The Apostle Paul’s theological discourse in the Epistle to the Ephesians is interrupted by a deeply personal reflection on his ministry, particularly in chapter 3, verses 1 through 13. While Paul sits as a “prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,” he articulates not merely his biography, but the very divine rationale for his apostolic calling. This passage reveals that Paul’s ultimate priority was not the meticulous preservation of sacred manuscripts, but the radical, universal comprehension of God’s mystery—the inclusion of the Gentiles—a vision that finds its clearest echo in the multitude of modern Bible translations.
Paul unequivocally asserts that his mission and message are rooted in direct, divine disclosure. He refers to the “revelation of the mystery” (v. 3), clarifying that the gospel he preached to the Gentiles was not a self-developed theology but a direct stewardship, “the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you” (v. 2). This mystery, previously hidden, is now unveiled: that the Gentiles are “fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (v. 6). Paul, the former zealous Jew, was called to be the herald of this stunning inclusivity to the pagan and Gentile world, demonstrating the breadth of God's saving power beyond the boundaries of Israel.
His concern for clarity is immediately apparent in his aside regarding his writing. When Paul states that his readers could “understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” merely by reading what he “wrote before in brief” (v. 3-4), he underscores that the transfer of meaning is the critical metric of success. The message, though profound, must be intelligible. This commitment to accessible truth stands in productive tension with the concept of Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP). While VPP often stresses the importance of having the precise, perfect Greek wording preserved down to the jot and tittle, Paul’s emphasis is on the truth of the Gospel being understood by Gentile readers of a brief letter. Paul’s goal was not to protect the linguistic container, but to ensure the spiritual content—the truth of the mystery—was fully grasped and acted upon. His confidence in the sufficiency of his short explanation suggests the truth’s power lies in its divine meaning, not solely in the rigid form of its transmission.
The true purpose of this divinely appointed mission is given its full scope in verse 10: “so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.” Paul’s vision transcends the written word; it is an active, communal, and global endeavor. The Gospel’s truth is meant to be a living demonstration, displayed by a unified, multi-ethnic church to the cosmos itself. The focus is outward: the world must know and understand the plan, the mystery, and the will of God through the witness of the believers.
This fundamental priority—universal understanding of the Gospel’s mystery—serves as the theological underpinning for modern Bible translation. Paul did not want the gospel kept pristine in Greek manuscripts; he wanted it translated, embodied, and comprehended in every tongue. The proliferation of modern translations and versions—from formal equivalence (word-for-word) to dynamic equivalence (meaning-for-meaning)—is a missionary impulse in action. Every new translation is an attempt to achieve Paul’s goal: to eliminate linguistic barriers so that the “fellow heirs” in a new culture can read and, critically, “understand his insight.” If Paul’s desire was to see God’s wisdom made known to the world (v. 10), then making the Scriptures fully comprehensible in the contemporary idiom of the world’s languages is the most faithful continuation of his mission. Modern translation, far from diminishing the message, is the mechanism by which Paul’s prayer for universal understanding is fulfilled.
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