The Mystery

The Mystery

Part One: The Great Nation

“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery” (Ephesians 3:2-3).

Before we address “the mystery” to which Paul refers in Ephesians 3:2-3, we need to lay some groundwork. We will start in Acts 1. There we read that after His resurrection Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples, “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Act 1:3). After his teaching they ask Him “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Act 1:6).

·        What sort of kingdom did the disciples envision? Was it a “mystical reign of God” or a literal dominion with Christ as its King?

·        How did Jesus respond to their question? See Acts 1:7.

Throughout the Acts Period[1] “preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ” (Act 8:12) was the focus of those who followed Christ. In fact, the last two verses in the book of Acts states that, “Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (Act 28:30-31) See also Acts 14:22; 19:8; 20:25.

Paul was commissioned as the “Apostle to the Gentiles” (Acts 9:15, Rom. 11:13; 1Tim. 2:7; 2Tim. 1:11) yet, wherever he went, when he arrived in a city he went directly to the local Jewish synagogue.[2] In Acts 9, Paul meets the risen Christ, and is converted, “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues [in Damascus], that he is the Son of God” ( 9:20); see also Acts 13:14-15; 14:1; 17:1-3; 17:10; 17:16-17; 18:4; 18:7-8; 18:19; 19:8; 28:23.

We are told in Acts 11:19 that, “they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.” This preaching of the kingdom to “none but unto the Jews only” was consistent with what our Lord had commanded the Apostles in Matthew 10. After gathering The Twelve together, He “commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 10:5-7).

·        Why would Jesus command the Apostles to not go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans[3]?

A proper analysis of Matt. 15:21-28 might help us answer the question above. In Matthew 15, a woman cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil” (Mat 15:22).  Mark tells us that this woman “was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation” (Mark 7:26).  When Jesus reminds her that it would not be right to take that which is intended for “the children” (i.e. Israel) and give it to “the dogs” (i. e. gentiles such as the Syrophenicians), He is reminding her of her position beneath Israel. She had used the term “thou Son of David” to address Him. This was a Messianic title. David was the king over the once great kingdom of Israel. The Messiah [“Christos” in Greek] was David’s Son and was to be the King over the Millennial Kingdom; the renewed Davidic Kingdom. A king rules over his subjects. Those subjects give him honor and loyalty. They pay taxes and work on his farms. But this is not a one-way relationship. The king has great obligations to his subjects. He sees to their safety and welfare. However, he has no such obligation to one of another nation; a noncitizen. This Greek woman was not a Jew and was not a citizen of the nation of Israel. She was attempting to lay claim to the benefits available only to Israel and so Jesus “answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away” (Matt. 15:23). But once she recognizes her position as a noncitizen and seeks welfare, not benefits, her request is granted. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was the kingdom that the Apostles hoped that he would restore to Israel it was “the Messianic kingdom, which the prophets spoke of, and all Israelites were looking for.”[4]

·        When John the Baptist declared that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” he felt no need to explain what he meant. Why?

It is notable that when John the Baptist comes on the scene and declares that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). He does not feel any need to explain what he means nor does anyone ask him to explain himself. Why? Because they had read the Tanakh; what we call “the Old Testament.” Let’s take a look at the Tanakh and see what the Jews learned from it.

With the rebellion of the nations in Genesis 10-11 at the tower of Babel, God initiates a new dispensation; a new plan for the redemption of mankind. He calls a moon-worshipping pagan named Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees (what will later become Babylon) and leads him into the land of Canaan which covers much of the same territory as the modern state of Israel. In Genesis 12:2-3 God makes a promise to Abram. God promises…

1.       I will make of thee a great nation

2.       I will bless thee, and make thy name great

3.       thou shalt be a blessing…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (see also Gen 22:18)

Later, in Genesis 15:1-21, God makes a covenant with Abram thus guaranteeing that His promises will come to pass. In this chapter we find additional details concerning the “great nation” through which God will bless “all the families of the earth.” In Genesis 15:13-16 God declares that Abram’s descendants “shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them…that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance…But in the fourth generation[5] they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”  The book of Exodus records the fulfillment of God’s promises and the exodus of the newly formed “great nation,” that is, the nation of Israel, from bondage in Egypt.

In Genesis 17, God changes Abram’s name which means “high father” to Abraham meaning “father of a multitude” in verse 5 and makes circumcision the sign of His covenant with Abraham in verses 10-14. The Abrahamic Covenant is passed first to Abraham’s son Isaac (Gen. 26:1-5) then, in Genesis 28:10-14, to Isaac’s son Jacob. Here God repeats the promise that “thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth…and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 28:14). Jacob’s name is later changed to “Israel” (Gen. 32:28). Jacob’s sons will later become the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel[6] which make up the “great nation” through which “all the families of the earth [shall] be blessed.”

