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Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9b-Paul Gave Enlightment to the Gentile Christian Community Regarding the Mystery Plan for the Church Age
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday May 23, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9b-Paul Gave Enlightment to the Gentile Christian Community Regarding the Mystery Plan for the Church Age
Lesson # 156
Ephesians 3:1 For this reason, I myself, Paul, the prisoner owned by and under the authority of the one and only Christ who is Jesus for the benefit of each and every one of you as a corporate unit, who are Gentiles—2 if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you as a corporate unit have surely heard about the stewardship, which is unique to the grace, which originates from the one and only God, which was given to me for the benefit of all of you as a corporate unit without exception. (Of course, every one of you have in fact heard about it.) 3 Namely that, the mystery was made known for the benefit of myself as revelation as I wrote beforehand in a concise manner. 4 Concerning which, that is, by each one of you making it your habit of hearing read publicly, all of you will for your own benefit become able to comprehend my insight into this incomparable mystery, which is produced by your unique union and identification with Christ. 5 This mystery was by no means made known to members of the human race in previous generations as it has now been revealed through the personal agency of His holy apostles as well as prophets by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit. 6 Namely, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body likewise fellow partakers of the promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus by means of the proclamation of the gospel. 7 I assumed the position and responsibility of serving this gospel according to the gift originating from the one and only God’s grace, which was given to me according to the activity produced by the exercise of His power. 8 To me, the less than least of all the saints, this grace was given in order to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable wealth brought about by this justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ. 9 Specifically, in order to cause everyone to be enlightened as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which is a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of God’s will, who has caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:9 is composed of an infinitival purpose clause, which explains specifically the purpose for which the Father bestowed upon Paul the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel as an apostle to the Gentiles.
It asserts that the Father gave Paul this gift in order to enlighten everyone in the Gentile Christian community as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which was a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of the Father’s will, who caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created.
So therefore, when Paul asserts in Ephesians 3:8 that he received the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel in order to proclaim to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ, he means that the purpose of this gift was to enlighten this community.
Specifically, to enlighten them that they are now fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Thus, Ephesians 3:9 is explaining the previous purpose clause because it identifies what Paul proclaimed to the Gentile Christian community, namely, enlightenment with regards to this mystery, whose content has already been revealed in Ephesians 3:6.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:18, the verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) here in Ephesians 3:9 is used in a figurative sense of the apostle Paul through the ministry of the Holy Spirit providing the Gentile Christian community spiritual understanding or discernment concerning the mystery or secret.
Specifically, this verb is used in a figurative sense of Paul through the ministry of the Holy Spirit providing the Gentile Christian community spiritual understanding or discernment concerning the mystery or secret whose content is presented by Paul in Ephesians 3:6.
It asserts that they are now fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ with them likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise with them because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
This has resulted in these Gentile church age believers now possessing unfathomable wealth.
In other words, it refers to the Gentile Christian community receiving spiritual understanding from the Holy Spirit with regards to this mystery or divine secret from the Holy Spirit through Paul communicating this mystery to them through the contents of the Ephesian epistle.
The referent of the accusative masculine plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς) is the Gentile Christian community and expresses the idea that the Father gave Paul the unmerited blessing of enlightening “each and every one of the members of” the Gentile Christian community regarding the mystery or divine secret.
The referent has to be the Gentile Christian community because the content of this mystery, which was revealed in Ephesians 3:6, would have no meaning for the rest of unregenerate humanity who do not have the Spirit to comprehend and apply it.
The unregenerate members of the human race must first exercise faith in Jesus Christ in order to receive the gift of the Spirit to understand this revelation, which was a mystery to those who lived during the dispensations prior to the church.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:18 and 19, the interrogative pronoun tis (τις) here in Ephesians 3:9 introduces a categorical or qualitative question and the referent of this word is identified by the expression hē oikonomia tou mystēriou (ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου), “God’s secret plan.” (NET)
It is expressing the idea that each and every member of the Gentile Christian community received from Paul enlightenment “as to what constitutes” or “what is the content of” this mystery or divine secret, which reveals that the Father has provided them incomparable wealth.
Now, as was the case in Ephesians 1:10, this word oikonomia (οἰκονομία) here in Ephesians 3:9 means “dispensation, administration, plan” since in this verse the word pertains to “a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose” and the referent of this word is the Father’s plan for Gentile church age believers.
