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Video
Summary
Certain Old Testament believers prophesied about the sufferings of the Messiah, but many of the details surrounding the incarnation and sacrifice of Jesus Christ were not revealed until the first advent. Likewise, the widespread expansion of God’s family to include the gentiles was predicted in scripture, but not well understood until the event took place. The great “mystery of God” (a mystery that even angels longed to understand), is thus the coming of the Savior in true humanity and His sacrifice for the sins of the world, and the great influx of believing gentiles into God’s family.
In the Church age, God has chosen to send the Holy Spirit, and everything about gentile salvation rests upon the ministry of the Spirit, for if Israel largely rejected her Messiah, how could the gentiles - so much farther from God - be reconciled to Him? The present hardness of Israel will persist until all the gentiles destined for salvation have come into God’s family. However, throughout the generations there has always been a remnant of believing Jews, and this present hardness of Israel will soon reverse and salvation among the Jews will rise in the last days, culminating in a glorious multitude of believing Jews at the second advent of the Messiah. The restoration of Israel did not occur immediately after the Messiah’s first advent, but will occur after the completion of the calling of the gentiles, and this is the “mystery” we have been experiencing since the victory of the cross.
Content
Audio clip from Ichthys
Audio clip 2
In the Greek, a “mystery” (μυστήριον) is most commonly a cryptic rite, a ritual or arcane piece of information that only the initiates of certain cults (the Eleusian mysteries, for example) were permitted to know, a secret, in other words, that was generally hidden from all but the select few. The designation “mystery” perfectly reflects the particulars of both the nature of the Messiah’s first advent (His incarnation and victory on the cross) and the nature of the calling out of the complement of His Church that followed in its wake (the flooding of gentile believers into the assembly of God in completely unanticipated numbers). <!– — –>As we have seen above, both the suffering of the Messiah and the great influx of gentiles into the family of God were predicted in scripture, but the particulars of the second Person of the Trinity taking on human existence and dying for our sins, and the particulars of the unprecedented surge of believing gentiles into His Church would have surprised even the Old Testament prophets who alluded to them. It was, in short, “a mystery” that has only come fully to light since the cross:
The prophets [of old] diligently investigated and inquired about this salvation [destined to come to you gentiles (cf. v.1)], when they prophesied about the grace [that was to come] to you (i.e., the mass calling out of the gentiles). For they were eager to discover the precise time the Spirit of Christ within them was signifying as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (i.e., the filling up of the Church). For it was revealed to them that in prophesying these things, they were not so much serving themselves as they were you – and these same things have now been proclaimed to you through those who gave you the gospel through the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven – even angels want to look into these things.
In this last verse we have the answer to a question so profound that the mystery of Christ and of the Church would remain effectively cloaked until His resurrection: If Israel, God’s chosen people, the one people on the face of the earth after His own heart, did not accept Him en masse but only in part (cf. 1Ki.19:18; 1Cor.10:5; etc.), then how could it ever be that the gentiles, so much farther from God, would flood into His family in such unsurpassed volume? The answer, as verse twelve above makes clear, is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. <!– — –>The Spirit’s ministry is a rich and detailed subject that will be given full treatment in Part 5 of Bible Basics: Pneumatology. It must suffice to say here that the gift of the Holy Spirit, an event that could not take place before the victory and glorification of Christ (Jn.7:39; Phil.2:5-11; cf. Is.53:2; Jn.12:23; 13:31-32; 17:1-5), is one of the most momentous and significant features of the Church age. It is the ministry of the Spirit which was behind the expansion of evangelism from Pentecost forward (Acts 2:1-41; 5:12-14; 8:4-6; 8:29; 10:44-46), the broadening of evangelistic focus beyond the borders of Israel (Acts 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 20:28), and the massive influx of gentile believers into the family of God, which trend continues to this very day (Jn.3:5-8; 15:26-27; 16:5-11; Rom.8:2; 8:26-27; 1Cor.2:4; Gal.3:2-3; 5:16ff.; 1Jn.5:6-7). <!– — –>The line of the Church (the early gentiles) and the foundation of the Church (historical Israel) antedated the coming of the Savior, but it was appropriate for the erection of the great edifice of the Church to wait upon His victory and glorification, and it is the Spirit’s work to bring to completion “the joy” that Christ had set His heart upon (Heb.12:2), namely, to complete within the present two millennial days the bride that completes Him, the Church. In the meantime, the comparable surge of Jewish belief (though in every generation there is at least a remnant of believing Jews: Rom.11:5), likewise anticipated in scripture (cf. Jer.31:33-34), has not been abrogated, but is merely pending, waiting for the ministries of preparation predicted to come in the last days, and ready to burst into full flood at the 2nd Advent of the Messiah:
Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery (and so think more of yourselves than you should): hardness has come over a part of Israel until the time when the fullness of the gentiles has come in [to the family of God]. And it is in this [following] way that all Israel will be saved just as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion. He will expel ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
So the change of heart that brings a flood of Jews to faith in Christ (comparable to the flood of gentiles that characterizes the Church age) will be the Messiah’s actual return. When they look upon “Him they have pierced” (Zech.12:10-14; Rev.1:7; cf. Joel 2:30-32; Matt.24:30), Israel will turn to Him in numbers that will proportionally outstrip the greatest gains of the Church age, as God purges and restores His chosen people, fulfilling all the promises He has made (Is.65:8-10; Jer.31:31-34; Ezek.20:33-38; 37:11-14; Hos.1:10-11; Mal.4:5-6; Matt.23:39; Rom.11:26). The fact that this much anticipated spiritual (and geographical) restoration of Israel would not take place immediately after the Messiah’s (first) appearance, but would wait upon the completion of His Church through the calling out of innumerable gentiles is the “mystery” we have been experiencing since His triumph on the cross (and as a direct result of that victory: cf. Lk.2:32; 10:17-20):
Then one of the elders said to me, “Don’t cry. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so as to [be able] to open the book and its seven seals.”
[God] has erased the charge against us along with its particulars (i.e., our sinful nature and personal sins) which opposed our [relationship with Him], and He removed it [as an obstacle] between us by nailing it to the cross. [For by means of the cross, God] has stripped [demon] rulers and authorities [of their power] and subjected them to public humiliation, having triumphed over them in [Christ].
(1) For this reason (i.e., the building up of the Church into a holy temple: cf. 2:14-22), I, Paul, am Christ’s prisoner on behalf of the gentiles. (2) And I assume that you have heard about this dispensation of God’s grace given to me on your behalf (i.e., his mandate as an apostle to “carry Christ’s name to the gentiles”: Acts 9:15). (3) For it was through [God’s] revelation that this mystery [of His calling out of the gentiles] was made known to me as I wrote you briefly before. (4) When you read these things you will be able to understand my spiritual insight into this mystery of Christ, (5) which was not made known to mankind in previous generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (6) [And the mystery is this]: that the gentiles are [now] fellow heirs, members of the same body, and equal partakers of the promise [of salvation to Israel] in Christ Jesus through the gospel, [the proclamation of His victory]. <!– — –>(7) It is of this gospel that I have been made a minister by the gift of God’s grace given to me through His dynamic power. (8) To me, the least of all His holy ones, this gracious charge has been entrusted: to proclaim to the gentiles the unfathomable wealth that is Christ, (9) and to shed light on this mystery[, the calling out of the gentiles] which is now being brought to pass (lit., “the dispensation” of it), though it was once hidden from the ages in God who created everything. (10) God [did this] so that [His] enigmatically intricate wisdom might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms through the agency of the Church, (11) according to His plan for the ages (i.e., history) which He has implemented in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Fully digested, the passage above teaches virtually the entire content of what we have been discussing on the subject of the mystery of the fifth and sixth millennial days, that is, the calling out of the gentiles to fill up the body of Christ, a prophecy not fully understood until its implementation, and therefore a mystery, the mystery of the Church (when viewed from the standpoint of the bride, the Church) and at the same time the mystery of Christ (when viewed from the standpoint of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ):
- verses 1-2: the object of Paul’s ministry is to implement or dispense the mystery of the calling out of the gentiles, made known to Him by Christ.
