Ephesians 3:7
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Whereof--"of which" Gospel. according to--in consequence of, and in accordance with, "the gift of the grace of God." given--"which (gift of grace) was given to me by (Greek, 'according to,' as in Eph 3:20; Eph 1:19 : as the result of, and in proportion to) the effectual working (Greek, 'energy,' or 'in-working') of His power."
Open source ↗This chapter consists of two parts. I. Of the account which Paul gives the Ephesians concerning himself, as he was appointed by God to be the apostle of the Gentiles (Eph 3:1-13). II. Of his devout and affectionate prayer to God for the Ephesians (Eph 3:14-21). We may observe it to have been very much the practice of this apostle to intermix, with his instructions and counsels, intercessions and prayers to God for those to whom he wrote, as knowing that all his instructions and teachings would be useless and vain, except God did co-operate with them, and render them effectual. This is an example that all the ministers of Christ should copy after, praying earnestly that the efficacious operations of the divine Spirit may attend their ministrations, and crown them with success.
Open source ↗3:7 grace: See study note on 1:2. • serving him: Paul speaks of himself as a servant of the Good News (see also Col 1:23), of God (1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 6:4), of Christ (2 Cor 11:23), of the church (Col 1:25), and of the new covenant (2 Cor 3:6).
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.