Specifically, it is the outworking of the Father’s purpose to have both Jewish and Gentile church age believers as fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus.
As was the case in Ephesians 3:3 and 4, here in Ephesians 3:9 the referent of this word mustērion (μυστήριον) is the revelation that Gentile and Jewish church age believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their faith in Jesus Christ at justification and union and identification with Him.
The noun mustērion (μυστήριον) functions here as a genitive of apposition or epexegetical genitive, which means that it describes the outworking of the Father’s plan Gentile church age believers as a mystery or divine secret.
Like the infinitive conjugation of the verb euangelizō (εὐαγγελίζω) in Ephesians 3:8, the infinitive conjugation of the verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) functions as an infinitive of purpose.
This indicates that it was “for the purpose of” enlightening the Gentile Christian community with regards to the mystery or divine secret they are now fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise with Jewish church age believers because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
The active voice of this verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) is causative, which means that Paul as the subject is not directly involved in the act of enlightening the Gentile Christian community regarding this mystery but the source behind it.
He was the ultimate source behind it or the cause behind it because he was the human instrument the Holy Spirit employed to enlighten the Gentile Christian community with regards to this mystery or secret.
The verb apokruptō (ἀποκρύπτω) is used in relation to the content of this mystery or divine secret and that it was kept secret or hidden from the human and angelic races during the dispensations prior to the church age.
The Father caused the content of this mystery or secret, which we noted is identified in Ephesians 3:6, to remain unknown to the human and angelic races during the dispensations prior to the church age.
The participle conjugation of this verb functions as a genitive of simple apposition.
This means it defines this mystery or divine secret as something that has been concealed from the human and angelic races during the dispensations prior to the church age because it was not the Father’s will for it to be revealed until the church age.
The noun aiōn (αἰών), “the ages” refers to the period of time beginning with the creation of the time, matter, space continuum and continuing throughout human history up to the church age.
This noun aiōn (αἰών) is also object of the preposition apo (ἀπό), which functions as a marker of separation indicating that human beings and angels who lived during the ages prior to the beginning of the church age were kept “from” or “barred from” knowing the Father’s plan for Gentile church age believers.
The articular dative masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός) contains the figure of metonymy which means that God the Father is put for His will.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that in Ephesians 3:8 and 9 Paul discusses the Father’s will for his life and His will with regards to the Gentile Christian community.
In these verses, he asserts that the Father chose him to communicate His purpose to the Gentile Christian community to have them be fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus.
Therefore, since Paul in these verses discusses the will of the Father for both himself and the Gentile Christian community, the will of the Father is being alluded to when Paul employs this noun theos (θεός) here in Ephesians 3:9.
The noun theos (θεός) is the object of the preposition en (ἐν) functions as a marker of cause, which indicates that the Father’s secret plan for Gentile church age believers was concealed from those who lived during the dispensations prior to the church age “because of the Father’s will.”
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9a- The Purpose for which the Father Bestowed upon Paul the Unmerited Blessing of Serving the Gospel
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9a- The Purpose for which the Father Bestowed upon Paul the Unmerited Blessing of Serving the Gospel
Lesson # 155
Ephesians 3:1 For this reason, I myself, Paul, the prisoner owned by and under the authority of the one and only Christ who is Jesus for the benefit of each and every one of you as a corporate unit, who are Gentiles—2 if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you as a corporate unit have surely heard about the stewardship, which is unique to the grace, which originates from the one and only God, which was given to me for the benefit of all of you as a corporate unit without exception. (Of course, every one of you have in fact heard about it.) 3 Namely that, the mystery was made known for the benefit of myself as revelation as I wrote beforehand in a concise manner. 4 Concerning which, that is, by each one of you making it your habit of hearing read publicly, all of you will for your own benefit become able to comprehend my insight into this incomparable mystery, which is produced by your unique union and identification with Christ. 5 This mystery was by no means made known to members of the human race in previous generations as it has now been revealed through the personal agency of His holy apostles as well as prophets by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit. 6 Namely, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body likewise fellow partakers of the promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus by means of the proclamation of the gospel. 7 I assumed the position and responsibility of serving this gospel according to the gift originating from the one and only God’s grace, which was given to me according to the activity produced by the exercise of His power. 8 To me, the less than least of all the saints, this grace was given in order to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable wealth brought about by this justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ. 9 Specifically, in order to cause everyone to be enlightened as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which is a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of God’s will, who has caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:9 is composed of an infinitival purpose clause, which explains specifically the purpose for which the Father bestowed upon Paul the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel as an apostle to the Gentiles.