The promise of “a great nation” comes to pass when Moses leads Israel out of Egypt as recorded in the book of Exodus. After crossing the Red Sea the infant nation of Israel comes to the foot of Mount Sinai where God identifies the terms of the Mosaic Covenant and declares:

“…if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me ABOVE ALL PEOPLE: for all the earth is mine: AND YE SHALL BE UNTO ME A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS, and an holy nation...” (Exo. 19:4-6)

The Companion Bible has this important note on Exodus 19:6: “The whole nation being a priest with respect to other nations, as the tribe of Levi for Israel. Now in abeyance, because Israel did not fulfil the condition in Exodus 19:5. But in the future it will be realised (Isaiah 61:6; 66:21).”

This promise that Israel will be “a treasure, above all the peoples” is repeated in one form or the other multiple times in Scripture. Deuteronomy 7:6 is but one example:

“For a holy people, art thou unto Yahweh thy God: of thee, hath Yahweh thy God, made choice, that thou shouldest become his people as a treasure, above all the peoples that are on the face of the ground.”

See also, Lev. 20:24; Num. 23:9; Deut. 7:6, 14:2, 26:19; 1King 8:53; Psa. 135:4; Isa. 60:1-3 (compare Matt. 5:14), Isa. 60:12, 61:6; Zechariah 8:22; Acts 13:47.

The book of Joshua records Israel’s conquest of much of the land of Canaan; the land given to them by God through Abraham (Gen. 12:7, 13:14-17, 15:7, 15:18, 17:8). The books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles record Israel’s ascension as they become a great kingdom in the land of Canaan with David as their king. In 2Samuel God makes a covenant with King David and promises: “thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever” (7:16). This covenant is often referred to as the “Davidic Covenant.” The promises contained in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants have been the hope of the Jewish people for millennia even down to our day. This was, perhaps never more true than it was for the Jewish people living in the land of Israel during the first century. Much of what was written in the New Testament reflects this hope. The many references to Jesus’ return[7] to establish His kingdom reveal the hope that Israel will be restored to her glorious kingdom just as the prophets had foretold[8]. Peter’s letter to the “sojourners of the Dispersion”[9] (1Pet. 1:1, ASV) is one example of this hope:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” (1Peter 2:9)

So, when John the Baptist begins calling Israel to prepare for the soon coming kingdom, the people of Israel knew exactly what he was referring to. It was, as the Companion Bible says, “the Messianic kingdom, which the prophets spoke of, and all Israelites were looking for.”[10] The note in the Companion Bible asks us to compare Luke 1:32-33.

In Luke 1, Mary is visited by an angel and told that Jesus, “shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). It is this kingdom, where Israel will serve as a priestly nation and go-between between God and all peoples of the earth and through which all peoples of the earth will be blessed that is the subject of Jesus’ preaching as He reaches out to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Because Israel was in this exalted position above all people, Paul’s message is always to “the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16; 2:9, 10)[11] during the Acts Period. But when Israel fails to respond, they and their program are set aside and “the mystery” is revealed (Eph. 3:3; Col. 1:26).

 The Mystery

Part Two: What is “The Mystery?”

 The word translated “mystery” in the Bible is the Greek word musterion. Appendix 193 of the Companion Bible defines musterion as a “sacred secret.”[12] And in his commentary on Romans, the Greek scholar, Kenneth Wuest, says that musterion is "something hidden and unknown but later revealed and then understood." Charles Welch reminds us that “Mystery necessitates revelation. It is something that cannot be inferred or arrived at by study.”[13]

 There are many “mysteries” in the New Testament. There are “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 13:10-13 (see also Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10). When it became clear that the Jews living in Canaan at the time of Christ where going to reject Him as Messiah, Jesus began to speak in parables. From Matt. 12 until His crucifixion, Jesus spoke to the Jews in parables because it was not given to them to know “the mysteries of the kingdom.” In Romans 11:25 we read of the mystery of the partial blindness of Israel. The glorified bodies to be received by believers at the return of Christ was a mystery (1Cor. 15:51), as was the fact that Christ was to die and be resurrected.[14] That the death, burial and resurrection were a mystery to the Jews can be seen by reading Luke 18:31-34.[15] And wherever Paul went, he taught in the synagogues, “that Christ must needs have suffered” (Acts 17:3, 26:23). He had to teach this because it was not understood.

We learned in part one of this study that God had raised up the nation of Israel to be the channel through which He would bless the nations of the Earth. However, Israel failed to abide by the covenant that they had made with God at Sinai and rejected the One that had come to lead them into their Millennial Kingdom and the blessings of the New Covenant.[16] When it became clear that Israel would not accept God’s offer of forgiveness He revealed a new program through the Apostle Paul. This new program is referred to as “the mystery” in Ephesians 3.

