Ephesians 3:6

… that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

in the previous verses, Paul has spoken about the mystery that was previously hidden, but has now been revealed. now he talks about the content of the revelation.

the revelation is this: the Gentiles, who were previously excluded from the promises of God, now included in the promises, specifically the promise of eternal life. Those who were once far off, indeed considered unclean or impure by Jewish people, are now in the centre of God's plan for a kingdom of priests .

in fact, Paul argues that Gentiles are not just grafted into an existing structure, remaining separate. No, under the new covenant initiated by Christ, there is a new structure, a new household, a new temple in which there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles. The divisions of the old covenant are now obsolete because Christ has destroyed the distinctives.

Gentiles are now fellow heirs. Paul doesn't say here who we are fellow heirs with. We would assume that the Gentiles fare fellow heirs with the Jews. In Romans 8:17 he makes the astonishing claim that we heirs of God the Father, joint heirs with Christ.

the promises of God do not flow to the Jews because they are God's chosen people. The promises of God flow to all believers, to all who are in Christ, because of God's grace to Christ.

God made promises to the Jews because they were the heirs of Abraham, the descendants of whom God had promised they would be as many as the stars in the sky, and through them the world would be blessed. Now, we who are Gentiles share in that promise because of Christ.

but there is much more. As the heir to God the Father, Christ gets everything that is God's- that is the is the whole of creation, whether we see it or not, the things in the heavens and on the earth, the spiritual realm as well as the physical realm. The whole of creation is ours because we are joint Heirs with Christ.

we are members of the same body. All who believe in Christ are members of His body. We belong together, placed organically where we can be most effective in the body.

there is just one body of Christ. There is not a Jewish body and a Gentile body. There is not a Catholic body, and an Anglican body, a Pentecostal body, and so on. There is just one body

all who follow Christ are in the one body. We get the same benefits, the same honour, the same destination. We are all part of the one church, the Body of Christ.

as Paul says elsewhere, this means that if one part of the church is hurting, then we all hurt. It makes no sense then to act or even speak against other believers. That is like my finger choosing to poke my eyes.

believing Jews and believing Gentiles are the same body. Jews will not be saved by obeying the law of Moses, while Gentles take a different route. We are in the one body, following one path to salvation.

We Gentiles are partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

What is this promise? Believe in the Lord and turn from your sins and you will be saved.

the gospel is a very simple message. Our sins have separated us from God, and He will judge us. But he loves us and has provided the sacrifice of Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. Jesus is the way of salvation. If we believe in him and turn away from our sins, then God will forgive us and give us life forever.

that is the promise, and God has given us grace to partake in it, that is to participate in it.

the word partake suggests something active. This promise of eternity is not a thing that you sign up for and then put in a drawer. The promise is active- we participate In God's Kingdom now, by serving his purposes, living his ways, communicating to others the power of the gospel .

this revelation that Paul was given is about the fact that God's salvation is now available to every single person who will receive it.

Key points in this verse:

• The Gentiles are now included in God's plan for humanity

• we are fellow heirs - not just with the Jews but with Christ himself

• Our inheritance is a share in the whole of creation

• we are part of a whole new structure not just bolted on to the old structure

• We are members of one body

• We share in an awesome promise in Christ through the gospel