It asserts that the Father gave Paul this gift in order to enlighten everyone in the Gentile Christian community as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which was a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of the Father’s will, who caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created.
This infinitival purpose clause is epexegetical because it explains specifically what Paul means by the infinitival purpose clause he employs in Ephesians 3:8.
The latter we noted asserts that to Paul, the less than least of all the saints, the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel was given in order to proclaim to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ.
Now, I believe that the conjunction kai (καί) introduces this infinitival purpose clause is epexegetical and not adjunctive.
However, many expositors believe that this second infinitival purpose clause here in Ephesians 3:9 is adjunctive which means that it presents a purpose, which is in addition to the previous purpose for which the Father gave to Paul the unmerited blessing of the responsibility and privilege to serve the gospel, which is in addition to the one presented in Ephesians 3:8.
Thus, the purpose mentioned in Ephesians 3:9 would be the second one that Paul lists with regards to the Father bestowing upon him the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel as an apostle to the Gentiles.
However, I am convinced that this second infinitival purpose clause is epexegetical in that it is explaining specifically the previous infinitival purpose clause in Ephesians 3:8.
Thus, I am of the conviction that the second infinitival purpose clause in Ephesians 3:9 explains specifically what Paul means when he asserts in Ephesians 3:8 that to him the less than least of all the saints this unmerited blessing of serving the gospel by communicating to the Gentile Christian community this mystery in order to proclaim to them the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that the unfathomable wealth now possessed by Gentile church age believers, which was brought about by their faith in Jesus Christ at justification and union and identification with Him, was a mystery or secret known only by the Father, which thus required that they receive enlightenment from Paul with regards to it.
The assertion in Ephesians 3:8 that Paul proclaimed to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification and union and identification with Jesus Christ is ambiguous and begins to be defined and needs clarification.
In other words, these Gentile church age believers needed to be enlightened as to what specifically gave them this unfathomable wealth produced by their justification and union and identification with Christ.
It is identified by the content of the incomparable mystery, which Paul speaks about in Ephesians 3:4, which was produced by their union and identification with Christ.
In Ephesians 3:5, Paul asserts that this mystery was by no means made known to members of the human race in dispensations prior to the church age as it has now been revealed through the personal agency of the Lord’s holy apostles and prophets by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit.
Then, in Ephesians 3:6, he identifies the content of this mystery, namely that, that Gentile church age believers are fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body likewise fellow partakers of the promise with Jewish church age believers because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus by means of the proclamation of the gospel.
So therefore, when Paul asserts in Ephesians 3:8 that he received the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel in order to proclaim to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ, he means that the purpose of this gift was to enlighten this community.
Specifically, to enlighten them that they are now fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Thus, Ephesians 3:9 is explaining the previous purpose clause because it identifies what Paul proclaimed to the Gentile Christian community, namely, enlightenment with regards to this mystery, whose content has already been revealed in Ephesians 3:6.
- God Brings You to Himself You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Exodus 19:4 God did not deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt so that they could enjoy the Promised Land. He freed them from their bondage so they could come to know and worship Him. Three months after they left Egypt, God reminded His people why He had delivered them “on eagles’ wings.” It was to bring the people to Himself. That is, God saved them so that they could enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. The Israelites had been slaves with no freedom to worship God. Now, with their own land, they could come to know and serve God freely. God's call was not to destroy the idolatrous nations in Canaan, not to settle the lands they conquered, and not to establish a new nation, although all of these would be accomplished. Rather, God called them primarily to be a people who loved and worshiped Him. Through God's act of deliverance they came to know Him as an almighty and compassionate God, and they were now free to respond to Him. We are so activity oriented that we assume we were saved for a task we are to perform rather than for a relationship to enjoy. God uses our activities and circumstances to bring us to Himself. When He gives us a God-sized assignment, its sheer impossibility brings us back to Him for His enabling. When God allows us to go through crises, it brings us closer to Him. If we are not careful, we can inadvertently bypass the relationship in order to get on with the activity. When you are busy in your activity for God, remember that God leads you to the experiences in order to bring you to Himself. Blackaby, H. T., & Blackaby, R. (1998). Experiencing God Day by Day. B&H Books.
