if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
Truth to Learn
All Christians are commissioned to preach the Gospel.
Behind the Words
The word “if” is translated from ei. This is a conditional particle which introduces a conditional clause. In New Testament Greek (Koinē Greek) there are four types of conditional clauses, although only three of them appear in the Bible. The first class condition assumes the “if” clause to be true. The second class condition assumes the “if” clause to be false and the third class condition makes no assumption. In today’s verse we see a first class condition, so Paul assumes that his readers have heard of the dispensation.
“Indeed” is from ge, which is a particle of emphasis or qualification. It serves to strengthen or render more emphatic the word to which it is appended (if). It can be variously translated as “besides, doubtless, indeed, at least, or yet.”
The word translated “dispensation” is oikonomia, which is made up of oikos, meaning “house” and a form of nemō, meaning “to distribute or apportion.” In the first century, it was not uncommon for a land owner to have one slave who was steward (in charge) of his household. The word oikonomia refers to this position of household administrator, the work done by an administrator, or the process of administration. In today’s verse it refers to the “administration” or “stewardship” of the grace of God.
The word “for” is from the Greek word eis, which literally means “into” or “toward.” In this verse it refers to a direction of the mind. In other words, this information was given to Paul to relay it to us. In this sense, it was given to him “for” us.
Meaning Explained
Paul, like every believer in Jesus Christ, has been the recipient of God’s grace as he described it in the previous chapter:
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)
However, that’s not what he is specifically referring to in today’s verse. Here he is talking about “the dispensation of the grace of God” or the administration of the grace of God. God chose the Apostle Paul to be the administrator of His grace for the Gentiles. What he means by this is that God has entrusted him with the message of salvation by grace, through faith, and it is his responsibility to deliver it to the Gentiles. In Acts chapter twenty-six Paul described to King Agrippa how he received this responsibility directly from the Lord, who said:
But rise up and stand on your feet; for it is for this reason I appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness both of the things which you saw and of the things which I will yet reveal to you, delivering you from the Jewish people, and the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, (Acts 26:16, 17)
In fact, he told the believers in Corinth that he now has no choice but to preach the Gospel message:
For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)
Paul recognized his responsibility to administer the grace of God by proclaiming the Good News to people throughout the known world, and he performed that task until the day he died.
Application
We, too, have been given a commission to preach the Gospel message. Are you carrying out that commission? Are you sharing the Good News with those around you?
In God's service, for His glory,
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