- verse 3: the mystery, hidden in the past, was unveiled or revealed to him by divine agency (revelation is the counterpart of a mystery).
- verse 4: Jesus Christ is the mystery (because the mystery, seen from Christ’s point of view, is the fulfillment of His body and His bride, the Church).
- verse 5: this mystery has now been fully revealed to the present day apostles and prophets (who needed to know about the calling out of the gentiles in order to properly minister to them).
- verse 6: Paul explains the mystery specifically from the point of view of the bride of Christ, namely, the new co-equality of the gentiles (and their subsequent thronging to God and Jesus Christ).
- verse 7-9: it is Paul’s job to minister to this unforeseen expansion of the family of God through the gospel, the proclamation of Christ’s victory, which has opened up the wealth of Him to the gentiles (cf. Rom.11:12; Gal.3:8), and in the process of bringing the mystery to light.
- verse 10: God’s wisdom in filling up the assembly (the Church of Christ) is thus made known in heavenly places so that the devil and his angels are refuted and replaced.
- verse 11: Such has been God’s purpose for and plan of human history all along: the construction of His replacement assembly, the Church, for the Person and through the Person of Jesus Christ.
Summary points
The twofold mystery of the nature of Christ’s first advent, and gentile salvation
The designation “mystery” perfectly reflects the particulars of both:
- The nature of the Messiah’s first advent (His incarnation and victory on the cross), and
- The nature of the calling out of the complement of His Church that followed in its wake (the flooding of gentile believers into the assembly of God in completely unanticipated numbers).
Both the suffering of the Messiah and the great influx of gentiles into the family of God were predicted in scripture, but the particulars of the second Person of the Trinity taking on human existence and dying for our sins, and the particulars of the unprecedented surge of believing gentiles into His Church would have surprised even the Old Testament prophets who alluded to them.
The unanticipated reality of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is what brought about the expansion of salvation to the gentiles
Part of the reason the expansion of salvation to the gentiles was completely unanticipated (and therefore a “mystery” in the the proper sense of the word) is because it fully upended the way God had shared truth with humanity up until this point. How? Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
If Israel, God’s chosen people—the one people on the face of the earth after His own heart—did not accept Him en masse but only in part (cf. 1Ki.19:18; 1Cor.10:5; etc.), then the only way that we gentiles—so much farther from God—would flood into His family in such unsurpassed volume is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is certainly not on account of our own power!
The ministry of the Holy Spirit was behind:
- The expansion of evangelism from Pentecost forward
- The broadening of evangelistic focus beyond the borders of Israel
- The massive influx of gentile believers into the family of God, which trend continues to this very day
The “logic” of gentile salvation post-dating the cross
As we have discussed previously, the “full edifice” of the Church may have started its construction at Pentecost, but before this phase in the building process came the line of the Church (the early gentiles) and the foundation of the Church (historical Israel). Both of these pre-dated the coming of the Messiah.
However, it was appropriate for the erection of the great edifice of the Church to wait upon His victory and glorification, for only through the giving of the Spirit is this new building phase possible. Compare John 16:7-15.
The temporary hardness of Israel is another part of the mystery in the calling out of the gentiles
Compare Romans 11:25-27:
Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery (and so think more of yourselves than you should): hardness has come over a part of Israel until the time when the fullness of the gentiles has come in [to the family of God]. And it is in this [following] way that all Israel will be saved just as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion. He will expel ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
In many places, the Old Testament prophecies the regathering of Israel. The fact that this much anticipated spiritual (and geographical) restoration of Israel would not take place immediately after the Messiah’s (first) appearance, but would wait upon the completion of His Church through the calling out of innumerable gentiles is the “mystery” we have been experiencing since His triumph on the cross.
How Ephesians 3:1-11 teaches everything we are discussing here
Ephesians 3:1-11 teaches virtually the entire content of what we have been discussing on the subject of the mystery of the fifth and sixth millennial days, that is, the calling out of the gentiles to fill up the body of Christ, a prophecy not fully understood until its implementation, and therefore a mystery, the mystery of the Church (when viewed from the standpoint of the bride, the Church) and at the same time the mystery of Christ (when viewed from the standpoint of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ):
Verses 1-2:
The object of Paul’s ministry is to implement or dispense the mystery of the calling out of the gentiles, made known to Him by Christ.
(1) For this reason (i.e., the building up of the Church into a holy temple: cf. 2:14-22), I, Paul, am Christ’s prisoner on behalf of the gentiles. (2) And I assume that you have heard about this dispensation of God’s grace given to me on your behalf (i.e., his mandate as an apostle to “carry Christ’s name to the gentiles”: Acts 9:15).
Verse 3:
The mystery, hidden in the past, was unveiled or revealed to him by divine agency (revelation is the counterpart of a mystery).
(3) For it was through [God’s] revelation that this mystery [of His calling out of the gentiles] was made known to me as I wrote you briefly before.
Verse 4:
Jesus Christ is the mystery (because the mystery, seen from Christ’s point of view, is the fulfillment of His body and His bride, the Church).
(4) When you read these things you will be able to understand my spiritual insight into this mystery of Christ,
Verse 5:
This mystery has now been fully revealed to the present day apostles and prophets (who needed to know about the calling out of the gentiles in order to properly minister to them).
(5) which was not made known to mankind in previous generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Verse 6:
Paul explains the mystery specifically from the point of view of the bride of Christ, namely, the new co-equality of the gentiles (and their subsequent thronging to God and Jesus Christ).
(6) [And the mystery is this]: that the gentiles are [now] fellow heirs, members of the same body, and equal partakers of the promise [of salvation to Israel] in Christ Jesus through the gospel, [the proclamation of His victory].
Verse 7-9:
It is Paul’s job to minister to this unforeseen expansion of the family of God through the gospel, the proclamation of Christ’s victory, which has opened up the wealth of Him to the gentiles (cf. Rom.11:12; Gal.3:8), and in the process of bringing the mystery to light.
(7) It is of this gospel that I have been made a minister by the gift of God’s grace given to me through His dynamic power. (8) To me, the least of all His holy ones, this gracious charge has been entrusted: to proclaim to the gentiles the unfathomable wealth that is Christ, (9) and to shed light on this mystery[, the calling out of the gentiles] which is now being brought to pass (lit., “the dispensation” of it), though it was once hidden from the ages in God who created everything.
Verse 10:
God’s wisdom in filling up the assembly (the Church of Christ) is thus made known in heavenly places so that the devil and his angels are refuted and replaced.
(10) God [did this] so that [His] enigmatically intricate wisdom might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms through the agency of the Church,
Verse 11:
Such has been God’s purpose for and plan of human history all along: the construction of His replacement assembly, the Church, for the Person and through the Person of Jesus Christ.
(11) according to His plan for the ages (i.e., history) which He has implemented in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Follow-on topics
All these “mysteries” show that God’s plans are always higher than ours
When 1 Peter 1:12 says “even angels want to look into these things”, we are to understand that even angels—who are much smarter and less restricted that we humans are at present—did not really understand all this until things played out more, well, we’d best accept that if they can be blind to God’s purposes, we certainly shouldn’t expect that we will always understand.
Rather than getting bent out of shape about this, we’d best rejoice. Because our very salvation rests on God’s completely unexpected mercy towards the gentiles! We can thank God that He doesn’t always act as we expect, because we would have otherwise had no opportunity to put our faith in Jesus Christ as our savior (rather than Him just being the savior of the Jews).
The centrality of the Holy Spirit in gentile salvation
It bears repeating that everything about gentile salvation rests upon the ministry of the Spirit. The giving of the Spirit—a variable not taken into account by earlier believers—is the very thing that underpins the massive increase in the Church’s size and scope. Without the giving of the Spirit, the Church Age would not work.
In this way, I think we could also rightly consider the giving of the Holy Spirit to be a proper mystery as well. It is part and parcel of God’s unanticipated plan to open up salvation to the gentiles—another thing veiled from earlier believers until it actually came about.