Ephesians 3:3 - Uncovered - pay attention!

"...[that] according to revelation it was made known to me the mystery, just as I wrote before in brief..."

-What Paul is doing, his specific calling, and what he knows and is proclaiming about Jesus, this he received via direct revelation.  The word is apokalupsis (from which we get our word 'apocalypse'), but this word which was used to name the last book of the New Testament today in English has taken on implications of the catastrophe and destruction depicted in that famously cryptic tome.  The original Greek simply meant an uncovering, a revealing of a mystery or something hidden.  The Revelation of John (or rather to him) of the destruction and judgment and glories to come at the end of time was simply that, God uncovering those things for John to see and write down for posterity.  Same for Peter (2Peter 1.16-21).  Similarly, we find several mentions in Scripture of where Paul received direct divine uncoverings from the Lord (Acts 22.17-21, 26.15-18; Galatians 1.12, 2.2; 1Corinthians 11.23, 15.3; 1Thessalonians 4.15; 2Corinthians 12.1-7).  All that Paul was teaching and proclaiming, all his insight into mysterious truths about Who Jesus is and how to follow Him - he received directly from the Lord.  Thus we would do well by the grace of God to pay attention to it and try to understand and apply it as thoroughly and as faithfully as possible, because this is divinely-sourced (2Peter 1.19).

-Paul says that he mentioned this in writing (in a letter) to these Ephesians at some point previously.  This suggests the possibility of a now-missing letter.  Some maintain that Paul is simply referring to the previous two chapters in this letter.  It is important to consider whether Paul is saying that he wrote them about the mystery, or about the revelation he received regarding the mystery.  He has of course been unpacking the mystery in the preceding chapters, and he does in fact mention revealed knowledge earlier in this letter (Ephesians 1.9, 17), but there he is describing shared revelation.  The context here seems to indicate that Paul is focusing on the fact that God gave unique revelation (as well as specific instructions) directly to him, and nowhere else does he mention that in this letter.  Thus it is not unreasonable to assume that he had written them another short letter prior to this one where he told them that God had in fact given him direct revelation.  Clearly he did this rather frequently (writing letters AND mentioning his revelation) - no doubt he wants to remind his readers to keep in mind just who/what they are dealing with.  And to that point, Paul’s claim to direct divine revelation must be considered carefully.  Either he is lying, or we would be wise to pay very close attention to his heavenly words...