Paul's Imprisonment as the Glory of the Ethnē: A Discourse Analysis of Ephesians 3:1–13

Abstract

Abstract In Eph 3:2, Paul is moved to interrupt his prayer for the audience by something he has said in v. 1, and he does not resume the prayer until 3:14, after the digression of vv. 2–13. The reason for Paul's digression and how it satisfactorily addresses whichever concern prompted it represents a lacuna in Ephesians scholarship. This essay engages in a discourse analysis of Eph 3:1–13 to clarify its structure, thereby revealing the purpose it serves in its immediate context as well as its role within the letter as a whole. So that the audience might accept his instruction, Paul argues that, because his imprisonment is defined by his apostleship, his imprisonment is not a source of shame that undermines God's purposes but rather a source of honor that confirms God's eschatological plan. Consequently, the prayer in 3:1, 14–19 now has behind it not just the audience's narratio of 1:20–22 but the joint force of the audience's narratio together with Paul's narratio in 3:1–13.