John Gill Commentary Ephesians 3:1

"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles,--" — Ephesians 3:1 (ASV)

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ , &c.] Not actively, whom Christ had apprehended by his grace, and made a prisoner of hope; but passively, who was made a prisoner for Christ, on account of preaching Christ, and his Gospel: he was not a prisoner for any capital crime, as theft, murder and therefore be was not ashamed of his bonds, but rather glories in them; and a prison has often been the portion of the best of men in this world: from hence we learn, that this epistle was written when the apostle was a prisoner at Rome.

And the consideration of this his condition serves much to confirm the truths he had before delivered, seeing they were such as he could, and did suffer for; and which must engage the attention of the Ephesians to them, and especially since his sufferings were on their account:

for you Gentiles : because he preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, which the Jews forbid, that they might not be saved; and because he taught them, that circumcision and the rest of the ceremonies of the law were not binding upon them; which gave great offence to the Jews, who were the means of bringing him into these circumstances, and particularly the Asiatic Jews, the Jews of Ephesus; who having seen and heard him there, knew him again when in the temple at Jerusalem, and raised a mob upon him, having borne a grudge against him for his ministry at Ephesus, by which means he became a prisoner.

So that he might truly say, he was a prisoner for the sake of them; see (Acts 21:27–33) . One of Stevens's copies adds, "am an ambassador", as in (Ephesians 6:20) and another of them, "glory", or "rejoice"; see (Philippians 2:16Philippians 2:17) .