Ephesians 3:1-6

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles- assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

-Ephesians 3:1-6

Paul starts off this chapter with "For this reason".  What is he referring to?  I'm guessing he's talking about all that he was going over in the last chapter.  AMP makes it clear what Paul is referring to, "For this reason [because I preach that you and believing Jews are joint heirs]".  The point Paul has been making and is now referring back to is that you (he's addressing Gentiles) and believing Jews are joint heirs.  There is no longer distinction or separation, but Christ has become our peace and broken down the wall of hostility.

Paul mentions that he is "a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles".  This is one of the prison epistles, meaning that he probably wrote this while he was in prison.  What's interesting is that he is a prisoner for Christ Jesus.  What does he mean by this?  Is he simply referring to the reason why he was in prison in the first place?  Is he going a bit further, talking about how he is a slave to Jesus?  I don't think he means that he is Jesus' slave, though that is true and he talks about it elsewhere.  I think he would've used a different word instead of prisoner if that's what he meant.  I think he's talking about the reason for his imprisonment, but I think his meaning is a bit more than that.  Perhaps it points to the fact that he is owned by Jesus regardless of whether he is in prison or free.  Then again, I'm not too sure.  Regardless, he is in prison and somehow this is to the benefit of the Gentiles he is addressing.  What is the benefit?  Perhaps the benefit is that he can tell them about what he has been talking about?

Apparently, Paul has been given by God "special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles".  Paul also speaks about this elsewhere.  Moreover, Paul has been given revelation about this, his mission.  Paul seems to be pointing back to a lot of things that have happened to him.  He is making clear his mission and how he received it.  This thing is what he calls "the mystery of Christ".  This certainly is a mystery because he hasn't been revealed until now.

So, what is the mystery?  Paul states it very clearly, "that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel".  This is pretty much what he has been talking about back in Chapter two.  I wonder why Paul is now talking about the same thing in a different way?  What's the point in all of this?  As we read more and more, I pray that God will reveal that.