- “He maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth and his hands make whole.” (Job 5:18) The ministry of a great sorrow. AS we pass beneath the hills which have been shaken by the earthquake and torn by convulsion, we find that periods of perfect repose succeed those of destruction. The pools of calm water lie clear beneath their fallen rocks, the water lilies gleam, and the reeds whisper among the shadows; the village rises again over the forgotten graves, and its church tower, white through the storm twilight, proclaims a renewed appeal to His protection “in whose hand are all the corners of the earth, and the strength of the hills is his also.”—Ruskin. God ploughed one day with an earthquake, And drove His furrows deep! The huddling plains upstarted, The hills were all aleap! But that is the mountains’ secret, Age-hidden in their breast; “God’s peace is everlasting,” Are the dream-words of their rest. He made them the haunts of beauty, The home elect of His grace; He spreadeth His mornings upon them, His sunsets light their face. His winds bring messages to them— Wild storm-news from the main; They sing it down the valleys In the love-song of the rain. They are nurseries for young rivers, Nests for His flying cloud, Homesteads for new-born races, Masterful, free, and proud. The people of tired cities Come up to their shrines and pray; God freshens again within them, As He passes by all day. And lo, I have caught their secret! The beauty deeper than all! This faith—that life’s hard moments, When the jarring sorrows befall, Are but God ploughing His mountains; And those mountains yet shall be The source of His grace and freshness, And His peace everlasting to me. —William C. Gannett. Cowman, L. B. (1925). Streams in the Desert (pp. 136–137). The Oriental Missionary Society.
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9c-The Father Created All Things
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday May 25, 2024
www.wenstrom.org
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:9c-The Father Created All Things
Lesson # 157
Ephesians 3:9 Specifically, in order to cause everyone to be enlightened as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which is a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of God’s will, who has caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:9 is composed of an infinitival purpose clause, which explains specifically the purpose for which the Father bestowed upon Paul the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel as an apostle to the Gentiles.
It asserts that the Father gave Paul this gift in order to enlighten everyone in the Gentile Christian community as to what constitutes this unique dispensation, which was a mystery, which has been hidden from previous ages because of the Father’s will, who caused each and every animate and inanimate object to be created.
So therefore, when Paul asserts in Ephesians 3:8 that he received the unmerited blessing of serving the gospel in order to proclaim to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth brought about by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ, he means that the purpose of this gift was to enlighten this community.
Specifically, to enlighten them that they are now fellow heirs with Jewish church age believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Thus, Ephesians 3:9 is explaining the previous purpose clause because it identifies what Paul proclaimed to the Gentile Christian community, namely, enlightenment with regards to this mystery, whose content has already been revealed in Ephesians 3:6.
The adjective pas (πᾶς) occurs as a second time in Ephesians 3:9 where it pertains to the totality of inanimate and animate objects that are contained in the first, second and third heavens and the earth or in other words, that are contained in creation, which would include all marine life, bird life, terrestrial life, human beings and angels.
The adjective is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every thing” was created by God the Father.
However, John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16 teach that His Son, Jesus Christ was the personal agency which the Father employed to create each and every animate and inanimate object in the time, matter, space continuum.
The adjective pas (πᾶς) refers to the totality of animate and inanimate objects that are contained in the first, second and third heavens and the earth:
(1) Stars, satellites, and planets that compose the stellar universe. (2) Earth’s sun and moon. (3) Vegetation on the earth (4) Marine life (5) Bird life (6) Terrestrial life. (7) Human beings (8) Angels.
This adjective would include the orderly arrangement of the heavens and the earth and all things in their complex order and composition as created by God, created in perfect order and subject to the laws God established to govern its operation (Matt. 13:35; John 21:25; Acts 17:24).
The verb ktizo (κτίζω) refers to the Father creating out of nothing each and every animate and inanimate object located in the first, second and third heavens through the personal agency of His Son, Jesus Christ, which is indicated by the contents of Colossians 1:16 and John 1:3 and other passages.
As was the case with the verb phōtizō (φωτίζω) here in Ephesians 3:9, the active voice of this verb ktizo (κτίζω) is also causative, which means that God the Father as the subject was not directly involved in the act of creating each and every animate and inanimate object located in the time, matter, space continuum but that He was the ultimate source or cause behind this taking place.