 The Modern King James Version has a helpful translation of Ephesians 3:1-9:

“For this cause, I, Paul, am the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you nations[17], if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given to me toward you, that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in few words, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets[18] by the Spirit, that the nations[19] should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partaker of His promise in Christ through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effectual working of His power. This grace is given to me (who am less than the least of all saints) to preach the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ among the nations, and to bring to light what is the fellowship of the mystery which from eternity has been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”

Charles Welch has an important warning for us as we study these verses: “It is essential that the reader should distinguish ‘The Mystery’ of Ephesians 3:3…and ‘the Mystery of Christ,’ which has been the subject of revelation right down the ages. Ephesians 3 speaks not only of the Mystery as it relates to the new dispensational dealings of God with the Gentiles, but also of the Mystery of Christ.”[20]

In his commentary on Ephesians, Mr. Welch says that, “The Mystery of Christ has been unfolded in the Scriptures since the primal promise of Genesis 3:15 was made to our first parents.”[21] The Mystery of Christ includes all that was accomplished by Christ both in His earthly ministry and in his ministry “far above all heavens.” By His suffering and resurrection, Jesus made possible redemption for all who would trust Him for their salvation. While this was recorded in Scripture it was not fully understood (1Pet. 1:10-12). The book of Hebrews records what Christ has accomplished for Israel in His heavenly ministry by fulfilling the types and shadows of the Old Covenant. For example, He entered into the true Holy of Hollies, there to offer His blood and accomplish eternal forgiveness for Israel’s sins.[22] But in Ephesians, we learn that He has gone “far above all heavens” that He might “make all things complete” (Eph. 4:10, BBE). When He entered the “far above heavens” Christ “spoiled principalities and powers [and] made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them …” (Col 2:15). This aspect of the Mystery of Christ was the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). While the sufferings of Christ were recorded in Scripture, the fullness of His redemptive ministry was not and was therefore “unsearchable” and a mystery requiring revelation.

Note that “the mystery” was given to Paul “by revelation” and “since the foundation of the world was hid in God” (Eph. 3:9) and “hid from ages and from generations” (Col.1:26). The obvious insinuation is that this mystery was revealed to Paul and to him alone. Jesus had explained the mystery of the Christ to his disciples long before Paul came on the scene. So the mystery spoken of by Paul here is not “the mystery of the Christ,” though he parenthetically points out that he has a full understanding of that mystery as well. Rather, The Mystery to which Paul refers was that “the nations should be fellow heirs, and of the same body and partaker of His promise in Christ.” Translators struggle to convey the exact meaning of the Greek words Paul uses here. In the Greek, “fellow heirs” is sunkleronomos; “same body” is sussomos; and “partakers” is summetochos. Each of these words are compounds starting with the Greek word sun [pronounced “soon”] according to Strong’ Greek and Hebrew Dictionary.[23] This prefix denotes “union; with or together” according to Strong’s. The Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LTIV)[24] translates this verse as “the nations to be joint-heirs, and a joint-body[25] and joint-sharers of His promise.”

 All of the phrases above indicate that unlike the situation from Genesis 12 through the end of the Acts Period, Israel is no longer the “favored nation.” Israel and their earthly program have been temporarily set aside. Under the current dispensation, there is no Jew; no Gentile. Rather, today, believers are “joint-heirs,” “a joint-body,” and “joint- sharers.” This puts all believers on an equal footing. None are above the others. This is a big change! As we saw in part one of this study, prior to the revelation of the mystery, Israel was a nation ABOVE ALL PEOPLE (Exo. 19:4-6) but that is no longer the case. This is very important to understand if we are going to align ourselves with God’s plans and purposes for today.

What Paul is saying is that Israel was no longer to be a peculiar nation “above all people.” No longer would God reach out to humanity through the Jew alone. Rather, with the setting aside of Israel and Israel’s program, God initiated a new program and began operating in and through the “one new man.” This new man is “the Church, which is His [Christ's] body." Members of this church are “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones’ (Eph. 5:30). Earthly distinction between Jew and Gentile have disappeared (Eph. 2:14, 15; Col. 3:10, 11).

Need further evidence of this change? In Eph. 2:11-12, Paul asks us to, “remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Until the revelation of the Mystery, Israel alone had direct access to God. Until the revelation of the Mystery, Gentile access was through Israel and Israel’s program. But God has started a new program and “hath made both one” and made “of twain one new man…And came and preached peace to you [Gentiles] which were afar off, and to them [Israel] that were nigh” (Eph. 2:13-17). Do not miss that little word “were” here. It is past tense of “be.” I want you to particularly notice that Israel were nigh but that changed with the revelation of the Mystery. With that event, Israel was set aside. Their special position as a nation above all people has been removed.

The graphic below represents what has happened. From Genesis 1 to 11, God dealt with the nations on an even footing. None was above the other. All had access to God. But with the rebellion at the Tower of Babel, God gave up mankind and called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees in order to make of him a great nation through which He would bless all peoples of the earth. That nation was the nation of Israel; the priestly kingdom which was above all peoples of the earth (Exo. 19:6). The only way for the other nations to access God was through Israel (Eph. 2:11-12). And for 1500 years from the Exodus to the end of the Acts period, Israel stood in that glorified and privileged position. The other nations are never mentioned in Scripture unless they are in contact with Israel. But with the close of the Acts Period God revealed The Mystery which had been hid in Him to the Apostle Paul and Israel was numbered with the nations. With that event all nations are treated equally in God’s sight.

The graphic above is from The Dividing Line by David Tavender

-Allen