Post by Admin on Mar 10, 2019 16:38:41 GMT
First, let's look at the beginning statement:
Ephesians 3 King James Version (KJV)
1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Paul establishes that his ministry is towards Gentiles. They have heard that He is the Apostle to the Gentiles. That Paul is revealing the Mystery of Christ to the Gentiles does not nullify the fact that this is the Mystery he is referring to.
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Note that the Mystery was not made known unto the sons of men, an all-inclusive phrase that includes all men and does not allow for a view that believers knew but Gentiles did not. Neither would it make sense to overshadow the Work of Christ in favor of Gentiles also being saved. No-one knew that Christ would die in the stead of the sinner, and that applies to both Jew and Gentile. Note that it is now revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets...by the Spirit.
So point one is that in order for the Mystery of Christ to be Gentile Inclusion we must somehow find other men having knowledge of the Mystery...and that simply isn't going to be done. We can't change the fact that the Mystery was not made known to the sons of men in other Ages. We can't change the fact that it is now being revealed by the Spirit to the Apostles and Prophets of Paul's day.
Now we come to the verse that makes many think the Mystery is Gentile Inclusion:
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
The second point being, since we know that the Mystery simply wasn't revealed to any man in other Ages (a truth also made clear in v.9, Romans 25-26, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2 Corinthians 2:16, and Colossians 1:25-27), we can conclude that vv.3-5 is parenthetical (as is the second half of v.3 through v.4) and that v.6 best ties with v.2:
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Note "you-ward." The NASB might help in understanding that Paul's statement has several things going on at once:
Ephesians 3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Paul’s Stewardship
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;
He stops mid-stride and interjects his stewardship.
Point three is pretty simple: there is revelation of Gentile Inclusion in Prophecy which makes their inclusion just as "revealed" as the Mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
Isaiah 42:6-7 King James Version (KJV)
6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
We see again Paul refer to his stewardship among the Gentiles:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
What is the grace given to Paul? That he should preach among the Gentiles. What is he preaching among Gentiles? The unsearchable riches of Christ.
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
If Gentile Inclusion is the Mystery then at least two strong points (I will not argue the parenthetical aspect of Paul's statement because if one does not see it they simply don't see it) have to be addressed: how can Gentile Inclusion be the Mystery when (1) no man was privy to it and (2) how do we reconcile this with the other Mystery of the Gospel passages which teach that the Gospel was not revealed to any man in past Ages?
Yes, Paul is revealing the Mystery of the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, and yes Gentile Inclusion was just as much a Mystery as is the Gospel. But that doesn't make the Mystery of Christ to mean "Gentiles would be saved too. This breaks from every other teaching in Scripture:
Romans 16:25-26 King James Version (KJV)
25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
The Mystery of the Gospel was kept secret since the world began. Is Paul speaking of Gentile Inclusion? Or the preaching of Jesus Christ? The Mystery is now made manifest. It is now made known to all nations, the same nations the Scripture foresaw being justified through faith (Galatians 3:8).
1 Corinthians 2:2, 6-10 King James Version (KJV)
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Why is the Wisdom of God hidden? Who is it hidden from? We go all the way back to the original statement that eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor had it entered into the hearts of men the things which God had prepared for them that love Him. God has revealed those things unto us...by the Spirit. Same thing he states in Ephesians 3:5.
Colossians 1:25-27 King James Version (KJV)
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
We saw in Ephesians 3 that the Mystery of Christ was not revealed to the sons of men (all men). Here we see that it was hid from Ages and generations. It is now made manifest unto His Saints (believers), the implication being that the saints were not privy either.
And note what is made known, the "riches of the glory" of this Mystery which is...Christ in you. The Eternal Indwelling of Christ is "the riches of the glory of the Mystery." And aagin we see reference to Paul's ministry towards the Gentiles. Gentile Inclusion is no more the Mystery here than it is in Ephesians 3. It is a Mystery, but not the Mystery. The Mystery is the Gospel of Christ.
God bless.
Ephesians 3 King James Version (KJV)
1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Paul establishes that his ministry is towards Gentiles. They have heard that He is the Apostle to the Gentiles. That Paul is revealing the Mystery of Christ to the Gentiles does not nullify the fact that this is the Mystery he is referring to.
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Note that the Mystery was not made known unto the sons of men, an all-inclusive phrase that includes all men and does not allow for a view that believers knew but Gentiles did not. Neither would it make sense to overshadow the Work of Christ in favor of Gentiles also being saved. No-one knew that Christ would die in the stead of the sinner, and that applies to both Jew and Gentile. Note that it is now revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets...by the Spirit.
So point one is that in order for the Mystery of Christ to be Gentile Inclusion we must somehow find other men having knowledge of the Mystery...and that simply isn't going to be done. We can't change the fact that the Mystery was not made known to the sons of men in other Ages. We can't change the fact that it is now being revealed by the Spirit to the Apostles and Prophets of Paul's day.
Now we come to the verse that makes many think the Mystery is Gentile Inclusion:
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
The second point being, since we know that the Mystery simply wasn't revealed to any man in other Ages (a truth also made clear in v.9, Romans 25-26, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2 Corinthians 2:16, and Colossians 1:25-27), we can conclude that vv.3-5 is parenthetical (as is the second half of v.3 through v.4) and that v.6 best ties with v.2:
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Note "you-ward." The NASB might help in understanding that Paul's statement has several things going on at once:
Ephesians 3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Paul’s Stewardship
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;
He stops mid-stride and interjects his stewardship.
Point three is pretty simple: there is revelation of Gentile Inclusion in Prophecy which makes their inclusion just as "revealed" as the Mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
Isaiah 42:6-7 King James Version (KJV)
6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
We see again Paul refer to his stewardship among the Gentiles:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
What is the grace given to Paul? That he should preach among the Gentiles. What is he preaching among Gentiles? The unsearchable riches of Christ.
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
If Gentile Inclusion is the Mystery then at least two strong points (I will not argue the parenthetical aspect of Paul's statement because if one does not see it they simply don't see it) have to be addressed: how can Gentile Inclusion be the Mystery when (1) no man was privy to it and (2) how do we reconcile this with the other Mystery of the Gospel passages which teach that the Gospel was not revealed to any man in past Ages?
Yes, Paul is revealing the Mystery of the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, and yes Gentile Inclusion was just as much a Mystery as is the Gospel. But that doesn't make the Mystery of Christ to mean "Gentiles would be saved too. This breaks from every other teaching in Scripture:
Romans 16:25-26 King James Version (KJV)
25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
The Mystery of the Gospel was kept secret since the world began. Is Paul speaking of Gentile Inclusion? Or the preaching of Jesus Christ? The Mystery is now made manifest. It is now made known to all nations, the same nations the Scripture foresaw being justified through faith (Galatians 3:8).
1 Corinthians 2:2, 6-10 King James Version (KJV)
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Why is the Wisdom of God hidden? Who is it hidden from? We go all the way back to the original statement that eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor had it entered into the hearts of men the things which God had prepared for them that love Him. God has revealed those things unto us...by the Spirit. Same thing he states in Ephesians 3:5.
Colossians 1:25-27 King James Version (KJV)
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
We saw in Ephesians 3 that the Mystery of Christ was not revealed to the sons of men (all men). Here we see that it was hid from Ages and generations. It is now made manifest unto His Saints (believers), the implication being that the saints were not privy either.
And note what is made known, the "riches of the glory" of this Mystery which is...Christ in you. The Eternal Indwelling of Christ is "the riches of the glory of the Mystery." And aagin we see reference to Paul's ministry towards the Gentiles. Gentile Inclusion is no more the Mystery here than it is in Ephesians 3. It is a Mystery, but not the Mystery. The Mystery is the Gospel of Christ.
God bless.