Sunday, November 28, 2010

Paul's calling and purpose

In this section of chapter 3, Paul articulates additional details of his calling, its purpose, and the shared bond it brings.

7 Of this Good News I became a minister, in virtue of the charge with which God entrusted me in the exercise of his power-- 8 Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ's People, was this charge entrusted!--to tell the Gentiles the Good News of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ, 9 And to make clear what is God's way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things; 10 So that now to the Archangels and to all the Powers on high should be made known, through the Church, the all-embracing wisdom of God, 11 In accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master. 12 And in union with him, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence. 13 Therefore I beg you not to be disheartened at the sufferings that I am undergoing for your sakes; for they redound to your honor. Twentieth Century New Testament

7 ου εγενηθην διακονος κατα την δωρεαν της χαριτος του θεου της δοθεισης μοι κατα την ενεργειαν της δυναμεως αυτου 8 εμοι τω ελαχιστοτερω παντων αγιων εδοθη η χαρις αυτη τοις εθνεσιν ευαγγελισασθαι το ανεξιχνιαστον πλουτος του χριστου 9 και φωτισαι τις η οικονομια του μυστηριου του αποκεκρυμμενου απο των αιωνων εν τω θεω τω τα παντα κτισαντι 10 ινα γνωρισθη νυν ταις αρχαις και ταις εξουσιαις εν τοις επουρανιοις δια της εκκλησιας η πολυποικιλος σοφια του θεου 11 κατα προθεσιν των αιωνων ην εποιησεν εν τω χριστω ιησου τω κυριω ημων 12 εν ω εχομεν την παρρησιαν και προσαγωγην εν πεποιθησει δια της πιστεως αυτου 13 διο αιτουμαι μη εγκακειν εν ταις θλιψεσιν μου υπερ υμων ητις εστιν δοξα υμων Westcott-Hort Nestle-Aland United Bible Societies Greek New Testament

Humility of his calling (verse 7)
"Of this Good News I became a minister..." so begins the TCNT in verse 7. Looking at the original language, it is more humble stated: ου εγενηθην διακονος "of which (the Gospel referenced at the end of verse 6) I (implied by verb conjugation) became a servant (διακονος, the word from which we derive 'deacon'). The word for "became" is a deponent verb, a verb having no active form yet carries some sense of the active (i.e., the subject is acting, not being acted upon and not reflexive). The Greek word for "become" is γινομαι, which means "I become, begin to be, receive 'being', come into existence". Paul's use of such a word would indicate is confession of transformation; no longer a man of the flesh, a man of the Law, a man of his own making; rather, he is something different now, a new creation, a servant, nothing of which is by his own hand...

"in virtue of the charge with which God entrusted me in the exercise of his power" completes verse 7 in the TCNT, which I find a bit complicated, as if we examine the rendering of the Greek κατα την δωρεαν της χαριτος του θεου της δοθεισης μοι κατα την ενεργειαν της δυναμεως αυτου "according to the gift of the grace of God given to me, according to the inward working of His power". In my rendering from the Greek, the emphasis upon God's grace, both in Paul's calling and the execution of the calling, are paramount. The word from which I translated "inward working" is ενεργεια, from which we derive the word "energy", the presence of which is attributed to God's power. I think it is important, as a side note to believers, to not confuse natural talents with God's giftedness. A person who is a great orator by training before his redemption will continue to have those skills, but it is not a spiritual gift. A person who sings beautifully before redemption will sing beautifully after redemption, perhaps with a different purpose, but it is not a spiritual gift. Both of these examples are of training and genetics, but are not spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is only given after redemption, and while the Lord can certainly use our natural abilities, the spiritual gift He gives is the one intended for His glory and the greatest blessing of the Body.

When it comes to his calling, Paul readily confesses the working of God and Christ in all that he is and that he does. There is a great humility which Paul readily pours forth, as one who understands, as much as humanly possible, the grace of God upon his life.


The activities of his calling (verses 8-11)
In spite of the many things we see Paul as being for the early church, or even for us today, his own understanding of his purpose was very clear and simple.

8 Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ's People, was this charge entrusted!--to tell the Gentiles the Good News of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ, 9 And to make clear what is God's way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things; 10 So that now to the Archangels and to all the Powers on high should be made known, through the Church, the all-embracing wisdom of God, 11 In accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master.

8 εμοι τω ελαχιστοτερω παντων αγιων εδοθη η χαρις αυτη τοις εθνεσιν ευαγγελισασθαι το ανεξιχνιαστον πλουτος του χριστου 9 και φωτισαι τις η οικονομια του μυστηριου του αποκεκρυμμενου απο των αιωνων εν τω θεω τω τα παντα κτισαντι 10 ινα γνωρισθη νυν ταις αρχαις και ταις εξουσιαις εν τοις επουρανιοις δια της εκκλησιας η πολυποικιλος σοφια του θεου 11 κατα προθεσιν των αιωνων ην εποιησεν εν τω χριστω ιησου τω κυριω ημων

"Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ's People, was this charge entrusted!--to tell the Gentiles the Good News of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ", verse 8 from the TCNT, Paul pours forth his own sense of humility in his calling. εμοι τω ελαχιστοτερω παντων αγιων εδοθη η χαρις αυτη τοις εθνεσιν ευαγγελισασθαι το ανεξιχνιαστον πλουτος του χριστου "to me, the least of the least of all saints, the grace itself had been given to proclaim good news to the nations (other than the Hebrews), the untraceable riches of Christ".