It indicates that He was not the direct agent behind but the source behind it and as we noted earlier, His Son was the direct agent that the Father employed to do this.
Now, many expositors have questioned as to why Paul describes the Father as the creator of all things.
I believe that the answer lies in the apostle’s use of the verb ktizo (κτίζω) earlier in the epistle, which is employed by him in Ephesians 2:10 and 15.
It appears that by speaking of the Father’s creative activity in relation to the church here in Ephesians 3:9 and employing this verb to do so, Paul is linking the other references to the Father’s creative activity in relation to the church in Ephesians 2:10 and 15.
Ephesians 2:10 For each and every one of us are His creative workmanship. For each and every one of us has been created by means of our faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus in order to produce actions, which are divine good. These God prepared in advance so that each of us would conduct our lives by means of them. (Lecturer’s translation)
So therefore, the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:10 describes the church composed of both Jewish and Gentile church age believers as being the Father’s creative workmanship who have been created by means of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ in order to produce actions, which are divine good.
Thus, when Paul speaks of the Father’s creative activity in Ephesians 3:9 in relation to the church being composed of Jewish and Gentile church age believers who are joint heirs with each other as well as fellow members of the body of Christ together and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ, he is linking this creative activity with the creative activity in relation to the church in Ephesians 2:10.
Ephesians 2:15 In other words, by nullifying by means of His human nature the law composed of the commandments consisting of a written code of laws in order that He might cause the two to be created into one new humanity by means of faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification. Thus, He caused peace to be established (between the two and the two with God). (Lecturers translation)
So therefore, the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:15 asserts the Lord Jesus Christ nullified by means of His human nature the Mosaic Law in order that He might cause both Jewish and Gentile church age believers to be created into one new humanity.
This was accomplished again by means of faith in Jesus at justification and union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at justification.
Thus, the Lord created one new humanity from the two races.
Thus, when Paul speaks of the Father’s creative activity in Ephesians 3:9 in relation to the church being composed of Jewish and Gentile church age believers who are joint heirs with each other as well as fellow members of the body of Christ together and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ, he is linking this creative activity with the creative activity in relation to the church in Ephesians 2:15.
Thus, we can see that Ephesians 3:9 is linked together with Ephesians 2:10 and 15 because all three verses speak of the creative activity of the Father and Son in relation to the church.
Consequently, a comparison of these verses reveals the following about the church in relation to the creative activity of the Father and the Son:
(1) The church is the creative workmanship of the Father, which has been created by means of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ in order to produce good works (2:10).
(2) The Lord Jesus Christ nullified the Law by means of His human nature in order that He might cause both Jewish and Gentile church age believers to be created into one new humanity by means of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ through the baptism of the Spirit at justification and thus caused there to be peace between the two communities (2:15).
(3) The Father used Paul to enlighten the Gentile Christian community as to what constitutes the outworking of the Father’s purpose for church age, which was a mystery to Old Testament saints because of God’s will (3:9).
The content of this mystery is that Jewish and Gentile church age believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ (3:6).
Notice the common denominator is that both the Jewish and Gentile Christian communities became the Father’s creative workmanship and the new humanity and fellow heirs with each other and fellow members of the body of Christ and fellow partakers with each other as a result of being declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, they were placed in union with Him and identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father through the baptism of the Spirit at justification.
Therefore, Paul links the creative of the Father in Ephesians 3:9 with His creativity in Ephesians 2:10 and the creative of His Son in Ephesians 2:15 because he wants the recipients of the Ephesian epistle who were Gentile church age believers that all three creative actions were for the benefit of them in that they are now a new humanity.
The implication is that they are extremely important in the Father’s determination to have the church rule over His creation and dispossess Satan and his fellow evil spirits who currently reign over the earth temporarily.
This is exactly why he makes the following assertion in Ephesians 3:10.
Ephesians 3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. (NET)
So therefore, here in Ephesians 3:9, Paul defines proclaiming to the Gentile Christian community the unfathomable wealth produced by their justification by faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ as providing them enlightenment with regards to the Father’s secret plan for them as Gentile church age believers.
The content of this mystery is revealed in Ephesians 3:6 and reveals that the will of the Father during the church age was to have Gentile believers be fellow heirs with Jewish believers as well as fellow members of the body of Christ with them likewise fellow partakers of the Messianic promise with them because of their justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus.