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THE MYSTERY

(Ephesians 3:3-6)

“How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. 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; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel”.

The basic attitude for Bible study

(Acts 17:11; II Timothy 2:15)

The need for an honest study(free from bias or prejudice) of any Bible subject is mandatory to come to the proper understanding of the teaching Christ has given to us (John 12:48; 8:32). That not all approach the scriptures with the proper attitude is a sad reality (II Thessalonians 2:10-12; Matthew 13:10-15; II Timothy 3:13). For example, if one wants to believe that “once saved always saved” is true, that bias will prevent such a person from acknowledging plain truth that proves that to be untrue (Philippians 2:12; I Corinthians 10:12; II Peter 2:20-22; II Timothy 4:3-4; I Timothy 4:1-3; James 5:19-20; Hebrews 3:12; 19; Galatians 5:4; Revelation 3:1-5).

Just so, if one wants to believe that Christ will reignliterally on earth for a thousand years, the scripture will be bent to support that view. Such is the case in the text of our study. There are those who suggest that the “mystery” was revealedonly to the apostle Paul, and that his writings (Romans through Philemon) are the only ones that apply to men today.

Why do they believe and teach that? Because they hold that the apostles went preaching the gospel of the kingdom (to prepare the Jewish people for a literal reign of Christ on earth), but alas, the Jews proved to be unwilling to receive such a message. Therefore, at the close of the book of Acts, God ceased that effort, and gave Paul a new message to preach (the gospel of grace) until the time the Jews proved to be more receptive. Is that true?

To help us arrive at the truth concerning this beautiful text, we need to ask and answer a few simple questions:

  1. Did Paul say that the mystery was revealed only to him? ______
  2. Who was the mystery revealed to? ______
  3. What is the mystery? ______
  4. Was the mystery completely unrevealed in the Old Testament? ______
  5. Did Paul obey one gospel and preach another? ______
  6. Who was the first apostle to preach the mystery? ______

Answers

  1. No. Not a single time did Paul ever suggest that God gave him a gospel unknown or untaught by others. Now, was Paul an apostle to the Gentiles? Yes (Romans 11:13), just as Peter was referred to as an apostle to the Jews (Galatians 2:7). However, neither apostle was restricted to a single audience, as both taught Jew and Gentile alike (Acts 10:19-48; 14:1-2)
  2. The holy apostles [plural] and prophets [plural] (Ephesians 3:5).
  1. The Gentiles would be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel (Ephesians 3:6).
  2. No, nor did Paul state such. He said that in times past it was “not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed”. In the Old Testament the truth was revealed in bits and pieces (Isaiah 28:10; 13); therefore, the Old Testament prophets searched what was given them in part (I Peter 1:9-12) to understand what is fully revealed on the pages of the New Testament.
  3. Paul never claimed toteach a message that originated with him; “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:21-22). See Hosea 2:23; Romans 9:24-25 –Amos 9:11-12; Acts 15:13-17 – Isaiah 11:10; Romans 15:12 – Isaiah 49:6; Acts 13:47.
  4. No! Paul preached the same gospel he once tried so desperately to destroy (Acts 9:2; 19:23; 22:4; Galatians 1:23).
  5. Peter (Acts 15:7).