There is an interesting word construction as Paul describes himself, and the word construction is the 'comparative superlative'. The word ελαχιστος means 'least' and is the superlative of μικρος, which means 'little'. Paul adds the comparative ending to ελαχιστος to get the word ελαχιστοτερω (dative), and hence, "lessor of the least".

Paul states his primary purpose, the proclamation of the "boundless riches", or more literally, the "untraceable riches" of Christ to the nations of the world. The word ανεξιχνιαστον from which we get 'untraceable', is derived from the preposition αν, which in composition, negates what is to follow, and the word εξιχνιαστος, which means "to trace, to track, to follow".

Verse 9 begins, "And to make clear...", from the Greek φωτισαι "to enlighten", which also turns out to be a "hanging infinitive", that is, it has no direct object in the usual sense. This has prompted some scribes to put in a word to complete the infinitive phrase, usually "all", so that the phrase becomes "to enlighten all". This scribal correction has some support, though it is weak. Rather than the traditional accusative noun one would expect to follow an infinitive in Greek, I suggest that the oldest manuscripts omitting "all" are correct: the phrase that follows is the object of the infinitive:
"what is God's way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things"
τις η οικονομια του μυστηριου του αποκεκρυμμενου απο των αιωνων εν τω θεω τω τα παντα κτισαντι (what is the administration of the mystery which had been in secret from all of the ages in God Who created all things)

Some render in English "what is the fellowship of the mystery", which is an incorrect aberration of the Greek. The TCNT does a very good job in explaining the use of οικονομια (administration, management, oversight; literally "house law") which is nowhere close to the Greek word for fellowship, κοινωνια, the root meaning of which is "common". This second element of Paul's calling, to bring light to the workings of God, or, "explain the mysteries of God" as they relate to the Gospel, is perfectly congruent to the Great Commission: preach the Gospel and then teach them all things.

10 So that now to the Archangels and to all the Powers on high should be made known, through the Church, the all-embracing wisdom of God, 11 In accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master.
10 ινα γνωρισθη νυν ταις αρχαις και ταις εξουσιαις εν τοις επουρανιοις δια της εκκλησιας η πολυποικιλος σοφια του θεου 11 κατα προθεσιν των αιωνων ην εποιησεν εν τω χριστω ιησου τω κυριω ημων

I have thought long and hard about verse 10, trying to understand Paul's direction. But now, I think I understand. We, as the redeemed of Christ, simultaneously live in two worlds. Okay, I know this sounds a little strange, but bear with me. There are, in fact, two realities in which we live: one is of the earthly realm where we live, see, touch, smell, act; the other is the heavenly realm, which is unseen to us at this time, the realm into which John looked and would compose the book The Revelation. Whether we know it or not, whether we realize it or not, we are functioning in both realms at the same time. Paul, in declaring his purposes of ministry -- which were given to him by God and empowered by God -- demonstrates to us the connection between the seen reality and the unseen reality. As we declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and declare the wonders of his mysteries, we are not doing it only to be humans in our midst, the souls we are trying to reconcile to God, but we are also doing it to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms: the angels and all of those in the unseen reality. Even as Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2, that God would "show us off to all creation", so also are we declaring to that same creation the glories of God Himself through the proclamation of the Gospel and the teaching of its mysteries. In effect, we stand alongside our Father God and Jesus Christ our Lord in the unseen reality proclaiming Their glories. Mystical? Yes, but exciting as well, as our reign with Him has already begun for us even now. Verse 11 emphasizes this fact, "according to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord". Paul gives us the bigger picture of both his ministry and our ministry as we labor together to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the wonders and riches of its mysteries.

The shared bond in his ministry (verses 12-13)
12 And in union with him, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence. 13 Therefore I beg you not to be disheartened at the sufferings that I am undergoing for your sakes; for they redound to your honor.

12 εν ω εχομεν την παρρησιαν και προσαγωγην εν πεποιθησει δια της πιστεως αυτου 13 διο αιτουμαι μη εγκακειν εν ταις θλιψεσιν μου υπερ υμων ητις εστιν δοξα υμων

Paul once again draws himself close to the Ephesians, that he is not above them, not great zero more significant than they, but as one who is redeemed by grace, the same grace by which they were also redeemed.

"in whom we have the boldness and freedom and confidence through His faith", a more literal translation of verse 12 from the Greek. As you can see, my interpretation of the Greek differs from that of the TCNT. My translation "through His faith" is absolutely literal, whereas the TCNT changes the meaning of the phrase to "through our trust in Him". For the TCNT to be correct, the voice and wording of the Greek would have to be altered. It was Jesus Christ Who was faithful to His eternal purpose, and through His faithfulness, the Possession, the Elect, the Called Out Ones, the Body are redeemed. It is because of His faith in the Father, and the Spirit's work in the Elect, that we, by faith (which is a gift to us), are redeemed. We all pass into a state of redemption through the faith of Jesus Christ. Therefore, there can be no hierarchy among us, for all that we are and all that we have for him are the works of the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

As a result, Paul articulates verse 13: "therefore I ask to not lose courage in my tribulations on behalf of you, for it is your glory". Paul considered all that happened to him to be a part of God's great plan and purpose for him in the Gospel, and therefore the Ephesians should not be discouraged, should not grow weary, should not lose courage, for the eternal battle is already won. Maybe for you and for me.

Grace and peace,

Mark

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