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 others 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. In our verses today Paul is explaining that  the Gentiles were historically excluded from the nation of the Jewish people – they were not part of the covenant of promise – but now in Christ Jesus, the Gentiles are no longer strangers but also inherit Gods promise of salvation. In the church all racial differences are gone.

in  beginning of chapter 3 Ephesians, Paul tells us that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus – meaning he is an actual prisoner in Rome because of the gospel – his ministry at core was why he was in prison.   He is telling his readers that no one has ever come to Christ by his or her own intelligence or power or through good works; that the Gospel is not something we would ever think of or reason out but a mystery only revealed by God.

The key idea is God’s eternal purpose to sum up things in Christ – the centrality of Christ – the now revealed truth that Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. None of these thoughts were welcome to unbelieving Jews. The Old Testament spoke of God’s blessings on the Gentiles but always through the Jews.  There were many centuries of hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles which would not be going away quickly or completely. There were troublemakers in Ephesus in Pauls absence questioning his authority and insisting that believers become Jewish proselytes  – they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.  This is why the apostle Paul found it necessary to remind the Ephesians of equality of the Jews and Gentiles in God’s eyes in the Church.  Faithful Christians did not have to follow the Law of Moses: they now had direct access to God through Christ Jesus.