good news to the Gentiles: the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone why the stewardship, or the fellowship, of the mystery hidden from the ages by means of God, who the whole created, so that now may be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through the church the manifold wisdom of God.

Paul continued: κατὰ, This was according to (or “according to”), πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων, the eternal purpose (or “the purpose of the ages”), ἣν, that, ἐποίησεν, he has realized (or “he has accomplished”), ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, in Christ Jesus (or “by means of Christ Jesus”), τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, our Lord, ἐν ᾧ, in whom (or “by means of whom”), ἔχομεν, we have, τὴν παρρησίαν, boldness, καὶ προσαγωγὴν ἐν πεποιθήσει, and access with confidence, διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ, through our faith in him.

Translating διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ through our faith in him, sounds like the Christian version of a works religion to me: “Our faith is the work we accomplish to achieve Christ’s salvation.”⁹ The plural possessive pronoun our is neither found nor implied in the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ: “through the faith of Him” or “through his faithfulness.”

Jesus corrected the misconceptions of those who chased him around the Sea of Galilee after they ate a free meal (John 6:25-29 ESV):

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” [Table].

They asked: τί ποιῶμεν, What must we do (or “What might we do”). The verb ποιῶμεν is a form of ποιέω in the subjunctive mood. The verb was ποιοῦμεν in the indicative mood in the Stephanus Textus Receptus: “What do we do.” I’m not finding a 1^st person plural form of ποιέω in the present tense active voice and imperative mood—What must we do—but perhaps this was the ESV translators’ way of indicating a preference for the indicative ποιοῦμεν.

The Greek continues: ἵνα ἐργαζώμεθα, to be doing (or “so that we might do”), τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ, the works of God? Jesus answered: τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ, This is the work of God, ἵνα πιστεύητε, that you believe (or “that you may believe”), εἰς ὃν, in him, ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος, whom he has sent.

Did Jesus just redefine faith as the work we must…do to be doing the works of God? The translators of the NET seem to have thought that: “This is the deed God requires—to believe in the one whom he sent.”¹⁰ But the Greek word translated to believe was not πιστεύειν, an infinitive form of πιστεύω. It was certainly not πιστεύετε, a 2^nd person plural imperative—“you must believe”—“a command or instruction given to the hearer, charging the hearer to carry out or perform a certain action.”¹¹ It is πιστεύητε in the critical texts, and πιστευσητε in the received texts. Both are in the subjunctive mood—“so that (ἵνα) you may believe in Him whom He has sent.” Both¹² are subjunctive verbs in a purpose or result clause: “the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”¹³ The other “stated action” is: This is the work of God, τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ (or, “This is God’s work”).

Jesus addressed those who (by and large) pursued a law that would lead to righteousness¹⁴ as if it were based on works; they did not pursue it by faith.¹⁵ This “cultivated old human” may have sinned somewhat less and done somewhat more good things than the old human (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who made no attempt to mitigate its corruption through deceitful desires.¹⁶ But the “cultivated old human” is not the new human (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον), the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.¹⁷ In a similar way, turning Christian into an adjective governing what people should and should not do is just pursuing another law as if it were based on works. It is the absolute antithesis of what God has accomplished by means of Christ Jesus our Lord: Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?¹⁸ You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.¹⁹

And finally: διὸ, So, αἰτοῦμαι, I ask you, μὴ ἐγκακεῖν, not to lose heart, ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, over what I am suffering for you (or “by means of what I am suffering for you”), ἥτις ἐστὶν, which is, δόξα ὑμῶν, your glory. Since I’ve questioned whether Paul was incarcerated at the time he wrote this letter, I should point out some of the other sufferings to which he may have alluded.

Paul “boasted” about his sufferings to the Corinthians. It only seems fair to quote that boasting in its own context (2 Corinthians 11:16-33 ESV):

I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do,²⁰ accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak²¹ for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one [Table]. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches [Table]. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the²² Lord Jesus,²³ he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order²⁴ to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

The truth to be hearing with faith²⁵ is:

By reason of this grace I, Paul, the captive of Christ Jesus for your sake, the nations—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you (and by means of me unto you), how by revelation was made known to me the mystery, as I have written briefly, (which this you can read to perceive my insight into the mystery), which to other generations was not made known to the sons of men as now has been revealed by means of his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit—to become the nations, fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of the promise by means of Christ Jesus through the gospel.²⁶
Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given me by the working of his power. To me, less than the least of all saints, was given this grace to announce good news to the Gentiles: the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone why the stewardship, or the fellowship, of the mystery hidden from the ages by means of God, who the whole created, so that now may be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the purpose of the ages that he has accomplished by means of Christ Jesus, by means of whom we have boldness and access with confidence through his faithfulness. So I ask you not to lose heart by means of what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.²⁷

Tables comparing 2 Corinthians 11:16; 11:21 and 11:31, 32 in the KJV and NET follow.